Since the end of my time in initial formation and during the first few years of perpetual vows as a Holy Cross Brother, I have been entrusted with the mission of teaching at the University of Notre Dame. I am privileged to be a teaching professor in the department of Romance Languages and Literature where I teach French language and culture to undergraduate students. The ministry of teaching and education is never something I expected myself capable of doing. I was drawn to the religious life in Holy Cross by the example of priests and brothers I met during my college years at Holy Cross College in Notre Dame, Indiana. The mission to embrace education, not simply as learning from books and earning a degree, but as an authentic way to live and grow in the Christian life was something I experienced as a college student. It was transformative for me and I felt called to consecrate my life in Holy Cross according to the mission given us by our founder, Blessed Basil Moreau, to help others embark on the journey of Christian education and holiness.
In his treatise on Christian education, Blessed Basil Moreau wrote “…educators must do everything firmly, but gently; firmly because they are courageous and unshakable in the midst of sorrows, difficulties and trials…gently because they are sensitive and compassionate like their Divine Model. Their mind is always guided by the sentiments of a heart filled with compassionate goodness” (Christian Pedagogy, article 4). The joy of encountering university students in the classroom and teaching them to express themselves in the French language and understand both their own culture and French and francophone cultures using basic language skills is a task that requires great firmness!
As you may know, if you have ever been required to or attempted to learn a new language, the rules of grammar, spelling, and pronunciation of a language other than your native tongue can be rather difficult and discouraging. In my classroom, language skills and the capacity of self-expression in French are learned mostly by making mistakes! When students are inevitably embarrassed or discouraged in class, I have the responsibility to help them embrace those moments when they mispronounce a word or incorrectly conjugate a verb. I reassure them that perfection is not excluded from fluency and that progress is measurable even when mistakes are made.
As a Holy Cross Brother and educator in our tradition, given to us as a gift by Blessed Basil Moreau, there is a special dimension to my approach of teaching French language that coincides with the realities of language learning. Namely, mistakes are made. Discouragement and embarrassment are realities students confront during each class. However, the task of education at a Holy Cross institution finds its meaning in embracing these challenges. Students in my classes learn to see mistakes as moments of growth and opportunities for perfection.
As a teacher, I strive to form my heart according to the pattern of Christ, to emulate the compassionate goodness that Christ shows us each and every day. Through my teaching, I hope to inspire students not just to be curious about French culture and grow in their language skills, but also to be committed to a lifelong way of learning that will make them holy! The pursuit of holiness, after all, is the vocation of all Christians. For my own part, my vocation to be a Holy Cross brother and an educator in the faith finds its meaning in the Cross from which springs the hope of the Resurrection. My daily prayer is that my students obtain more than just a degree at the completion of their undergraduate studies at Notre Dame. I pray that they become people of faith who are not discouraged by the Cross and difficulties of life, but rather that they are transformed by Christ’s love and find hope that they can then offer to others.
By Br. Jacob Eifrid, C.S.C.
Published February 19, 2026
Photo provided by the Holy Cross Office of Vocations
