Coffee is Brewing

“Coffee is Brewing”
Lent 2009 – Day 20 (Mar 19)

By Deshi Ramadhani, SJ

Are you a coffee lover? There are two things that I find very unique in waiting for coffee. First, when the boiled water goes through the filter filled with coffee ground and begins to drip into the clear glass container, it creates a very unique noise. When I hear that noise my expectation grows. I can be sure that soon I will enjoy the coffee. Second, when the coffee is brewing, it sends a very unique odor. When I smell it, I know for sure that someone in the house is preparing coffee, and who knows, I can have some of it too! Now, what is more powerful, the noise or the odor? For me, it is the odor. I can be far from the kitchen, even on the second floor, that I can’t hear the noise from the coffee machine, but the odor can break through the wall and hit the senses in my nose. The odor can be very strong that I spontaneously sniff with tremendous joy.

In the Catholic tradition we have a Latin terminology “odor sanctitatis,” which literally means “odor of sanctity,” or “scent of holiness.” This refers to a certain odor that the body of a holy person emanates, either during his or her earthly life, or accompanying his or her dead body. Have you ever known a person whose life is so devoted to God, that whenever you meet her, or him, there is a tingling in your body that tells you that there is something beautiful with that person? I’m obviously not that kind of person (well, at least not yet). It’s striking that the language has never coined a terminology like “noise of sanctity.” Why? Simply it is because “odor” is a lot more powerful than “noise.” Try to drive people away with your voice, and try to drive them away with a very bad and disgusting smell. You don’t even need a single word in the second case!

Seen in this perspective, holiness walks hand in hand with silence and quietness, not with noise. There is no holy person who has no intense experience with the deep silence. Saint Joseph is one example. He never said a word in the Bible, but through the ages people can still sniff his “odor sanctitatis” with tremendous joy. If you want to gain a spiritual strength, aim for the odor, not the noise, of your personhood. They will know, that indeed within you, “coffee is brewing!”