Volume 40 Number 4

Maneline  

S T . M a r k C a t h o l i c C o m m u n i t y

May 2018

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Beyond the Milky WayBy Kathy Aquilina

little mass he called a nebula (cloud). In 1920, there was a debate on whether these nebulae were in the Milky Way or whether they were “universe islands,” as Immanuel Kant had postulated in the 1700s. Being part of the Milky Way won the day; however, in a paper presented a few years later in 1925, Edwin Hubble’s genius for calculation (showing the im-portance of math, noted Dr. de Mello!) proved that the distance to Andromeda was too far for it to be inside the Milky Way. How we viewed the universe was changed when it finally became clear that nebulae were galaxies. We can now see billions of galaxies through space telescopes, giving us a breathtaking glimpse of the beyond without the haziness caused by humid-ity in the atmosphere. If we were to take a dime and hold it at arm’s length, the area represented by the eye of President Roosevelt would contain 10,000 galaxies as seen by the Hubble Telescope. Dr. de Mello’s slides showed an awesome view of the sheer overwhelming vastness of space brimming with color, pulsation, fog, and form.Space Is Definitely Not Empty! Dr. de Mello has focused on the issue of galaxies colliding in her research at NASA. She showed nine examples—some seemed to dance cosmically side

by side, some merged with spiral arms trailing, some were completely bonded and brighter because of it. She suggested some citizen participation in helping to classify some of these numerous galax-ies at www.zooniverse.org, sponsored by NASA. Seeing the many young peo-ple who spoke with her afterward, one can sense the excitement generated by her promoting interaction and learning about space. She then pointed to all the baby stars (affectionately named “blue blobs”) coming from these collisions. Some in the audience immediately remembered Dante’s words in the Paradiso about “the Love that moves the sun and the other stars…” He was talking about God and His Creation, and here it appears that astronomy is proving Dante right. Space may seem austere and impersonal, but as Dr. de Mello passed along her joy that this galactic interaction is like love — creating baby stars amidst the explod-ing gases — we absorbed her metaphor of passion. We also appreciated that we were safe and sound viewing these for-midable, powerful co-joining interac-tions from far, far away! Despite how gloriously full space seems, scientists have recently discovered that 73 percent of the universe is made up of dark en-ergy and 23 percent of dark matter, and what we see is only 4 percent! Mysteries of Creation Dr. de Mello encouraged us to write our Congressional representatives and ask them for funding to study the 96 percent we do not see — dark matter and energy, which seems to be everywhere. For ex-ample, she noted that the Milky Way is surrounded by dark matter; at its core is a

T he Care for Our Common Home min-istry began with Jean Lupinacci’s discus-sion group on Pope Francis’s encyclical on

Creation, Laudato Sí. Since then, we have been working practically to reduce, recycle, and reuse, and we have found many Parishioners already on this path. Underlying all the activity was the sentence of Pope Francis that beckons us to a deeper call: “We are losing our attitude of won-der, of contemplation, of listening to Creation, and thus we no longer manage to interpret in it what Benedict XVI calls ‘the rhythm of the love-story between God and man’”. Hence, it seemed a good idea to offer some understanding about the awesome place where we live! The pres-entation “Beyond the Milky Way,” a scientific overview of the universe presented by the talented and brilliant Brazilian astronomer, Dr. Duilia de Mello, fit the bill. Because of our minis-try’s vision, some further faith connections and thoughts were woven into this article.

Dr. Duilia de Mello, a physics professor at The Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and astronomer doing research at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), spoke at ST. MARK on Earth Day, April 22. More than 130 people attended, including many students from ST. MARK School. To highlight the significance of Earth Day, Dr. de Mello related that she always tells her students to take care of this planet, as for now “THIS IS IT. There is no Plan (Planet) B”. With many young people listening, it certainly heightened her message that we conduct our lives with care to help ensure young people’s future wellbeing. For the longest time, Dr. de Mello stat-ed, we did not know we were in a gal-axy. In a clear sky one night in Ireland in the spring of 1845, using a six-foot tel-escope, William Parsons found a fuzzy

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Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! By John Thieman

ST. MARK hosted the Annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner in April for the many dedicated

volunteers who give their time and tal-ent to work in the five Commissions — Worship, Religious Education, Community Growth, Service, and Youth Ministry — as well as in pro-grams sponsored by the Diocese and local community.

