Welcome to Roamin' Catholics: Body and Soul !
Since neither of us is very good at giving up control, we again present HIS and HER perspectives of our Body and Soul experience.
HIS:
This week’s chosen parish presented quite the juxtaposition
to last week’s. Where St. Edward the Confessor in Bowie, MD presented
itself as a down home simple parish, this week’s parish Holy Trinity in
Georgetown Washington, DC had a much different feel. While the church
itself (overseen by the Jesuits) was simple in its accoutrements, it exuded so
much more. The church was quite beautiful in its
simplicity. According to the history of Holy Trinity, the parish
dates back to the 18th century and the current building is circa
mid-19th century. HT is most famous as being the place of
worship for John Kennedy during his time in Washington, DC. From his time
in the House of Representatives and the Senate through his (short) tenure in
the White House. Unfortunately during our visit, the Jesuits must have
forgotten to pay the heating bill as the church was FREEZING!
For me, I found the first reading to be the most
contemplative. This was from the book of Job. You always hear about
someone having the patience of Job (never in reference to me), and with this
reading, you can see why. The reading starts off, “Is not man’s life on
earth a drudgery?” Boy was Job in for a loooooong life! I try to
find the positive message in the weekly readings, but must admit that it is
difficult when the reading includes lines like, “I have been assigned months of misery”, “I am filled with
restlessness until the dawn”, and “Remember that my life is like the wind; I
shall not see happiness again.”
We caught another presentation on the Cardinal’s Appeal this
week. Apparently the Pastor didn’t deliver the kickoff last weekend so he
did it this week. That’s ok, he delivered his version by weaving his
thoughts on the readings and the Gospel into the importance of belonging to
something and the responsibilities that go along with belonging. I must
say that my favorite part of mass was at the end, before the closing
prayer. Father Gillespie said that the Cardinal’s Appeal wasn’t the only
thing “kicking off” this weekend. With the Super Bowl on Sunday he
acknowledged that some of those in attendance were wearing Patriot’s
paraphernalia. He reminded all those in attendance that they should
notice what HE was wearing. For the uninitiated, during ordinary time
(the time outside periods such as Advent & Lent to name just two) in the
church, the celebrant will wear green vestments. His comment led to much
applause. Let’s hope this Sunday God is on the side of the Eagles! 😊
In trying to be somewhat economical in our roamin’ we opted
to use a gift card for a restaurant we got seven or eight years ago. Once
we confirmed the restaurant was still in business, the reservation was
set. Dinner for two at Café Bonaparte, also in Georgetown. I must
say, I was impressed. CB is a small place. I would say it seats no
more than 30 people. I am not sure how many people were in the kitchen,
but there were only three people working the dining room, including the
bartender. They specialized in crepes (based on the selection on the
menu), but I opted for the steak frites and wasn’t disappointed. Mary had
a cheese and mushroom crepe and we shared entrees. I felt like this place
was a little gem and look forward to returning again sometime in the
future. They must be doing something right as they have been around for
at least 15 years.
HERS:
We selected the 5:30 Saturday evening mass at Holy TrinityCatholic Church in Georgetown based solely on a gift card we had purchased at
an auction over eight years ago to a restaurant less than a mile away from the church called Café Bonaparte. This church was the Catholic church frequented by John F. Kennedy
and his family and was the last church he visited prior to being shot in 1963.
The church was beautiful and the details brought back my Interior Design knowledge
of classical Greek architecture with its ionic columns, twin volutes, and egg
and dart details. I think I impressed Lou with my knowledge prior to mass
beginning. The first thing I noticed about the church was that it was very cold. I don’t
mean the congregation wasn’t friendly, it was… I mean, I nudged Lou and asked
him if maybe they forgot to pay their electric bill!
I am going to begin with the best part of the mass. It was the end,
and not because it was the end, but because that is when the Pastor, Fr. Kevin
Gillespie, showed his true colors, so to speak and an endearing part of his
personality… his sense of humor. The lector was reading the announcements of
the week and mentioned this week was the “kick off” of the Cardinal’s Appeal.
When the announcements were complete, Fr. Gillespie stood for the final
blessing, but before that he said (and I am taking some liberties here),
speaking of kick offs, in another 24 hours there will be another very big kick
off. He continued to say that even though many people will be wearing the Patriot’s
colors, he was supporting the Eagles. He then raised his arms and said that he
was wearing Eagles colors – yes, his chasuble (outside vestment) was green as is the color for the
Church’s ordinary time! He drew laughter and applause from the congregation. It
was one of the most human moments I have witnessed in Catholic Church in a long time, and it made me
realize that we need more of these moments.
The homily was again about the Cardinal’s Appeal. I think when we
Roam, we are bound to have overlap with the appeal. I like how he handled it.
He did not come out and ask for money, but rather discussed why that money was
needed. He then went on and discussed all the different ways the Catholic Church
provided outreach to the community… things such as providing support to those
in need, assisting retired priests and sisters, providing support at the end of
life, just to name a few. He did not tell us how to give money (we all know how
to fill out the envelopes), he taught us why we should give money. I thought it
was very well done.
We then moved on to feed our bodies at a tiny French restaurant
that sat no more than thirty people. It had a French bistro ambiance even
though the waitresses were Russian. Lol. We did what we commonly refer to as “splitsies”.
Lou got the steak frites, and I ordered the mushroom and cheese crepes
(when in Rome, um, I mean Paris) and we shared. The food was very good and the
ambiance was charming. It is a place we probably would never have gone to if it
weren’t for the gift card.
Today is a busy day and I also took a couple hours feed my mind with a session called iRest at a nearby yoga studio. iRest is said to promote increased happiness, decreased anxiety, improved sleep, and increased energy. It was an excellent session, but I think I have a long way to go.
I hope everyone has a great mind, body and soul day. And I'll end with "Go Eagles!!", and of course, our "Soulfie" of the Week...
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