Advice for a Young Catholic Man on Choosing a College
You may go to a school that gives good Christian formation, but if you live in what was formerly known as the West, you are immersed outside of your school in a toxic waste dump of a “culture.”
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WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - Robert Kenefick offers sage advice to a young Catholic woman who is graduating from High School and wants to make an informed choice concerning College:
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Dear John Paul:
Some good friends asked me to give you some advice about how you can be both a well-formed and informed young man as you grow out of adolescence into manhood This is a big challenge indeed, because even though, John Paul, you may go to a school that gives good Christian formation, if you live in what was formerly known as the West, you are immersed outside of your school (though hopefully not in your family) in a toxic waste dump of a “culture.” Since I am addressing you one to one, let me give you some advice.
First, talk to your history, English literature, and religion teachers at school (assuming they are serious Catholics) and ask them for a sizeable list of books accessible to you and in their specialty that can help you over time to become a well-formed Catholic secure in his faith and capable of both defending and spreading the Faith and Western culture to your friends in college and eventually to your own family. Obviously, know (and live!) your Faith the best you can, but you also should gradually grow in your knowledge of quality literature, art, music, and cinema. These will refine your taste and help you to sort out the garbage from the exquisite from a Christian point of view.
Second, ask some adults you trust and admire to recommend reliable magazines, journals and websites that can provide you with a sound and intelligent viewpoint on contemporary issues from a faithful Catholic perspective.
Third, watch as little television as humanly possible, avoid video games, and simply don’t ever “surf” the net. Along with your intellectual interests, there is a world outside of exploring nature, the joys of physical exercise, and sport, all in the context of your many strong male friendships. Always have a book or two at your side, preferably classics of Western (our culture) literature or world history, beginning with the United States and then turning to what was once Christian Europe.
****
Dear John Paul:
Some good friends asked me to give you some advice about how you can be both a well-formed and informed young man as you grow out of adolescence into manhood This is a big challenge indeed, because even though, John Paul, you may go to a school that gives good Christian formation, if you live in what was formerly known as the West, you are immersed outside of your school (though hopefully not in your family) in a toxic waste dump of a “culture.” Since I am addressing you one to one, let me give you some advice.
First, talk to your history, English literature, and religion teachers at school (assuming they are serious Catholics) and ask them for a sizeable list of books accessible to you and in their specialty that can help you over time to become a well-formed Catholic secure in his faith and capable of both defending and spreading the Faith and Western culture to your friends in college and eventually to your own family. Obviously, know (and live!) your Faith the best you can, but you also should gradually grow in your knowledge of quality literature, art, music, and cinema. These will refine your taste and help you to sort out the garbage from the exquisite from a Christian point of view.
Second, ask some adults you trust and admire to recommend reliable magazines, journals and websites that can provide you with a sound and intelligent viewpoint on contemporary issues from a faithful Catholic perspective.
Third, watch as little television as humanly possible, avoid video games, and simply don’t ever “surf” the net. Along with your intellectual interests, there is a world outside of exploring nature, the joys of physical exercise, and sport, all in the context of your many strong male friendships. Always have a book or two at your side, preferably classics of Western (our culture) literature or world history, beginning with the United States and then turning to what was once Christian Europe.
- - -
Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.
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Good article. Being exposed to other cultures is all well and good, but in America at least, these tend to not take the best of other cultures and tend to be hopelessly biased. Generally speaking, good article.
I completely agree with this article. I was a history major at a state college. The only thing I heard for 1 1/2 years is how bad whites and/or western civilization is. There was no such thing as Christian values taught. Anything except European culture and influences was good. I changed my major to business and now make pretty good money. I support the Catholic church 100% as a result and will never send my kids to public school. The guy who wrote this article is "right on the money".
Americans are strange it has to be said. Who on earth would counsel their children to restrict their choices and opportunities in life by obeying the rules set out in this letter?
I am also heartily amused at the "all in the context of your many strong male friendships." Does the esteemed writer think that the idea that a young man might have anything intellectually in common with a woman is of course unthinkable?
Becoming a well rounded individual is essential to being a good Christian. That means mixing with the world and understanding people, not simply mixing with the chosen, those who are already Catholics. We should reach our hands out to those in need everywhere, no matter their religion.
I go to university in England, and though of course we are a much smaller country, the idea that someone would deliberately restrict their education and endanger their future prospects by not attending the best university possible regardless of religion is unthinkable
John-Paul & Robert,
I have to disagree with most of this article, but with some of these posts as well.
