The renowned business theorist Peter Drucker once said, “Meetings are by definition a concession to a deficient organization. For one either meets or one works. One cannot do both at the same time.”

All organizations are deficient to some degree. All need to be improved from time to time, because none are perfect. The same is true of the organization of our Church, and that is why we have had so many councils (or meetings) throughout history.

Saint Alexander of Alexandria lived in a time when the Church was in desperate need of a meeting.

In the 300s, there was a major schism over whether Jesus was truly God. Saint Alexander wasn’t confused—he affirmed the full divinity of Jesus.

But Alexander didn’t just announce his position and leave it at that. He organized the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, from which we have the Nicene Creed. He encouraged active participation from all Church members gathered there, whether they agreed with him or not.

In the end, the meeting was successful, and the Church moved forward with the firm belief that Jesus was both truly God and truly man. 

Saint Alexander of Alexandria recognized the need to step back from the usual work of the Church in order to work on the actual organization of the Church herself. And he knew this council, arguably the most important in Church history, would fail unless members on both sides actively participated.

Today, one of the easiest ways to identify an organization pursuing excellence is simply to count the number of people who bring pen and paper to a meeting and actively take notes, and speak up when they have valuable input. 

Meetings happen in many forms. They happen in professional life, of course. But they can also be family meetings, or meetings in your community or at your parish. Resolve today to actively pay attention and participate in your next meeting, whatever it may be. It will go a long way toward improving the health of your business, your family, your neighborhood, or even the Church herself.

Feast Day: February 26

Feast Day Shared By: Saint Isabella of France