- Feb 5, 2002
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We need our parishes to take seriously what happens on the altar to the bread and wine and, consequently, believe what surrounds said actions should be of the highest quality and attention that we can provide.
Call it a midlife crisis, call it a dark night of the soul, or call it whatever you like; the last few years have not been kind to me. Failures and regrets have abounded. Severe health crises, several lost pregnancies mid-term, job insecurities, bad investments, and familial stresses have all taken their toll to severely tempt this author to curse God and die. As a former seminarian and professional Church worker, my greatest spiritual gifting is the subtle and vibrant art of cynicism. I could find the shadow of the devil in the cold light of day; and, if left to my worst angels, I could proverbially complain about the menu at the Last Supper.
All of this is simply to say that my heart was not fertile soil when my family and I landed on the door step of Mount Calvary Catholic Church toward the end of the Covid chaos in the middle of 2021. I was not in a good space physically, mentally, or (most importantly) spiritually to make such a dramatic shift in my parochial life; and I felt it in every fiber of my being. I have come since to realize in gratitude that if not for Mount Calvary, I might have lost my faith completely.
Mount Calvary is situated in downtown Baltimore, surrounded by government buildings, hospital complexes, homeless encampments, and marijuana dispensaries. I have, on a number of occasions, invited friends to Mass but been bluntly turned down due to the perceived notion of danger that inner-city Baltimore evokes. I don’t deny the reality or hold it against them. Since our time attending, there has been no threat of violence; but a number of the area’s vagrants have joined us for Masses and brunches. One of the homeless regulars who passed away is now even entombed in the church’s crypt. But the threat of violence persists and is a distinct possibility in the future, as it is everywhere.
Continued below.
crisismagazine.com
Call it a midlife crisis, call it a dark night of the soul, or call it whatever you like; the last few years have not been kind to me. Failures and regrets have abounded. Severe health crises, several lost pregnancies mid-term, job insecurities, bad investments, and familial stresses have all taken their toll to severely tempt this author to curse God and die. As a former seminarian and professional Church worker, my greatest spiritual gifting is the subtle and vibrant art of cynicism. I could find the shadow of the devil in the cold light of day; and, if left to my worst angels, I could proverbially complain about the menu at the Last Supper.
All of this is simply to say that my heart was not fertile soil when my family and I landed on the door step of Mount Calvary Catholic Church toward the end of the Covid chaos in the middle of 2021. I was not in a good space physically, mentally, or (most importantly) spiritually to make such a dramatic shift in my parochial life; and I felt it in every fiber of my being. I have come since to realize in gratitude that if not for Mount Calvary, I might have lost my faith completely.
Mount Calvary is situated in downtown Baltimore, surrounded by government buildings, hospital complexes, homeless encampments, and marijuana dispensaries. I have, on a number of occasions, invited friends to Mass but been bluntly turned down due to the perceived notion of danger that inner-city Baltimore evokes. I don’t deny the reality or hold it against them. Since our time attending, there has been no threat of violence; but a number of the area’s vagrants have joined us for Masses and brunches. One of the homeless regulars who passed away is now even entombed in the church’s crypt. But the threat of violence persists and is a distinct possibility in the future, as it is everywhere.
Continued below.
Encomium Anglicanae
We need our parishes to take seriously what happens on the altar to the bread and wine and, consequently, believe what surrounds said actions should be of the highest quality and attention that we can provide.
crisismagazine.com
