by Michael

Another wonderful day, wonderful visit to No. 6 of our Mary-named churches. And, this parish is near to Terry’s 98-year old, wonderful Godmother, whom we visited after Mass. Oh, and this is a beautiful church with a vibrant, inspired community.

Our GPS took us to the back entrance, going past a little strip mall, so our first sight was of the back of the church (behind the front…, as the Sanctuary faces that direction), whereas the main entrance is more impressive:

We had arrived early so that Terry could pray the Rosary before Mass. She went straight to the church, while I wandered outside. My first visit was to the outer parking lot, where I spied a couple pieces of trash that would do better in the doggie-bags I always carry in my pocket than on the ground.*

That done, I realized the large parking lot is the first evidence of a vibrant and ambitious parish. As I wandered around looking for a trash can, which was across the way by the school, I saw just how vibrant and ambitious a parish this is. The main entranceway is tree-lined and lovely, and it points straight to the front doors at the back of the church (see our Visit No. 3 for this running joke), an impressive entranceway and viewpoint:

As we entered Route 7 from the Dulles Access Road, we ran into a fog, which had dispersed by the time we reached Sterling, but the low clouds persisted, yielding a grayed yet translucent sun that was perched just above the apex of the church’s roof as we entered. That entrance is a wide patio — perfect, I thought, for post-Mass gatherings — with a statue of Mary holding the Crucifix rather than a baby Jesus. The archways of the three “front” doors (to the back of the church) present images of Christ with emblems above, such as Chi Rho, Alpha-Omega and HRI. Really nice reminders of these important symbols that are everywhere but often overlooked.

I turned to a friendly man who sat quietly on a bench along the patio, observing me taking photos. We shared greetings, and, without asking me anything, Gerry (with a “G”) told me that the statue of Mary is unique, and that there is a book that explains all the motifs and symbolisms of and in the building. I explained about our Marian churches pilgrimmage, and that we are from the Saint Thomas More parish.

“I used to be in that parish, ” he said. “I lived nearby, on a road just off the highway, Hudson.”

“Hudson Street?” I inquired. “What number?

“125,” he replied. “125 Hudson Street.”

“That’s across the street form our house!” I exclaimed.

Best of all, he told me that he met his wife at the Christmas Eve Mass at the Cathedral. He raised his children there, and they still live in the area with grandkids. He now lives in a retirement area for service members nearby to Our Lady of Hope.

A number of others were rushing in behind us, so Gerry and I reached for the main doors to the church. As we held them open, a friend of Gerry’s laughed, “New ushers, eh?”

I found Terry just before Mass started, giving me enough time to find my spot in the Magnificat. I love reading the antiphon, which means “response” or “rejoinder”, so when Father Smith opened with it, I was thrilled, even if I felt as if the only one reciting it with him.

Father Smith has a booming, deep voice, and a compelling cadence and manner that both affirms the Mass’ solemnity and invites joyful participation. I liked that he had us recite the full confitior (“I confess…”), and also that he recited the initial Eucharistic prayers in silence, something I am coming to enjoy from one of our priests at St. Thomas More, as I can better read along with him and reflect on his prayers in the silence.

Today’s Gospel reading was about Herod’s murder of John the Baptist, but Father Smith explained that it’s not his feast day. He then discussed today’s optional memorial, a most appropriate choice for a church named for Mary, the dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, around 435, one of the great Marian shrines (see here). Father Smith said that in addition to its miraculous genesis, the Basilica was important for the continuity of belief in Mother Mary, as the Archbishop of Constantinople, Nestorian, had promulgated the heresy of distinct natures of Christ as man and God, thus Christ the Son of God could not have been born of Mary a human. Cyril of Alexandria, Father Smith told us, pushed back on the idea, and the Council of Ephesus affirmed Mary as true Mother of God and Jesus as both human and divine. The homily was exactly what I wanted and needed to hear on this day.

