Tag Archives: Chicago

Why I go to mass

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I’ve been slacking on my mass attendance lately, only having gone a handful of times in the past six months.  I’ve felt bad about not going, and considering it’s now Lent, the Catholic guilt has been extra strong the past months.  I went to mass this morning, and it felt good.  Sitting there, as the church filled up, I thought about why I haven’t been going lately, why I felt guilty about not going yet chose not to go anyway, and why I had chosen to go to mass in the past.

I first went through a mass attendance drought when I first moved to Tallahassee in 2003.  The first two years I was in Florida, I lived right down the street from a church.  Literally, it was a block away.  But I didn’t really go much on Sundays.  There was something about the parish and about the space that didn’t sit well with me.  I guess I was thinking too much about my churchgoing experience in Chicago, which was nothing short of amazing.  The masses we had at Loyola at the campus chapel were great: I sang with great friends under the direction of an amazing musician (Miss you, Rudy!), the preaching was excellent (Miss you, too, Fr. Jerry!), and the space was great (Ah, Madonna della Strada).  So, I was comparing my Florida mass experience with my Chicago experience, and that just wasn’t fair: the life I started in Tallahassee was the next stage in my professional and personal lives, and so I (eventually) realized that it was unrealistic of me to have the same church experience in Florida as I did in Chicago.  Once I got over that, I found a parish in Tallahassee (Good Shepherd Catholic Church) and had a great experience there.

I went through a similar mode of thought here in Lowell.  It took a me a couple of months to find a parish that suited me.  I was delighted when eventually found St. Michael Parish last fall.  The priests are extraordinarily friendly and give wonderful sermons, the community seems very cohesive, and the music ministry is pretty good and has potential to be even better.  But, for reasons I just now discovered, I only went to mass consistently for about a month, then let my attendance fall by the wayside.  I’m not proud to admit this, but the main reason I didn’t go was because I was lazy.  No sugar-coating it, the dancing around that fact.  It was cold, I didn’t feel like getting out of bed, and just plain didn’t want to go.  Not surprisingly, being raised in the Catholic tradition, the guilt about not going to mass–especially since I no longer had the “I-haven’t-found-the-right-parish” excuse–was always there.  Despite that guilt, I didn’t go regularly.  Maybe once a month, if that.  The laziness, I think, stemmed from a bout of selfishness.  I didn’t want to make paltry the sacrifice of a hour and a half every week, getting up (relatively) early, and driving through the snow.  Also, mentally and emotionally, I was so focused on myself and what was going on in my life (school, relationships, the fact that was I pretty lonely) that I couldn’t muster the energy or the discipline to go to mass.

After mass, the view of the inside of St. Michael Parish.
After mass, the view of the inside of St. Michael Parish.

But I found that energy this morning.  And it felt good.  I had forgotten that going to mass helps keep me centered.  The way I see it, it helps me put things into perspective; the preaching is good for me.  I don’t necessarily agree with everything that’s said in the homily, buy for the most part, lessons contained in the readings and sermons hit home, either directly or indirectly.  Going to mass also provides a bit of structure to my weekly schedule.  My personality is the type that needs structure and discipline otherwise I’d get nothing done; I actually do better when I’m busier because I don’t have the spare time to sit around.  Having lots of spare time inevitably leads me to wasting most of it doing nothing.  In addition to the structure, going to mass helps give me a sense of belonging, a sense of community.  I’ve struggled with that since I’ve moved up to Massachusetts because I don’t have many friends up here yet.  St. Michael is very welcoming, giving me a little of that sense of community.

Changing the Culture: Welcome to Cubs Country!

