62. St. Lucy (CLOSED)

NOTE: In 2015 this church closed down and was merged into St. Ann Church as part of the Archdiocese of New York's great closings & mergers of 2015. Only St. Ann's will remain open for regular Masses and other events. This combined parish is called St. Ann-St. Lucy Church.

(church info last updated 03/30/2016)
Address: 344 E. 104th St. (between 1st & 2nd)
Links:
About St. Lucy

Attending the Mass today with a nearly dead camera battery - got the pics I could before it stopped working - hope these will do.

A few things struck me and stuck with me about Mass today - first off: St. Lucy's eyes. The saint is always shown in art holding a pair of eyes, her eyes. She was martyred and it's said (in some retellings) that her murderers gouged out her eyes before killing her. Thus, she is the patron saint of the blind.

It was First Communion Mass at St. Lucy's today, so I witnessed maybe 15-20 young kids in their suits and dresses receive the Sacrament for the first time - it was cute. Something about it made me all emotional today. The kids happy to be receiving Communion for the first time; the pride in their parents' eyes; the children handing their mothers roses at the end of Mass to commemorate Mother's Day: it was all very sweet.

The hymns sung at today's Mass were all sentimental to me as they were throwbacks to the songs I grew up with (and probably you did too:) "Here I am, Lord", "One Bread, One Body", and "I am the Bread of Life." The last one really got me today, and any of the emotions I was having came on all the stronger during that song. I remember this hymn at my grandfather's funeral when I was seven years old - the only time I've ever seen my father cry. It just gets me, you know? And my mind turns to my own parents and how they are getting on in years (not anywhere near decrepit or anything like that, but still slowing down,) and I think about what will happen one day in the future and I can't stand to even consider it.

But that is all to come some day down the road. For now there are other things. My girlfriend and I are on the brink of certain ruin. The girls of my past have looked at me in ways I couldn't handle and so told them not too, but I could never convince them that I wasn't the man they considered me to be. And now that I've found one who's seen right through me, and still wants to be with me, I know it isn't, in the end, going to turn out okay after all. There's a rift between us, something that's not all right. She knows my failings, and though she accepts them, I can see that a part of her mind (or maybe it's her heart) never will. The subsequent unspoken psychological effects seep down good and deep and seethe there, beneath the surface of us both, until we grow apart, drastically, all the while sitting at her kitchen table, facing one another.

56. Holy Rosary Church (Now St. Paul's - Holy Rosary)

NOTE: In 2015 this church was set to close and be merged with St. Paul Church (Spanish Harlem) as part of the Archdiocese of New York's great closings & mergers of 2015. This combined parish is called St. Paul's Church - Holy Rosary. Only St. Paul's was to remain open for regular Masses and other events, however it seems that regular Masses are indeed continuing here during this transitional period. If you have any news about this closure/merger or lack thereof please feel free to write in the comments section at the bottom of this post. 

(mass times & church info last updated 03/22/2016)
Address: 444 E. 119th St.
Phone: 212.534.0740

Weekend Mass Times:

Sun: 9:30am (Spanish), 11am (English)

Weekday Mass Times:

Mon: 8am (English, in the chapel)
Thu: 7pm (Spanish, in the church)
Fri: 8am (Spanish, in the chapel)
Links:

Old, Original Holy Rosary Website
New Official Parish Website
Holy Rosary Church of New York
Holy Rosary Church Restoration Website
New York Times Article
YouTube Clip
Our Lady of the Rosary Church

I underestimated how far east on 119th Street Holy Rosary Church lies and found myself briskly walking this Sunday morning to get there on time, a feat I missed accomplishing by a few minutes. As I rushed through the streets of Harlem I could hear multiple religious services going on in a variety of churches; the sounds floating through the cold, rainy air. It was a dreary day and I myself felt dreary as well - have in fact been a bit dreary lately; my relationship seems dreary too, something is amiss.

I reached the church only to find the front doors closed to me. A kind old man pointed me through a side door and there I found a basement hall converted into a temporary church. I couldn't understand why they weren't celebrating up top (it wasn't until after the Mass that a woman explained the church had been closed for renovations for the past six month and services had been held down here this whole time.)

