University days are a rich and important time. This is true not only in relation to the specific areas of one's study as the ground of one's future career, but also to a whole range of issues that are part of the ongoing conversation that constitutes University life.
We are challenged to take charge of our own thought, rather than mouth words and perform actions that are no more than the views of a tradition, the voice of a parent or a friend, or a fashion. This is exciting. It also brings intellectual strength and freedom. Accordingly, university days are a time when one reassesses one's spiritual and foundational values in a way that will shape our adult life.
The University experience gives a perspective that stays with us no matter what the future may hold. This is not to suggest that the University Graduate is a better person than others. Rather it is an acknowledgement that because of the university experience the person now approaches life and its various issues from a different angle. It is a question of perspective and that makes the world of difference.
Accordingly, university days are a gift to be explored and relished. The gift is to be taken with both hands, maximising the opportunity that the nation has made available for the benefit of ourselves, our own immediate circle of family and friends, and eventually for the nation at large. So while it is a heady time of freedom, usually without many responsibilities that might otherwise be ours, it is not a time devoid of all responsibility. For, the fundamental responsibility to ourselves remains, to make the most of this privileged opportunity.
It is a time when the interconnectedness of things is examined, when one's foundational values are weighed and claimed as one's own. It is a profoundly spiritual time in the broadest sense of that word. It is a time when our spirituality is shaped in a way that stays with us for the rest of our days. Details may be changed but the overall drift of that spirituality remains.
In all of this, religion can offer an enriching dimension. Millions of people, past and present, have found in the vision and the substance of (Roman) Catholicism something that has transformed and immeasurably enriched their spirituality and their lives. It is hoped that in the pages that follow you may find something that may be of help in your journey of discovery and of growth.
