Tag Archives: Massachusetts

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.

Happy Birthday, Oreo!!

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Today is Oreo’s unofficial first birthday, ‘unofficial’ because I don’t know exactly what day she was born last year.  I know it was sometime in late January or early February, so I figured February 4th was as good a day as any.  I’ve had her for almost 10 months now, and I can’t imagine how empty my life would be without her, especially since I’ve moved up to Lowell.  Granted, getting up early to take her out in near-zero temperatures is not loveliest task to complete, but it’s a small sacrifice.  Here’s to many more birthdays in Oreo’s future!

In other news, I just found out I’ll be presenting at the IASPM-US Conference in San Diego at the end of May.  Woo hoo!  So, that’s makes two conferences in two weeks in May…I feel like I’m having deja vu, seeing as I did a conference tour two years ago.  No road trip for me this time, though, as the U2 Conference is in NYC from May 13-15, and the IASPM Conference is in San Diego from May 29-31.  Even though they’re two weeks apart, ain’t no way I’m driving to California from Massachusetts.  The way I see it, I’ll probably spend as much on gas and hotels along the way as I would on a plane ticket, so I’ll take the convenience of flying.

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.