Despite the fact that Saint Ignatius College Prep is a Jesuit
institution, I have been lax in writing about the many outstanding Jesuits with
whom I have worked. That said, it’s past
time to tell of one who inspired me, not only as a teacher, but as a person.
Recently, I have been looking into
the topic of Ignatians who are writers/authors, and it’s proving to be an impressive
list. Probably the most widely read
author to have graced Saint Ignatius’ hallowed halls is Father Mark Link,
S.J. Father Link has written or edited
more than 20 (some sources say as many as 60) books which have sold over 10
million copies. During Advent and Lent,
I would often read an entree from one of Father’s books at the beginning of
each class. In the interest of full
disclosure, Father Link is not an Ignatius graduate, but he is the product of a
Jesuit education, and he did teach theology here from 1963 to 1981.
What excited Fr. Link, and was the main point of emphasis of his work,
was discovering God’s presence in the world. Father Link’s body of work…writing books,
traveling the world giving retreats and workshops, and even scripting TV shows
and videos…speaks for it self, but what intrigued me about him was his approach
to life. I am an unapologetic eclectic
who tries to gather the modes and methods of those who are successful, and,
within the limits of my own strengths and weaknesses, apply them in my
life. Sometimes it works, sometimes not
so much. The trick is recognizing what
those special modes and methods are.
In Father Link’s case, I observed three characteristics. First of all, he kept things simple. Secondly, he lived by the maxim, “There’s
nothing to it, but to do it”. When he saw a need, he acted on it, not second
guessing himself or leaving the task for someone else . The third element
could best be described by the title of one of his more popular books: He is
the Still Point of the Turning World.
Of course Father Link was referring to God, but I saw in Father the balance
and tranquility that seemed to allow him to implement those first two
qualities. Given a situation that needed
to be dealt with, he saw the simple solution and acted on it.
Case in point: When the popular cross country coach, Carmen Pintozzi died
suddenly, Father sensed the loss of spirit that Carm’s athletes were
experiencing. He decided that what they
needed was a “pep rally”, so he convinced the athletic director (me) to climb
to the top of the north wall of the gym and create a stick-figure of a cross
country runner, the height of the wall, out of athletic tape. Then we had a pep rally.
Yet, another example of the simplicity of his approach was demonstrated
at the end of a school assembly in the gym.
When the boys were being dismissed, they simply stayed seated and
started to chant, “Hell, no! We won’t
go” to the frustration and confusion of the master-of-ceremony. At that moment, Father Link walked up to a
few boys in the first row, and calmly called them by name and told them to
leave. Faced with that direct and personal command by
Fr. Link, those boys got up and left.
When the rest of the students saw that their “solidarity” had been
broken, they all exited.
On top of all he has done, Father Link was as nice and kind a person as I
have ever known. It is my loss that the
only time that I have seen him since 1982 was to congratulate him for having
received the Dei Gloriam Award from St. Ignatius.
God bless you, Father Link.
