Men's House
A Day in the Life of... a student in the Catholic Men’s House
by Nick Michels
I’ve heard it said from those on campus that if you spot a man walking around in khakis and a collared shirt then that man is one of two things: a seminarian or a member of the Catholic Men’s house.
Admittedly, we do have a certain dress code that we follow at times. But this and all of the other seemingly unusual practices that we do are done for a reason: we are a house of formation. We are men who are looking to live our lives even more in accordance with the gospel message.
You might ask what this looks like concretely. Well, our house is built upon four pillars: Prayer, Charity, Study and Fraternity.
Prayer is the framework of our day. We wake-up each morning early enough to get to the chapel for Morning Prayer at 6:30. Morning Prayer is then followed by Mass. The men are then expected to incorporate prayer into the rest of their day as they see fit. This includes praying the office and such devotionals as the rosary, or an hour at adoration. Prayer is the characteristic of the house that makes us stand out from any other house in which men are living together.
Charity is another very important pillar in the house since charity is the summation of the gospel message. The men are expected to do more than just their weekly chores or keeping their rooms clean. We are expected to be ready to do anything that puts ourselves at the service of others. In doing so we not only unite ourselves more closely to Christ, but we are also preparing for fatherhood. A father, after all, is one who is ready to give of himself, wholly and completely, to his children. No man should be a father who isn’t ready to die to his own will.
Study is that aspect which fills most of our day. We recognize that our vocation in life, right now, is to be a student. As such, the men are expected to live this vocation well. This is because how well we do now also has an impact on our future vocation. If you’re trying to find one of us at some point on a usual weekday, you might be able to find us in the library.
Fraternity is the feature of our way of life which the men are always ready and willing to embrace. It is what unites us and keeps our bond strong. This unity is crucial to our formation and for evangelization. Christ did pray, after all, “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21). On a typical evening, one can often find us gathered around a good game of cards. On atypical evenings, such as the weekends, we do something a little more special. We recently spent a Saturday evening playing a game of boot hockey. We all walked away with a fair number of bruises, but we were all in agreement that that was the best three hours we spent together during the semester.
These four pillars all work together in order to sustain our house of formation. Our formation is contingent upon their unity. The men recognize that if even one is removed, then that which we are trying to accomplish will ultimately fail. For those interested in what the fruit of our lifestyle looks like, I invite them to visit one of our houses on Summit Avenue and get to know the men there. Our own character speaks on behalf of our way of life.
