Page 106 - The Gonzaga Record 1986
P. 106
boys struggled to answer. Emotions seemed often to be experienced as
chaotic. My interviewees found it difficult to understand them but very
much wanted to. This, of course, was very natural. New emotions erupt
during adolescence. They threw me into a new world when I was in Third
year. Charting and navigating this world is a life's work!
This leads me to a reflection I had had even before returning to work
in the school. Because of Gonzaga's academic ethos, there is a danger
that intellectual may outpace emotional development. Happiness can
then become subtly equated with academic and career success. Of course
we have to foster our talents, but coming from Gonzaga we may tend to
interpret success rather narrowly. I suspect that the more we understand
ourselves emotionally, the more likely we are to value the Christian
notion of success as the service of others.
So what of the boys' experience of God? I was very surprised at the
strength of the faith of most of them. Many seemed quite happy to talk
about faith matters. However, a considerable number gave an impression
that the chair they were sitting in had suddenly become uncomfortable
when I started mentioning God! Like others in their age group, they were
beginning to ask serious questions. Many spoke of having had a strong
belief as children but found this evaporating in the last year or so. I tried
to assure them that this was natural at their age. It struck me that faith
must necessarily take something of a shaking when everything else in the
boys' lives seems to be changing so much. Some of my interlocutors
appeared to want advice on how to become complete atheists! For those
who were interested I offered a prayer group. This may have helped a
small number develop a new and more appropriate style of praying to
their age group.
This prayer group led me to some reflections which develop those
already mentioned. I spoke of the value of a notion of success which
centres on the service of others. It is possible to educate Gonzaga
students who really want to do this, who choose Gospel values as their
own. But how does this relate to their daily lives? Daily life in Gonzaga
involve s a strong encouragement to academic excellence - naturally
enough in a school of its kind. This generally is assumed to lead towards
a career in business or the professions. How does this sit on a young
person seeking to be fully Christian?
Many of the Third year boys expressed hopes that their faith would
affect the quality of their relationships as they pursue their careers. But
could such emphasis on career itself make Christianity difficult? The
points-race in the Leaving Certificate seems to instil a competitiveness
that serves as a model for later economic life. Are our education system
and job market (and our own ambitions) leading us to be more
materialistic than Christian? In his address to young people at Galway
in 1979 the Pope said: 'The message which the Church speaks in its life
and in its preaching has to be one which will reveal a vision which is
richer and more satisfying than the temptations which challenge the very
soul of Ireland~
104
chaotic. My interviewees found it difficult to understand them but very
much wanted to. This, of course, was very natural. New emotions erupt
during adolescence. They threw me into a new world when I was in Third
year. Charting and navigating this world is a life's work!
This leads me to a reflection I had had even before returning to work
in the school. Because of Gonzaga's academic ethos, there is a danger
that intellectual may outpace emotional development. Happiness can
then become subtly equated with academic and career success. Of course
we have to foster our talents, but coming from Gonzaga we may tend to
interpret success rather narrowly. I suspect that the more we understand
ourselves emotionally, the more likely we are to value the Christian
notion of success as the service of others.
So what of the boys' experience of God? I was very surprised at the
strength of the faith of most of them. Many seemed quite happy to talk
about faith matters. However, a considerable number gave an impression
that the chair they were sitting in had suddenly become uncomfortable
when I started mentioning God! Like others in their age group, they were
beginning to ask serious questions. Many spoke of having had a strong
belief as children but found this evaporating in the last year or so. I tried
to assure them that this was natural at their age. It struck me that faith
must necessarily take something of a shaking when everything else in the
boys' lives seems to be changing so much. Some of my interlocutors
appeared to want advice on how to become complete atheists! For those
who were interested I offered a prayer group. This may have helped a
small number develop a new and more appropriate style of praying to
their age group.
This prayer group led me to some reflections which develop those
already mentioned. I spoke of the value of a notion of success which
centres on the service of others. It is possible to educate Gonzaga
students who really want to do this, who choose Gospel values as their
own. But how does this relate to their daily lives? Daily life in Gonzaga
involve s a strong encouragement to academic excellence - naturally
enough in a school of its kind. This generally is assumed to lead towards
a career in business or the professions. How does this sit on a young
person seeking to be fully Christian?
Many of the Third year boys expressed hopes that their faith would
affect the quality of their relationships as they pursue their careers. But
could such emphasis on career itself make Christianity difficult? The
points-race in the Leaving Certificate seems to instil a competitiveness
that serves as a model for later economic life. Are our education system
and job market (and our own ambitions) leading us to be more
materialistic than Christian? In his address to young people at Galway
in 1979 the Pope said: 'The message which the Church speaks in its life
and in its preaching has to be one which will reveal a vision which is
richer and more satisfying than the temptations which challenge the very
soul of Ireland~
104
