True Love Allows No Boundaries

Jesuit education mirrors the beautiful message of the poem, “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” that true love does not allow for boundaries. As Father Arrupe stated in 1973, “Today our prime educational objective must be to form men for others; men who will live not for themselves but for God and his Christ…men who cannot even conceive of love of God which does not include love for the least of their neighbors.” In other words, similar to the poem, Jesuit education’s message is that true love for God and neighbors does not allow for boundaries.
It is important to define “true love” and “boundaries” in terms of Jesuit education. Deep, true love occurs when one engages in selfless acts for others and provides unconditional love to those who have done little or nothing for them in return. Some “true love” is observed directly on this campus. Through the Center for Community Service and Justice, students and faculty can provide “true love” on any given day by tutoring, participating in soup kitchens or volunteering at hospitals; to name a few. It is because of these acts of “true love” that boundaries are not allowed. Boundaries are anything that interferes with the connections “true lovers” make to others, physically, mentally or emotionally.
The reason why true love does not allow boundaries is because connections are made for eternity through the acts of true love. Like the form and content of the poem, there is a theme that appears throughout the entire literature: connections. The content, the backbone, the significance of the poem is seen in the way it is formed- connected and continuous. Each line connects and adds to the previous line, similar to the way Jesuit education builds from day to day, class to class, and person to person. When true love is present, amazing connections are formed and boundaries can not be built. When people volunteer for Care-a-Van, starving and homeless people connect to them (even if for just a few minutes), and that connection is eternal. Nothing can come between those connections; not even a barrier.
“A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” embodies the essence of Jesuit Education, especially at Loyola. The connections created can continue anywhere and at any time throughout each true lover’s life. That is what makes Jesuit Education so special- connections are continuous and nothing can stop them from occurring.