Braggy Moment and I'm Stoked

[Era Might]

"You think Hip Hop started out in Queensbridge, but if you pop that junk in the Bronx you might not live!"

Edited July 10, 2015 by Era Might

[Gabriela]

One of the most beautiful churches I've ever been in.

 

Have you seen the basilica in St. Louis?

[veritasluxmea]

Wow. Manhattan was just... wow. 

I don't know what I was expecting, but this amazing city and experience was beyond it! I don't know why I was concerned about traveling around. Manhattan is busy, but not uncomfortably so. I stayed at a hotel right in Times Square and loved the pace and energy. Left the hotel around nine thirty and went to bed around one or two in the morning. It's busy, but in a chill way. I traveled to Brooklyn and the Statue of Liberty and didn't have any issues with the metro. The whole city is very navigable.

• The Daughters of St Paul Bookstore was probably the BEST Catholic bookstore I've ever been in. I love books and reading, and I've spent a lot of time in bookstores, so I have a lot to compare them to. Their selection was really impressive. I got three books: The Way of Perfection by St Theresa (recommended by someone) The Imitation of Christ (meditation material as I'm reaching the end of my last book) and When God Asks for an Undivided Heart. That was a spur of the moment book and I'm really glad I got it, he covers a wide range of topics about celibacy in a practical manner. It's a book on celibacy that's right up there with And You are Christ's. 
• The security in TS was crawling after the shooting. Riot police, canines, closing down some areas. Nothing happened and I didn't even notice it until someone pointed it out to me. I felt relieved and impressed they were there. 
• Apparently it's completely legal to walk around naked and topless, even if you're a women. 
• Holy Innocents... the first mass I really wasn't impressed, tbh. It's not all the internet makes it out to be. There were people going in and out constantly, and this guy (an usher?) was walking around the back jangling his keys for the whole mass... including the consecration! Beautiful old church though. The priest was reverent as I've always found with FSSP priests and aside from a few people here and there a lot of the people were to, although I was surprised at the lack of veiling. (The FSSP in my diocese literally has a sign in the vestibule with veils women can borrow, requesting they veil). New York seems to have a love for good masses and I'm glad the Church was kept open so they have this as an option. The homily on the third day BLEW ME OUT OF THE WATER. He basically got up and in this New York accent laid out how we need to pray for people right outside the door of the Church (the literal church door, it's close to times square) and just- talked about how priests aren't getting good training (he had examples of priests apologizing to him because they couldn't do something) and how priests are spiritual fathers and how correcting people can be hard because the devil will try and turn people's hearts to hatred- and more. You just had to have heard it to understand. I've NEVER heard a priest get up there and lay something out so bluntly and clearly. I went up afterwords and thanked him in person. He just said other priests would like to do the same but are dealing with other things first, and to pray for him. @Ancilla Domini is it normal in the New York diocese to pass out the collection basket at daily mass? 
• Meeting with family was sometimes nice, mostly stressful. Most of the people in my generation I get along with and never give me flack about considering a celibate life, thank goodness. 

I shopped a bit at the Disney store and Toys R Us. I didn't bother with Forever 21 and Areopostale.  I ate a lot of good food and probably came back five pound heavier, he he. In all, I think New York was the break I needed before I hit this upcoming year. 

Edited July 20, 2015 by veritasluxmea

[Ancilla Domini]

Wow. Manhattan was just... wow. 

I don't know what I was expecting, but this amazing city and experience was beyond it! I don't know why I was concerned about traveling around. Manhattan is busy, but not uncomfortably so. I stayed at a hotel right in Times Square and loved the pace and energy. Left the hotel around nine thirty and went to bed around one or two in the morning. It's busy, but in a chill way. I traveled to Brooklyn and the Statue of Liberty and didn't have any issues with the metro. The whole city is very navigable.

