Our Polish-Italian Roam...

HERS:
We took the fifty mile journey to Baltimore on Saturday night to attend the 5:00 pm mass at Holy Rosary Church. This Polish-Catholic church was nothing short of beautiful.

Built in 1927, Holy Rosary is so completely different from the most recent churches we have attended. It dawned on me that there seems to be more mystery and a greater sense of respect in the older churches. One negative about this church was the lack of air conditioning, and on a nintey-plus degree day, it was a bit uncomfortable at times. Their solution... a paper fan on a stick to help you circulate the hot air.

Lol. On similar note, during the intercessions, we prayed for those who did not have air conditioning. Perhaps a little hint to add a little more to the collection basket. This week we had two special guests on our journey. The first was my dad who we mentioned last week is staying with us for the month of August to get away from the Florida heat. Our second special guest was Leslie, my cousin Ed's wife. Leslie is a spunky lady who always adds humor and fun to any outing.

The readings this week had a similar message to the ones from last Sunday. They speak of Jesus being the bread of life. But there is one message that is a little different. This struck me...

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day. 
It is written in the prophets:They shall all be taught by God.Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me."



I really struggled with what to say this week. So I am giving myself one hour, and if I can't come up with something good in one hour, well then, there is nothing good to say.

So I am thinking about the readings and the homily and my own life and this is the only thing I can come up with...

I am a worrier. Always have been and probably always will be. But that tells me I must not be listening to God's word. God is the bread of life, he who believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Well, I have a long way to go, because if I could truly grasp this concept, worry would not be a part of my life. God will take care of me. Then why do I worry so? I am not the kind of good worrier either. There is good worry. Oh, I didn't turn the hose off last night, I might have a soaked lawn. Nah, that's not me. I worry about pretty much everything. I worry that I worry too much. I worry that my message today may not be a good one. I worry that I will not have anything good to write about each week. I worry about going to work on Monday morning. I worry that Lou and my dad might be worrying about where I am while I write about worrying. I worry about what you may think about all my worrying. Whew. Do you get the picture? I think my worrying comes from a need to control everything... or at least a need to think that I can control everything. After all, if I can control everything, I can keep bad things from happening. It's exhausting. What if just for one minute, I could really listen to the Gospel? What if I could truly believe that God is the bread of life? What if I could turn over some of my control to Him? What if I could see that I am only human and don't really have control over anything except for my own actions? What if I could quiet myself long enough to Really. Have. Faith. In. God.  What if I could really believe that God is the bread of life? What if I could really believe that if I put my faith in God that I could let go of my worry and Let. God. In. Let God work through me. Let God work with me. Let. Go. Of. Worry. Perhaps that is where my faith will come in. I've heard it said before... Let go. Let God. We all struggle with something. Maybe we should all share that something with God and let faith guide us forward..

Ahhh.... what a joyous concept! What a faith-filled journey I could allow myself to travel...

We moved on to an air conditioned Italian restaurant in Baltimore's Little Italy called Amici's. We've been to this establishment before, but not as official Roamin' Catholics.  I briefly found it amusing that we visited Lou's roots through the Polish mass and visited a part of my roots through the Italian food. Amici's was on top of it's game. We enjoyed pasta and veal and even cannoli and tirimisu for dessert. I enjoyed the journey to Baltimore and will certainly think more of a journey free from worry. 

And as alway, we end with our Soulfie(s)...

HIS:

Czy jesteś wierzący?  (you are going to have to look that up)  Amen, amen I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life!  Roamin’ Catholics visited the Baltimore Archdiocese again with a visit to Holy Rosary church in the Fells Point section of Baltimore City.  Holy Rosary proclaims itself as Baltimore’s premier Polish-American Roman Catholic parish and the center of Polish religious, cultural and social life.  The parish’s roots date back to a wave of Polish immigrants coming to Baltimore in the last quarter of the 19^th century.  

Although the cornerstone for the church building itself wasn’t laid until 1927.  What a massive church.  Capable of seating 2000 souls and listed as the largest in the Archdiocese, this may well be the largest church we have been to yet.  As mentioned above, Holy Rosary is a traditional Polish parish, so I felt right at home.  There were many things inside this church that reminded me of the parish I attended when growing up in Connecticut (Sts. Cyril and Methodius.)  Very much built in the, soaring tribute to God style of churches, this is most definitely your father’s Catholic church, maybe even your great grandfather’s Catholic church.  The communion rail is still present; there is a raised pulpit as well as an elaborate structure housing the tabernacle.  Items that are not uncommon in a church of this vintage.  Similarities from St Cyril’s were the Stations of the Cross in Polish, having a hard time understanding the priest due to his accent and a sound system bouncing his words off the walls and perhaps the most vivid comparison, was the lack of air conditioning.  Phew, it was hot in church.  I’m a little surprised that the over the years the parishioners hadn’t taken up a campaign to fund the installation of air-conditioning.  Even St Cyril installed A/C over 25 years ago.

Being an inner city parish a lot of the families that grew this parish have moved out to the suburbs or even died off with the later generations moving away from the church.  The attendance at mass yesterday afternoon couldn’t have been more than 25 souls.  This was especially amplified in that the building was so massive.  It must have been quite the sight to see the nave filled to capacity or near capacity.  As there is a trend towards young families embracing urban living, perhaps the faithful will return.

This week’s message from the celebrant was a little lost due to the acoustics in the church and his heavy accent.  As such, I have to rely on the readings themselves for this week’s message.  Mary even suggested writing her own homily.  Not a bad idea.  Quite simply, the message is a continuation of what we have heard the last several weeks and how I started this week’s blog.  Are you a believer?  Are you being fed?  I don’t mean in the physical nourishment sense, but in the spiritual sense.  I think I have previously said that this journey has opened my senses to look for the presence of God in everyday life.  I realize there isn’t going to be a parting of the clouds with the Lord riding down straddling two white steeds but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t present and speaking to me every day.  Sometimes the message gets lost in the daily noise and we have to remember to feed ourselves.

Dinner this week was at a favorite spot for Mary and me.  Polish church, Italian dinner.  Dinner was at Amiccis in Baltimore’s Little Italy.  We have been to Amiccis several times over the years and have never been disappointed.  Last night was no exception.  I had a veal dish with a sweet marsala sauce and Mary had a ziti dish with a spicy vodka sauce.  Smacniego or Mangia, it was delicious no matter how you say it.  Live life like you mean it.  See you next week.