In All Things
to Love and
To Serve

“En todo amar y servir.” The faded adage is still partially legible in big cartoon letters on the back of what is now an old gym shirt.

My wife insists that I retire this and many other worn themed shirts from high school, perhaps turning them into a graveyard in the form of a T-shirt quilt. I hold on to the shirts for the time being, though, as I love to look back on each school year’s theme—taken from the writings of St. Ignatius—and be drawn to reflect on the words. Making a clumsy translation after four years of Spanish classes (and eight years without practice), I ponder the phrase for a moment: “In all things to love and to serve.” It might seem borderline foolish to paste this phrase to the back of one thousand adolescent boys. In all things? Does that mean no more new boat shoes? But, what on the surface could be misconstrued as a short-term objective, actually expresses a lifelong goal. And for those familiar with Jesuit education, this goal is slightly less unimaginable.

While popular models of education focus on depth of study, emphasizing “all things” requires breadth. This necessity is well-described in the “graduate-at-graduation,” an ideal in Jesuit secondary schools that sets the standard for what the student should become by engaging in their educational experience: open to growth, intellectually competent, religious, loving, and committed to justice. The ideal was hardly pandering to parents with lofty goals for their children; each of these principles was deeply rooted in my high school experience.

The seeds of love and commitment to justice were planted when I regularly spent time after school helping children in underserved schools in Milwaukee. Religious and open to growth began in the silence of every afternoon Examen and the rich encounters with the sacraments. Sown amongst all of these was the intellectual competence required to please outstanding teachers. Looking back at these experiences brings me great gratitude, but what truly inspires me is how each principle has bloomed into a thread of further development in my life. Small ways of service learning in high school led to involvement in a homeless outreach program and home visits with the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Learning what faith in Christ meant as a teenager guided me to a deep relationship with God and my parish. Intellectual fundamentals laid the foundation for my lifelong learning in the medical field.

When that old shirt goes into the hamper at the end of the night, likely one shade more worn than hours before, gratitude fills my tired body. Gratitude for the fantastic, holistic education I received. Gratitude for the amazing memories and friends made along the way. And I am most grateful that, in continuing to embrace the principles of the “Grad-at-Grad” (eight years hence), I can hope for continued growth towards “en todo amar y servir.”