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The Cubs lost last night.  In years past, this statement would have been all too common and, frankly, expected.  But something’s different this year.  I feel it, Mike feels it, and several other Cubs fans I’ve chatted with feel it, too.  Last night’s loss, and every loss since about mid-May has felt oddly strange.  The culture of Cubdom is undergoing a drastic change, one I think is beneficial, for the fans and for the organization.  In light of the team’s (albeit brief) playoff appearance last year and the sustained success so far this season, the franchise–players, staff, and fans alike–now expect to win.  This is what the Yankees and their fans have been accustomed to over the years, and what Red Sox fans now expect: victory.  Based on this year and last, the Chicago Cubs are no longer “Lovable Losers,” a moniker I’ve always hated.  I’m writing today to banish that title once for all.  Lovable, yes, but losers no more.  The Cubs’ World Series drought has been well documented this year, being the 100th anniversary of their last championship.  But with the team poised to win their second straight division title, there are now expectations of success placed upon Lou Piniella and crew.  Making it to the playoffs is no longer enough.  In fact, I dare say that merely making it to the World Series is no enough any more.  The city, Cubs fans, and the organization are starved for a champion, and I think the players and staff feel that desperation.  The way I see it, Cubs Country (hey, if the Red Sox can have “Red Sox Nation,” then the Cubs can have their “Country”…dibs on the royalties!) is die-hard, baseball-savvy fanbase that finally has changed from a happy-go-lucky, “oh well we lost again” bunch to a dedicated, “we-want-to-win-it-all” collective who won’t take no for an answer.  It is “gonna happen.”  Don’t believe me?  Check the numbers.  Then check the pulse of The Country.

Welcome to Cubs Country!

One monthaversary

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It’s official: I am now a full-fledged resident of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  I know, I know.  I’ve been living here a month now (I still can’t believe I live here, by the way), but it all became “official” last week, when the last vestige of my life in Florida went by the wayside: I got Massachusetts license plates.  I’ve discovered many things about this portion of the country, some good, some not-so-good.  My last entry was about the things I’ll miss about Tallahassee.  And sure enough, those all still hold true.   But rather than dwell on the negative of no longer being in a place I liked, I thought I’d make a list of the stuff that has impressed me about Lowell and the surrounding area.  Here goes:

1. The weather at this time of year is absolutely gorgeous.  I mean, for the last two weeks, it’s just been stunning.  Highs maxing out in the low 80’s (and by low 80’s, I’m talking 80, 81 tops.), bright sunshine, clear skies, light breezes.  And I live right on the Merrimac River, so it’s a pleasure walking Oreo (except that she still gets a bit crazy when other pets are around).  I know it’s only a matter of time before the weather gets miserable, so I’ll take as many perfect days  as I can get before Old Man Winter dumps all over the place.

2. I absolutely love my new apartment.  It’s bright and clean and spacious, thereby making me more fastidious about keeping it up.  I haven’t left dishes in the sink, I make my bed on a daily basis, and have been pretty good about not letting clutter build up.  Hopefully it keeps up once the school year starts.  Plus, I have a little balcony so I can enjoy the nice weather even more.

3. I have ready access to a major city (Boston) and its airport (Logan International).  Now, don’t get me wrong: I loved Tally’s airport and it’s ultra-low stress level, but it’s nice having travel options and seeing affordable flight prices out of an airport that’s less than an hour away.  Plus, I have access to Manchester’s Regional Airport, too, which gives me even more options.

4. I live two miles from school.  Literally.  My commute takes 10 minutes, tops, and that’s only because I have to deal with traffic crossing the Rourke Bridge.

5. The view from my UML office is great.  I’m on the fourth floor of the Fine Arts building, on the side that overlooks the Merrimac.  Here’s what I see when I look out the window:

6. The drive up to Nashua, NH (where I do a lot of my shopping) is scenic and low-stress.  It follows the Merrimac for the majority of the tree-lined 7-mile ride.  It’s going to be beautiful in the fall with all the leaves changing colors, and even in the early winter, with a light snowfall filtering through the canopy.

7. Since this area is so old, the streets are not organized very well (read: no grid and poor city planning), which can be interminably frustrating.  But instead of looking at it negatively, I’ve tried to see it as a challenge to learn a new part of the country.  I got to know Houston because I lived there for so long.  Chicago was very easy to get a handle on because the city is on a grid.  Tally was small enough that it didn’t take very long to know my way around.  Lowell is small, too, but the city’s one giant spaghetti bowl.  Learning my new digs will take some time, but the way I see it, if I can learn this place, I can get along anywhere.