More than 300 members of the Parish gathered to enjoy an evening of fel-lowship, food, and dancing in the Msgr. Cassidy Activities Center af-ter the 5:30 p.m. Mass on April 28. Everyone brought a favorite salad or dessert dish to share.

Many others volunteered to help in special ways: Julia Boyle and Nella Henson, both graduating seniors from Pope Paul VI High School, greeted guests at the door. Julia plans to study biomedical engineering, and Nella will

massive black hole. There are mysteries still to uncover, and as Bill McCarthy, a parishioner of ST. MARK, said, if you are limited by only believing what you can see, then really you are miss-ing most of the universe! Pope Francis in Laudato Sí (#243) encourages us all to look forward to an amazing future: “At the end, we will find ourselves face to face with the infinite beauty of God and be able to read with admiration and

happiness the mystery of the universe”. The audience peppered her with so many questions we could have kept go-ing for hours: Why are galaxies colliding if the universe is expanding? Why are some galaxies flat like a pizza? Is there life on other planets? What about the moss on Mars? (Gravity takes over to bring galaxies together… there are dif-ferent shapes that galaxies form… the universe is so large it would be a waste

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Beyond the Milky Way

not to have life elsewhere, but so far we have no evidence, which makes life here on earth so precious…and, sadly, there is no moss on Mars…). Study Resource: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Study Guide to accompany Laudato Sí Care for Our Common Home: http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/environment/upload/laudato-si-discussion-guide.pdf.

major in biology as part of a pre-medi-cal school program. Natalia Fernandez and Lilian Zapata served special drinks; others in the kitchen prepared the food to place on the serving tables, and the uniformed servers were at the ready.

Fr. Pat Holroyd opened the festivi-ties with a prayer and blessing, and Pam Burke explained the evening’s program.

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Mike and Peg Kelly lived in Romania from 1986 to 1988, where they began their col-

lection of handmade and decorated EASTER eggs. They added to their collection during travels to Ethiopia, Hungary, and Italy. Their son brought additional eggs back from a trip to Poland. This EASTER, they provided their collection for a public display at the Oakton Library.

Evolution of the Easter Egg For many centuries, traditional folk religions have regarded the egg as a powerful symbol of fertility, purity, and rebirth. These rituals often use eggs to promote fertility and restore virility of the body and mind and to foresee the future. To these pre-Christian religions, eggs represent growth, protection, new beginnings, and resurrection. The Vernal Equinox celebrates the coming of spring, and the egg is an important part of this ancient festival.

Later customs concerning eggs were associated with EASTER. Christians readily embraced the egg as a symbol and likened it to the tomb from which Christ arose and the vehicle of trans-formation from death into life.

Easter Eggs Displayed at Oakton Library

Hungarian Easter eggs are decorated with sim-ple geometric shapes or ornamented with swirls of plants and flowers.

Italian Marble Eggs

Polish Wooden Eggs

Ethiopian wooden egg

A Romanian Orthodox nun decorated these eggs by placing beads one at a time.

Painted Raw Egg from Romania

Af f i r m i n g t h e God-given dig-nity and value

of each human life, ST. MARK held the annual Mass of Remembrance for the unborn to re-member all lives lost for any reason: miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion. The Pro-Life Committee planned the Mass in a spirit of love and healing for all who wished to remember unborn children.

The service began as everyone joined the 10:00 a.m. Mass Choir in singing, “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy.” Flowers representing each child being remembered were collected during the Offertory. The flowers were brought to the Altar with the gifts of bread and wine.

Rev. Paul Grankauskas, Parochial Vicar,

reminded all that the life of a child is never forgot-ten by God, its Creator. Mary is our model in bearing grief; she suf-fered the greatest grief when she witnessed the death of her Son while standing at the foot of His cross. His Resurrection on EASTER Sunday shows

us that suffering is not a reason for despair. We believe that through Christ’s mis-sion as mysti-cal head of the Church, we are all unit-ed with Him and can share in the future joy of heaven.

