Organization Leadership As A Noble Calling

Part II: The Calling to “Be”

André L. Delbecqadelbecq@scu.edu

Tel/Fax: 510 769 8730© (7-11)

John Henry Newman

• God has created me to do some definite service. He has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never understand it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I have a part in a great work; I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good.

Examining the Spirituality of “Calling” In Greater Depth

• Two Aspects Of Calling:– To “Be” (Being; Becoming)

• Overcoming Brokenness - Achieving Integration

AND– To “Do”

• Mission Of Compassionate Love

A Call In Our Individuality

• Isa 43:1 “I have called you by your name, you are mine”

• Paul:Cor 1:5 “He chose us in him before the foundation of the world”

A Christian Perspective

Our first response must be to God who calls to us.Then everything becomes important – your job, your

being a father or a mother, your companionship, your friendship, your studies, your work, your free time, your breathing – everything becomes useful and important if it is permeated b this profound, clear awareness of the calling we have been given.

• Paraphrasing Luigi Giussani• Magnificat, Dec, 2006, Vol. 8 No. 12 p 41

Robert Spitzer, SJ

• A Comparatrive/Competitive World View (70%)

• A Contributive World View

• The Issue of Transcendence

A Psychoanalytic View

In the final analysis we count for something only because of the essential we embody. And if we do not embody that, life is wasted.

C.G. Jung

A Mystical View

For me to be a Saint means to be myself. Therefore the problem of sanctity and salvation is, in fact, the problem of finding out who I am and of discovering my true self.

Thomas Merton

The Spiritual Fruit Of“Becoming” Is Compassionate Service

For the Organizational Leader - Facilitating Organizational Transformation

• Accepting Imperfection Of Human Endeavor

• Being A Witness To Light

The Scriptural Characteristic Of God’s Call In Scriptures

• “Who me?”

• “I am afraid!”

• Letting Go Of Ego

• Experiencing God’s Faithfulness

Nuances Of Calling

• A Gentle Call• Events, Voices Of Others, Inner Dispositions• Charism: Gift given to the individual for the sake of

the community• Congruent With Our Gifts

– Involves Watchful Waiting– Patience With Unfolding

• Humility And Focus– Never A Final Call– Called to different roles at different times in our lives

Magis

• Magis: Ordinary People Connecting to Extraordinary Inspiration– Gerald McKevitt, SJ.

• Most People Have Jobs Too Small for Their Spirits– Studs Terkel

• Preempting the Ordinary

Watchful Waiting

• Any life lived in the presence of God requires:– A call– Adequate preparation– A Major commitment

Outcomes Of Living Your Calling

• With Respect To Being– Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness,

Goodness, Fidelity, Self-Control

Outcomes Of Living Your Calling

• With Respect To Doing– Encountering Our Own And God’s Spirit At Work

– Sense Of Lasting Contentment Regarding Calling

– Increased Capacity To Engage In Tasks

– Increased Freedom To Choose Certain Tasks

– Patience With Unfolding Of Means

– Understanding Of Suffering As Part Of The Journey• Retained Inner Joy

– A Movement Away From Isolation Toward Serving Others

Meditation on Calling

“A calling depends not on how big the actions are that we take; it is about how much love we put into those actions. For God all is infinite. You do what is small and you do it with love and God will make it infinite.”

John Schuster, ‘Answering Your Call’ p. 51.

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow as not yet come. We only have today. Let us begin.”

Mother Teresa

A New Presentation of Self

The Glory of God Is the Human Person Fully Alive

Irenaeus of Lyons

“The role turns into a calling when something inside you feels summoned to live the essence of the role and when you say YES to the summons. When you provide ample amounts of care and intention to a role’s root meaning and when you surrender to its most profound mystery, you transform the role into a calling

John Schuster ‘Answering Your Call’ p. 36

Assignment

Meditation With Two Trees