Dare Great Things

By our baptism we are called to lead.  We are called to bring the influence of Christ into our families, into our relationships, and into our world.  But in what does this leadership principally consist - especially for those of us who have been entrusted with communities, in our families, in our businesses, what are we supposed to do?  St. Thomas Aquinas offers us concise and insightful guidance in his work, De Regno, On The King, his letter to the King of Cyprus.

When all things are said and done, the goal of leadership ought to be simple.  Thomas Aquinas provides us with a wonderful summary in chapter sixteen of his work, On The King, he gives us a final goal - three things.  By focusing on these three things we can find the direction we need as we apply leadership to our home, our business, and our world.

In business as in life, success is largely a function of focus.  Knowing what our priorities are allows us to hit them correctly allows us to be successful.  What’s the proper focus for leadership?  What is it supposed to be all about?  Aquinas’ De Regno, offers us an amazing lesson in leadership, allowing us to see that the true end goal of leadership is in the ultimate perfection of those that we lead.  

We all know the temptation to glory, power, and fame.  We all know the power of its allure and how desirable it seems to be.  So what’s the downside?  If in fact we don’t live as soldiers of Christ and followers of the King of Kings but become tyrants ourselves, benefitting ourselves at the expense of our flock, what’s the downside?  What could possible go wrong?  Listen in to my commentary on chapters 10 and 11 of Thomas Aquinas’ De Regno.

Choosing to lead is choosing a kind of solitude, a way of life that few people understand.  Leadership has its own crosses and its own blessings, and its own rewards.  St. Thomas Aquinas in his book, De Regno, in chapter 10, lays out for us the uncommon rewards for the uncommon sacrifices that a leader has to endure for the sake of God. 

For all the effort that goes into leadership what shall be our reward?  Afterall considering all the things that we sacrifice and do in order to make great things happen, what does God have laid up for us who have labored so hard for Him?  Is it earthly glory?  Is it power and prestige?  What should it be?  St. Thomas Aquinas offers us an amazing insight in his letter, De Regno.

In Chapter 9 of De Regno, Thomas Aquinas makes a startling discovery.  He speaks about the reward that God is offering for the leader.  And he ends by saying that the reward of the leader is to have God himself.  This strikes me as important for us to understand the true nature of happiness – the true reason of why we are doing what we are doing.

Without a doubt our life as leaders can propose challenges.  And yet, what is its reward?  What are we in this for after all?  And as a Christian leader, what is it proper to be in it for?  What is the proper reward for a follower of Christ who takes upon himself or herself the mantle of leadership?  Is it right to look for anything at all?  What does our Lord teach us about leadership and its rewards?

Everybody is tempted sometimes to question the value of leading by virtue.  Afterall, wouldn’t we make more money, be more profitable, find power quicker by mitigating our leadership into a life of power seeking or pleasure seeking?  Sometimes it seems like people who don’t follow God’s law even flourish the quicker.  Thomas Aquinas gives us a different perspective and underlines the essential importance that virtue plays in leadership.

When I first began these leadership lessons on De Regno by Aquinas, I never anticipated finding some of the greatest jewels about leadership in the chapter on tyranny.  But in fact, that is just what happened.  Sometimes you see most clearly what a thing is by looking at it’s opposite.  And Aquinas shows us most clearly what good Christian leadership looks like by looking at it’s opposition - tyranny.

In today’s world it can be very confusing to figure out exactly what it is we’re supposed to do as leaders.  Many people will have many opinions.  Leaders bringing concord, leaders charging from the front, leaders supporting all with compassion.  St. Thomas Aquinas actually has a very clear vision for leaders.  He calls it unity.  But what exactly does he mean?

We all know that leaders have authority and that that authority has an impact on those that they lead.  But the question is, “How does that leader make that authority felt with strength while at the same time effectively build up the people that are under him with gentleness?”  In his work, De Regno, written to the King of Cyprus, St. Thomas Aquinas offers a valuable lesson on this subject.

The work of St. Thomas Aquinas remains at the center of Catholic tradition.  In his many writings Thomas treats of leadership in many different ways.  But nowhere is his treatment as concise or condensed as in his letter to the King of Cyprus in his book De Regno.  I’d like to continue lessons that I’ve given on this book about leadership.  This is lesson number two on Leaders of the Common Good.

St. Thomas Aquinas is one of the greatest minds in the history of the world.  He wrote about authority and leadership in many different ways and in many places.  Today, I’d like to begin a series studying his thoughts on leadership and the impact that that can make directly on our modern-day leaders.  Join me on this exciting adventure as we begin a ten part series on the leadership lessons of Aquinas.

Leaders lead in their own way.  Saints are the same.  Although most of us have preconceptions about Saints, describing them in terms of prayer and piety, Pier Giorgio Frassati shows us a different look.  He was full of life, energy, and activism.  He was a courageous leader for his age, his peers, and for us today.

I’d like to tell you of St. Margaret Clitherow, the patron saint of Catholic businesswomen and entrepreneurs.  This incredible woman left a legacy of courage as she gave up her life harboring priests and inspired her children to dedicating their lives to God as well.  Listen in to this amazing tale of leadership from the inside.

When most people speak about leadership today, they mean it in the context of business.  And there are ample examples of great leadership in the world of business, and ample examples of Catholics who have typified that same leadership in the world of business.  But I’d like to focus us today on the reflection of a great Saint who was not a business leader but in fact the Pope, Pope St. John Paul II, and see how his life teaches us about Catholic leadership.

Today, leadership requires courage.  In times like ours it’s easier to stop rather than to keep going.  But what’s the secret to courage?  In the lives of the saints we find many examples of courageous leadership.  But in the life of St. Stanislaus, Bishop of Krakow, there is a special lesson that speaks to each one of us: the strength of consistent integrity.

I think that most of us feel that when you do something heroic you should be recognized for it.  Almost like, “Good heroes usually win.”  In the story of St. John Bosco, however, this was not the case.  He had to defend himself, work hard, be under appreciated, and make his case boldly in a situation where people did not believe in him, or make it easy for him.  His is a story of true heroism.    

Courageous leadership requires courageous leaders.  And that’s what we find in the lives of many Saints, but few saints excel in the areas of zeal and apostolic labors like Saint Junipero Serra.  I’d like to look at his life in particular because it reminds us of the urgency to both spread the Gospel and the willingness to lay down our lives in order to make this happen.  Obviously this is something that we can apply to all the calls of God in our lives.