No Person Is Ever Forgotten By John Thieman

The Choir provided moving music to commemorate the loss of the unborn. Fr. Paul blesses Deacon

John and Jody Allen.

Participants later came forward and re-ceived a special blessing from Father Paul, Deacon John Allen, and Deacon Charles Duck. They asked God to soothe and to comfort the persons and, through the prayers of Mary, to give hope to their hearts and peace to their lives.

At the conclusion of the Mass, the flow-ers that were collected were placed on the Memorial honoring the unborn in the Memorial Garden on the church grounds.

Flowers representing each unborn child were placed on the Memorial after Mass.

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Anastasia Ahad Auden Alvarez Carolyn Angelicchio Hayes Aylward

James Bechtle William Beck Natalie Bernier Joseph Bird Lorenzo Bonacci Gavin Bourdelais Alexis Bray Gabriella Bremer Finley Byrne

Oliver Carter Elaina Castillo Elena Cemovic Ian Clark Aidan Coleman Sophia Cozad Levi Craner

Sonja D’Souza Daniel Dimarco

Caroline Eich Elvis Encinas Emma Encinas

Michael Farrow William Fehd Bronwyn Folkedal Lilia Foster Maris Francescon

Daniel Gagnon Bennett Gangemi Cole Gangemi Bria Geide Lyla Geiger Abigail Glassman

Cooper Hanna Olivia Harris Weston Heard Julia Heinzelmann Andrew Hodson Jack Hodson

Karina Jaklis Noah Jordan

Fiona Kalbaugh Andrew Khouri Brandon Kitchel David Kreiling

Gabriela Lacayo Andrew Long Nicholas Lucchese Billy Lytton

Allison Malisko Mia Mccabe Chase Meyer Etta Miller Mattthew Molinini Dylan Moloney Bryce Monahan Joseph Moore Thomas Moore Avery Mueller Mackenzie Muller Delaney Munson

Joshua Nguyen Logan Nolan Natalia Novoa

Meghan O’Neill Lyla Ore

Blake Pacheco Isabella Parker Ethan Pateder

Benjamin Petersen Alessandra Pezzimenti Lucas Pezzimenti Bella Pham Brian Pickersgill Bianka Piskulich Gustavo Platero Melanie Porcelli

Hanson Rajmaira Rebecca Reynolds Samuel Robey Gabriella Rodriguez

Alexandra Samsot Kristina Sikaulu Tadas Stanis

John Talbot Santiago Talbot Jacob Tardy Mairin Tarr Olivia Taylor Ryan Thompson Matthew Torres Sofia Tran

Alexander Van Horn

Andrew Weiler Genevieve Wilson William Wright

Giovanna Yappel

Javion Zdimal

First Holy Communion

ST. MARK rejoiced with the Second Graders as they received the EUCHARIST by making their First Holy Communion at the Saturday Vigil and Sunday Masses in May. Please pray for them and their families as they complete this Sacrament of Initiation, come to know the joy of

union with Jesus in the Real Presence, and growth in grace each week as they receive Him. Let us serve as witnesses to their growth by participating fully in the Masses and con-sider spending time with the Lord in Eucharistic Adoration on First Fridays.

Parish Shares in First Communion Celebration

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The Parish is grateful to the dedicated service of the many adults who served as teachers, aides, Spirit Team members, and filled other needed slots to help to prepare our young people to receive the Sacrament. Special thanks are extended to the following:

Jean Angelicchio, Dawn Bangi, Nick Basinger, John Bourdelais, Tristan Bourdelais, Kelly Boyle, Amanda Bradley, Karen Bray, Hugh Brien, Cindy Brohoski, Laura Brown, John Cogan, Griffin Cummins, Kristen Day, Julia Drewniak, Deacon Charlie Duck, Stephanie Edgar, Billy Ellis, Evelyn Flores, Kevin Flores, Anthony Foster, Walter Gawlak, Iris Gil, Lilly Graybiel, Pauline Hartnett, Josh

