But the music also benefits the students’ “spiritual formation,” Raber explained.
When asked about how Cappella has affected his faith, one student, junior Marshall Milless, a communications major from Minnesota, said that singing in Capella has “completely transformed” his faith.
“It elevates my prayer in a way beyond my understanding,” he explained. “I’ve read and heard the Scriptures and prayers in our music, but when singing them, it provides a completely transformative experience, where the Scriptures and prayers become so much more tangible and real.”
‘I am the one who needed the Eucharistic Revival’
Cappella’s Eucharistic project is part of a larger Newman Task Force for Eucharistic Education, a group that is promoting Eucharistic Revival projects in schools and universities across the country.
The National Eucharistic Revival is a three-year initiative by the U.S. bishops that aims to inspire, educate, and unite the faithful in a more intimate relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist. The revival culminates this year in four national pilgrimages followed by the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis this summer.
Curstin Larson, a UMary junior studying sacred music, said that at first, she thought the Eucharistic Revival was “exactly what the Church needs.”
“When I first heard about the Eucharistic Revival, I was very excited,” she said. “All of the people who don’t believe in the True Presence, all of the ‘nones,’ all of the lukewarm Catholics — this is the answer to their conversion!”
“Looking back, I am embarrassed by those thoughts,” she continued. “Through Cappella’s work with the Eucharistic Revival … I’ve come to see that I had it all wrong. I am the one who needed the Eucharistic Revival. I am the one who needed to love the Eucharist more, to receive him more attentively, to adore him more fervently.”
Larson said she believes Cappella has “an irreplaceable role” in the Eucharistic Revival.
(Story continues below)
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“Being in Cappella is so much more than singing pretty music; it’s a ministry,” Milless noted.
“There’s a lot of hard work and sacrifice that goes into being a choir like this, but all the hard work pays off whenever I catch a glimpse of somebody moved by the beauty of our music,” Milless said. “My heart becomes filled with joy, and sometimes I can’t hold the tears back!”
Milless recalled “countless times” where people have approached him to say that Cappella’s music helped them pray.
“They’ve told me how the music consoled them in a time when they were feeling lost and unsure,” he said. “This music has helped give me a great sense of hope in my personal prayer life when I’ve felt lost and uncertain about my faith.”
Dominic Plummer, a junior from Georgia studying business administration/banking and finance at University of Mary, noted that he has “a unique opportunity” to glorify God during Mass because of Cappella.
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