Really

Mission Blog Day 4

Holy Thursday 

Saint Patrick’s Old Cathedral, So Ho.  It was a bone-chilling night in SoHo, with temperatures running 20 degrees lower than yesterday and a continuous mist in the air.  We have just seven missionaries to support our three wonderful priests.  Ten years ago, this would have seemed like Mission impossible.

Not last night.    It’s difficult to gauge precisely, but roughly what even five years ago would have been a hit rate of 60 to 1, was averaging something like 10 to 1 through the chilly early evening hours.  Even those numbers are in reality probably even more like 5 or 3 to 1, if you were to count all the people who at least responded to us with a big smile and a “Happy Easter to you too!”   

For sure, the missionaries and their ever-present “Wing Man”, the Holy Spirit, deserve some credit.  The veteran mission crew exuded  the confident love and joy that comes with working alongside the Holy Spirit for so long, and our mix of ages probably helped too.  Some of us have gone full grey in our hair and somehow the young people on the streets react as if they are having a sit-down with one of their grandparents! And our younger missionaries seemed like a long-forgotten best friend to others.

Still, there was something more.  Fr. Jorge hit on it in his inspirational sermon at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper later in the evening.  “Salvation” was in the air, and a topic people understood and seemed anxious to talk about.  “This is the night that begins our Salvation,” he proclaimed. 

“And that, that is really important.  Really.”

For missionaries and missioned alike, we could not have agreed more.  Here are just three from a very long list….

Completely New

Prince and Mott, So Ho.  Two beautiful young women from Providence College stop by the corner.  Visiting New York for the day, on their way to dinner.  A joyful discussion ensues. 

“Oh, yes!  We go to Mass regularly at the ‘Last Chance Mass’ on Sunday nights at the College! And of course we’re going on Easter Sunday with our parents!”

“So, you got your confession in already also?”

“What, are saying we are supposed to do a confession?”

“It’s the Church’s strong recommendation, ladies.  And you know why?  Because when you go to the Easter morning Mass, and hear of Jesus’ resurrection from the empty tomb, you’ll experience it in an entirely new way.  You will feel like you are there in the garden with Mary Magdalen.  You’ll feel like you are snow white.”

“Hmmm.”

“And guess what.  You can go right now.”

“Really?  Maybe later.”

“No time like the present!”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Forty minutes later, Gabriela and Sophi come floating back to the corner.  Glowing.

“Thank you for stopping us,” Gabriela offers.  “I’ve been going to Catholic school all my life and I didn’t know I was supposed to go to Confession before Easter.  And now I feel completely new.”

An Orthodox Confession

Prince and Mott, So Ho.  Claire, a young woman from the neighborhood, pauses for a rosary.  Greek Orthodox. 

“Confession?”

“No, I can’t.  I’m Greek Orthodox.”

“You know Claire, the Orthodox can receive the Catholic sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation.  Both faiths hold true to the Creed and the traditions passed on from Jesus and the Apostles.  The Roman Church even has a ruling on this.  As long as you approach the sacraments with the disposition of Faith.”

“Really?”

There goes that “Really?” again.

“Yes, ‘Really!’”

“Maybe I can do this.”

The missionary walks Claire in to the church.  She’s nervous.  Hasn’t been to confession in a long while, and never to a Roman Catholic priest.

“What will I say?”

“Say what’s on your heart.  I know there’s something there that is bothering you.”

“Yes, there is.  I can do this.  I’m ready.  I can do this.”

He hands her off to the missionary in the back of the church, who gently places Claire in a confession line.  Reassures her a few more times.

Later, like many others, she re-appears on the corner. 

“Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  And please thank your wife.  She was amazing.”

Muy Importante

Prince and Mott, So Ho.  A large family of tourists comes strolling by.  They pass on Andrew’s offer of a rosary, smiling but quiet.  Another missionary realizes they don’t speak English and starts in with his broken Spanish. 

“Este es el Primer ‘St. Patrick’s Iglesia” en Neuve Yorke.  Este.”

“Este?”

They agree to go in for a visit.  Eventually, the confession question.

“Santiago [the father], es possible confessio en Espanol…”

“Hmmm.”

“Todos nuestros padres hablas Espanol.”

“Es Verdad?”

There goes that “Really?” question again.

“Verdad.  Y, muy importante.”

Santiago’s countenance grows serious.  He turns to his wife.  The whole family marches in.  All five of them.

Later, as they float by the corner while the missionaries there are engaged with another group, they overhear one of the young sisters (who both speak English!) say to the other, in English, “I’m really glad we confessed.  That really was important.”

“Really.”

A Missionary

April 3, 2026