“A week like this is really a microcosm of what we hope for people throughout the entire time at BC.” – Fr. Casey Beaumier
From September 20 to 24, the Boston College community engaged in its 9th annual Espresso Your Faith Week, restored to its pre-pandemic scope and style. This jam-packed week of faith-based events was co-sponsored by BC’s The Church in the 21st Century (C21) Center and Campus Ministry, who jointly described the event as a “week-long celebration of faith that highlights the gift of God working in our lives.”
Karen Keifer, Director of the C21 Center, shared with The Torch how students can live the mission of Espresso Your Faith Week.
“Students can find God working in their gifts, their passions, and in their relationships, everywhere and anywhere. Espresso Your Faith Week calls our community to be attentive to that by highlighting opportunities that can help students grow and celebrate their faith on this campus,” Kiefer said. “From programs, events, spiritual practices, Mass, faith sharing through storytelling, prayer reflections and intentions, music, intellectual discoveries, and more, we hope students will realize it’s all here and it’s for them.”
The week began with the call of bagpipes sounding down Linden Lane, followed by the launch of the popular Prayer Ribbon Project at Bapst Lawn, with the prayers of the BC community for the year ahead inscribed on maroon and gold ribbons.
Students were given the opportunity to learn to pray the Rosary together multiple times during the week, and other prayer opportunities included Pause & Pray on Monday, a prayer walk around campus Tuesday morning, and a Taize prayer service Wednesday evening. Candlelight Mass was held as usual Monday through Thursday at 10 PM, along with a dedicated Teaching Mass on Wednesday, described in the week’s brochure as offering “insights into the structure and the meaning” of the Catholic liturgy.
In light of the week’s signature pun, coffee was present in larger quantities than usual around campus. Bapst Lawn, Stokes Lawn, and O’Neill Library Plaza were each graced with a “Coffee Splash,” offering passersby a faith-filled boost to their morning activities.
Another event that catered to the appetite included the first Agape Latte of the year on Tuesday evening. The event was replete with a capella music from the BC Dynamics, coffee and desserts from BC Dining, and a talk by Fr. Tom Stegman, S.J., Dean of BC’s School of Theology and Ministry. Fr. Stegman shared his journey from the University of Nebraska to the Jesuits to the MRI machine, with God guiding his heart every step of the way.
The week also featured several lunches with such special guests as Fr. Ken Himes on “Poverty: Responding Like Jesus”, former Agape Latte speakers, and BC basketball coach Earl Grant on how his faith influences his coaching method.
As loved ones were welcomed to campus on Friday for Family Weekend, Fr. Quang Tran, S.J. invoked a blessing for BC families in front of the new Holy Family Wood Carving on Commonwealth Ave. Families added their prayers to the ribbons on Bapst Lawn and made their way to Gasson Rotunda for a blessing of St. Ignatius medals by Vice President and University Secretary Fr. Casey Beaumier, S.J. to close out the week.
Fr. Beaumier spoke with The Torch after the event, reflecting on the past five days.
In response to the pandemic’s limitations over the past two years, “for C21 to restart with such a variety of events, the Espresso Your Faith week I think shows a commitment … of the University’s mission,” Beaumier said. “When people have opportunities, I think they feel welcome and encouraged, and when we represent our faith, people find that energizing.”
Both Fr. Beaumier and Kiefer also offered some responses about the students’ participation in the week’s activities.
“In the half hour before Candlelight Mass, our confessions were really high this week … we had many more people at Mass, some for the very first time at BC for Candlelight,” said Fr. Beaumier.
Kiefer added, “I have been so excited by the openness that students have to growing their faith, meeting new people, and asking important questions that can draw them closer to God. During the week, we spread over 500 rosary beads, 400 St. Ignatius medals, 300 Agape Latte shirts, hundreds of prayer cards, and thousands of prayer ribbons. Through invitation, conversation, friendship, and community-building, we could see and feel the Holy Spirit at work!”
Fr. Casey furthered, “A week like this is meant to instill confidence in people so that through the expression of faith people feel that following a week like this that they can do that in their everyday lives.”
“A week is meant to inspire a lifetime, so hopefully next week we still have people that value the gift of contemplative prayer, or they want to be eucharistic, or they want to be in communion with each other, or they take time to be in sacred silence,” Fr. Beaumier said. “A week like this is really a microcosm of what we hope for people throughout the entire time at BC.”
Staff Photo by Olivia Colombo
Thomas is a student in BC’s Carroll School of Management, who fittingly serves as the current Business Manager of The Torch in addition to his position as Campus News Editor. Thomas can be found around campus singing at Masses with the Liturgy Arts Group, tabling for the BC Pro-Life Club, deep in conversation while enjoying BC Dining cuisine, or gazing in awe at Gasson Hall and its Collegiate Gothic style architectural neighbors.
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