Address: 405 W. 114th St. (West of Morningside Park)
Phone: 212.866.1500
Email: parish@ndparish.org
Weekend Mass Times:
Sat: 5:30pm (English)
Sun: 9:30am (Amsterdam Nursing Home), 10am (French), 11:30am (English), 1pm (Spanish), 5:30pm (English)
Weekday Mass Times:
Mon-Fri: 12:05pm, 5:30pm (both English)
Sat: 12:05pm (English)
Confession: Sat: 4:30pm (and by appointment)
Pre/Post-Church Activity: Walk through Morningside Park
Links:
Official Website
Columbia Catholic Ministry
Morningside Heights Site
Marian Shrines in the U.S.
FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT
I am going on a journey, you see, that you cannot attend with me, you cannot come along, as it is you I am going to see.
I have, for the past few weeks, tried to decipher why I am so exhausted despite my Lenten sacrifice of giving up alcohol. Seemingly, restricting myself from the toxins of the drink, I should be energized and invigorated. Yet, I go through each day feeling numbed, foggy and removed. I've been told this is because I use drinking to deaden myself to things, and now without that buffer and distraction, I find myself inundated with these things that tire me and wear on my mind.
In church tonight, I felt the lights on the ceiling were all too bright - everything in the place seemed bright and clear. I wondered, am I like some infant - new to the world for the first time, beginning to see clearly and tired by all the information pouring in?
This Grotto Church of Notre Dame is a beautiful structure. One of the best looking churches in the city. It has a rock/grotto backdrop serving as the altar, pristine statues and a calmness. The priests are all Polish, I believe, but I don't think any Polish masses are celebrated here. I've been here before, as it's right around the corner from my house, and sometimes I have trouble understanding the priests during the homilies - however the rest of my experiences here have always been great.
There is a garden outside and peace within.
From the Fodor's Review: A French neoclassical building (1911), this Roman Catholic church has a grand interior, including a replica of the French grotto of Lourdes behind its altar. It once served a predominantly French community of immigrants, but like the neighborhood, today's congregation is more ethnically diverse, with Irish, German, Italian, African-American, Hispanic, and Filipino members.
*Having been Baptized a month after birth, proceeding with Penance and the Eucharist in grade school, and dropping out of Confirmation classes while in high school because I just couldn't stand being in that classroom back then and there, I have decided to begin Adult Confirmation here in New York.
(12/19/2010)
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