St Stephen Martyr

Where: St Stephen Martyr, 2436 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20037

When: Sunday, December 19th, 2010.

Web: The parish website is located here; the ADW listing is here.

We attended 5:30pm Mass at this church in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of DC (note: not the 5:30pm Vigil Mass - St Stephen's has a late Mass on Sunday, most likely to accommodate the GWU students).

A single priest celebrated the Mass, with the assitance of two lectors and an altar server.  There was neither a cantor nor a music group.  The Mass followed the standard rite.  The priest focused his homily on the dream-like interactions God had with Joseph, Isaiah, and Ahaz, noting the different responses of each. 

The large congregation was quite mixed, both racially and in age.

St Dominic

Where: St Dominic's Church, 630 E St SW, Washington DC 20024 

When: Sunday, December 5th, 2010

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

We attended 10:45am Mass at this rather large church in Southwest DC, located just off the 395 expressway amidst Federal office buildings.  The congregation of about eighty seemed sparse in the vast venue.

The Mass followed the conventional rite.  A single priest celebrated Mass, with the assitance of two deacons, a worship coordinator/cantor, an eight-strong choir/music group, two lectors, two eucharistic ministers, and an altar server.

Epiphany

Where: 2712 Dumbarton St NW, Washington, DC 20007

When: Saturday, November 20th, 2010.

Web: The parish website is located here; the ADW listing is located here.

We attended the Vigil Mass at this small church just off the busy streets of Georgetown.  A single priest celebrated Mass, with the assistance of a cantor (who served as pianist and organist), three altar servers, and a lector.  The congregation was about fifty - mainly white and older, but with a few younger couples in attendance too. 

The Mass followed the standard rite.  As this Sunday was the feast of Christ the King, the priest focused his homily on the origins of the feast and, more importantly, what it means.  He explained that while earthly kings have temporal power on earth, Christ's power is supernatural and superior to all.  Those who realise this will align their lives to His.

St Francis de Sales

Where: St Francis de Sales, 2015 Rhode Island Ave NE, Washington, DC 20018.

When: Sunday, November 14, 2010.

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

We attended 9am Mass on Sunday, November 14th at this small and architectually distinctive chuch (it is the basement of a never-completed larger church) in the Langdon Park neighbor hood of northeast DC.

A single priest celebrated Mass with the assistance of a deacon, a lector, and two altar servers.  There was no choir or music group.  The Mass followed the standard rite.  The congregation was almost totally black and older, though there were some younger people and children in attendance as well. 

The priest gave a homily on the coming of Advent.  After his homily, he invited a visiting sister from the Sisters of Matara, an order of nuns active in thirty countries, to speak of her order's work.

St Anselm's Abbey

Where: St Anselm's Abbey, 4501 South Dakota Ave NE, Washington, DC 20017

When: Sunday, October 17, 2010

Web: St Anselm's website is here.

We attended 10:00am Mass here on a bright fall Sunday morning.  St Anselm's Abbey is home to Benedictine monks, at least some of whom teach in the attached boys' school.  The Abbey sits on 40 acres of somewhat secluded woodland; the actual chapel itself is an original structure (1920s) and quite small.

As with the Dominicans some weeks ago, the chapel is divided into two: the upper portion in which the monks sat (facing each other in those seats the name of which I cannot remember); and the lower portion in which the congregation sat.  There were about twenty visitors for Mass, which was about two-thirds of the seating capacity.  Sixteen monks - most of them elderly - were there as well, included the celebrant.

Before Mass started, a monk invited us to bring the gifts to the altar.  The gifts were located on a small table at the front of the pew section.  We noticed that, when people arrived, they transferred hosts from one plate to another; perhaps to ensure that just the right amount were used during the Mass.  We have not seen this practice any where else in Washington, or, to our recollection, any where else.

The Mass followed the conventional rite.  The celebrant was aided by an organist; another monk led the singing.  Two monks joined the lead celebrant for the consecration of the gifts.  The lead celebrant gave a lengthy and wide-ranging homily that touched upon the power of prayer.

For communion, people lined up in the center aisle and walked forward to the lead celebrant; and either side on the way back down were the two co-celebrants with the wine.  There was no collection; but there was a place to leave a donation near the main door.

St Francis Xavier

Where: 2800 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington DC, 20020.

When: Sunday, October 9th, 2010.

