Being outspoken for Christ did not come easily for me.

The culture of my youth did not include people speaking of Christ freely and openly, and neither did my public university, where I studied chemistry. Upon completing graduate studies, I worked briefly in a research lab at the university, and as you might imagine, talking about the Good News does not take priority in a public university research lab.

I joined the Jesuits after that, and my first year of regency as a science teacher at The Welsh Academy in Cleveland has shown me what being outspoken for Christ means. The mission at the Academy involves serving, in the Jesuit tradition, families of modest economic means. As part of Saint Ignatius High School (SIHS), a college preparatory school with a proud and rich history of academic excellence and achievement, the Academy helps students (all boys, grades 6-8) develop into “men for others.”

As contemplatives in action, serving both at the margins and the heart of the Church, we Jesuits are called by God to be, as St. Paul says, “all things to all” people (1 Cor 9:22). Thus, I occupy the privileged position of seeing two different poles of the Society of Jesus in action. I watch students inhale the Good News with tradition at the high school and I exhale that same Gospel message with newness at the Academy.

In the process, I am learning from both institutions that people are hungry to talk explicitly about the Gospel. At the Academy, the middle school students might not know as well as the high school students what a Jesuit vocation entails. Nevertheless, they know the Gospel when they see it. When I speak clearly and explicitly about Jesus with them, they respond with great enthusiasm and joy, as they do when I start class with prayer. One day, after a particularly energetic and raucous opening prayer and a full class period, one of the students said, “Mr. Vieth, before class ends could we pray again?” The request almost moved me to tears.

In complement to my experience at the Academy, I am learning from SIHS to preach the Gospel in a different way. This past fall, I served our all-school Mass for the Feast of All Saints and Blessed of the Society of Jesus. Again, given that I did not attend a Jesuit school growing up, I did not think, going into this Mass, that much would happen. I thought, “Come on. What high school student is really that interested in attending an hour-long Mass? Wouldn’t they rather play video games?” Instead, what I discovered shocked me. In short, I never knew that so much love for the Gospel and the Society of Jesus could exist in one place.

All this is to say that, whether from modest or significant economic means, people have a great hunger to hear the Gospel preached explicitly. And these two beloved Jesuit institutions here in Northeast Ohio provide a home where people can experience the Good News. And so, I am learning that maybe it’s not so hard for me to be outspoken for Christ after all.