A Mass for all Seasons

This morning we woke up bright and early at 6am...gross. We got dressed and ate, then we were off to church at St. Augustine's. It is the largest black Catholic church in the country, so I felt a little out of place at first. But mass was incredible. The homily that the priest gave was phenomenal...he put the 10 Commandments in terms that everybody could understand, and explained how they relate to us today. Good stuff. On top of that, St. Augustine's has about 20 people coming into the church this Lenten season; needless to say, I was impressed.
My favorite part, however, was when we were exchanging signs of peace. About 10 people came from across the church to greet us, and asked us questions about where we were from and what we were doing in Washington. We told them that we were from a church in Iowa, and they were very impressed. Then they gave us cards encouraging us to come back to the Catholic Church...a little weird, considering, you know, we were with a church. But above all, a very unique experience...it was good to be welcomed by so many smiling faces.