Technology and social media can easily make today's students seem more sophisticated and worldly than at any previous time. However, there is a big difference, as you well know, between appearance and substance. In today's episode I talk about a great insight from Evelyn Waugh and how it can help us reveal the compassion of Jesus to even our most challenging students.

Well, Hey everybody, Jonathan DOR with you.

Once again, welcome to the Catholic teacher daily podcast.

If this is your first time of this is your hundredth time.

Welcome a board.

Thanks for what you're doing and the great adventure of Catholic education.

Such a crucial time has so much happening in our world.

You, uh, you turn on that news for just a couple of minutes and, uh,

just so much going on in our world, a turmoil, a lot of turmoil around.

Identity isn't there.

Around, uh, Identity identity politics, identity groups.

I remember reading Tom Holland's phenomenal book.

About the, sort of the growth of Christianity and part of its great

genius was that the holy spirit was able to kind of unite these

diverse people, groups, this idea of.

You know, man and woman, Greek Scythian, slave free.

All these different identity groups became one in Christ.

Jesus.

So the great.

Uh, the great sort of gift of Christianity.

One of the great gifts of Christianity, especially in that, uh, late era of the

Roman empire was its ability to unify.

Let's not forget that, huh?

Because there's so much that seeks to fragment and tribalized us at the moment.

Then one of the great things we can do as Catholic teachers is to help young people.

Understand that they have this.

Much deeper identity.

There's much deeper vocation as a child of God.

And this concept of being a child of God, obviously transcends skin color.

It transcends gender.

It transcends everything.

We are first and foremost, loved sons and daughters of our father in heaven.

So, um, let's pray for, in a renewal of that realization in these challenging

times and a little bit on that.

I want to share with you.

Today's quote, of course, if you're not getting the daily quote, please come

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So let's share that quote.

This comes from the inimitable.

Oh.

Is like that word, regular listeners know I have favorite words.

Yesterday.

I talked about Jetta Daya Jenkins kept saying it as many times as possible.

Today, we're going to talk about the inimitable, the incapable of

being imitated, Evelyn wor who lived from 1903 through to 1966.

And many of you would know everyone war of course, is the author.

Of, uh, Brideshead revisited, which I enjoyed reading a few years back.

So Evelyn Moore is a.

A very famous Catholic author, but listen to this quote here, it's challenging

at first till you get to the end.

So listen up, it says this the trouble.

With modern education is you never know how ignorant people are.

With anyone over 50, you can be fairly confident.

What's been taught and what's been left out.

But these young people have such an intelligent, knowledgeable surface.

And then the crust suddenly breaks.

And you look down into depths of confusion.

You didn't.

No.

Existed.

I really liked that.

I think there's a lot in it.

I think it is true.

You know, you meet someone over 50 and you can figure out usually in a few

moments, um, kind of, you know, their take on life and, uh, their education level.

You could pick all that stuff up pretty quickly just to a conversation.

But what Evelyn was pointing out here is that often with young people,

there's a sophistication these days.

Coming through probably a huge amount of exposure to technology and social

media that they can seem awfully.

Uh, self-assured I'm sure, probably we did too.

As, as teenagers, it's part of the journey of, uh, identity development, identity

growth in that crucial period of life.

But, uh, what Evelyn was pointing to is that underneath that is a great fragility.

And I think that's true and I hope you'll agree that it's true.

And I'm sure you've seen it.

Uh, you know, for many years, my focus was boys education and.

When I was first teaching, I was became kind of the go-to guy for

other staff with, you know, dealing with really difficult students.

We had one student many years ago.

Who, uh, you know, not unusual for young boys, you know,

struggled with managing anger.

And he got so angry that he punched a wall and broke both hands.

Punched a wall with both hands at the same, broke both hands.

And I remember being called, you know, to come and help with him

a few weeks after that happened.

And, uh,

And talking with him and just seeing him break down and cry, you know,

that fragility that was there that was underneath this hard, hard exterior.

So I think this is an important reminder for us from Evelyn war.

Here's that last bit again, suddenly the crust breaks and you look

down into depths of confusion.

You didn't know existed.

Oh my gosh.

If I was a young person these days, It's it's understandable.

You could be confused, right?

The amount of stuff coming at them around identity and what they're supposed

to be passionate about and the causes they're supposed to be following and the

virtue they're supposed to be signaling.

There's a lot going on there.

So, what I'm getting at is that it makes it so precious what you're

doing as a Catholic teacher.

You know, you're not there to change their mind necessarily

on a whole bunch of things.

And as you know, you're definitely to indoctrinate.

But you are there to tell the truth.

It was a beautiful quote.

I was reading yesterday from father John harden, part of the.

The cross of carrying our daily cross, as Jesus said, we would have

to is being witnesses to the truth.

You know, Jesus made it very clear that anybody wanted to come after

him had to pick up their cross.

And follow him.

So what's the cross.

Well, I think at this moment in history for Catholic teachers, one of

the crosses is truth is the ability to speak the truth into difficult,

challenging circumstances and realities.

And that might mean that just gently speaking the truth of

identity into young people's lives.

You know, maybe through moments of prayer, maybe through moments of scripture,

reminding them, reminding them, reminding them of who they are and whose they are.

Uh, what a counter cultural thing that is that there's this moment in history.

Isn't it?

That we can remind young people of who they are and whose they are.

So friends, that's it for me today.

I'm just hoping that the holy spirit will empower you to be on

the lookout for that fragility.

When that crust might break with the occasional student window that.

That, uh, you know, when that sort of hard surface breaks away and you see this.

Fragile young person inside didn't Jesus have a massive heart for young people.

I mean, how counter-cultural was that?

You know, Jesus is whole.

Uh, focus on children on women was so counter-cultural in first century,

Palestine, really, you know, the fact that he wanted to be with children that he, uh,

That he wouldn't let people send them away.

And as I said yesterday, whatever Jesus does is important.

Whatever the gospels revealed to us about his character means that he's

teaching us through the gospels.

So if Jesus had a huge focus.

On the preciousness of children, then he's telling us that he wants

us to have that same focus too.

So listen, thanks for what you're doing every day as a Catholic educator.

I know you think it's hidden and sometimes you think nobody notices.

But, uh, God does.

And I do, and I'm really grateful for what you're doing.

So that's it for me today.

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And um, i hope it's a blessing to you my name is jonathan doyle friends god

bless you this has been the catholic teacher daily podcast and i'll have