Learning is Eternal

Br. Kevin Kriso, ofm, reflects on a recent evening hosting local high school seniors at the Mountain.

In mid-January, Mt. Irenaeus hosted an overnight for the senior class of Archbishop Walsh Academy in Olean. It may come as a surprise to many that the Mountain has a ministry beyond St. Bonaventure University or even that the Mountain is a separate entity from the university. While it is true that a large portion of our interactions are connected to Bona's, we also have a vibrant ministry in collaboration with churches in the area and beyond. Indeed, from our earliest days, we hoped the Mountain would be a spiritual resource for local churches.

The Archbishop Walsh students are a wonderful, thoughtful group of people striving like the rest of us to find their places in the world. Our time with them reminded me not to fall into a way of thinking that older people can sometimes have about younger people. If we are not careful, we older people can think that younger people are not as "finished" as we are; that younger people somehow need to grow more or learn more before we can take them seriously. 

However, the reality is everyone, including ourselves, are who we are supposed to be at this moment. So many people live for the then instead of enjoying the now. We believe a false notion that there is a far off, magical "someday" when we will be all finished, will have no more growing pains and will have arrived. 

But something more exciting is true. There is always more to learn. Even the oldest of us can still be students. Indeed the people whom I know who are perpetually young are the ones who keep learning and stay open to excitement.

Hopefully the Archbishop Walsh students will always remain students, even as they finish school, find jobs, raise children and pay bills. Life is exciting and forever new.