Catholicism and School

I have been going to Catholic school my entire life, so honestly I feel that I learned a lot before coming to Loras. However, at Loras I have been exposed to people of different religions and backgrounds. In High School most of my fellow students were the same religion as me, but in college that number is less. I have learned that not everyone views religion the same way that I do, and that other religions have interesting beliefs. But just because those beliefs are interesting does not make them wrong. I have learned to respect and value other people's beliefs even if they are different than my own.

I think that Catholic college education puts a focus on learning and serving. Education is one thing, but helping other people in the community is just as important. Unless we are able to apply our knowledge to the rest of the world, learning is pointless. Learning something means nothing if we do not take it out into daily life. However, I can’t compare Catholic education to a non-Catholic education because a Catholic education is all I have ever known. I never went to public school so I can’t compare the two. I am thankful that I went to Catholic school because it helped me stay connected to my faith. Growing up my faith started to become less and less important to me and I may have lost it all together had I not been surrounded by people whose faith ran deep. 

Service Reflection

I am currently performing service for Operation New View. The most challenging aspect that I have faced while performing this service deals with communication. Most of the work that I am doing takes place away from the actual company, so I am not in direct contact with the other workers on a day to day basis. I have to communicate with them through e-mail and as we all know sometimes technology fails us. Sometimes I will spend a long time working on a marketing brochure for the company, only to have them e-mail me and say that they want it done differently than they originally specified. This is frustrating, but I just remember that I am doing some good work for them and that they are very appreciative. So far everything is going well and I look forward to continuing my service with Operation New View.

I have gained a deeper understanding of the organization by doing service for them. The work that they do is difficult and time consuming. Yet the employees who work there get paid just enough to be working at minimum wage. The amount of effort that they put in does not equal the amount of monetary gains that they get out. Personally, I would not be able to work as hard as they do for the small amount of funds that they receive. But that is what makes these people unique. They are not concerned with themselves; they are concerned with the greater good and helping the less fortunate. In their minds money is not important, and all they want to do is help others who do not have the tools to help themselves.

Voluntary Poverty

To me voluntary poverty is about giving up the things in life that you do not need and seeking things that will make you whole. By giving up material goods and things that society deems important, we can spend more time developing the self. People who practice voluntary poverty believe that by giving up the unnecessary, there will be more time to help the less fortunate. This goes along with what I have learned at Loras College. I have learned that we need to put ourselves in other people's shoes, and learn to look at things through someone else's eyes.

I think that voluntary poverty is understated in today's age of material goods and technology. Nowadays, I feel that there are more things to give up than there was a few decades ago. I do not think that all are called to this life. Not everyone is called to be a lawyer or a surgeon or a police officer. Everyone has their calling and voluntary poverty is for some and not all. If everyone lived in voluntary poverty, then other aspects of life would lose out on important people. If the world's greatest surgeon decided to go live a life of voluntary poverty that would greatly impact the field of medicine. Some are called to it, others are not.

Anyone can be called and it is not limited to just Christians. People can choose to live a simple life, and Christians are not the only people who give up material possessions. People of all religions and races have chosen to give up the life of excess and will continue to do so throughout time.

Exemplary Character

I do not really have a story at my service site where someone showed exemplary character. I have only visited my actual site for a few hours, and most of the service I am doing I have to take care of on my own. I do however think that everyone who works at Operation New View has an exemplary character at times. In order to do this difficult work for such low pay I think that you have to be a good person and really believe that what you are doing is virtuous. Most of these workers could have gotten higher paying jobs, but they chose to do work that helps the less fortunate. Everyone that I met was very nice and willing to do what it takes to help others. They all had a positive attitude even though their jobs require them to work long hours for a lower wage.

I think that Courage is a virtue that people working in the non-profit industry must have. To me, it takes a lot of courage to do work and not get paid an adequate amount. Life is expensive, especially if you have a family. It takes a lot of courage to give up the finer things in life in order to provide a great service for others. I think that if you are going to be courageous you need to believe that what you are doing is truly for the greater good of society. If your heart is not completely into the work that you are doing then you will not be able to accept the minimum pay.