• The Daughters of St Paul Bookstore was probably the BEST Catholic bookstore I've ever been in. I love books and reading, and I've spent a lot of time in bookstores, so I have a lot to compare them to. Their selection was really impressive. I got three books: The Way of Perfection by St Theresa (recommended by someone) The Imitation of Christ (meditation material as I'm reaching the end of my last book) and When God Asks for an Undivided Heart. That was a spur of the moment book and I'm really glad I got it, he covers a wide range of topics about celibacy in a practical manner. It's a book on celibacy that's right up there with And You are Christ's. 
• The security in TS was crawling after the shooting. Riot police, canines, closing down some areas. Nothing happened and I didn't even notice it until someone pointed it out to me. I felt relieved and impressed they were there. 
• Apparently it's completely legal to walk around naked and topless, even if you're a women. (Really? I've only seen that once before. I get the feeling, though, from stories I've heard, that there's been quite a bit of things changing since I was last there, about a month and a half ago.)
• Holy Innocents... the first mass I really wasn't impressed, tbh. It's not all the internet makes it out to be. There were people going in and out constantly, and this guy (an usher?) was walking around the back jangling his keys for the whole mass... including the consecration! Beautiful old church though. The priest was reverent as I've always found with FSSP priests and aside from a few people here and there a lot of the people were to, although I was surprised at the lack of veiling. (The FSSP in my diocese literally has a sign in the vestibule with veils women can borrow, requesting they veil). New York seems to have a love for good masses and I'm glad the Church was kept open so they have this as an option. The homily on the third day BLEW ME OUT OF THE WATER. He basically got up and in this New York accent laid out how we need to pray for people right outside the door of the Church (the literal church door, it's close to times square) and just- talked about how priests aren't getting good training (he had examples of priests apologizing to him because they couldn't do something) and how priests are spiritual fathers and how correcting people can be hard because the devil will try and turn people's hearts to hatred- and more. You just had to have heard it to understand. I've NEVER heard a priest get up there and lay something out so bluntly and clearly. I went up afterwords and thanked him in person. He just said other priests would like to do the same but are dealing with other things first, and to pray for him. @Ancilla Domini is it normal in the New York diocese to pass out the collection basket at daily mass? 
• Meeting with family was sometimes nice, mostly stressful. Most of the people in my generation I get along with and never give me flack about considering a celibate life, thank goodness. 

I shopped a bit at the Disney store and Toys R Us. I didn't bother with Forever 21 and Areopostale.  I ate a lot of good food and probably came back five pound heavier, he he. In all, I think New York was the break I needed before I hit this upcoming year. 

I'm so glad you had such a great time! It's a great place to visit, I think. Never a dull moment. I personally am I very quiet person sometimes, and would far prefer to live in the country, so Manhattan is not exactly the place for me to live. But it's a fantastic place to visit.

Yeah, tbh, most of the time, I'm not so fond of mass at Holy Innocents. There's something about the atmosphere there that is a bit...I don't know what it is, really. It's so dark, almost foreboding, at first glance, and then it seems like there are so many distractions. Great homilies sometimes, though; but overall, I far prefer St. Agnes, which is where my family attends Sunday mass (although it seems things are changing there a bit. The wonderful organist we've had for years now was just fired for some reason, and I haven't been in the city since that happened, so I don't know what the music situation is at the moment.)

I've never really thought about it before, but now that I do, I think it is the custom for them to take a collection at daily mass. The only place I've gone for daily mass is Our Lady of Pompeii, in the Village, but now that I think back, they do have a collection there.

[veritasluxmea]

^Yes, for the naked people it was pretty much twenty-four seven, I actually saw them "switch out" with other people when I was hanging around. They're street performers like all the other people in costumes, so you can take pictures with them and tip them. Usually they had a thong, maybe full underwear on. The naked cowboys was the boy version and they kind of covered themselves with a guitar. They had the typical uber smiling, ditzy, overly friendly sex worker personality, so they were nice women, I just felt bad for them. It's not a kind or healthy life. 

Yeah, I think better lighting would do a lot for Holy Innocents. I saw they were doing renovations and trying to fix up the place a bit so who knows what it'll be like in a year or so. 

Manhattan was so chill. I miss it already.