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| St. Peter Church (Main St., Hartford, CT) |
Good Friday. April 3, 2015.
I wanted to spend an hour or so in quiet prayer during the traditional Noon- 3 p.m. period. My original intention was to walk to a nearby RC church I had never been: Saints Cyril & Methodius Church. Tony & I had walked past it not long ago. He told me how he had once attended mass there (as a young boy I think). In the back of my mind, the fallback was to proceed further south to St. Peter Church.
When I left the office I carried an umbrella because it was cloudy and misty with a threat of rain. Appropriate weather I thought for Good Friday.
When I arrived at Saints Cyril & Methodius Church I was disappointed to observe that the parking lot was empty and there was no sign of anyone. Still, I hoped that the church might be open but I found all the doors locked. Just like the stupid Catholics I thought. And so I continued onward to St. Peter.
I was a little apprehensive about St. Peter's church. Not long ago, they had a controversial pastor, Fr. Glasso, who said the traditional Latin mass. In addition, I was aware that in the past they had a reenactment of Good Friday (Stations of the Cross) outside with Jesus carrying the cross amid Roman soldiers. Also, the neighborhood had a large contingent of Spanish speaking people and it was a somewhat poor neighborhood.
As I walked down Main Street, I saw a policeman standing by his patrol blocking traffic by the Green. When he got in and drove away, I assumed that I had missed the show. Being afraid to wander further down into this foreign territory, I diverted my path into the church.
The front door was unlocked. Some paper schedules were posted on the outside of the doors showing the schedule in English and Spanish: April 3rd – Holy Friday
12:00 Noon – Stations of the Cross through the streets of Hartford
(South End Area)
3:00 PM – The Lord’s Passion (Bilingual)
**Followed by the procession within the church to
the Holy Sepulcher (Church open until midnight)**
It appeared that I had missed the outside event. Inside, the church was quiet and dark. One or two other people were there praying or resting. Relieved that no one had accosted me, I knelt down and prayed. I may have said a rosary but I had many special intentions that I prayed. there is really so much to pray for when you start to think about it.
After an hour or so, just as I was contemplating leaving, I heard a lot of noise, a commotion. It sounded like announcements from a loud speaker or bullhorn. But I could not make out what was being said. Then people started to come into the church from the side and back. I saw men dressed as Roman soldiers come in through the side door. Curious, I stayed to see what would happen. People were settling into the pews as well as lots of scurrying about changing out of costumes.
Knowing that there was some sort of service scheduled, I decided to stay and satisfy my curiosity. It started with a procession from the back of the church and wound its way around. There was no program or booklet or missal. Prayers (I assume) were being said in a tongue foreign to me. I assumed it was either Latin or Spanish or both.
I didn't recognize the service. It didn't seem to follow the order of the RC mass. The most bizarre point for me was the procession around the church carrying a large Crucifix (it took 3 or 4 men to hold it). After going around the inside of the church, they stopped at the sanctuary and people lined up as if they were going to communion. But instead of receiving the host, they took turns kissing the feet and side of the Jesus figure on the cross. Wow! What is this about? What country am I in? What religion is this?
During the processions, many people were filming with cameras or cell phones. However, I was not able to find anything online. All this seemed primitive and superstitious. The filming and cameras were a modern sacrilege.
The service seemed to go on and on. I wanted to leave but I was determined to see it through so I could claim the entire experience. I think it was close to 5 p.m. when the service finally ended. Typically for Catholics, no one said a word to me.
Somewhat stunned (cultural shock?), I left the church and walked back to the office in a soft, light rain. I needed to pick up my bag (and keys). No one was around. Most everyone had either taken the day off or left by noon. The office was quiet and dark, just like the church. As I walked to my car, I pondered the experience. Truly this had been a multi-cultural experience for me but what exactly had I witnessed?
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* I am finally writing this very early on the morning of Good Friday 2016 (March 25, 2016) because I want to try to lock in my memories before they get mixed up with time and experience. Originally, I had pictures on my cell phone camera, but shortly after the device bricked and I lost all the pictures when I reset it to factory settings.
References:
* St Peter Church website http://users.ntplx.net/~stpeter/ [This is an old website from when Fr. Glasso was pastor and the Latin Mass was said].
* Parishes on line: St Peter Church: http://www.parishesonline.com/find/st-peter-church-06106http://www.parishesonline.com/find/st-peter-church-06106
