Robie+Jayawardhana+-+TCEO

One of the many things that struck me during the **//Light For the Journey//** experience was Richard Roar’s comment that there are two critical components in the construction of Catholicity: Catholic Education Offices exist to build the containers. Charisms generate the contents. It is the ….spirit.. gifting members of the Church to empower them for mission in ways that are new, relevant and engaging, ways that suit who and where they are and the needs they face (Green, 2000)
 * __How Would St Francis Build Containers?__**
 * the container and
 * the contents.

Cardinal Suenens reminds us that we need both the ‘container’ and the ‘contents’. …without structure and government the Church would be directionless; but without the charismatic action of the Spirit, it would be empty and sterile.(Ibid)

When I signed up for this subject, my strategy was to take the Franciscan Charism and apply it to the functions of the Catholic Education Office(where I work). Why this Charism? Townsville Catholic Education Office does not owe its existence to any charism so I felt it appropriate to turn to my heritage. I went to school at St Anthony’s and then Padua (in Kedron, Brisbane). My family lived beside the Portiuncula Church and we worshipped there or at the Little Flower. My five brothers and I were alter servers and my mother and father’s involvement in the parish ranged from teaching RE in the State School, to conducting relationships courses for students and marriage preparation courses for engaged couples. Fr Giles was one of many parish priests and Fr John Boyd Boland was one of the teachers there (before becoming principal once I had left). Bernadette and I were married in the Little Flower. Of all the charisms, it is the Franciscan that most “seeped into my bones” (Green, 2000) and as you will see has been the source of much rheumatism ever since I started work at TCEO.

I drive a brand new Honda Accord( my third new TCEO vehicle since I started there four and a half years ago). I have a parking space whilst many others do not. I wear a tie to work each day…. St Francis would have wept.

Whilst Michael Green and Richard Roar can exercise non-dualist thinking and find harmony in the ‘container’ and ‘contents’ model, I am not sure Jesus or the founders of our charisms would have been so kind. Catholic Education Office, afterall, is the 21st Century equivalent of High Church. It is the arm of the church with the most money, power and influence over the community. Should Jesus, Mary McKillop, St Francis or many of the other Charism founders be alive today, many aspects of TCEO would have come under fire.

Not withstanding the apparant hypocrisy I am party to, what follows is an investigation of how the Franciscan charism can shape and challenge a system leader’s role. The analysis will be based on the following dimensions celebrated by Boland(2009):  · vision of the human person; · attitude to knowledge and learning; · the source of respect; · courtesy;  Whilst TCEO is entrusted with building the container, it’s a worthwhile exercise asking the question “How would St Francis have approached such a task in this day and age?”