Father Smith distributed the Eucharist by himself to the assembled, which was not a small crowd, be it First Saturday or not. (Here and here for interesting articles from the USCCB on the giving and receiving of the Eucharist.) Father closed Mass, and from the alter launched us into the Saint Michael prayer. I then scrambled for the Magnificat’s Salve Regina, hoping for a good Marian prayer at a good Marian church. Instead he introduced another prayer that neither Terry nor I knew, but that the faithful spoke with practice and resolution. We were unable to find the prayer in the pews’ Missel, but we did catch that it resembled the Saint Michael prayer in its call to the Blessed Mary to defend us against the devil. First time we have encountered this prayer, so we will be on the look out for it at one of the other Mary churches we have yet to visit.

Here for some shots I took after Mass inside the church:

The narthex (lobby) is spacious and welcoming, and has a beautiful shrine to Mary. I particularly liked the brochures table and ongoing food drive container.

From there we headed out the back through the front doors and walked around the church towards the school. Between the buildings is a rounded walk with Stations of the Cross and three sets of statues, Mary, Joseph and the child Jesus, Calvary, and of Mary of Guadeloupe.

I am always touched by depictions of Calvary that include Our Lady suffering her “pierced heart” and Saint John, the Beloved Disciple, before the Lord on the Crucifix. The partial sun created a dramatic backdrop for us, and I wondered if it would get completely dark for a couple hours. I hope the photos convey that sense we felt at that moment.

Terry is reading everything she can about Mary of Guadeloupe, whom we will visit in just over a week from now, so she thoroughly enjoyed the display. I was touched by the inclusion of Juan Diego.

There, we got in our obligatory Mary-church selfie, and Terry headed back towards the car while I walked around the church, which brought me to a statue of a priest and two students (seemed that way — and would be appropriate for the school), but I did not see any marker or inscription. I entered the backside, or rather basement meeting areas below the church’s (alter-facing) front. The sacristan had invited all men us to a First Saturday Bible Study, so I wanted to peak in. There I met John, the sacristan, who kindly invited me to join the session as well as coffee and donuts, which my Friday-fasting body desperately craved. I demurred, explaining the purpose of our visit. John said they are gathering First Saturdays to review Father Schmidt’s Bible in a Year. Wonderful!

I made my way through the spacious meeting areas, back up to through the narthex, and out the front doors, where I discovered a small group of people chatting happily with two young boys who were absent-mindedly swinging their arms back and forth with a light slap of each other’s hands — a perfect gesture for defeating the boredom of parent talk after church!

I turned to them and said, “How about a proper ‘paddy-shake’?” They responded enthusiastically, and to the delight of the adults and me:

We chatted a little about our visit, about the National Shrine, which one of them said she loves to visit, and about the Cathedral of St. Thomas More. I invited them to our blog site, and I do hope they’ve made a visit here!

We set out from there, ever more thrilled by the joys and satisfactions of these visits. “I liked…” Terry says, and I say, “And I liked…” and onward we share each others’ distinct experiences of the morning and perspectives on the priest, the Mass, the parishioners and the church.

The idea of coffee and donuts lay strong in our minds from having seen a Dunkin Donuts on the way in, and from John’s invitation of them for me at the Bible Study group. Here we finally found something negative on one of our visits — a woman in line ahead of us started complaining to the clerk that she had been waiting thirty minutes for a sandwich, and we noticed, as well, that the donut bins were near empty. Perhaps it was just an off-day for the poor souls running the place that morning. I’d still stay with the Dunkin over the restaurant next door, “Tacos and Tequila,” at least on a Saturday morning.

On the upside, a gentlemen in line with us had on a Bosox cap, an invitation I couldn’t avoid. So I quipped about Boston and asked him if he had driven that MG out front from the Fenway. He was thrilled to brag about his old car, which he had purchased in his home state, New Hampshire (not found in a barn, he assured me). He apologized that it’s dirty, but we agreed that a loved car is an enjoyed car — even, I told him, if it is an old Duesenberg, such as that of a collector I know of in Massachusetts who races, and frequently crashes or blows the engines of, 1920s era Duesenbergs. The guy got a kick out of that story.

As we left, he happily started up the MG for me, showing off that British sound. Great fun!

We were but 10 minutes from Terry’s Godmother, who, at age 98 is in amazing health and spirits. She told us all about that day, more than a few years ago at Saint Jane de Chantal in Bethesda, when she held Terry in her hands to receive her baptism.

– Michael

* here for Michael’s story about picking up trash