'Agape Latte' brews blend of religious experiences

"What would Jesus Brew?" This is the fundamental question that is asked at the Church of the 21st Century's (C21) monthly "Agape Latte" series. The program's second installment took place Tuesday night at Hillside Café and catered to a group of about 150 students.

Donned in their complimentary T-shirts, students enjoyed cheesecake and mocha lattes while listening to a talk by philosophy professor Kerry Cronin. Her lecture, entitled "Mass appeal: Why do we go, and what do we do?" focused on the substance of Mass and its essentiality in one's life. The topic of the night was a response to the common notion that "Mass is boring" - an opinion that C21 leaders said often lies within Catholic institutions and especially affects college students.

"College is about making your own decisions," said Tim Muldoon, director of C21. "Don't be satisfied with the idea that Mass is boring. You have to explore your Catholic beliefs and wonder about why your parents brought you to Mass. Take your experience and find a deeper meaning and purpose in it."

Cronin shared her own experiences during the lecture about her life and encounters with Mass. She, too, confessed to undermining the appeal of hymns and liturgies early on in her life.

As a child, she followed her parents to Mass not really knowing its purpose. Then as a college student, she went to Boston College where she attended the services at Trinity Chapel and St. Ignatius Church, but went more for the sake of "scoping out guys" than to listen to the priest's sermons. When she left BC, Cronin was left wondering what she really wanted out of going to a Mass, ?a popular uncertainty among many of the Catholic students at BC and all Catholics in general. With her later experiences, Cronin found that going to Mass played a major role in her spiritual and personal growth in relation to others and to God.

"Mass is not an ideology. It is not a club where you can check off whenever you go. It includes a particular and unique movement where God intensely reveals himself while revealing and illuminating something about me. For that I am eternally grateful to the liturgical practices of my faith," said Cronin.

Relating poignant and often comical moments in her life in the lecture, she challenged students to take another look at the functions of Mass not as strictly an obligatory service but as being a time of reflection and self-renewal. She invited students to participate in Mass and explore its functions in one's faith.

"It helps us to step outside of the ordinary order of the world and into an extraordinary order. It allows [us] to recalibrate [our lives]," said Cronin.

The event proved successful in its plan to provide a relaxing atmosphere in which students would feel comfortable sharing their own religious experiences, thoughts on religion, and issues within the Catholic Church. The café-like atmosphere, made possible by oversized couches and Starbucks coffee cups, aided students in sharing their thoughts during the question-and-answer session of the program.

"The focal [point] of C21 is to hand out the faith: to reach out to the undergraduates and to engage in questions on religious issues in a place where they already gather where they can talk about faith," said Dawn Overstreet, assistant director of C21.

At the event, students were able to talk and learn more about their faith and the issues that go along with being a Catholic in today's society. They participated in the discussion of exploring religion and the questions that it entrails.

"The lecture made me think a lot about my own faith. [Cronin] offered a new perspective on her thoughts on Mass that I can apply to my life as a Catholic. It's rare to be able to just sit down and talk about issues of my faith, and I'm glad that [Agape Latte] gives us the opportunity to do that," said Lindsay Hughes, LSOE '09.

The coordinators of C21 are hopeful of this type of response in their efforts to bring religious conversation to campus.

"The younger generation hungers for a sense of meaning and purpose. We hope that C21 can connect those desires through expressions of spirituality," said Overstreet.

The next installment of the series will continue next month with speaker Rev. Jack Butler, S.J.