Coffee-Flavored Devotion

In the early parts of the semester, Boston College Campus Ministry takes center stage in a week revolving around communal prayer known as Espresso Your Faith week. During my two years as a Boston College student, I have managed to participate in an event each day, both out of excitement for certain festivities and celebration of being able to attend a college where the Catholic Faith is so vibrant compared to the state school I initially attended.  Some might see the week as a flash-in-the-pan gimmick to appease Catholic parents, but I view the week as a showcase of the power that visible devotion has on a school, especially a Catholic school. 

Upon walking into St. Mary’s Chapel Monday night, I see the ornate marble altars draped in citrus-tinted candles, painting a beautiful image as a visual thesis for the week. St. Mary’s is a jaw-dropping work of Catholic architecture, yet its beauty burned ever brighter when I was surrounded by the sounds of people professing their belief and worship of God compounded with the sight of pews packed with students who are united in love and devotion of Jesus Christ through the Blessed Sacrament. Similar to the chapel’s relationship with the candles bordering the interior, God’s call to man, His radiant beauty, and His everlasting love are not dependent on us, but expressing our faith allows for those aforementioned aspects of God to become more visible in the hearts of the witnesses of such affection.

Two days later, BC continues combining the senses with the Sacraments in Moonlight Mercy. This outdoor confession event preceded a Candlelight Mass in front of the St. Ignatius statue. Exposing BC students to the abundance of priests on campus in their traditional dress created a loving invitation to witness Jesus’ healing power through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, to which students generously responded in waves. In Moonlight Mercy, the casual Catholic no longer saw the ominous screen that has, through ill catechesis, made this Sacrament of love feel shameful. Instead, under the backdrop of a starry night provided by the same loving God who wants us to retreat back to Him, students felt the warmth of God’s mercy. In these moments, we did not need theological discourse to understand concepts like omnibenevolence or Reconciliation because we could clearly see the truth illuminated through the beauty of visual surrendering to God’s everlasting love. 

Even in the context of a Catholic school, our faith can feel isolating. Many come into the week sheepish, unsure if these events reflect the movement within their hearts or if the week is just another soulless corridor meant to reinforce the world’s message of religion’s triviality. Seeing people (some in veils and others in flannel pajamas) reciting the surrendering and intimate words of praise and worship hymns makes the universality of the Catholic Church so apparent. While the ritual actions in the Church are the same, there is no archetype for the devout Catholic because we are all called into His love. The only thing we have in common is our response to the call, which is a resounding ‘yes.’ The facts that we are all capable of deep devotion to The Lord and the reassurance of our own personal calls to Christ and the Sacraments are so clear during Espresso Your Faith week. Seeing the outpouring of love in the Taize prayer, the community in the Candlelight Mass, and the visual surrendering and acceptance of God through witnessing others receive the Sacraments inspire those who are lukewarm and astound those who were already devout.

Most importantly, Espresso Your Faith week allows for constant exposure to witness, which is the backbone of evangelization. While the Theology Core classes can offer more intellectual context for Catholicism, all of this falls on deaf ears when it is void of authentic witness. Jesus gave witness to the Apostles, who gave witness to their disciples, and the cycle continues 2000 years later. Think back to that Candlelight Mass imagery in St. Mary’s. If the chapel only had one small plastic candle, all of that beauty would still be too dark to be appreciated. Experiencing a chapel filled with witnesses will brighten the chapel far more than modern electronics ever could. We have that power through Christ.