In my two years and a few weeks so far at Boston College, I have constantly seen how easy it is to live and nourish a life of faith so long as I seek to do so. Attending a Catholic institution, I have access to daily Mass, Adoration, organizations such as The Torch, the Sons of St. Patrick, and the St. Thomas More Society all within walking distance. I also live in close proximity to friends who also seek to deepen their relationship with Jesus, making it easy for us to hold each other accountable in our faith lives.
However, I have also noticed how much of a blessing the Catholic community here is by way of contrast when I return home to Columbus, Ohio––especially this past summer when I fell into a period of spiritual complacency and dormancy.
Columbus has no shortage of ways to get involved in the Catholic community. This summer I joined the Gregorian chant schola at St. Leo Oratory downtown, which was a beautiful use of my time in enhancing the worship of God. It was also a good place to meet other faithful Catholics, many of whom were fairly close to me in age.
In my first few weeks home, I was happily making the 25-minute drive from northwest Columbus to downtown for daily Mass. After a few weeks, however, my attendance had dwindled to just Wednesday night rehearsals and Sunday Masses, as I had been making excuses to myself, either based on laziness, fatigue, or not wanting to drive, asking myself, “is it really necessary that I attend this Mass?” that I would be fine not making the extra effort to attend daily Mass.
Only attending Mass on Sundays is by no means inherently wrong, but for me this summer it was a symptom of sloth and complacency. I was certainly keeping holy the Sabbath, as the Lord commands, but I was putting my own pleasures, be it rest, media, or sports, before God from Monday to Saturday. Sloth had kept me from Confession, the Eucharist, and any strong relationship with God. I was using my observance of the minimum obligation as an excuse to make God secondary in my life.
Reflecting on my summer, I can certainly vouch that the real test of one’s faith comes not when living the faith is easy, but when it becomes difficult. Being back on campus, I am now again immersed in the sacraments, Catholic organizations, and friends that are around at a moment’s notice and can truly appreciate how much of a gift this community is.
But at the same time, I now know how I need to be constantly aware of my passions, especially once I return home for breaks or when I eventually graduate and start life outside of this campus bubble, as I have seen firsthand how dangerous the threat of complacency becomes in life outside college. The classes I take here and the talks I attend will indeed be great lessons in improving my faith life, but the lesson I experienced this summer may be one of the most important of my life so far, as I will not be in school forever.
May this serve as encouragement to make the most of what this campus can provide you in terms of spiritual nourishment and not take it for granted, but also as a lesson and warning to all of us that it may all be in vain if this gift cannot be maintained after campus life.
Adam is a senior from Columbus, Ohio. He previously served as Campus News and Culture Editor, and boasts the title of least cultured to ever serve as the latter. Holding a minor in Biology, he recently converted from STEM and now majors in Philosophy and Classical Studies. He currently leads Una Voce, the Latin Mass society at BC, and sings with the University Chorale of Boston College and the Chorale Chamber Singers. He enjoys Gregorian Chant, relearning the clarinet, and is an unabashed Ohio apologist.
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