It was a strange celebration, not least because (I believe) it was half English and half Filipino. But there were times of great joy there in the basement among the fifteen or so in the congregation at this 12:30pm Mass - the songs that were sung, read off from an overhead projector, were fun and joyous. I must admit, at first being put off that we weren't in the grand main church I had read a little bit about, I was in a (dreary) mood, and the pastor seemed to be delivering less of a good news homily and more of a laundry list of grievances concerning the behaviors and practices of the parishioners of the church. But as the Mass went on and concluded and I walked out into the cold misty weather, I felt very bad for this parish. They are, in a sense, locked out of their house of worship, waiting for renovations to conclude (some of which are not even begun, perhaps.) Since the economic collapse some of their donors have fallen through and who knows how long this endless wait of theirs will go on?

The juxtaposition of last week's visit to newly renovated St. Ignatius Loyola compared to the basement of Holy Rosary is such a contrasting image to me.

As we enter into Lent this week I am going to, among other things, keep this church of the Holy Rosary in mind and pray that their church receive the pledges and donations it needs to complete the work.

I ask you to do the same and, if possible and if you are able, to even perhaps do more?



additional photos...
(8/3/2013)

Once again I am attempting to complete this blog by taking better photos of some of the churches I visited early on in this journey. Today I headed far east once more and arrived at Holy Rosary Church to once again find the main church doors locked. I called the church to see if 8am English Mass was going to happen and luckily a nice man on the other end told me it was taking place in the rectory. I wandered into the tiniest of chapels, richly decorated, with an old priest standing behind the altar, praying to himself and 3 empty pews. He looked up and asked me, "English or Spanish?" I told him English, and he proceeded saying Mass in English. When it came time for the readings he had me read them. Just me and this old Mexican priest — it was quite a special occasion. Later a young mother and her child joined us as well. After Mass, I asked about the main church and he told me it was still closed, under repairs. Even though my intention was to see the main church and photograph the interior, I am very happy I went to this quiet, intimate Mass this morning. Even though my girlfriend and I stayed out quite late last night having beers in Brooklyn, something woke me up this morning and told me to get off my butt and head to Spanish Harlem and go to this church. I will just have to come back another day if and when the main sanctuary is repaired and ever opens up again.  Afterwards, I decided to take advantage of where I was and hit two other nearby churches. I journeyed on to St. Ann Church after taking these new pictures...

48. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

(mass times & church info last updated 04/29/2016) 
Address: 448 E. 116th St.
Phone: 212.534.0681
Weekend Mass Times:

Sat: 5pm (English), 6:30pm (Spanish)
Sun: 8am (Spanish), 9:15am (English), 10:30am (Latin), 11:45am (Spanish), 1pm (English), 2pm (Polish)
Weekday Mass Times:
Mon-Fri: 7am, 9am (both English)
Sat: 9am (English)
Confession: upon request
Sacred Heart Devotion: First Fridays: 9am
Our Lady Devotion: First Saturdays: 9am (Mass, Novena, Benediction)
Links:

Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
Carmelite Spirituality and the Practice of Mental Prayer
Devotions to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

What is with me lately? It's taking far too long to post my entries, and I seem to not have as much to say either (or is it not that much to complain about or to verbalize my fears and anxieties about?)

Why am I still journeying to these churches? Since dating my recent girlfriend I find myself torn these Sundays. Either continue my ramble around the city from holy house to house (alone) or attend with her, at her nearby church - a great one by the way, one I reviewed with zeal. I certainly enjoy attending with her but feel it's slightly more a social outing and less of a spiritual emotional experience - the kind I have when going to these strange new places alone. I have asked her to attend new churches with me, but she prefers her own parish week to week and doesn't quite grasp why I do what I do even though I've tried to explain it's one way I search for and discover God - through each new church, religious art, stained glass, and experience.

So today I traveled to the East Side's Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. It's a convent and a church. Not sure what I was expecting, but once I entered this church I was very happy for coming. Another beautiful church and this one seems like a secret somehow, tucked away far east on 116th.

