St Anthony of Padua

Where: St Anthony of Padua church, 1029 Monroe St NE, Washington, DC 20017.

When: Sunday, October 30, 2011.

Web: The ADW listing is here; the parish's own website is here.

We attended 8:30am Mass at this parish church, which serves the Brookland neighborhood of the city.  A lone priest celebrated Mass, with the assistance of a deacon, two alter servers, two readers, two eucharistic ministers, an organist, and a cantor.  The Mass followed the standard rite.  The priest focused his homily on the Gospel reading, in which Jesus highlighted the hypocrisy of religious (and other) leaders, who were interested more in the trappings of office than in serving God.  The priest noted similar dangers in our own times and in our own lives.

Both bread and wine were offered for communion.  At the end of Mass, a nun came to the alter to receive consecrated hosts to give to those unable to attend Mass - the congregation prayed over her.  The congregation itself was about fifty; a diverse group including young and old, families, couples, and single people; and blacks and whites.

Georgetown University Hospital chapel

Where: Georgetown University Hospital chapel, 3800 Reservoir Rd NW, Washington, DC 20007.

When: Sunday, October 9th, 2011.

Web: The hospital's pastoral care website page is here.

We attended midday Mass at what is the main chapel in this Catholic hospital.  The small chapel was quite full - we estimated the congregation at 75.  Several people were standing at the back.  Most of the congregation were white; ages were mixed.  Notably most people were in 'civilian' clothes - we saw very few in hospital scrubs.  We think that the chapel serves as a convenient Mass location for the neighborhoods surrounding the hospital.

A lone priest celebrated Mass, unaided by anyone.  For the first time in a long while, we heard a priest read all three readings - he did not ask for a lector.  Though the Gospel reading was Jesus' parable of the wedding feast, the priest focused his homily on joy.  He posited that being mirthful and happy on earth is good preparation for heaven, which is joy itself.  He read an extract from a book called "Between Heaven and Mirth", which illustrated his points.

Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Church

Where: Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Church, 7142 Alaska Ave NW, Washington, DC 20012

When: Sunday, October 2nd, 2011.

Web: The church's website is here.

We attended the 11:00am divine liturgy at the only Maronite church within the district.  The Maronite Church is in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church.  The Maronite divine liturgy has essentially the same structure and focus as the Roman Catholic standard rite, or so it seemed to us.  A single priest led the liturgy, aided by two deacons and accompanied by several other (robed) servers that had prepared the altar before the liturgy's beginning.  The priest began the service at the church's entrance - seemingly to welcome a baby's first visit to the church (we thought wrongly that there would be a baptism).  He returned to the altar area, began a lengthy series of prayers (some in English, others in Syriac), aided by a wonderful choir. 

This led to the readings - one from the New Testament (read by what we think was a lay person) and one from the Gospel (read by the priest).  Deacons translated both readings into Syriac.  The priest's homily asked us all not to be fearful of God's love - and to live life as if our Master could return at any moment.  He gave several examples of how we let fear restrict us in our daily lives.

The Communion rite followed.  Communion was by intincture - the priest and deacons dipped the bread into the wine as each person came up to receive (solely by mouth - we saw no one take it by hand). 

The church was quite full - we estimate the congregation at about 125.  The congregation appeared overwhelmingly Lebanese.  There was a good mix of old and young, including several families with young children.  We were very happy to experience worship in this unique and ancient branch of the Catholic Church.