Heinzelmann, Melissa Jacoby, Nick Jacoby, Claire Lindner, Jean Lupinacci

Rick Martell, Jennifer Martin, Eric McDade, Victoria Merkel, Mark and Barbara Morneau, Jessica Ng, Pia Pell, Terrance Pell, Tom Pell, Erin Philippart, Catherine Preaskorn

Rocco and Valerie Repteski, Kim Reineberg, Cindy Revaz, Ellie Riedel, Edna Rienzi,

Carrie Reynolds, Philip Root, Jack Rourke, Mariclaire Rourke, Shane Seegers, Fran Smith, Lauren Smith, Kathy Sullivan

Erik Teeter, Susan Toloczko, Jennifer Trax, Claire Troy, Katherine Turner, Rachel Vaccaro, Rebecca Vaccaro, Philip Van Dalen, Joan Walsh, Matt Waring, Byron Wiedeman, Kristen Wilson, Christine Wisnewski, Catherine Wright, Judy Zakreski, and Jacob Znachko.

Robert James BarrettLogan Robert BeahnNatalie Ann BechtNathaniel Joseph BermanJack Lachlan BlairGabriella Marie BolliniDavid Michael BourdelaisNorman Michael BoykinMelanie Margaret BoyleErin Christine BrackmanIsabella Marie BrayGabriel James BrinzaSamantha Grace BrohoskiElizabeth Ann BrownMatthew Thomas BrownLucian Willem BuhrmanChristopher James Bunn

Leah Susan Campbell Giulianna Alessia Campo Raul Andrew Cancho-Luciano Anna Teresa Capobianco Richard Alexander Checo Patrick Colyar Marina Nicole Conforti Rachel Anne Cooper Hugo Fernando Coz IIIKatherine Rose Day Rhett Adam D’Crus

Samuel Scott Delgado Aaron Zachary Diehl Kaden Garner Dillon Ryan Lewis Dinkelacker John Aidan Douglas Damian Eric Drey Ryan Matthew DwyerBethany Ann Ebert Noelle Lynn Ebert Kathryn Elizabeth EdgarAidan Thomas Fechter John Paul Felmlee Jessica Michelle FritschErin Flynn Garvert Matthew Christopher GrosGrace Heinzelmann Daniel Aidan Holtaway Jacob Patrick Hopp Madison Lee HughesDavin Israel Kawuma Tomasz Franciszek Kleczek Emily Grace Knisley Maya Elise KoebkeJohn Thomas Landwehr III Annabel Suhjoo Lee

Parish Youth Receive the Sacrament of CONFIRMATIONBishop Burbidge confirmed the Eighth Graders of ST. MARK on Thursday, May 17, followed by a reception in the Msgr. Cassidy Activities Center.

Volunteers Prepare Youth for CONFIRMATION

Matthew Joseph Sabio Emily Elizabeth Sarber Dylan Sebastian Scanlon Aidan Michael Schlegel Nathaniel Edward Sousa Aidan J. Stein Cassielle Helena Sweda

Tuong-Vi Elizabeth Quang Ta Samantha Gaile Tadle Sean Matthew Tardy William Stiles Thacher Julia Elizabeth Thomas Elizabeth Mary Thompson Nicholas Tolozcko Eli Steven Trax

Andrew Martin Van Dalen

Katelynn Susan Waclawski Micaela Mary Walsh Leo Anthony Weeks Mackenzie Marie Wills Kevin Burke Wilson Ian James Wisnewski Grace Catherine Wright

Anna Vita Yacura Mary Elizabeth Yacura

Sarah Marie Zakreski

Anthony Raymond Lord Briant Francis LowellAidan Christina MacGregor Claire Sofie Machi Grace Margaret Magowan Emily Rose Martin Isabella Jeanette McDonald Madelena Eleanor McGirr Caroline Anne McLaughlin Caroline Brouillard McMahonMichael George Nardotti Quynhmai Pham Nguyen Erin Temme Nolasco Ethan Alexander NormanHugh Patrick O’Brien Robert Miles O’Brien Reagan Claire O’BrienBrendan Thai Tran Pham Benjamin Dennis Philippart Veronica Nicole PreaskornEvelyn Rose Rienzi Penelope Kathleen Roccia Nathalia Sofia Rooks Andrew Joseph Root Dillon Avery Rose Adam Christopher Roth

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which resembles green apples, or even to touch the tree, which is poisonous.