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

We attended 11am Mass at this church in the Anacostia neighborhood of the city, just across the river from the main part of DC.  A single priest celebrated Mass, with an altar server, a Eucharistic Minister, a pianist, and a four-strong choir.  The congregation was about fifty strong; this included about ten people visiting for the first memorial anniversary of a sister from the nearby St Francis Xavier school.  It appeared as well that some parishoners were dissuaded from attending by the major roadworks directly outside the church.

The Mass followed the conventional rite; of note, though, was the priest facing the Tabernacle during the introductory prayers from a position below the sanctuary.  We hadn't noticed that in DC before.  His homily weaved references to today's Gospel to the life of the departed sister and to other congregants - our need to give thanks to God for His innumerable blessings to us. 

Our Lady Queen of the Americas

Where: Our Lady, Queen of the Americas, 2200 California St NW, Washington DC 20008.

When: Saturday, October 2nd, 2010.

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

We attended the 5:30pm Vigil Mass at this largely Hispanic parish in Northwest Washington DC.  The chapel in which Mass was celebrated was on the second floor of a large school-like building.  We got the impression that there are several Hispanic and immigrant related services provided in the building.  Most Masses are in Spanish - but this Vigil Mass was in English.

The priest celebrated Mass with the assistance of two readers.  As is common for Vigil Masses, there was no choir or musical accompaniment.  The congregation was about 20; mostly middle-aged men and women there by themselves. 

The Mass followed the conventional rite.  Of note was the priest's homily on today's Gospel, in which the parable of the mustard seed was mentioned.  The priest noted that this was his favorite parable as a child; but that, at the seminary, a nun told him that the English interpretation was terrible.  We are not to have faith "like" a mustard seed (small) but "as" a mustard seed (tenacious, growing, and visible in difficult circumstances).  Also of note was the lack of wine for the Eucharist and the lack of an actual collection (there was a basket at the chapel door).

St Thomas, Apostle

Where: 2665 Woodley Road NW, Washington DC 20008.

When: September 26th, 2010.

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

We attended 8:30am Mass at this Woodley Park church.  The priest celebrated Mass with the assistance of a lector, an altar server, and an Eucharistic minister.  The parish's choirs sing at the other masses during the day.

There were about sixty people in the congregation; mostly white, though with other groups represented as well.  There was a good age range as well, though mostly middle-aged and older. 

The Mass followed the standard rite.  The priest gave a homily based on the parable of Lazarus and the rich man.  He focused on how, though the rich man was concerned with his brothers when he was in torment, his failure to have concern for the poor, and to use his wealth for good, condemned him.  The priest noted that wealth means far more than money - for example, the wealth we have in our Christian faith.  We are called by God to use our wealth for the good of others and, ultimately, our own good.

Our Lady of Victory

Where: 4835 MacArthur Blvd NW, Washington DC 20007.

When: September 19th, 2010.

Web: The church's website is here; the ADW listing is located here.

We attended 10:30am Mass at this church located in the Palisades community in Northwest DC.  This pretty church was about three-quarters full, with quite a lot of families with young children (today was Catechumen's Day, at which the Church recognizes and blesses teachers; this may explain the young attendance).  The congregation was overwhelmingly white, though there were some blacks and Hispanics there as well.  This church has a weekly Mass for the Croatian community.

The priest celebrated Mass with the assistance of an organist, choir, Eucharistic ministers.  The Mass followed the standard rite.  Two notable aspects were (i) two women collecting, and (ii) the choir coming down from the loft for Holy Communion and returning to there afterwards.  This is the first time we've seen a choir relocate during a Mass.

The priest gave a homily on the topic of wealth, based on the Luke's Gospel of serving either God or mammon.

St Benedict the Moor

Where: 320 21st St NE, Washington DC 20002.

When: September 12th, 2010.

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

We attended 10am Mass at this church located in the Kingman Park neighborhood, not far from RFK Stadium.  The congregation was about two hundred, almost exclusively black.  There was a notable absence of children and young adults, which the priest referenced in his homily.

The priest celebrated Mass with the assistance of two altar servers, a pianist, and two Eucharistic ministers.  There was no deacon.  The Mass followed the standard rite.  The priest gave an insighful homily on forgiveness, based on the parable of the prodigal son.  He referenced The Color Purple to reach his audience better.  He also focused on the need for parishoners to evangelize, esp. to get young people to return to the church.