But upon sitting down with the services beginning I began to space out (it was a Spanish service, something I typically enjoy but today just made me feel aloof.) There was quite a few people gathered in the congregation but participation in the service seemed low. Come Communion time most of the assembled did not go up, and me in my daze waited and waited and waited, expecting a point when everyone would stand up and go receive, and it never came, and I just sat (or kneeled - can't remember) and did nothing and missed out on Communion

I attended a service I could not understand, missed out on the part that brings me the most peace and joy, and did not even enjoy the "socialness" that my friends did attending their parish. All of this lead me to question why am I doing any of this? What is it proving? Is it helping me spiritually or not? Is it gaining me anything? Should it?

The financial crisis our country is now facing me plagues me as does the upcoming vote - both play constantly on my mind. We are an indebted nation full of indebted people who have bought more than we can afford with money we do not have. It is my fault as it is your fault and ultimately some kind of sin. Greed? Worse?

Things are bad.

45. St. Paul (Now St. Paul's - Holy Rosary)

NOTE: In 2015 this church was set to merge with Holy Rosary Church as part of the Archdiocese of New York's great closings & mergers of 2015. This combined parish is called St. Paul's Church - Holy Rosary. Only St. Paul's was to remain open for regular Masses and other events, however it seems that regular Masses are indeed continuing at Holy Rosary during this transitional period. If you have any news about this merger please feel free to write in the comments section at the bottom of this post. 

(mass times & church info last updated 03/22/2016)
Address: 113 E. 117th St. (near Park ave.)
Phone: 212.534.4422
Email: par.newyork@ive.org

Weekend Mass Times:

Sat: 5:30pm (Spanish)
Sun: 9am (English), 10:30am (Spanish), 12:30pm (English)

Weekday Mass Times:

Mon-Sat: 9am (Spanish)
Tue-Fri: 7pm (English)

Confession:

During the Masses and during office hours

Adoration:

Mon-Sat: 8am-9am
Fri: 8am-7pm

Links:

Official Website
About the Organ

St. Paul School

SATURDAY DAILY MASS

I think this is one of the first churches I ever visited in New York. I used to have some friends that lived in an apartment over here in Spanish Harlem and one Sunday morning, waking up on the couch after one of their parties, I dragged myself into St. Paul's for Mass.

Today I attended the Saturday morning Spanish Mass. Once again, I could not understand the language but I sat there and reflected on things and prayed silently and took in the beauty of this large church.

The pews are the old-timey kind with individual pull down seats.

This is a good place for prayer.

If ever I thought or feared I was an alcoholic I should have have told myself to be patient and await my 30th year on this earth. What used to be so much joy and exaltation is now turned merely into a costly tiresome exercise that almost bores me and certainly does not deliver to me what once was certain elation.

I have a bad feeling that the girl I have been seeing will seriously end up hurting me.

What should my litmus test be to discern whether she and I are compatible? If I'll be able to be what she wants? If she is what I am even looking for and need? It's not possible, is it, to find out all these things before too much time passes and an overwhelming amount of energy and emotion is put into it?

And it's too bad if things don't turn out all right, as I had really been starting to convince myself she may be the one. But I feel she is holding back, pulling away and I am perplexed as this is something I usually do myself and have not in a long time been on the receiving end.

Is this relationship karma? Am I being put through the pain and the process that I myself have enacted on others?

We shall see.

37. St. Cecilia (Now St. Cecilia Parish)

NOTE: In 2015 the Church of the Holy Agony closed down and was merged into St. Cecilia Church as part of the Archdiocese of New York's great closings & mergers of 2015. Only St. Cecilia's will remain open for regular Masses and other events. This combined parish is called St. Cecilia Parish.

(mass times & church info last updated 03/20/2016)
Address: 120 E. 106th (Between Lexington & Park)
Phone: 212.534.1350
Weekend Mass Times: 
Sat: 5:30pm (English)
Sun: 8am (Spanish), 9:45am (English), 11am (Spanish)
Weekday Mass Times: 
Mon, Tue, Thu: 8:15am (Bilingual Spanish/English)
Fri: 8:15am (Bilingual Celebration Spanish/English)
Sat: 12:10pm (Bilingual Spanish/English)
Confession: Sat: 4pm-5pm
Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help: Wed: 8:15am (Spanish), 7:30pm (English)
Links:
Official Website
Harlem One Stop
EastHarlem.com
St. Cecilia
Hymn to St. Cecilia
St. Cecilia Chorus & Orchestra of New York

SATURDAY DAILY MASS

I decided to wander into this church for daily mass today. Upon entering I found the church to be completely empty. You know that great feeling of being in a church all by yourself - you are allowed to take everything in and there is something deep and personal about the whole thing. A peace washed over me. Then confusion... Wasn't there supposed to be a 12:10pm mass? I walked out the front doors and met a kindly older woman who told me to follow her into the side chapel. We celebrated mass in a tiny chapel on the right side of the church - this too was deep and personal - the priest gave a really good talk, the few gathered there seemed so happy to be there, and the prayer was good.

