78. Church of the Immaculate Conception

(mass times & church info last updated 03/23/2016)
Address: 414 E. 14th St.
Phone: 212.254.0200
Weekend Mass Times: 
Sat: 4pm, 5:30pm (both English)
Sun: 8:30am (English), 10am (English, Folk music, Sign Language Interpreted), 11:15am (English, choir), 12:30pm (English), 2pm (Spanish), 5:30pm (English, Young Adult)
Weekday Mass Times: 
Mon-Fri: 7:15am, 9am, 12:10pm, 5:30pm (all English)
Sat: 8:30am, 12:10pm (both English)
Confession: Sat: 11:30am-12pm, 4:30pm-5:30pm
Rosary:
Mon-Fri: 5:10pm and following the 9am & 12:10pm Masses
Evening Prayer: Mondays 6pm
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Novena: Wednesdays 6pm
Church Constructed: 1896
Links:
Official Website
What is the "Immaculate Conception?"

HALLOWEEN
SATURDAY DAILY MASS

Looking for an apartment in this fucking city is just about one of the craziest, most stressful, sometimes ludicrous, often ridiculous, and unmistakably pain-in-the-ass experiences of one's lifetime and I've found myself in the last 2 weeks doing it for the third time in as many years. It's so hard to tell if the brokers out there are good or bad people, because more often than not, at my financial range, they are hawking shoddy merchandise at unbelievable prices - even in today's "renter's market."

I am an indecisive person by nature, so something like this is drawn out all the more terribly than it already is, and, in my first solo search for a one bedroom dwelling, I find myself torn between two places - the big place up in Inwood, by the parks, with all the trees, kind of old, may or may not have pest problems vs. the smaller, renovated, next to more places (restaurants and stores) apartment in a great part of Washington Heights. Why am I such an uptown guy? Because I am priced out of most of the rest of the island and work north of the city? Probably yes, that's it. Bingo.

And so reaching the brink of my indecision, I call my girlfriend and then my parents, looking for the light. Just talking things through helps so much. Asked for advice, asked for prayers, and received a little peace of mind, mostly knowing I have such good support from both.

Still, I'm weighing the odds, and praying I choose the right place.

Here's what The Spiritual Traveler says about Immaculate Conception Church,

"Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church was built by Grace Church as an Episcopalian chapel and social service center in what was then a poor immigrant neighborhood. Today we see only half of what this complex once was, but it still resembles a medieval urban church, looking after tbe spiritual, educational, and physical needs of its parish. The style of the building is late-Gothic or early-Renaissance French, featuring a bold tower on 14th Street, a church, and a small chapel...The Roman Catholic Church bought this property in 1943. The belief in the Immaculate Conception - that Mary was born without sin - was proclaimed Roman Catholic dogma in 1854."

The Saturday 12:10pm Mass was nice here today, and well attended. This is a peaceful church and there is an outdoor grotto area I spent some time in afterward. Though my mind was preoccupied with my apartment search, this was a calming place to be and prayer came easy.

Unfortunately, this is another New York church covered in scaffolding for the time being, so I was unable to get any shots of the exterior. But within the walls and outside in the grotto were all beautiful enough for an overcast Saturday.


Later on I went to a friend's birthday gathering in a dark basement bar in the financial district, followed by heading to Greenpoint for a Halloween party. I should have just gone home after the financial district. I still can't seem to control myself and continue "finding myself in situations," not knowing how I ended up there. So I wandered around Greenpoint and somehow miraculously made it back home later in the night. Still so reckless and directionless...


An aside, if you're ever in this area visiting this church, two great bars on this street come to mind...

O'Hanlons...


...and the Crocodile Lounge (free pizzas.)

53. St. Jude

(mass times & church info last updated 04/29/2016)
(however, call to make sure about Mass & Confession times as I may have gotten them wrong)
Address: 431 W. 204th St. (near the 1 train)
Phone: 212.569.3000
Weekend Mass Times: 
Sat: 7:30pm (Spanish) (may be inaccurate - please call to confirm)
Sun: 9am (Spanish), 11am (English), 12:30pm (Spanish)
Weekday Mass Times: 
Mon, Wed, Thu: 9am (Spanish)
Tue, Thu, Fri: 7:30pm (Spanish)
Sat: 7:30am (Spanish) (may be inaccurate - please call to confirm)
Confession: 4:30pm-5:30pm (may be inaccurate - please call to confirm)

Links:
Epistle of St. Jude
St. Jude (Wikipedia)
St. Jude (Catholic Online)
St. Jude Novena Site
Patron Saint of Lost Causes

"Morning has broken like the first morning;
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird.
Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning!
Praise for them springing fresh from the Word!

Sweet the rain's new fall sunlit from heaven,
Like the first dewfall on the first grass.
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden,
Sprung in completeness where His feet pass.

Mine is the sunlight! Mine is the morning,
Born of the one light Eden saw play!
Praise with elation; praise ev'ry morning,
God's recreation of the new day!"

