93. Church of the Most Precious Blood (Now the Shrine Church of the Most Precious Blood, part of the Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral)

NOTE: In 2015 this church merged with Old St. Patrick's Cathedral as part of the Archdiocese of New York's great closings & mergers of 2015. Both churches will remain open for regular Masses and other events. There is no new combined name for this parish as both churches will continue to be known by their separate names. However, this church is now known as the Shrine Church of the Most Precious Blood, a part of The Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral.

(mass times & church info last updated 03/23/2016)
Address: 109 Mulberry St. (front entrance at 113 Baxter)
Phone: 212.226.6427
Weekend Mass Times: 
Sat: 5:30pm (English)
Sun: 2pm (Vietnamese)
Weekday Mass Times: 
Mon-Fri: 7pm (English, during Lent & Easter only)
Rosary of Mercy: 
Mon-Fri: 12pm

Constructed: 1888 (renovated 1995)

Links:
Official Website
About the Organ
San Gennaro Festival in Little Italy (2009)
Church Postage Stamps
Congegration of the Most Precious Blood
San Gennaro (St. Janarius)
The Relic of San Gennaro
Feast of San Gennaro (NYC Street Festival)

DAILY MASS

Okay, okay, one more daily mass before I go.

"During the Feast of San Gennaro, which is held yearly in September, a celebratory Mass is held at [Church of the Most Precious Blood] on the last Saturday of September. Following this, the statue of San Gennaro is taken from its home within the church on a procession through the streets of Little Italy."

(wikipedia)

It was another morning enchantment where I felt I was altogether somewhere else in some other life in some other land. The main church entrance, above, is located at 113 Baxter (though I don't believe it's open during the weekdays, maybe Sundays.) The other entrance is on Mulberry, the cusp of Chinatown and Little Italy - stuck between two almost fantasy worlds. When you arrive there, it looks like no other church in the city.

But you see the sign arching over the driveway entrance, so you know you're there, know everything is going to be okay.

Almost immediately you realize it's run by the Fanciscans.

And then signs begin pointing the way to the church.

Signs...

And statues...

It's a nice walk into the church.

It puts one at ease...

Gives one peace...


Relaxes and calms...

Hold on...

Almost there...

Wait for it...

Then...

You are there and it's a somewhat small, intimate place, good for morning prayer and reflection. It puts you in the best mood. You see another reminder of the Franciscans and remember what Jesus spoke to St. Francis, "Francis, repair My church..."

It's a Wednesday and there is a devotion after Mass to San Gennarro.

You never realized what a big deal San Gennarro is, but there is much devotion to him in this parish, for on this earth he accomplished a great deal. And you wonder to yourself how much you will ever accomplish in life. You make a note to remind yourself to come back to this parish in September for the San Gennarro festival and street procession. After Mass, you walk to the back of the church and pay a visit to the National Shrine...

You pray, you meditate, you hope.

The first reading sticks with you, and part of your prayer becomes asking the Lord to guide you to do the right thing with your life,

"The Lord God has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear; And I have not rebelled, have not turned back. I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; My face I did not shield from buffets and spitting.

The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame. He is near who upholds my right; if anyone wishes to oppose me, let us appear together. Who disputes my right? Let him confront me. See, the Lord God is my help; who will prove me wrong?"

(Isaiah 50:4-9a)

This church and this Mass on this Wednesday of Holy Week has made you feel good, made you feel right, energized you. You chuckle to yourself quietly as you wander around this blessed place, someone has slipped Pio some money.

- - -
After Mass today, before jumping on the subway I stopped in the AT&T building on the Avenue of the Americas. If you've never been by there before, it's surely not to miss. Beautiful art deco decor in the lobby - another world altogether from what I had experienced but minutes before.



(09/18/2010)
additional photos...84th Annual San Gennaro Festival 2010...

 

(8/5/2013)
I just came across this video from one of my favorite sites...

64. St. Michael

(mass times & church info last updated 04/24/2016)
Address: 424 W. 34th St. (@10th Ave.)
Phone: 212.563.2575
Weekend Mass Times: 
Sat: 5pm (English)
Sun: 10am (English, choir), 11:15am (Spanish), 12:15pm (English)
Weekday Mass Times: 
Mon-Fri: 7:25am (in the Chapel of Divine Mercy), 12:10pm (main Church) (both English)
Holy Days of Obligation: 7:25am, 12:10pm, 5:10pm (all English)
Confession: Sat: 4:30pm-5pm, and after any Mass
Adoration & Novenas: contact the church for more info
Links:
Official Website
About the Organ
About St. Michael the Archangel

Walking home at 6am this morning, exhausted mentally and physically, not to mention emotionally, misdirected, misguided, trudging along, feeling all the old feelings of last night's revelry: ill, tired and shamed. Is this all I'm capable of? Is that the reason I keep coming back to it?

