Children & Chocolate and Other Paths to God

And then off to college. A Jesuit college, though these days there really aren’t that many Jesuits on campus. I actually had a rabbi teach my first theology class. And a Franciscan monk for a writing class. The Jesuit I came to know best I never even had as a professor - he was the mentor for the rowing club, of which I was president. He was the first priest to ever sit and have a beer with me, and I thought that was the coolest thing at 18.

There was a small chapel in the basement of the dorm I lived in freshman year. They really tried to make it easy for students to go to mass. Perhaps not really appropriate, but us girls would wander down there for Sunday evening service with the ever-popular bunny slippers and sweats. (I wouldn’t dream of entering a house of God in my slippers now, but I think He was happy to get us however He could!) On other nights, we would meet friends in the chapel to study. It was quiet, and we didn’t have to make a trek to the library on cold winter nights. One of my suite mates, in addition to being a dual German/Math major (ridiculously smart girl) also was an accomplished pianist. So she would practice piano while we studied. Not a bad background when you’re stuck conjugating French verbs for a few hours.

Mass in the main chapel was always an experience. The Jesuits love their traditions, and their music. I had a roommate who played the bells, something I had never seen before. Magical sound, those bells. I’d like to say I went to mass every Sunday, but that’s just not true. I often had regattas on Saturday, and was either too tired, or too swamped with homework on Sunday to contemplate it. That was my excuse, and I had lots of them.

So, you’d think in an environment that I was learning about religion, surrounded by religion, and occasionally practicing religion, that I would get a clue about it. Not really. I was in the right ballpark, and watching the game, but still had a lot to learn about the rules, and was foolishly waiting for a personal invitation to play.