This song, known to me compliments of Cat Stevens, of course, was the first hymn sung at the 11:30am English Mass at St. Jude today and as soon as the tune began I was immediately struck by two simultaneous thoughts: one, the sudden urge to go and listen to Cat Stevens music, the other a memory of the funeral of my friend's father - he was Irish - and it was the first time I had heard it in a church setting and where I discovered the song was Gaelic in origin, and known as "Bunessan." It's a beautiful, sweet tune, and listening and singing to it in the comfort of St. Jude's Church was an experience all it's own.

There was something wholly unique about this little Church way up in Inwood - it's another "basement church" existing below a school. The stained glass windows are modern yet have a kind of ancient and very cool look to them - long narrow sparkles on a Sunday with the sun shining through; taking them all in one discovers a pattern - some abtract rendering of the Holy Spirit, or some mystical force.

The shrine of St. Jude, located in the school, was the first place I entered when attempting to find the church on 204th street. At the time, there was a steady stream of older Hispanic women walking in and out, kneeling and praying in front of the statue, kissing the forehead or touching the lips of the statue of St. Jude. I myself knelt and said a quick prayer before continuing finding the church.

The second reading today also struck me - I don't remember hearing this before, although doubtless I have:

1 Cor 7:32-35
"Brothers and sisters:
I should like you to be free of anxieties.
An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord,
how he may please the Lord.
But a married man is anxious about the things of the world,
how he may please his wife, and he is divided.
An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord,
so that she may be holy in both body and spirit.
A married woman, on the other hand,
is anxious about the things of the world,
how she may please her husband.
I am telling you this for your own benefit,
not to impose a restraint upon you,
but for the sake of propriety
and adherence to the Lord without distraction."

Wow. Over the past year, walking and wandering around the city alone and looking for churches by myself I have felt connected to the Lord, especially during the time preceding and after my confirmation. I was focusing on my prayer life, on what I could do for God - basically my spiritual self.

For the past couple months I can see how I have distracted myself with work and my social life. I know there can be a happy medium, right? Or am I one man attempting to live in two worlds? I keep thinking - with all the crazy things in the news right now - "Pay unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto God what is God's." We have to live in this world, right? A world where we are forced to think with our wallets, participate in social Darwinism, be citizens of a government (that makes some very good decisions and others that will never correlate with my own moral beliefs.) Can't I, in my own decisions and choices act as a devout Catholic, in my own life, in what I do, how I act and in what I believe? And then separately live in this world that I am forced to, by voting for the best politician presented to me, working my ass off to make money, save money, support myself and pay taxes, go enjoy secular things like film and art and theatre even if they contain things that are not in line with my faith? Where do the two worlds cross and where do they collide?

Some of these thoughts arise out of President Obama's recent overturn of the Mexico City policy. I'm still a staunch supporter of our new president and though I disagree with any of his pro-choice policies that have occurred now, in the past or to come in the future, I feel he has so much more to offer than his predecessor or any of the alternatives.

It upsets me when I come across the more conservative Catholic blogs out there that are so outright anti-Obama, that compare abortion to the Holocaust and our president to Hitler. Obama is not pro-death-to-babies, he is simply a democratic president who sadly has a pro-choice agenda, yet has higher regards for social justice and the needs of the poor and less fortunate than the rich. Anyone who claims to "...miss President George W. Bush." needs to have their heads examined - especially when remembering his staff and cabinet - a gang of law-breaking hypocrites who pandered to conservatives and Catholics to get elected, stay elected, and break the law in the national spotlight well aware there was nothing anyone could do about it.

But then again I may be wrong, and this is an instance where I have let my secular self conflict with all of the possibility of a higher spiritual self.

Speaking of secular vs. spiritual clashing - having moved now to a new apartment and taken months to go through all the boxes (and all my worldly junk!) I was ready to hang a wooden cross (that was given to me as a special gift) inside above our front door. Well aware of other people's sensitivities, I asked my roommates if this would be alright and they both agreed. Later, one of them came to me restating his opinion, asking me not to do it as it did not reflect his beliefs. It's a simple cross hanging above a door in our darkened hallway - nobody sees it, he never would have to look at it, it bothers no one! I became angry but held all my thoughts within. Honestly, it's one of the only decorations in the whole place that I actually care about, and the option of hanging it has been taken away from me. I am saddened by his, my friend's, refusal of, not only the object, but it's meaning.*

Anyway, after Mass at St. Jude, a friend and I attended Will Ferrell's new broadway show, You're Welcome America. It would have been a lot funnier, I think, if the reality of where the comedic material came from wasn't so tragic. Bush's eight years in office are highlighted by some of the saddest, strangest, dumbest and most illegal events in our nation's history - it's ridiculous.

Lastly, I recently revisited a church in my new neighborhood, Our Lady of Lourdes, for weekday Mass. It's surprising (but not really) how calm it made me and how good it felt to be there. There is truly something special here in the cave, as it is at St. Jude - something dark, cozy, spiritual and safe. Something I can't put my finger on but that which is part of that I am searching for.

*I ended up hanging it outside my bedroom door.

