Anslem, Anslem

“I believe in order that I may understand.” – Anselm of Canterbury

I walked into a church for the first time in two years on Friday.

I was out shopping when I passed by St. Anslem’s Roman Catholic Church on Fourth Avenue.

I usually stop outside to recite the prayer before the crucifix, where, with burning soul, you beseech Jesus to fix deep in your heart lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity, true contrition for your sins and a firm purpose of amendment.

It can be very comforting when the news is dark and you’re feeling lost.

And yet all the times I’ve prayed outside St. Anslem’s, I’ve never gone inside, even though I’ve lived in Bay Ridge most of my life.

I was always too busy heading somewhere else to walk in, and then the place was locked down, along with the rest of the planet, when Covid-19 came to town.

But on Friday I saw a woman pull up the front door and step inside and I decided it was time to see the interior.

A mass was just finishing up when I entered, and as I slipped into an empty pew.

This was the day after Thanksgiving, and I was feeling a bit stuffed after having dinner with my family. I was somewhat amazed I could even fit into the pew given all the food I packed away.

The crowd was small and the holy water fonts were empty, but it felt good, and to be in a church again, to see people praying and receiving communion.

I felt at home even though I’d never been in this place before.

‘Escape for a little while from the tumult of your thoughts…’

I struggled to remember the last time I had received communion, or gone to confession, or even attended a full service.

To be honest, I have no idea.

I’m not even sure when was the last time I was even in a church, though I was suspect it was during one of my lunchtime visits to Our Lady of Victory, a beautiful little church in the financial district, in the pre-Covid days.

Now that my company has gone virtual, I have no reason to walk around Wall Street anymore.

When I was going to grammar school at Our Lady of Angels, St. Anselm’s was our neighboring parish.

Now in the face of dwindling class sizes and tough economic times, the parishes have combined their two schools.

The Christmas season is underway and with that come concerns that the Covid cases will increase in light of all the travel and family get-togethers.

The stock market tanked on Friday on news of the omicron variant of the disease, which cropped up in South Africa and is probably in this country already.

Under the heading of “More Good News,” scientists are concerned the fasts-spreading omicron may by resistant to vaccines.

I dread the thought of another winter like 2020, where I only left the house to buy food and drop off my laundrey before racing back home.

Getting back to church is on my list of things to do once Covid subsides, though when that’s going to be is still up in the air.

It’s a good time to pray.