It’s only been a month.  That month, however, has gone by rather quickly, and time is sure to fly once the school year gets rolling.  I can’t wait to discover more about Lowell and Boston and New England in general.

The Dark Knight

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(Don’t worry: no spoilers here.  Just my not-so-humble opinions.)

The Dark Knight was the movie I most anticipated this summer.  I loved 2005’s Batman Begins, with its dark, edgy tone that gave the movie a sense of realism and poignancy not seen in previous screen adaptations of the Caped Crusader.  Up to and including today, I read numerous newspaper and magazine reviews, and watched various “first look” and “making-of” featurettes on Christopher Nolan’s second attempt at Bob Kane’s comic creation, trying to get as much information as I could about the movie.  This was probably not the best way to go into such a hotly anticipated film, but I’m a Batman fan, so I was going to read/watch any and all scoop I could find.  And after seeing the film today, I can safely say that it lives up to the hype.  It’s not a perfect movie, but it’s good.  Really good.

First, the not-so-good stuff.  It’s long.  With previews and all the pre-film stuff, prepare to spend almost three hours in your seat.  Just when I thought the movie was wrapping up, it got going again, making it feel almost like two movies in one.  I did think to myself, “Man, this is long;” yet, I can’t see how any part could have been left out.  In short, there was a lot to take in.  Also, some of the dialogue at the end was not the greatest.  Granted, it’s a movie derived from a comic book, so some cheesiness is expected.  Perhaps it was a combination of the writing and the delivery that bogged it down.  Plus, at that point the movie had to end.  The dénouement was quick and rather sudden, but it had to be, due to the sheer length of the entire movie.

OK, enough of the criticisms.  Now for the good stuff.  God bless Christopher Nolan’s independence from CGI (Hey, George Lucas: take notes.  Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should!).  The stunts and action sequences in this film are amazing.  The scene with the 18-wheeler will blow you away: it looks real because they actually performed that stunt in the streets of Chicago using some good old-fashioned explosives, cables, and some really dedicated drivers and stuntmen.  And speaking of Chicago, the cinematography was outstanding.  This rendition of Batman was on a scale previously unseen in the franchise.  Gotham City is supposed to be the biggest and greatest city in the world, and The Dark Knight made it look just that.  The wide, sweeping shots of Chicago and the use of light and shade were superb, giving grandeur and scope to Gotham.  And that shot in the preview (also in the film) of Batman atop a skyscraper is actually Christian Bale standing on the Sears Tower, making the city look even more sprawling.

Enough can’t be said for Heath Ledger’s performance as the demented Joker.  I loved Jack Nicholson’s portrayal in 1989’s Batman, and comparisons inevitably will arise between the two.  But I think that’s unfair, primarily because the tones of the two movies are very different.  I have to admit that when I heard the news that Nolan chose Ledger to play such an iconic villain, I was skeptical.  “Why are they doing the Joker again?  How can someone possibly live up to the precedent that Jack set?” I thought.  Well, in my estimation, Ledger just set a precedent of his own.  His depiction of the Joker fit perfectly with Nolan’s vision and the dark, brooding, realistic tone of established in Batman Begins and further developed in The Dark Knight, just as Nicholson’s Joker fit perfectly with Tim Burton’s serious, but not-quite-real Batman (which I still love).  Ledger’s was an amazing performance: edgy, gritty, maniacal, yet not over-the-top or campy.  He’s just disturbing enough to make it believable.  (This is the setting I would have loved to see Jim Carrey play The Riddler, not the flashy bright-lights version Joel Schumacher directed in Batman Forever that sent the franchise spiraling down toward near-oblivion [not helped, of course, by the travesty known as Batman & Robin…ouch].)  I hope Ledger does receive some recognition for this role, not out of sympathy or pity or condolences, but because he earned it with the performance of a lifetime.

All in all, The Dark Knight was superbly done.  Well shot, well acted, well written, well directed.  I know Oscar voters aren’t kind to summer blockbusters, but the way I see it, this movie goes well beyond the standard formula of the usual blow ’em up action flick.  It’s intense, complex, unsettling, and easily the best summer movie I’ve seen this year (although Iron Man was pretty damn good, too).