We walked into the mass during the first reading and these lines struck me immediately (from Ezekiel Chapter 18):

If a man is virtuous—if he does what is right and just,
if he does not eat on the mountains,
nor raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel;
if he does not defile his neighbor’s wife,
nor have relations with a woman in her menstrual period;
if he oppresses no one,
gives back the pledge received for a debt,
commits no robbery;
if he gives food to the hungry and clothes the naked;
if he does not lend at interest nor exact usury;
if he holds off from evildoing,
judges fairly between a man and his opponent;
if he lives by my statutes and is careful to observe my ordinances,
that man is virtuous—he shall surely live, says the Lord GOD.

This verse speaks louder to me today than usual as I look to the new life I wish to lead, the one I began speaking about in my last entry. I pray that I may be a virtuous man, one who may walk more upright each day than he did the day before.

A couple weeks ago I was told (and maybe it's an Italian thing, or maybe Irish, or maybe Phillippino) that each time you enter a new church you have never been in before you are allowed to ask three wishes to be granted. I was not told who the granter of the wishes is supposed to be, I assume it must be God - but this is something I had never heard before. To think of all the new churches I have been and all the wishes I have lost by never asking! 36x3= 108! And to think I forgot all about this idea today as I entered St. Cecilia for the first time - that's 111!. Hopefully I will remember this the next time I go into a new church. I figure that asking for these wishes is a little bit different than just saying three prayers each time one goes to church. Although I forgot about the wishes, I did add a new prayer today - I prayed for my unborn Godchild, that he grow strong and have a healthy birth. My sister is pregnant and has informed me that she will ask me to be the Godfather. I am looking forward to this but it was only today that I realized I could go ahead and begin being a good Godfather right away, through prayer.

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.

13. St. Ann (Now St. Ann-St. Lucy Church)

NOTE: In 2015 St. Lucy Church closed down and was merged into St. Ann Church as part of the Archdiocese of New York's great closings & mergers of 2015. Only St. Ann's will remain open for regular Masses and other events. This combined parish is called St. Ann-St. Lucy Church.

(mass times & church info last updated 03/30/2016)
Address: 312 E. 110th St.
Phone: 646.461.1236

Weekend Mass Times:

Sat: 6pm (English);
Sun: 9am (English), 10:30am (Spanish), 12pm (English), 1:30pm (Spanish)

Weekday Mass Times:

M-Sat: 9am (Spanish)

Confession: Before or after Masses

Links:

A Report on the Life of St. Ann

THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD

If one thing is for sure after all these posts and these incredible churches and anything I've feebly attempted here, it's that it could be that we are all actually alone here.

Sitting in the back corner, looking into the light of the next room and the screaming weeklies of souls unseen best forgotten, I can't imagine we all belong. There is no belonging; no true longing; everything we truly yearn we truly have.

It's ridiculous not to be one's self; unforgiving feigning something else. And you're lying and dying if you disagree.

I'm a prize in a game.

--great little mexican church--


additional photos...
(8/3/2013)

Obviously I was drunk and in some kind of foul mood the first time I wrote about this church, and therefore selfishly introspective, not offering much about St. Ann parish or the structure. It's such a pretty, beautiful and colorful place. The above images certainly didn't do it justice and neither did my words. Hopefully these new ones give a better idea what it's like, so I offer them below. I visited here for a few moments after I attended a quiet, little morning Mass at Holy Rosary. While at St. Ann, I took a moment to reflect on how different my life is now than the first time I was here. For instance, I now have not only a great, positive and kind girlfriend, but I am lucky to be able to call here my fiancée as well — and next year we hope to be married at another St. Anne's church. After I took the pictures below, I walked to the third and final church of my morning, Holy Agony...