(Originally published in the Spring 2002 edition of GONZAGA, the alumni publication.)

In previous issues of GONZAGA, I addressed three of the four pillars of Jesuit Higher Education: Our five mission areas (faith, service, justice, ethics, and leadership); the humanities; and the intellectual life. These set the context for the fourth and final pillar, namely, a campus environment leading to the ever-increasing recognition of the intrinsic dignity of self and others. Before discussing the way in which Gonzaga actualizes this goal, it may do well to discuss how the Jesuit educational tradition has viewed "the intrinsic dignity of self and others."
Three ideas can help to elucidate this profound perspective. First, the distinction between "esteemability" and lovability. Esteem seeks out meritorious things about the self. It is the stuff of which resumes are made. In contrast, love seeks out the unique personality, dignity, lovability, and mystery which is captured in a moment of empathy through eyes which are the windows to the soul. To reduce oneself to the merely esteemable is to "thingafy" oneself, that is, to lose the intangible part of the soul which grounds empathy, unity, relatedness, and even friendship.
The second idea grounding the ethos of Jesuit campuses is the distinction between agape and the other three kinds of love. Jesus' interpretation of agape (selfless love) is the highest commandment for Christians and must be distinguished from storge (affection), philia (friendship) and romantic love. These three other loves all have a benefit accruing to the self. Affection is always toward an object of delight (e.g., a niece or a nephew when they are well behaved). Philia has the mutuality of friendship (where one can be complemented and cared for to the extent that one complements and cares for another). Romantic love obviously has the benefit of romantic feelings and adventure. Agape does not require such benefits to self. It seeks the good of the other simply out of a recognition of the intrinsic dignity, goodness, lovability, and mystery of that other. Therefore, agape alone is capable of the three major virtues of Jesus: forgiveness, compassion, and care for those who cannot repay. The other three kinds of love cannot sustain, for example, forgiveness, for one does not feel very much affection, friendship, or romantic feeling for a person who has committed an offense requiring forgiveness.
Jesuit education has two objectives in this regard: To show the happiness, spirit, and efficacy of agape on the campus, in the classroom, and in the residence halls; and to make available every opportunity to engage in agape through faith, service, and justice programs both on and off campus.
The third idea grounding the ethos of Jesuit campuses is the integration of the three loves of which Jesus spoke: love of God, love of neighbor, and love of self. Love of neighbor is evidently related to love of self. If I hate myself, I will have difficulty loving anybody else. And if I hate my neighbor, it will eventually rebound to a contempt for myself. These two loves, in turn, are brought to fruition through the love of God. Trust in the unconditionally loving God (whom Jesus likens to the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son) enables us to detach ourselves from merely transitory things (such as wealth and status) and to live for the love of God and neighbor. Thus, faith allows God's unconditionally loving will to be actualized both in ourselves, our communities, and even in our world. This brings in its wake freedom to love (detachment from merely transitory things), a peace beyond all understanding, and efficacy for the common good.
Gonzaga tries to make the three preceding ideas come alive in our students' minds and hearts. We try to impart an understanding of them in our classrooms; to give a lived experience of them in our residence halls; to deepen them through a culture of lasting friendships; to broaden them through experiences of service and justice; to integrate them with faith in the unconditionally loving God through retreats, liturgies, and prayer; and to fill them with the spirit that is uniquely Gonzaga.
These programmatic opportunities are not the sole source of these guideposts of agape. They flow through the eyes, voices, and limbs of students who have been loved deeply by their families, and of generations of alumni who have been touched by the kindness and wisdom of Jesuits, faculty, administrators, and staff. Agape begets agape. And agape in campus life makes the other three pillars of Jesuit education come alive within the hearts of our students.