The Basilica of Saint Mary Presents Its Fall 2021 Faith and Culture Series

Holy Hour in Honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

September 8, 2021 from 7:30-8:30 p.m., Basilica of Saint Mary

A Holy Hour will be held on Sept. 8, 2021, from 7:30-8:30 p.m. at the Basilica as we celebrate the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which occurs nine months after the Solemnity (on December 8) of her Immaculate Conception as the child of Saints Joachim and Anne

This event kicks off and is part of the Fall 2021 Faith and Culture Series sponsored by the Basilica.

A birthday cake and sparkling wine will be offered after the Holy Hour at the Basilica’s Courtyard (314 Duke Street), weather permitting, or the Lyceum Auditorium, on 313 Duke Street, if the weather is bad.  

To read more on the Nativity of the Blessed Mother, click here.

Here are two quotes to inspire you:

“Come close to her cradle. Think of the virtues of this holy infant and you will find that she practiced them all to an eminent degree. Question the angels, the cherubim and seraphim, ask them if they are equal in perfection to this little girl, and they will tell you that she infinitely surpasses them. See them surround her cradle, and hear how, lost in wonder at the beauty of this Lady, they say these words of the Song of Songs: Who is this coming up from the desert, like a column of smoke laden with myrrh, with frankincense, and with the fragrant perfume of every exotic dust?”

— Saint Francis de Sales

  “She is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley. Through her birth the nature inherited from our first parents is changed.”

— Saint Augustine

Through Dante’s Paradise with Great Artists 

September 21, 2021 from 7:30-9 p.m., Lyceum Auditorium, 313 Duke Street

To celebrate the Dante Year (this year is the 700th anniversary of the great poet’s death), Nora Hamerman shares a presentation to help us travel through his vision of the Afterlife among the Blessed, joined by masterful artists, such as Sandro Botticelli and Salvador Dalí, and the poetry of Geoffrey Chaucer, and the music of Giuseppe Verdi. Heaven is a very busy place in The Divine Comedy, where the poet deals with astronomy, politics, and history, and affords readers a chance to meet the founders of the great religious orders while showing no patience for clerical corruption.

To hear a podcast in which Mrs. Hamerman talks about Dante, click here:

To read Pope Francis’ recent Apostolic Letter on Dante, called “Splendor of the Light Eternal,” click here.

To learn more about Dante and his masterpiece, The Divine Comedy, click here.

To read which translation Mrs. Hamerman recommends, click here.

Mrs. Hamerman has a background in journalism. Since she and her husband came into the Catholic Church in 1990, she has become known in this diocese for hundreds of articles on seeing art exhibits from a Catholic standpoint, published in the Arlington Catholic Herald.

She earned an MA in Art History from the Institute of Fine Arts of New York University and studied for three years in Rome, including as a Fulbright Scholar. Among her specialties are the history of the City of Rome and an illustrated tour of Dante’s Divine Comedy. She has taught at the University of Virginia, Shenandoah University, and Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College. Currently, she lectures on art and poetry at the Osher Lifelong Learning program of Johns Hopkins University (Rockville) and teaches piano and voice at her home studio in Reston. She has two grown children and three utterly adored grandsons.

Praying the Sorrowful Mysteries with Sacred Art 

October 5, 2021 from 7-8:30 p.m., Lyceum Auditorium, 313 Duke Street

 

 

Katie Woltornist is a New Jersey native now living in Alexandria, VA.  She is the founder of Behold Visio Divina, a ministry that helps women understand their dignity through pondering the feminine genius of Mary in art. Through books, group formation, online community, and workshops.

Behold gives women the opportunity to grow in their relationship with God and one another. Currently, Behold has five published books and has groups both within the United States and internationally.

She will be showing us how to contemplate Sacred Art to pray the Sorrowful Mysteries, and, in general, how to pray with Sacred Art. 

Ms. Woltornist received her undergraduate degree in Theology from Catholic Distance University. Her talks and workshops have been featured in multiple venues, such as the Frassati Fellowship of New York City, the Edith Stein Project, and the GIVEN Institute. She often speaks on the following topics: Prayer, Theology of the Body, Beauty, Healing through Art, and the Feminine Genius.

A Folk Concert Honoring the North American Martyrs

October 19, 2021 from 7-8:30 p.m., Lyceum Auditorium, 313 Duke Street

Father James Waalkes, a Parochial Vicar at Saint Anthony of Padua Parish in Falls Church, will play an American folk music-styled concert in honor of the North American martyred saints. Father James sings and plays guitar. He also sometimes plays the harmonica. He enjoys mostly modern folk and acoustic music. He previously served at the Basilica of Saint Mary as a transitional deacon.  

The North American Martyrs were two priests and six lay brothers, all of whom were Jesuits. They included the following: Father Jean de Brébeuf,; Father Noël Chabanel; Father Antony Daniel; Father Charles Garnier; Oblate René Goupil; Father Isaac Jogues; Oblate John de Lalande; and Father Gabriel Lalemant. They were missionaries in the early-to-mid 17th century who were sent to remote areas of Canada and New York State, where they were murdered for preaching to the local Indians.

To learn more about the Martyrs, click here.

To listen to Father James talk about music, faith and sing two songs, click on the podcast below: