Allowing Mary, Undoer of Knots, to guide us

Leading the Midwest’s largest private human services provider through COVID-19, and now as we regain our footing amid high inflation and ever-growing need, is not for the faint of heart.

The urgency of our times

The levels of need in our country and region have never been higher. Fifty years of unprecedented economic growth have only exacerbated income inequality. Poverty has stayed flat, hovering at 12%, but with double the population. And it’s not just families under the poverty line who are struggling. It is estimated that 40% — as many as 137 million people — can’t make ends meet.

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, too, has seen change. Between 1995 and 2015, as governments at all levels privatized the provision of many human services, we dramatically increased our programs and services. At our peak, we were managing between 200 to 250 different government contracts and programs.

The challenge is that the political conditions that spurred that growth have shifted. Funding has not kept up with inflation since 2015. Many contracts no longer cover their full costs, and the complexity of the internal systems that evolved to service these diverse contracts created a cost structure that is difficult to sustain.

Four years of hard, but important decisions

So, at Catholic Charities, it’s been four years of hard decisions — balancing how we serve today with how we will ensure we are here to serve tomorrow.

For me, shepherding Catholic Charities through this season has meant many nights of uneasy sleep and some early morning tears, as I’ve asked God for his guidance. And yet, it has also been a season of rich spiritual growth. My reliance on the Holy Spirit and my understanding of our mission and calling have deepened in some marvelous ways, particularly as I have come to know Mary, Undoer of Knots.

On knots and their undoing

The setting for this showing of Mary is often tied to a 17th-century German nobleman trying to save his troubled marriage. I have come to see “knots” not just in the challenges of marriage, but also in the complexity that humans create whenever we are in relationship. Be it in marriage, in families, in building and sustaining organizations, we always make things messier over time.

As a scholar of organizations, I know that the long-run challenge organizations in every sector face is managing the complexity that accumulates over time. Forms, systems, norms, routines, files — they always increase and can become an organization’s downfall. Their undoing requires shedding, simplification, refocusing — being open to new ways of being, doing and interacting.

Mary has come through for us at Catholic Charities. Our calling remains clear: We are here to witness a message of mercy and hope to a world in need. Yet, how to enact that mission must change over time. Our structure is simpler now as we equip ourselves for the future with a focus in three core impact areas:

•  Community-based programs for helping people in immediate need of food, clothing and housing assistance

•  Long-term programs for strengthening and empowering low-income mothers and their families

•  Housing communities and other supports for low-income seniors so they can age with dignity and grace

The challenge of all human relationships and organizations is that they must keep adapting to stay vital and relevant. And that’s why we need Mary, Undoer of Knots, the patron saint of relational complexity and, I would offer, organizational change.