In his recent Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium, Pope Francis observes that “The individualism of our postmodern and globalized era favours a lifestyle which weakens the development and stability of personal relationships and distorts family bonds.”
What the Pope is speaking of is that our world is both more connected and less connected than ever before. I’ve heard some of our fellow peers brag about how many connections they have on social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, and who spend hours and hours watching YouTube videos, writing Tweets, reading websites, writing blog posts, and participating in conversations in comment sections on articles. These things aren’t necessarily bad things, but if we spend all of our time doing them, we end up neglecting our relationships with our real life friends and family, and making new real-life friendships with the amazing people God brings into our lives each day. The societal individualism we see all around us leads to increased depression, pessimism, isolation, loneliness, and a world thirsting more than ever for Christ’s love.
Next to the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas is a small monument, and emblazoned on that monument is a quote, which reads as follows “Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, Each of us is loved, Each of us is necessary.” This means that every human person has dignity because they were created by and are loved by God. Although the monument is dedicated to the sacredness of human life from conception until natural death, the message also applies to how we treat others. Pope Benedict XVI makes this point well in his Encyclical Letter Deus caritas est when he states “Seeing with the eyes of Christ, I can give to others much more than their outward necessities; I can give them the look of love which they crave”. Let’s work together to see each other with the eyes of Christ and work to make this University a place where Christ is as manifest in our hearts and our daily interactions with others as He is in His Sacred Body and Blood that we receive at Mass.
Michael P. Blissenbach