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Saint Timothy Catholic Church
Chantilly, Virginia

by Eileen Lin

On Saturday October 12, I decided to go to the Saint Timothy Parish and hope to find someone to give me a general description on what takes place during Mass, give me a tour, explain the objects inside the church, and answer some of my questions that I've gathered. I walked from the parking lot to the closest doors, which led me to the back of the church. When I entered through the wooden doors I was standing in the back of the room facing the front of the stage. In front of me was Christ on a cross hanging from two pieces of thin clear strings above the stage. The shape of the church amazed me because it didn't look like the way it looked from the outside. The structure and color inside the church was wooden brown and the ceiling was shaped like a cone with pillars connected from the roof down to the floor. This would mean that some people would be blocked by obstructive view because of the pillars running through the pathways. As I looked over to my left I noticed the statute of the Virgin Mary adjacent to where I was standing. In front of the statue were rows of blue glass candleholders with lighted candles inside. To my right I started to notice colorful paintings evenly hanged on the walls all around the room. There were a total of fourteen paintings of Christ. I was lucky to have found Rev. Carroll L. Oubre who had just finished up a lecture. 

As I approach Rev. Oubre we introduced ourselves and I explained to him the reason why I was there which is to learn more about the church and the services they provide. I started off by asking him about the Virgin Mary statue. I was always curious about the symbol of the candles in front of her. I was told that the purpose of the candles in front of the Virgin Mary statue is to light one up when you want to say a prayer. Next, we moved on to the paintings on the wall because they were fascinating to my eyes and I couldn't take my eyes off them. The paintings were painted with colorful descriptive details versus the old paintings that I have seen made with oil paint. He describe to me that they are called the Stations of the Cross which talks about the journey of Christ through crucifixion and can be found in every church. We walked around to all fourteen stations and examined the titles for each one. Station one starts off when Jesus is condemned to death, it shows Jesus crowned a bloody crown of piercing thorns. In station two, Christ carries a heavy cross on his shoulder and shows that the executioners had stripped him of his clothing and he is still wearing plaited thorns on his head. Rev. Oubre described station three as Jesus falling for the first time on his way to Calvary because of the lack of strength he had which made him fall to the ground painfully. Station four shows him and his mother meeting while he is carrying the cross. They both exchanged agony while his mother accompanies him to death. Station five displays Simon helping Jesus carry his cross because Jesus' strength is failing, and the Romans fear Jesus will die before they can crucify him. They seize Simon of Cyrene and compel him to carry the Cross for Jesus. Station six is titled "Veronica Wipes The Face Of Jesus" and exhibits Jesus being covered with sweat and blood. Veronica moved in and wipes his face with her veil. An impression of his sacred face is left imprinted upon the veil. Station seven is showing Jesus falling for the second time from his wounds and the loss of blood. Station eight is when Jesus consoles the daughters of Jerusalem by saying "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me. Weep for yourselves and for your children." Station nine shows Jesus falling for the third time despite of his wounds and is cruelly pushed to move on. Station ten shows Jesus's garments stripped and removed while his torn flesh is visible. Station eleven shows Jesus being nailed to the Cross in the presence of his mother. Station twelve is when Jesus dies on the Cross; he bows his head while hanging from the Cross with blood running down his torn body Station thirteen is when Jesus is taken down from the Cross and placed in his mother's arms. Station fourteen is the final painting of Jesus being placed in the Sepulcher.

Rev. Oubre described the meaning of mass and the actual performance of the ceremony. What I've concluded is that Mass is a religious service of the Roman Catholic Church that performs the sacrament of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the Christian sacrament that repeats the action of Jesus at his last supper with his disciples, when he gave them bread and said, "This is my body" and wine "This is my blood". For who takes part in the sacrament is receiving communion. For Catholics, the sacrament is a bloodless reenactment of the crucifixion and an act of sacrifice. The performance is called Eucharistic liturgy. The purpose of the sacrament is called transubstantiation and it is the bread and wine that turns into the substance of Christ himself. In receiving communion the Christian feels union with Jesus and feels mystically united. Traditionally in mass, the priest receives the communion at the alter. I was told that there were two types of Mass and the differences were that a High Mass required incense, music, the assistance of a deacon, and a sub-deacon. A Low Mass is said using the priest throughout the ceremony, without music with the help of an altar boy. 

On Sunday October 13, I attended a mass service at Saint Timothy Church in Chantilly, Virginia at 10:45 A.M.. As I sat down on the wooden benches of the church I could see a huge amount of people entering and scattering to find a seat. The Mass began with an entrance hymn followed by lighting of two candles on the altar. The missal was said, which was a book containing all the prayers and responses necessary for celebrating the Mass and the priest was dressed in a robe. A greeting was said and a brief penitential rite was cited which included the Kyrie eleison ("Lord, have mercy upon us"), the Gloia in excelsis (said at the end of the Psalms), the collect, (short prayer proper to an occasion, often asking a particular favor). The collect was said just before the epistle, the proper epistle (The Catholic Epistles are James, First and Second Peter; First, Second, and Third John; and Jude), an anthem and the Gospel (Gospels of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John was chanted us all standing which is a written account of the life of Jesus.) and a homily on the texts. This ends the part of the Mass known in as the Mass of the Catechumens. Mass continued with the offertory, offering bread and wine. This took awhile because of the number of people that attended that morning. The priest washed his hands and continued with prayers called "secrets". When it came to a conclusion a bell was rang and everyone slowly walked out while others approached the altar. 

Two years ago when a friend passed away, was the first time that I actually went to Mass only because his family was Catholic. As most of my friends are Catholic and participated in Mass, some of us were left behind sitting there wondering and observing what was taking place. We stood up, kneel, and did what everyone else were doing but not knowing why. Participates walked up to the priest and formed a line as he mumbled some words and place some sort of white object into a glass and placed it in their mouths. At the time I was thinking to myself what is that thing that was placed in their mouths and what does that mean? I know now after talking to Rev. Oubre that it's called the Scriptural Basis of the Eucharist and it is traced to the origins of the Eucharist to the very actions and words of Jesus Christ. The gospel of Saint John described by Saint Paul in the New Testament that the use of bread and wine as an offering that began under the Old Covenant as described in the Book of Genesis. The Eucharist is a sacrament and the central act of worship in many Christian churches, which was instituted at the Last Supper and in which bread and wine are consecrated and consumed in remembrance of Jesus' death.

Sunday Mass is an important socio-cultural factor in Roman Catholic life. All members are required to attend Mass on Sunday as a minimum participation in public worship. In Catholicism, attending mass is very important. Mass is interactive and is about celebrating their faith. During Mass, you have a complete hour to focus of God. The most important part of Mass is Holy Communion. It is important in a Catholic family to be responsible of bringing compassion, love, and honesty into their family and expand it into society. Praying and going to Mass on Sunday is powerful to an individual and their family. Prayer focuses on the individual and brings hope as well as peace into their lives. To a Catholic family, praying comes from the heart and tells God how they feel, what they need, and what they wish to have. After participating in Mass, I felt that I was given an opportunity to discuss my concerns about God and the Bible. I feel closer to the questions I once had but now know the answers too. I can now attend Mass and understand what is happening and can relate mentally since I can't really take part of the service. This experience has changed me only because I went to church with an open heart and mind.

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