Column by Jonathan Nagy
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Head Football Coach Marcus Freeman once said, “I think no matter if you’re a student, no matter if you’re an athlete, no matter if you’re a coach, an employee, this place can change your life if you let it. I believe that in my heart. If you let this place change your life, it will. I have gratitude to be a part of this place.” He has often repeated the one phrase in that quote: “Notre Dame will change your life if you let it.”
Coach Freeman, who by many accounts is a great advocate for his players, a morally driven person, and a tremendous family man, has embraced the quote that he lives by. In 2022, he joined his wife and six children and converted to Catholicism. He said, “My faith has grown tremendously, from the community and my parish. But I’ve got a long way to go, just like we all do.” Once, when asked about his conversion, he said, “I’m not a demonstrative or outspoken guy when it comes to my faith, but I believe it is important that people see that I have faith and that they can see that Christ is working through me or my team and then they want to know about that. That is our greatest responsibility, more than winning any game, that people see Christ in you.”
While the University of Notre Dame has seen its fair share of recent controversies, the fact remains that this Catholic institution, founded by the Congregation of the Holy Cross, has impacted Marcus Freeman greatly, because he has allowed the Catholic faith and culture to change him. The lesson here is that despite everything working against us in the world, a strong faith in Christ triumphs over everything – scandal, temptation, misdirection, and sin.
I want to circle back and focus on that often-repeated quote: “It will change your life if you let it.” This quote struck me, and I have spent a great deal of time reflecting and praying on it. Not to plagiarize Coach Freeman, but I feel that this quote directly applies to our Catholic faith and Catholic education, especially at Bishop Carroll Catholic High School.
If there is one thing that I have heard several times over from people who experience Bishop Carroll for the first time, it is, “I never knew what Bishop Carroll was all about until I experienced it myself.” That quote is often followed up with, “I wish more people would come. It will change their lives!” There is that phrase again – It will change their lives. However, to experience the change, one must allow for it to happen!
In order for faith in Jesus Christ to impact someone, thy must be open to allowing the Holy Spirit into their life. In a homily earlier this summer during a home visit, Brother Deacon Lawrence Hogue, of the Franciscan Friars of the Holy Spirit and a Bishop Carroll Class of 2014, who will be ordained a priest next May, described a similar illustration. He said, “If you know that soap exists, will it make you clean? What if you stand next to soap, will it make you clean? No, you have to apply the soap for it to clean you. The same thing is true about Our Lord’s saving Passion and Death. Knowing about it doesn’t cleanse us of our sins. It has to be applied to us. The Sacraments are the soap that Jesus created to apply the effects of his Passion and Death to us. When we receive them, we are cleaned of our sins and made holy.”
The words of Brother Lawrence apply to a Catholic education at Bishop Carroll. Knowing that education exists is one thing, but experiencing it, embracing it, living it, and applying it is something totally different. Recently, a religious sister, when entering the building, looked at me and said, “I can feel the Spirit here.” That gave me chills. Being there every day, I have become accustomed to how infused the faith is in absolutely every aspect of the school. To hear someone say as they enter the building that their first impression as they walk through the door is that they can feel the Spirit, I know God is truly there.
As much as Marcus Freeman has repeated his quote, I have probably also repeated that “Bishop Carroll is and always will be Unapologetically Catholic.” Our faith defines us and without our faith, we are nothing. Jesus Christ is the backbone, heart, and soul of a well-rounded education at Bishop Carroll. When I give school tours, I always start in the chapel. It is by no mistake that when the building was designed, the chapel was placed front and center, for Jesus Christ must be front and center in everything that we do.
Our students have embraced the faith and love every aspect of Bishop Carroll. A priest, who had just had an encounter with some Bishop Carroll students said to me, “They love their school. They are on fire with the faith and so enthusiastic. Are all of your students that way?” I could honestly say, “Yes!” I look in each of their faces and I see the face of Jesus Christ. They are faithful, kind, loving, caring, helpful, mature individuals. They look out for each other. They cheer for each other when they succeed and help each other up when they fall. They have great ideas, respond to encouragement and challenges, and are self-driven individuals. They push forward and succeed where others would give up and turn back. The students truly embody what it means to be a faithful disciple.
Behind the students is a tremendous staff who go above and beyond to carry out the mission of the school in educating the whole student in spirit, heart, mind, and body. While Coach Freeman has never met any employee of Bishop Carroll, I believe he could be speaking about them when he said, “I’ve learned something valuable in my career as a coach: It isn’t always about what you say. At the end of the day, it’s about the impact of what you do and how you make people feel.” Our teachers and staff lead by example. They demonstrate to our students what it means to be an intentional disciple. Their determination to reach every student, every day, while sometimes exhausting, is a goal each strives for and more often than not attains. Their instruction is amazing, but more importantly, they are excellent Christian role models for the students.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the great support of our families, alumni, and benefactors. So many individuals want what is best for the students of Bishop Carroll. They see the kind of students that they are and the people that they will become in the future. Countless alumni that I speak with have said to me, “I am the person I became because of Bishop Carroll.” They want to see the experience they had continue for current and future students. Not only do they want to see it continue, but they are also pleased with what they see happening at the school and want to see it grow and improve to meet the challenges of the world today.
As this new school year begins, families do have a choice in education for their children. Our local public schools do a fine job in teaching and leading students. However, the one important missing piece is the faith component. There are truly faithful individuals in the public schools, but to have Jesus Christ and Christianity infused into every aspect of the day is like comparing apples and oranges; it is just a different experience. One must be open to encountering it and allowing it to change them.
While my thoughts have focused on Bishop Carroll, I want to encourage families, wherever you may be in our diocese, to consider enrolling in your local Catholic school for the school year. It is not to late to register! The doors are always open, and I know you will find a similar experience in whichever school you choose. Take it to prayer and ask God how to guide you. Do not let finances be a concern. Our goal is to make Catholic education affordable for all who desire it for their children. Through generous supporters and the EITC program, (which thankfully was not cut by the state government), the tuition at Bishop Carroll and all Catholic schools in the diocese is extremely affordable. Don’t let that worry prevent you from making a phone call!
Speak with families you know who send their children to a Catholic school. Speak with your pastor, and feel free to contact me or anyone at the diocese for guidance, direction, and information. You have the ability to make choices in so many areas of life—why not choose the education your child receives? Education is one of the most important decisions you will make for your child, and you have the opportunity to choose an education that reflects your family’s values and faith.
One more quote from Coach Freeman has great meaning and impact. He said, “I remember being a recruit and coming to a Notre Dame football game. I was in high school, and watched the team come out of the Basilica from a pregame Mass, and I thought that was the coolest thing. What better time is there to go have Mass? What better time to be able to really be on the edge of your seat to get every word that comes out of the priest’s mouth and to be as close to God as you can? That’s important to me. I want our guys to wonder about what it means to embrace Jesus Christ.” Your children can have that experience as well. Consider Bishop Carroll Catholic High School or any Catholic school in the diocese. It will change your life, if you let it!
Jonathan Nagy, M.Ed., is the principal of Bishop Carroll Catholic High School in Ebensburg and the music director at the Basilica of Saint Michael the Archangel in Loretto.
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