By Kiara Catanzaro
Staff Writer
Some St. Bonaventure students have decided to embark on a quest for knowledge outside of the classroom.
University Ministry’s Kingdom Quest group meets weekly to discuss passages that will be read during Sunday Catholic Mass. Students bond with other students on campus as they read Biblical texts and discuss how they can connect the readings to their personal life.
“Kingdom Quest is a scripture-based reflection and faith sharing group that I started a year ago,” said Father John Coughlin, O.F.M. “The group meets on Mondays from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Thomas Merton Center. We use a resource called Quest: A Reflection Booklet for Small Christian Communities that is published quarterly by the Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford.”
Students have the opportunity to create a deeper relationship with God in addition to strengthening their relationship with other students on campus. Kingdom Quest serves as a support system for people in both faith and prayer, according to Father John.
“The purpose of the group is to deepen one’s relationship with God, be nourished by biblical scripture, be a support to one another in faith and prayer and prepare for the coming Sunday’s liturgical celebration,” Father John said.
After the readings, the students elaborate on the texts as a group to find out what the readings make them think about, or the lessons that they learn from reading and analyzing the passages.
“After each reading, we have a discussion about what they mean to us, what it makes us think about, what God is trying to tell us or what lessons we can take from them,” said Brianna Walsh, a freshman biology major.
By reading passages as a group, students can discuss how the readings relate to their own life, whether it is one student relating to the reading, or the entire group as a whole.
“We (the students) read the passages as a group and discuss what they mean to us; anything in the readings that jump out to us or relate to us or our lives in any way,” said Jason Damon a freshman history major.
Reading the passages and discussing them as a group promotes further development of a relationship with God according to Walsh. In addition, she said the group benefits students overall by helping them become better people.
“The club provides a way for students like myself to not only build a closer relationship to God, but to become a better person and Christian altogether,” Walsh said.
Students gain a positive and beneficial experience from attending the meetings. It is also a reminder of the aspects in life which students should be accomplishing in order to live a life of fulfillment that essentially benefits other people in society.
“Kingdom Quest is a nice way to remind oneself of all the things we, as a Christian community and as children of God, should be doing and how to live a fulfilling life that helps other people,” Walsh said.
