To the Band of Brothers: January 21, 2022

Happy feast day! Today is the feast of Our Lady of Belen, patroness of our school. It is obviously the reason we are having schoolwide Mass and, as if you didn’t know, the reason our hallways will soon be filled with the sweet, savory smell of churrasco. There is nothing in the world that screams “feast day” as loudly as Mass and churrasco. It’s a powerful one-two punch combination that makes you want to cheer: “Bombo chie, chie, chie; bombo chie, chie, cha! Mary, Mary, Mary… ra, ra, ra!” Sorry, that was the Cuban in me.

I have no problem confessing right here and now that while I love Mass and the opportunity to offer this powerful prayer together as a family, I also love churrasco. The smell kills me. If I normally leave the administration building 50 times a day to walk around the school, on churrasco days I’m strolling 500 times. From the moment the aroma hits my nostrils, I am elevated to heights of culinary euphoria. My stomach gurgles, my heart races and skips a couple of beats, my mouth salivates, and from my lips is issued a, “thank you Blessed Mother.” 

It’s funny. They say smell is the most powerful of the five senses. More than taste, hearing, sight, or touch, smell conjures up memories and stirs emotions. I believe it. In the 35 years of my formal education, my favorite teacher of all time was my second-grade teacher, Mrs. Harris. Because of her allergies, she used a very unique perfume. I never really noticed it while I was a student. Then, 43 years later, I was introduced to someone and noticed the smell of her perfume. It was the same exact one and it quickly launched me back to the second grade. Memories of Mrs. Harris flooded my mind and I spent weeks speaking about her and even reached out to see how she was doing.

The power of smell.

Believe it or not, there’s a powerful connection between our Catholic faith and smell. I know you probably think I’m kidding, but as God is my witness, it’s true. It’s one of the many beautiful things about celebrating our faith. Every aspect of our lives, whether it is the mind, the heart, or the body, can and should be used and directed to the praise and worship of God. That means our five senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell) can be triggered to invoke prayer and experience the awesomeness of God. And, the Church does an amazing and intentional job at harnessing the power of the senses.

When we see (sight) a religious painting or liturgical vestments with their colors, when the priest places his hand (touch) on you for a blessing or your confirmation sponsor places his hand on your shoulder, when you eat (taste) the body of Christ or have fish on Fridays during Lent, when you hear (hearing) music played or listen to the readings at Mass, your senses are moved to praise and worship.

Smell is no different. As a matter of fact, it may do it best. When we use incense at Mass, the smell creates a perfume that helps raise our prayers to God. When we anoint babies at baptism, the sick in the hospital or on their deathbed, or priests when they are ordained, the oils are perfumed so the smell can help enhance the spiritual experience of the sacrament. This is the exact reason why St. Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians claims, “For we are the aroma of Christ for God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing” (2:15). Being “the aroma of Christ” means that when others smell us, the image conjured up is that of Christ.

It’s amazing what St. Paul already knew way before most scientists studied it or “The New England Journal of Medicine” published articles on it. Our Lady of Belen probably understood it just as well. Greater than all, Mary smelled, tasted, touched, saw, and heard God because she was the mother of His only Son… her only Son. It is why the image of Our Lady of Belen has her offering us Jesus so we too can draw close and experience God with our own senses. 

So, as you walk the corridors today and catch a whiff of flame-broiled churrasco, let the wonderful aroma trigger in your brain a prayer of praise and thanksgiving.

Auspice Maria!