68. St. Elizabeth of Hungary (CLOSED, but under review)

NOTE: In 2015 this church closed down and was merged with the church of St. Monica (as well as the church of St. Stephen of Hungary) as part of the Archdiocese of New York's great closings & mergers of 2015. St. Monica's will be the main church open for regular Masses and other events, although St. Stephen's is currently open for an 11:30am Sunday Mass (see here). This combined parish is called the Parish of St. Monica, St. Stephen of Hungary, St. Elizabeth of Hungary. However, the parishioners of St. Elizabeth of Hungary have been working diligently to prevent their church from closing as they work to save their very, very beautiful church. I applaud this effort as this was yet another of my favorite churches I visited during my journey, one which comforted me greatly. If you wish to help the good folks of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, you can find out more about their progress here, or sign this petition to help save the church or join their Facebook page. If anyone has any info as to whether any Masses are currently being offered at St. Elizabeth of Hungary, please leave a note in the comments section below.

(church info last updated 04/04/2016)

Address: 211 E. 83rd (@ 2nd Ave.)

Phone: 212.734.5747

Links:
Old, Original St. Elizabeth Website
New, Official Parish Website
About the Organ
New York City's Hungarian Churches
About St. Elizabeth of Hungary
More about St. Elizabeth of Hungary
Even more about St. Elizabeth of Hungary

SATURDAY DAILY MASS

According to The Spiritual Traveler, this church was originally a Lutheran church from the 1890's.

I loved it here today. Why is it I find daily Mass so much more appealing than Sundays? Perhaps, because it is the Mass boiled down to its most basic, simplest form. There is prayer, some Old Testament, a Gospel, a quick (sometimes down and dirty) homily of a few direct and poignant minutes, the Eucharist, more prayer and a closing. I always feel so much better and alive when I hit weekday Mass in the mornings, it is the daily vitamin that I need, that daily dose of something vital.

The priest today was fantastic too. I could hear him so clearly. Would that I have some kind of transcript of his words, for they all seemed so precious, yet they flew at me at such speed, hitting me, sinking in, but I could not catch them all to relate them here to you verbatim. I enjoyed the reading today, the last little bit of Exodus which saw Joseph forgive his brothers, stating, "Have no fear. Can I take the place of God? Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good, to achieve his present end, the survival of many people. Therefore have no fear."

And this part of the Gospel, Jesus' words (Matthew 10:24-33):

"What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;
what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul;
rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy
both soul and body in Gehenna.
Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?
Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge.
Even all the hairs of your head are counted.
So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Everyone who acknowledges me before others
I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.
But whoever denies me before others,
I will deny before my heavenly Father."

It speaks to me, telling - no, reminding - me that I need to strive to proclaim my faith more than I do. I realize, in this task and many others related, I am lazy, slothful (pretty much guilty of all seven deadly sins, in one way or another.)

After Mass, I headed to the Guggenheim again. I enjoyed it, as I typically do, but today realized once you enter here, you begin a journey as you do in no other museum. Walking the ramp, viewing the exhibit, going up and up and up, you are, in a sense, ascending to the heavens of Frank Lloyd Wright's vision. It can be a great experience, especially if you arrive before the crowds and can ascend alone, with some peace and decency. Arriving near the top, I did something fairly meta: sitting on the highest bench, looking down below at the spiral, down into the lobby, I pulled out my iPod for a few minutes and watched a few minutes of the Guggenheim scene from The International - a bad movie for sure, that scene the only reason to put up with the whole thing. It eventually became too weird and bizarre for me to handle, so I walked away, descending the space and out into the fresh air, on a truly beautiful day in the city.

And now, for whatever reason, some friends of mine are meeting up way down Coney Island way. I do not look forward to the trip down, and even less to the trip back. If only I had some kind of magic, flying shoes, or maybe a jetpack.

"Days full of rain,
Sky's coming down again,
I get so tired of these same old blues.
Same old songs,
It won't be long,
Before I'll be trying on,
My flying shoes."

- Townes Van Zandt

Coney Island...

59. St. Thomas More (Now Our Lady of Good Counsel-St. Thomas More)

NOTE: In 2015 this church merged with Our Lady of Good Counsel 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 is called Our Lady of Good Counsel-Saint. Thomas More.

(mass times & church info last updated 03/24/2016)
Address: 65 E. 89th St.
Phone: 212.876.7718
Weekend Mass Times: 
Sat: 5:45pm (English)
Sun: 8:30am, 10am (Family), 12pm (Choral), 5:45pm (all English)
Weekday Mass Times: 
Mon-Sat: 8am, 12:15pm (both English)
Confession:
Mon-Fri: 12pm-12:10pm
Sat: 5pm-5:30pm

Links:
Official Website
About the Organ
Yelp Review
St. Thomas More
St. Thomas More (Catholic Encyclopedia)
St. Thomas More (Wikipedia)

PALM SUNDAY

I need a drink.

Easter nears and I reflect on my small sacrifices of the past 40 days. Taking a page from old school Catholicism I decided to forego meat not just on Fridays but everyday. All in all it wasn't that difficult. Giving up the booze proved easier this year as well. Over time, though, I realized I had many vices, and had just exchanged some for others, so eventually I gave up other things as well: coffee, sweets and other substances. Now, with tea as my only daily stimulant, I wander the city in a fuzzy haze, feeling somewhat calmer (though recent altercations with my girlfriend show otherwise) and heading toward some kind of celebration this Easter Sunday.

