Redemption in the City of Sin

Redemption in the City of Sin

I had the opportunity to revisit St. Mary’s church in Lynn, Mass. for the first time in quite a few years. Yes it the same Lynn, Lynn the City of Sin… famed in song and story. It is also my hometown. I was born and raised in Lynn in the 1960’s and early 70’s. I moved first to Maine, then in 1984 I moved to North Carolina before returning to New Hampshire to live. Though I have been a practicing Catholic for decades I had not gone back to St. Mary’s since childhood. I have always told my wife about how beautiful it was and of the statues of the stations of the cross that line the walls .She wanted to take her Confirmation class there as a field trip from here in New Hampshire to see the church so we made a dry run this past week.
As soon as you come to the light at North Franklin and Boston the steeple dominates the skyline. It’s funny how it was always “hidden in plain sight” when I lived there. The sheer size of St. Mary’s is impressive. Usually when you get a chance to see something from your childhood through adult eyes, whether it be a toy, cartoon or TV show it always seems diminished. You are left wondering how your memory and reality can be so divergent. St. Mary’s was not like that.
From the massive oak doors to the marble floors and soaring columns, this church remains magnificent. Nearly every church I have attended in the last 20 years would fit inside St. Mary’s arched roof, steeple and all. The relief behind the altar was painted gold when I was a kid and the pulpit which rose 10 feet was gone but for the most part here was the church of my youth. The museum quality statues in their alcoves have been refurbished and the capitals at the top of the column sport new gold paint. We had the added benefit of the choir practicing prior to the 4pm Mass. This lent a solemnity to the already awe inspiring surroundings.
So what has changed? The schoolyard now has a huge building where recess was held for us at the grammar school. The high school buildings seem to have been expanded but remain recognizable. There was never a list of masses for specific ethnic groups on the bulletin. What remains and dominates though is the overwhelming presence of faith. You can’t admire the work and craftsmanship that built such an architectural wonder and not think of the endurance of faith. It makes the daily travails, hopes, fears and worries recede. It quiets the soul. Your mental lists of perceived personal inequities and injustices seem less relevant. I really was disappointed when Mass came to an end and it was time to leave. In these uncertain times people are looking for answers. They are searching for solace. If you have never been or even not been in decades, attend a Mass at St. Mary’s or any of the hundreds of city churches built when they were expected to last for centuries. Go for the architecture, stay for the redemption.