Community is one of our great pillars and values here at Benedictine College.
It is the BC way of life and a foundation on which our outstanding college was built.
It is common knowledge that there is a sense of division among many members in our great community in which two distinct “groups” are established, “holy kids” and “party kids.”
Sad but true.
I, along with others, have often noticed how many times people here are judged not by who they are, but by the types and styles of clothing they wear, mistakes they may have made in the past, or the activities they are involved in.
Many people have preconceived notions about others which disable them from actually getting to know one another.This comes from both sides.
On the other hand, there are many students here that embrace fully what it means to live in community but these, sadly, are few.
I recall a story told to me by an RA wanting to get to know some new people.
She sat with “party people” in The Caf and was later yelled at by her friends saying “You know who you’re sitting by, right?”
I can also recall another instance where my friends and I were talking about bible study and I mentioned that someone I knew was a bible study leader. Another replied “really? That’s weird….He’s kind of a bad kid.”
It seems so stupid that things have to be this way but it happens all too often.
I think we all can recall times when we have judged someone or knew what it felt like to be judged. I definitely can.
Why do we still act like we are in junior high? What are we lacking?
“Maturity,” Fr. Brendan Rolling said. “A consequence of the fall is immaturity. You know, Pope John Paul II said that the whole point of a Catholic education is human development in truth and charity.”
Becoming a Christian adult or any adult for that matter involves maturity in the three aspects of human development: intellectual maturity, personal maturity, and spiritual maturity. People can be mature in some, none, or all of those areas.
“We want to help everyone get an A in each of these,” Rolling said.
College can be a difficult time.
It’s a time where we transition from others taking care of us to taking care of others.
It is a time where we seek to become adults and make adult decisions.
Some adults make poor decisions so what is that supposed to mean?
“You are prepared to take responsibility for not only your own life but also the lives of others,” Rolling said. “Jesus took care of Peter who took care of the church and after he was crucified, Christians took care of him,” Rolling said.
How does this apply to us?
“We should each try to make a personal commitment to grow in human and Christian maturity. The Lord reveals in Scripture that we are to love God and neighbor not just God, not just neighbor.”
How can we love both God and neighbor? How can we learn to take care of others? How can we help everyone grow in human development?
Service to the common good. Respect for the individual. Virtuous friendships. Demonstrating good will, humility, trust, accountability, justice, faithfulness, obedience, peace, and discipleship. And doing all these things through love, patience, and understanding.
This is obviously not a perfect world and not everyone will be best friends or even get along.
That is not the point.
The point is that we are all here for pretty much the same reason and community is such a strong aspect of our school and faith, we do not have to like everyone but we should try to respect everyone.
We need to live by the very definition of that pillar and value that so strongly represents not only our school but our lives as Christians.
“They should each try to be the first to show respect to the other,” St. Benedict says in his Rule.
Anastasia Willy is a sophomore from Kansas City, Kan., and is majoring in Mass Communications and Art. She can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
