To my great surprise, there was nothing I could do to get either of these usually very talkative people to speak. After Mass, they told me, apologetically, the reason for their great difficulty in sharing their personal impressions. Over the years, as they had attempted to express their reflections within their community, they had been consistently met with ridicule. One of them had recently published a book that had been well received, even in Europe, but not at home. Members of his own community criticized and belittled his work.
Jealousy infects and undermines families, friendships, and communities.
Rutgers is no exception. How often, instead of affirming and supporting each other, gifted and hard-working students are gossiped about, or shunned, by jealous housemates or classmates. The success of our friends should be a cause of joy for us. But it can have the opposite effect. If our own self-esteem is low, if we have given in to timidity or laziness, the achievements of others can leave us feeling sad and guilty about our own lackluster performance.