As I look back on the development of my faith over the last four years, one thing that clearly marks out the difference is a profound sense of community. While I started to take the faith seriously sometime in my junior year of high school, I mainly considered it my own personal matter. To some extent, this was due to the fact that I came to love the faith primarily through books. There certainly was a group of faithful Catholics at my high school, but for one reason or another, I never really became very involved. During this time, I prayed regularly and even sang in my parish choir, but I could feel something missing. I didn’t share life deeply with a Christian Community.
As I was preparing to come to BC, this idea of Christian community was one thing I kept thinking about. I really wanted people I could share this huge part of my life with. Once I came to BC though, I was nearly overwhelmed with what was once lacking. Right off the bat, I bumped into people in the chapel while I was praying and made friends on my way to Candlelight Mass. Quickly, I joined up with several groups: St. Thomas More (STM), Sons of St. Patrick, The Torch, and the other Catholic clubs. My friends and I still laugh about the first time we all met. It was after the first STM meeting of the year, and we spent two hours arguing about the liturgy with each other. After that we all went to Candlelight Mass together. I was on cloud nine; finally, I had other people to nerd out with about obscure Catholic trivia, but I also finally had friends who would go to Mass with me.
As the year went on, I remember some of the greatest times were spent arguing in The Torch office or laughing around a table in Mac. Besides just having some of the most fun I had ever had, I think my friends also drew me deeper into the life of Christ. This became especially clear after I experienced my first Week of Fire (a weeklong, on campus retreat done by the Sons of St. Patrick). I heard the older Sons speak on the importance of the pillars of our group: faith, fraternity, and fortitude. It impressed me, and comforted me, to know that there were these men who lived the life of faith powerfully in their years at BC. It was hard to imagine back then that I would one day be a senior giving one of the talks. When the most recent Week of Fire rolled around last week, I chose to speak on fraternity because I really think this has been one of the greatest graces I have received at BC. Being able to share life and prayer with my friends has helped me weather storms and grow in Christ these past four years.
After some thinking, I think I’ve identified the real difference between these relationships and the others I’ve had. These friendships are grounded in prayer. There’s something very special about knowing that the people you live with, hang out with, and get annoyed at are all trying in their own way to strive to live as Christ did.
As I graduate and move on from BC (although I’ll only be moving down the road to BU), this prayerful community will be one of the things I miss most. My advice to anyone reading this is to find people with whom you can share the faith and hold onto them. They are a special grace.
Featured image is courtesy of Patrick Sweeney via Flickr
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