Later, I visited St. Michael's on 34th street. Another beautiful church but, perhaps it was my mood, something about the services seemed muted and dispassionate. The music was technically good yet lacked a certain animation. The African priest delivered a great talk, but something didn't seem to click. Maybe it was row after row of empty pews - only about 20 of us in attendance. Something was missing.

The church is aesthetically gorgeous. There are great statues of angels and saints (including John the Baptist and Pio.) especially one of St. Michael stepping upon Satan in triumph (though not as grand as that spectacular one out front of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.) My favorite part of the morning was kneeling in front of St. Michael's statue and finding a prayer to him and reciting it - a prayer I will forever cling to (see below.)

Now tonight, as the evening grows long and those Sunday night blues begin, the emptiness I felt this morning at Mass has found me here.

I'm losing it. I don't know what I'm going to do. Falling further and further from what I know and what I want and want to be. Away from others. My friends are like strangers. Everything I thought I had and assumed to be mine, is gone.

St. Michael, Archangel,
Defend us in battle.
Be our defense
against the wickedness
and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray.
And you, Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
thrust into Hell Satan
and the other evil spirits
who prowl the world
for the ruin of souls.
Amen.

63. St. John the Baptist (New Parish Name TBD)

NOTE: In 2015 this church merged with Church of the Holy Cross as part of the Archdiocese of New York's great closings & mergers of 2015. Both churches will remain open for regular Masses and other events. This new combined parish name is currently TBD.

(mass times & church info last updated 03/22/2016)
Address: 210 W. 31st St. (@ 7th Ave.)
Phone: 212.564.9070
Weekend Mass Times: 
Sat: 4pm
Sun: 9am, 10:30am, 12pm, 5:15pm
Weekday Mass Times: 
Mon-Fri: 6:45am, 7:45am, 12:15pm, 5:15pm
Sat: 12:15pm
Confession:
Sat: 11:30am-12:30pm, 3pm-4pm
Mon-Fri: 7:15am-7:45am, 11:45am-12:15pm
Rosary:
Mon-Fri: 11:55am, 4:55pm
Sat: 12pm
Exposition: M-F: after the 12:15pm Mass
Benediction: M-F: 5:05pm
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Novena Mass: Wed: 6:30pm
All Night Vigil (Our Lady of Fatima):
The Friday before the First Saturday: 9pm-6am
Blessing With the Relic of the True Cross:
Fridays following the 12:15pm and 5:15pm masses
Church Constructed: 1872

Links:
Official Website
The Padre Pio Shrine at the church
Prayer Garden at the church
About the Organ
Yelp reviews
About St. John the Baptist

I am an incredible imbecile; a child requiring constant guidance, prone to distraction, destruction and desperation; in need of God, holding and leading me. Without God I am nothing, capable of so much horror; and with God, I am somehow kept safe from myself.

Single again, I am the inevitable failure: incapable of maintaining relationships because of my own issues or theirs.  I walk these streets alone again, in darkness towards light, turning towards God, praying to be lead me down the right path, toward some kind of ultimate end, towards salvation.

For what have I here without God? Empty streets, broken bottles, Radiohead?

Early on I committed one or two mistakes but for the most part, on the whole, I was decent - better than normal.  I was good and did all things accordingly. Yet, for whatever reasons, this time once again, it's not happening. There are many things I have to offer, but those qualities of mine, which some may find so attractive, do not offer her a house, provide for her or make her feel secure. Loser is too strong (and silly) a word. Inept waste, perhaps?

Such was my mood when I attended St. John the Baptist this morning...

It's a really wonderful church, actually - complete with meditation garden in the middle of midtown Manhattan. I know many Catholics that work in this area often attend daily mass at this church, or try to catch a breather from the world - this is the place to do just that.

Ironically, all the readings today focused on love. Love of the Father for us, we for the Father and one another. The priest giving the homily, Father Salvatore, even quoted Bacharach's little song: "What the world needs now, is love sweet love, not just for some, but for everyone." It was one of the best sermons I've heard in a while - but I believe part this was in part to the fact I was really listening. Loving each other is truly so easy - then why in practice is it so difficult?

I thanked Salvatore for his words and then enjoyed the benefits of the meditation garden. I also prayed to Padre Pio - there is a shrine to Pio here. My brother, back home now in the town I group up in, divorced and unemployed, has recently come back to the church in large part due to his admiration of Pio.


The sky outside, fittingly, is grey today, and my mood, brightened momentarily by my encounter with St. John the Baptist church this morning, dims again. Things for me had seemed okay, and now, once again I'm unsure. She was a good, beautiful, thoughtful, Catholic, and I even got along well with her family.

Also - I loved her.

"Can't get the stink off, he's been hanging round for days, comes like a comet, suckered you but not your friends, one day he'll get to you and teach you how to be a holy cow, you do it to yourself, you do and that's what really hurts, is that you do it to yourself, just you, you and no one else, you do it to yourself...Don't get my sympathy, hanging out the fifteenth floor, you've changed the locks three times, he still comes reeling through the door, one day I'll get to you, and teach you how to get to purest hell..."