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Jan Hus


our lady...

Feb 19th

Sunday morning was a beautiful sunny day, slightly warmer than the past few days. Feeling ambitious Luke, Chris, Mandy, Mackenzie and I sought out a catholic church with a service in English. Thanks to Mandy’s research we had found St. Thomas’s which is near The Charles Bridge in Malá Strana (little quarter). Built in the 13th century the church was truly of another time. It has a narrow nave and archways that soar to the heavens. The pews were the original wooded high back benches with a wooded kneeler that served as a place to put my feet, and when it was time to kneel the plain unpadded plank of wood felt hard and stiff on my knee caps. I could see my breath in the cold air as I said the various prayers and responses. As my eyes wondered across the church and settled on the faces of the regulars I could see the white foggy breath coming from their lips as they sang the different hymns and worship songs. The church was dedicated to St. Thomas and was filled with different images of this patron saint. Every inch of the church as covered with ornate carvings of cherubs, garland, and statues of different saints and religious figures. Being able to keep up with the catholic choreography made me feel more at home in this new place of worship. It was amazing to me that despite being hundreds of miles from home things were pretty much the same, even down to the same songs that they sing at St. Peters (I don’t sing I like to be able to listen). As the priest rambled on in the homily I began to reflect on how I was sitting in a church that was not only older than country but hundreds of years older. It stunned me to think of all the Catholics that had come to this very place, sat in the same pew I was sitting in for century’s seeking the same salvation and spiritual fulfillment I was seeking. I found inspiration and saw the presence of God in this church, all just by observing the amazing architecture and the dedicated faithful surrounding me, it was a great start to a wonderful day.
We left the church after mass and made our way down to Charles Bridge and began to wander around with all the other tourists. We meandered down to The square where there is the astronomical clock, the Jan Hus monument, and the Church of Our Lady Before Týn. The square was full of people enjoying the beautiful weather and the warm sunshine. There was even a group of men (about 5) providing the people with uplifting and energetic music. The man that was singing had a voice that reminded me of sandpaper caught in a garbage disposal, but for some reason it ft perfectly, and was easy to listen to. The other men were playing their various instruments such as a clarinet, a bass cello, a banjo and drum set. A crowd surrounded them watching and bopping along with the festive, polka-like music. After watching the group of performers for a few songs we wandered away and ended up in the Melantria Passage (famous for being in a painting by Václav Jansa.) Taking this route led us to the open air market area. Each of the bins of fruit and vegetables spilled over, the various greens, yellows, reds, and oranges made the market feel alive and vibrant. Mackenzie and I wandered through the space looking at the various foods and souvenirs. We found the coolest wooden carved) tulip bouquets. Badly needing some color in our dorm room we constipated if the 700 kc was worth it. We decided against it seeing how it would be barely impossible to ship home. Walking away empty handed we headed to Tessco to finish our errands,[getting a bucket to hand wash some of our clothes] and then proceeded to head back to the dorm, where we wrapped up the day watching the Czech team beat the Italian hockey team in “thrilling” game.