A few things I've taken away from this Lenten experience:

Number one: Though many will argue that sacrifice during Lent is empty and meaningless as it offers nothing to the needy or for the good of the world, and that one should do something positive for others as opposed to denying themselves trivialities, I realize that each day I awake, pacing through Lent, desiring one of these things I've given up, I am reminded of the sacrifices of the Son and the Father for our sakes, and though my own sacrifice is petty and small in comparison, it is a reminder of all that has been done for me, for us. Further, upon finally arriving at Easter, the importance of the day and the meaning behind the resurrection of the Lord and the new life given to me, to all of us, is all the more enhanced by my own personal joy in these worldly celebrations. Last year I encountered Easter as the beginning of a new kind of year and a new life, and I will do the same this year in a few days.

Number two: Self-denial is good.

Number three: Lady Grey Tea is awesome.

The church of St. Thomas More was a wonderful place to find myself celebrating this Palm Sunday (though my head felt fuzzy and unclear, perhaps because I was without coffee to focus me in the morning.) The church itself is somewhat small and cozy and seems to come right out of the pages of times. I believe it was first built in the 19th century as an Episcopalian church and later in the 1950's was acquired, consecrated and renovated as a Catholic Church.

I attended the 12:30pm mass among a mix of folks, many ages - many older folks seeming to struggle with the steep concrete stairs outside the building on their way home. I myself left, still in my fog, and headed to the Guggenheim (right down the street,) and on into the world away from the calm of the little church, headed towards this new year of Easter upon us, a time for new life and new beginnings.

Happy Easter, folks.

*I would just like to add a quick note here about my intense admiration for the man, the saint, Thomas More. Ever since a school teacher played the movie A Man For All Seasons for us and explained his tale I have liked St. Thomas More. His devotion not only to God and a higher morality but to the sanctity and sacredness of marriage is some kind of lesson that has just seemed to stick with me over the years and one I hope to carry with me forever on into my own (hopefully growing ever more moral) life as well as into the future and possibilities of my own marriage.

35. St. Francis de Sales

(mass times & church info last updated 04/04/2016)
Address: 135 E. 96th St. (between Park and Lexington)
Phone: 212.289.0425
Weekend Mass Times: 
Sat: 5pm (English, Congregation-led singing)
Sun: 9am (English, cantor), 11am (English, choir), 12:30pm (Spanish), 6pm (English, cantor)
Weekday Mass Times: 
Mon-Fri: 8:30am (English)
Confession: Sat: 4pm-4:45pm
Links:
Official Website
St. Francis de Sales Church
About the Organ
St. Francis de Sales

After an afternoon spent at the Guggenheim staring at the breasts and phalluses of the current Louise Bourgeois exhibit, I attended St. Francis de Sales church on 96th street. As you may know, often lately I have had trouble attaining my peace on these ventures - but something happened when I entered this church that settled some of the things within. There was some peace there that I discovered and whether it originated internal or external I'm not sure. Could have been the few hours at the museum which relaxed my soul and readied me for the scriptures and sacraments. Could have been the tranquility of this church itself. It is a nice little church, decorated nicely with art and sculpture - and there is a calm inside it that is more than just the delicious air conditioning. You know how you can sometimes walk into some of these churches and just feel distressed by being there - some of them are so large or commanding or something, and they can make one feel small and stressed. Not this one. There is something easy about being there - and I found it quite easy to listen to the readings and homily as well - all of which were excellent. So, yes, I was able to have some much needed calm, reflection, prayer and peace yesterday - and maybe if you ever wander into this church you will find the same someday as well.

It was the feast of St. Anne and St. Joachim (parents of Mary) and as I was leaving the I noticed, hidden away in the entrance way of the church, a wonderful statue of St. Anne and the child Mary.

Following Mass I went to the new X-Files movie with a friend. Surprisingly there are a lot of Catholic issues brought up, or at least mentioned in the narrative of the film, not least of which is the story of a main supporting character, a repentant excommunicated psychic priest. The film also touches upon stem cell research and even gay marriage - though not in depth by any means, still someone out there could easily fit this film within some kind of dissertation on the Church in film.

I have found a lot of refuge at the movies lately - and I see myself a lot lately favoring anything resembling a spiritual story line. I'll argue that it's definitely there in the X-Files movie, as well as in Hellboy II, a film which is thoroughly enjoyable and surprisingly deep and meaningful in a lot of ways - at least to me. I expect to find this in The Dark Knight as well when I get around to seeing it.

All these films are on my mind a lot lately - I guess a result of the monstrous deluge of advertising thrown at us from all of them. Film was also on the mind of the pastor of St. Francis de Sales when he wrote for this week's bulletin:

Writing about The Dark Knight "... At a time when people are so sick and tired with the colossal mismanagement of this country, they take refuge in movie theaters...the epic struggle against good and evil gives millions of Americans the opportunity to dream away their troubles, escape painful reality and daydream about a far away world where all evil is vanquished and good, ordinary people like us instead of being the ones who always get it in the neck are for once victorious and come up on top."

Karl Marx long ago said "Religion is the opiate of the masses." I wonder if now movies have replaced religion in this respect? The masses are no longer filling up pews, but multiplexes.