51. Our Lady Queen of Martyrs

(mass times & church info last updated 03/31/2016)
Address: 91 Arden St.
Phone: 212.567.2637
Weekend Mass Times: 
Sat: 6:30pm (Spanish)
Sun: 8:30am (English), 10am (Spanish), 11:30am (Spanish), 1pm (English)
Weekday Mass Times: 
Mon-Fri: 7:30pm (Spanish)
Confession: Sat: 4pm-5pm
Links:
Our Lady Queen of Martyrs School
The Cult of the Virgin Mary in NYC

EPIPHANY OF THE LORD

With audacity and change in the air this upcoming year, I brave the city again (traffic, weather, the bezigness of life) to visit the rest of the NYC Roman Catholic churches. Will I complete this quest before year's end? I want to see them all and continue this experience. Some call me "church-hopper" or indecisive. Really, I am thirsty and, as of now, unfulfilled - and I journey onward praying to find that which I am looking for or to have my eyes opened to discover I have already found it.

Having finished my own move, I have now helped my girlfriend move into her own new place in the wonderful neighborhood of "Little Haifa" up in the 180's, meeting most of her family in the process. I have to say I like them quite a lot. My roommate and I were talking last night how there is typically a direct inverse correlation between how much you like a girl and how well you get along with her parents. This specific situation appears to be the exception to the rule as I like her quite a bit and got along splendidly with her mom and dad. The entire family is very sweet and if I allow my mind to wander too far into the future I catch glimpses of asking her to be part of my family and can see myself fitting easily within her own.

She and I visited Queen of Martyrs this weekend as we were interested in finding some of the churches around her neighborhood (which of the churches I've already visited include St. Elizabeth, and Church of the Incarnation.)

It's another smaller basement church found below a school. I've been to several but I think it's one of her firsts and she remarked to me how even though it wasn't as "exceptional" in architectural design or decor as some others out there in the city, it is beautiful in other ways - the readings and sermon were real and tangible, and there is a certain spirit and sense of community one feels when being here.

During the Mass, a man came and sat behind us, a man with a deep gravelly voice, a loud voice, unafraid of singing and at first this voice distracted me, taking me away from my "experience" until I realized this voice was part of that experience. I began thinking what if this is the voice of God, always there but seldom listened to? What if, for the first time, I was finally hearing it? I believe the priest then told the story, a story I have since heard again from the unlikeliest of sources, of the monks at a monastery who receive a visitor who tells them the Messiah is among them - and the monks soon act differently towards each other and themselves, a heightening respect and admiration for all. It all made me think of how when I exit this church I need to, in the realest sense, walk out with the voice of God with me and the respect for all whom I encounter.

The Mass ended and my girlfriend and I eventually walked out into the brightness of the cold January day hand in hand - this thought with me then as it is now.

46. Church of the Good Shepherd

(mass times & church info last updated 03/10/2016)
Address: 608 Isham St. (Broadway & 208 St.)
Phone: 212.567.1300
Weekend Mass Times: 
Sat: 5pm (English)
Sun: 8:30am (English), 10am (Spanish / Choir), 12pm (English / Choir), 6pm (Spanish), 8pm (English)
Weekday Mass Times: 
Mon-Thu: 7:30am, 12pm (both English)
Tue: 7:30pm (Spanish)
Fri: 7:30am (English), 12pm (Spanish)
Sat: 12pm (English)
Confession: Saturdays: 4pm
Holy Days & Vigils: 7:30am (English), 12pm (English), 7:30pm (Spanish)
Church Constructed: 1912
Links:
Official Website
About the Organ

This is the northernmost Catholic Church of Manhattan. And a very pretty parish.

I went to the 8pm Mass tonight and I have to admit the churches that have these later Sunday Masses are so convenient - except this one being so far away kind of negates this. If you by chance live in the Heights or up here in Inwood you should definitely drop by. The entire church is constructed from a beautiful white stone - and being inside makes one feel like they are in a giant hall - or some grand carved cavern.

This weekend I found my church excursion to bring me to a neighborhood I had never visited only passed by (one of the reasons I began this strange pilgrimage in the first place) - Inwood. The neighborhood is kinda wacky. I got off the subway and was confused by the swerving Broadway takes to the west. The scenary was a mixture of peoples, traffic, bodegas, businesses and nice little restaurants. Confused at first and finding myself a little lost I was a little hesitant to be walking around this part of Inwood at night on my way there. However, on the way back I realized there was nothing to fear - it's a nice area. Of course the unknown is the only thing to fear and hopefully by the end of these journeys I'll have covered every neighborhood in Manhattan and then perhaps move on to another borough.

I have somehow stumbled onto the most mature relationship I have ever been in. And it perplexes me on a daily basis - perhaps because this kind of thing is new to me.

I'm not sure if there's been a change that has happened within me; maybe there has always been an internal spiritual, physical and emotional connection that our hearts, minds and bodies knew about immediately before we were able to comprehend what was going on; or maybe all the timing of life has just gotten right - I'm not sure. All I know is that this thing I'm in - it still could turn out to be very special and right - I just need the patience and understanding to see it through.

Of course, I don't doubt that it could go all wrong as well. I just need to wait and see. And to pray. And to receive prayers.

By the way, I thank you for them.