The Great Awakening

It’s a perfect New England winter’s Sunday as I walk toward the five religious institutions strung along N. Eagleville Road, Storrs, a shopping mall of monotheism. Birds chirp hymns in praise of God’s nature. The noise is muffled by the light snow that begins to fall, and it’s a good thing too, because their songs are giving me a throbbing headache. Ten o’clock is an ungodly hour when you’re hung over, but I’m looking for God and I was told this was the best time to reach Him. It’s hard to get up for church on Sundays.

I creep into the Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church a little after 10:30; mass began at 10:15. There isn’t a person in sight, no parishioners, not even a priest – emptier than a church on Sunday.

(Upon later research the reporter discovered that morning Mass takes place in the adjacent student building. Evening Masses are in the chapel.)

Richard Ruiz, a student at the University of Connecticut, walks in behind me; he’s also running late this morning. Ruiz admits it’s hard to get up on Sunday mornings, but he enjoys going to church. “People take a religious course and think they don’t need the church. But the Eucharist and Confession are important parts.”

When Ruiz first came to UConn he drifted from his Catholic roots. Through his years at the university Ruiz feels he has matured. “We all have our own trials and tribulations,” he says, a phrase reminiscent of Revelations, “and we all need to know that it’s gonna be all right. The Church can do that.”