For the ugly, I nominate the iguanas, which are a good two feet long and hang out on bushes and lumber across paths.

It is fun to see monkeys swinging from tree to tree. There are many beautiful birds, including scarlet macaws and tou-cans. The birds sing so you know they are around even when they are not in sight.

If you visit Costa Rica, you need to be prepared to see some good, bad, and ugly parts of creation. The

Lord God made them all!

During a boat ride on the Rio Frio near the border with Nicaragua, you might see a mother caiman resting under a tree, not far from the juveniles who be-long to her. You might wonder, as we did, whether it was wise to swim in the river. Children were swimming some distance away, but our guide assured us there had never been a problem.

Hiking through the rainforest, you might see a relatively small but highly venom-ous eye lash palm pit viper wrapped around a tree limb, and you might hear the red poison dar t frogs out seeking mates. Apparently, and fortunately, the frogs are afraid of people.

The 17-foot cro-cod i l e named Osama bin Laden surely looks like evil personified when he surfaces next to your boat. He can swim 50 mph and go 25 km per hour on land, and he can lurk underwater for two hours. He has plenty of food because there is no drought in Costa Rica.

Other dangers are signposted but other-wise appear innocuous. There are dan-gerous currents at some of the beauti-ful Pacific beaches. At the popular park, Manuel Antonio, there are massive fruit-bearing Manchineel trees with low branches. Signs warn not to eat the fruit,

You will see large blue butterflies, and orchids that grow on trees but do them no harm. There are specialized hum-mingbirds for the different flowers, able to pollinate them.

The authorities are promoting “living fences” so that the birds and monkeys continue to have habitat and food. People take sticks and insert them in the ground at intervals to show the prop-erty line. Over time, the sticks grow and may become trees.

In the tropical humid rainforests, we learn the life-giving nature of water. These rainforests, which have 12 feet of rain a year, are evergreen because as leaves fall off they are immediately replaced; the forest is always alive and verdant.

There are also “walking palm trees.” My image of trees is that they stand f i r m . T h e s e palms grow up quickly in search of light. If the light turns out to be at an angle, the tree drops an ex-tension down to

support it in that direction and eventually moves a short distance.

Sugar cane is abundant, and ethylene gas is made from it. This gas is applied to pineapple plants to shorten the grow-ing time from two years to 15 months. I wonder what might hasten our matura-tion as Christians like that?

You will easily find a church, and you can enjoy an empanada for EASTER in this beautiful country with friendly people.

Viewing God’s Creation By Ann Ramish

ST. MARK School Students Chosen for Diocesan Science FairFour ST. MARK School students achieved outstanding levels in their respective categories in the Science Fair and have been selected to represent the Parish at the Diocesan Science Fair. Their teacher is Mr. Seegers.

n Andriko Bilaniuk: First place in behavioral and social sciences: “The Effect of Learning Styles on Memory Recall of Hindi Vocabulary” n Elizabeth Brown: First place in mathematics: “The Effect of Derivative Line Slope and Area on the Strength of Parabolic Arches” n J. P. Felmlee: Third place in environmental sciences: “The Effect of Nitrate Levels on Water Quality” n Erin Garvert: Third place in microbiology: ‘The Effect of Temperature on the Number of Bacteria Colonies in Different Types of Milk”

Also chosen to participate were Matthew Brown, Antonio Ghaleb, Chris Bunn, Melanie Greig, Eli Trax, and Ethan Norman. Alternates are Caroline McMahon, Grace Wright, and Frankie Anstett.

