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...

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...