First off, regarding reading, there are Catholics outside of the West who have had profound insight into the Christian life. Remember we are a Church of 1 billion +; many of whom do not reside in the Western world.
Secondly, I enjoy the fact that you are first told not to live in a co-ed dorm and THEN told to pray and attend mass regularly. Prayer and the sacraments should come first. And if you want to find non co-ed dorms and a good Catholic education, that basically means you can go to Christendom, Franciscan, U Dallas, Magdalen, Benedictine and Thomas Aquinas. Some of these schools do not accept financial aid (Christendom) and others are somewhat lacking academically (Franciscan).
I went to the University of Illinois where they have the only Newman Center in the country that also has a dorm. And it was co-ed, God forbid. There is a thriving, ORTHODOX faith community there. The University of Kansas and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln also have thriving Catholic culture, all fully in line with the Church. Furthermore, as Catholics, if we are to succeed in sanctifying the world, we have to actually come into contact with it. Public schools with a solid Catholic presence are an excellent way to do this. You might look into the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (an orthodox Catholic missionary organization) that is on around 30 college campuses throughout the country, many of them non-Catholic. They offer great Bible study and fellowship programs.
As a parent of a college freshman who is attending an "Ugh" public university,I do agree with many of Mr. Kinefick's recommendations to John Paul.
We were all given the free will to make choices. Society is bombarding us on all sides via visual and text imagery. Oftentimes trickery is involved.
Saturday Night Live's "Church Lady" (portrayed by Dana Carvey)would have a field day with Youtube, MySpace, Facebook and REality TV. Toss in written garbage and we can all anticipate Church Lady pondering ..."could it be Satan???"
While I do not suggest that people crawl under a rock; deep down most lukewarm Catholics and Christians have the basic ability to chose right from wrong. Justifing their choices and gray areas are the slippery slope that leads will often times people astray.
Regarding co-ed housing, Mr K is correct. As a parent whose daughter was railroaded into co-ed housing (housing was announced less than one week before classes began...99.9% impossible to change housing this late into the game) I can share that her initial experience was a shocker.
Where Mr. K and I might differ is that many Catholic Universities have diluted their founding identities in an attempt to garner interest from Bible Belt athletes and scholars whose high GPA and SAT scores will propell their "US News and World Report" rankings Best Colleges issues to the upper eschalons.
JP, use the your head and choose wisely. Find people like yourself and to others, lead by example. Know that everybody makes mistakes. Most important that you learn from your mistakes, correct your errors and move forward as we are all a work in progress.
Best
Sign Me,
Middle Age Catholic Mom Of Many
I believe the tone used in this post also is extremely wrong as it is essentially telling people to bar themselves away from others who are different. I think the whole philosophy that some people have with religion when compared to the real world of essentially sitting in their little cell with their ears plugged chanting "lalalala, I can't hear you, I can't hear you" is extremely wrong and doesn't come to any solutions. What you should do if anything is challenge your faith in God and see if it causes you to change your faith or not. If it causes you to change your faith, then you never really believed in it originally and are just continuing what your parents taught you or were pressured by group activities or are just afraid of God. If you are able to keep your faith after a bombardment of anti-Catholic sentiment then you most likely truly believe in the Catholic faith. I was raised as a Catholic and strongly believed this until my senior year of high school where I was searching for something to believe in. I moved to Buddhism because in my mind all religion is is just a way to help an individual justify his or her decisions in life and also give them hope for continuing on a good and moral path in the future.
I find Mr. Kinefick's article to be intolerant of some of our nation's best schools. The tone Mr. Kinefick uses towards public and non-Catholic institutions is wholly unacceptable. Before recommending that a student look towards a Catholic-only education, it is important for the author to realize that Christ is alive and well at non-Catholic institutions.
For example, the Pennsylvania State University, one of our nation's largest universities has over 10,000 catholic enrolled in the Catholic Campus Ministry. There are currently two priests and one deacon serving the Ministry. In addition, there are two parishes nearby. Penn State has a Catholic Ministry serves more students than the university has room for, and Penn State has the largest spiritual center at a public university in the nation.
Our Catholic teaching emphasizes the importance of realizing that God is everywhere and his loving support is just as prominent at a Catholic university as public university.
I am proud that I have enrolled in a public school, and believe it or not I have made valuable Christian (both Catholic and Protestant) friends here. I don't engage in the stereotypical behavior. You are not a bad Catholic if you don't go to Catholic university.
For anyone considering a college, visit many universities and make your decision based on where you feel comfortable. If you are comfortable, then your Catholic faith will be lived freely and openly, and I promise you will find love, peace, and prosperity there.
Peace and Faith.