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member of the Presidential com-mission charged with supervising

the restoration of public build-ings in the capi-tal destroyed by the British dur-ing the War of 1812. He was a U.S. Marshal in the District

of Columbia, first appointed in the President James Monroe administra-tion. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall was a boarder in the house from 1832–1833; Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story also was a boarder.

NEW PARISHIONERS

ST. MARK welcomes the following new Parishioners to our Parish family:

David and Andrea AufderheideJeffrey and Veronica BeronAmir and Renee Gilanshah

Jim and Lauren GottermeyerCarlyn Hetmanek and Joshua Bell

Niya MaEd and Carol Martin

Michael and Erin MartinMegan Meyer

Eric and Tamara RoseDane and Stephanie Teschner

Justin and Lisa Weyman

BAPTISM Sarah Madeline Freeman

Elijah Christopher GeorgeMadeline Belle Gonzalez

Madelyn Grace PetersBecket Antonin RobeyAldyn Grace Verderese

Daniel Joonsung WolfermanJonathan Joonmin Wolferman

Maneline is the publication of ST. MARK Catholic Community, 9970 Vale Road, Vienna, VA 22181. It is published nine

times a year, with a December/January issue, a June/ July issue, and an August/September issue.

Individuals wishing to submit articles should contact a member

of the editorial team. Editors: Mary Fisk: maryfisk2@gmail.com

Ann Ramish: ramishteam@outlook.com

Artist: Susan Scanlon: TSMosaics@hotmail.com

MilestonesUpcoming M&M activities include

a potluck luncheon in the Msgr. Cassidy Activities Center on May 23, a tour of the Fairfax County Water Authority and lunch in Occoquan on May 30, a coffee social with author Nancy Hannan on June 6, a Potomac riverboat ride and lunch at Kirwan’s Irish Pub on June 13, and a barbeque at the home of Joe Kolasch on July 7.

In April, the M&M activities included a visit to the U. S. Department of State and DACOR (Diplomatic and Consular Officers Retired) Bacon House in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, April 25. The DACOR Bacon House was built in 1825 for Tench Ringgold, a

M&Ms Visit U. S. Department of State

May is a month that is particularly rich with celebrations of impor-

tant aspects of the Faith, as well as Saints whose lives witness their close-ness to God

Solemnities n At His Ascension, Jesus brings the message of the Incarnation full circle. He became fully human, lived among us, died for us, and then, in the words of mystic Adrienne von Speyr, brought His body home to His Father. The hu-man person — body and soul — is a holy creation and has an eternal home.

n At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came and filled the Apostles and disciples with the grace and strength needed to build the Church; He continues to fill us with His Presence and Love today.

n Commenting on the Most Holy Trinity, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “… by sending His only Son and the Spirit of Love in the fullness of time, God has revealed His innermost secret:

God Himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and He has destined us to share in that love” (CCC 221).

13 Ascension of the Lord20 Pentecost 27 The Most Holy Trinity Memorials and Feasts 1 St. Joseph the Worker2 St. Athanasius3 Sts. Philip and James14 St. Matthias15 St. Isidore18 St. John I21 St. Christopher Magallanes and Companions, St. Rita of Cascia25 St. Bede the Venerable, St. Gregory VII, St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi26 St. Philip Neri 31 Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Solemnities, Feasts, & MemorialsMay

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Mark Your Calendar

1-2 Forty Hours Devotion 2-3 Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)3 Youth and Family Mass 6:00 p.m.5 ESL party 7:00 p.m. 7 Embry Rucker food delivery 9:00 a.m. 10 Donut Sunday Spiritual Classics Book Club 5:00 p.m. 11 Always Our Children 7:30 p.m. 15 Movie Night 6:30 p.m. 17 Christ House food delivery 10:00 a.m. 18 Fairfax Theology on Tap 6:30 p.m. 23-29 Diocesan Workcamp

May20 Christ House food delivery 19-20 Solemnity of the Pentecost23 ST. MARK Praise and Worship 7:30 p.m.26-27 Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity28 FACETS hot meal preparation 3:00 p.m.30-31 FORTY HOURS Devotion opens 10:00 a.m.

June