Attempt to go to Mass, take one

In the midst of my frustration today trying to get to Mass, I forced myself to remember all the difficulties I had getting to Mass when I was only just arrived in Shenzhen. I had to ask a Chinese person to call Nantou parish to get directions and Mass times. That took a few tries because the phone number I read in a diocese of Hong Kong publication had a typographical error. I frequently got lost trying to find the Chinese parish, and had no idea the first several months I was living in Shekou that there was an English language Mass for foreign passport holders only two blocks from my apartment at the time. After a month or two (and some really excellent Chinese lessons) we were able to get there by bus or by taxi with no problem. For quite some time after that getting to Mass in China didn't take much effort compared to all the fits and starts of my early days.

Now that we have moved to Beijing, we have to begin all over again. It would be easier if we lived closer to the center of Beijing. There we could easily attend Mass in English (only for foreign passport holders, though) or Chinese at locations well-known and better-publicized than what I had found when I first arrived in Shenzhen (BTW--this will soon change. Some people are working on a book about living in Shenzhen, and they will be publishing more about the many church services available). Also, there would be the possibility of worshipping regularly in one of Beijing's historic churches. But even living in this Northwestern corner, we still have a few choices for us to find a Mass time and location. Not many, but a few.

During Spring Festival when we still lived in Shenzhen, some friends from church invited us over for dinner. Also at dinner that evening was a priest from Beijing who was spending Chinese New Year in Shenzhen. Several years ago ha was the first priest assigned full-time to Shenzhen. He was first at Nantou Church after the parish successfully petitioned the government for the return of their property. He also oversaw the construction of the new church in Futian district, St. Anthony. Through the years he remained in touch with our friends in Shenzhen. After dinner that night he gave us his phone number and address to the parish where he is currently assigned in Haidian District. He told us it wasn't too far from where we were planning to live.

He was correct. It isn't too far from where we live to consider it as our regular Mass option. I was up early and at our apartment gates just after 7:00 to try to get a black (unmetered) cab to take me. Anticipating much frustration ahead, I only brought the baby with me. If I had any success this morning, we could all go together next week. Or at least, that was my plan.

The first driver I met agreed to take me. I have used him before, to go to Jusco, and just like that time he told me he knew where he was going, only to call someone once we were in the car to ask for directions. He must have thought I didn't understand. I was hoping that we could get there in less than an hour, since even in my limited experience getting around Beijing, we could get to places further away in less than 45 minutes.

Had we taken one of the highways or expressways, an hour would have been plenty of time. However, this driver seemed averse to getting on the main highway, preferring side and the frontage roads. Finally we started to wind through some single-lane streets in a village inside the city. It was already 8 am, the time for Mass to start, and we were stuck on a single-lane road that was jammed with pedestrians, two- and three-wheeled bicycles, cars, vans, heavy construction vehicles, and a horse-drawn cart. I am sorry I didn't get a photo or video of this because at this point my hands were full feeding Brigid. It's one of those things I will laugh about one day once I am years removed from the frustration.

We finally arrived at the church at just about 9 am. Those that saw my tweets from this time saw that I had already given up on getting to Mass. I thought since it was so late Mass would be just about over. I followed some other late-arrivers and found that the celebrant had only just finished his homily. So I stayed. I was really looking forward to hear the words "God so loved the world" this morning, even in Mandarin, but at least I was there for the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

This parish is attached to one of Beijing's seminary. The Mass was full to standing-room only, a mix of generations and families, but definitely the seminarians and young priests stood out in their black suits and Roman collars. In addition to the elderly priest, there were about five priests and/or deacons assisting him and two altar servers. I'm using that word not because they were girls but rather I wasn't sure if they were young enough to be called boys. They looked about the same age as some of the seminarians I saw, and they all looked so young to me. Ah yes, "middle age" approaches.

I didn't get a chance to get any other pictures of the church or seminary buildings. If I get back there I might. Over the altar hung a crucifix unlike any other I had ever seen before. It appeared to be either stained glass or painted, an interesting rendering of Christ crucified.

On the way home from Mass, I had the driver take me to the closest Starbucks to pick up coffees and pastries. I had asked him to take me there (actually the Carrefour, hoping there was a Starbucks by it and there was) just before we arrived at the church. I told him I might be too late, and I would like to make another stop before heading back to Changping. In my tweets this morning, I said I needed to drown my sorrows in Starbucks. That was when stuck in bizarre Chinese traffic I believed I wouldn't get to Mass at all this morning. Starbucks was instead a celebration of a small victory. And this afternoon I had such a sense of calm and low-anxiety that I haven't had in weeks. Not a coincidence, I'm sure.

This week we are going to see what it will take for us to find the parish church that is (I think) quite a bit closer to where we live. We were near there yesterday was we were tooling around the area of the Ming Tombs, but we couldn't quite find the right little village where it is located. It's in a really rural part of Beijing, where signs prohibit horse-carts from entering the highway. The Mass schedule might work for our family better (I think they have a 6 pm Mass), but being out in farmland might make it difficult for the allergies and asthma in our family.