The Archbishop Mitty Charism

Imago Dei:  Rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition, we celebrate each person as imago Dei, “made in the image and likeness of God” (Genesis 1:27). Using this principle, students learn to treat one another with respect, empathy, and compassion. Through community, we acknowledge the uniqueness of each person’s identity and the revelation of who God is, alive in the world today. This belief reminds us that each person is deserving of dignity and respect as children of God. This expands beyond our community as well into the ways that we interact with the wider community and our call to serve and minister to others. Imago Dei seeks for us to see God in ourselves and others, thereby being inclusive of all who are part of our community and also those we encounter in our call to serve and minister to others.

Hearts on Fire: After the Resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples on the Road to Emmaus. The disciples did not realize they were in Jesus’ presence until he left them and they said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us as He spoke with us on the road and opened the scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32) In similar ways we have experiences that “set our hearts on fire.” Encountering agape leads to an invitation to share God’s love with the world through service. Sharing the Good News of our faith is cause for celebration. Setting others’ “hearts on fire” is an opportunity to build community and experience God in our midst. 

Nurturing Kinship: Fr. Greg Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries, writes in Tattoos on the Heart that there is “No daylight to separate us. Only kinship. Inching ourselves closer to creating a community of kinship such that God might recognize it. Soon we imagine, with God, this circle of compassion. Then we imagine no one standing outside of that circle, moving ourselves closer to the margins so that the margins themselves will be erased.” We are called to community and relationship as members of God’s family. It is our responsibility to be and build community for our neighbors near and far. Recognizing and embracing solidarity with those whose experiences may at first appear different than ours is a key element to building God’s Kingdom of justice on earth.  

Call to Servant Leadership: Pope John XXIII describes the common good as “the sum total of social conditions that allow people, either as groups or individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily” (Pacem in Terris 51).  We strive to uphold this common good, to allow the relationships we have built to transform our view of the world. Serving the common good requires that we care deeply about every individual’s needs in our community. Through servant leadership we use our voices and actions to help all reach their full potential.

Sacramental Experience: St. Ignatius of Loyola reminded us that we can “see God in all things.” We can do this by embracing the familiar; the ordinary is an invitation to the sacred. While we experience and receive God’s sacramental grace through participation in the Sacraments, particularly the Eucharist which is the “source and summit” (Sacrosanctum Concilium 10) of our faith. Our everyday life is full of joy and celebration. Sacramental experiences are an opportunity to feel God in a personal and communal way.

Educating for Transformation: Pursuing knowledge is rooted in the desire to reveal truth -- veritas -- and that pursuit enriches our understanding of God and our world. St. Catherine of Siena tells us that, “The reason to gain knowledge is to give it away.” Through education, one discovers individual purpose and vocation, thus moving towards transforming the world in large and small ways.