July 2019
In the 6th grade we took a class trip to Washington, DC. We saw the museums, the Capitol, and walked around on the Mall, but what stuck with me about the trip were the stops on the way back: one, at the Franciscan Monastery to see its re-creation of places in the Holy Land; and the other, at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Considering nearly everyone on the school trip was Protestant, I think stopping to see two major Roman Catholic sites was daring. In fact, even as a kid I got the vibe from some of the adults, "I'm not sure this is a good idea". As far as I know, it did not cause a mass exodus of sixth graders to join the Church of Rome.
For me, the two "bonus" stops were a great idea - especially the Shrine. I was 12 and had never been inside a large church. I was overwhelmed by its size and ornamentation. All the chapels and crypts, the mosaics, the statuary - this was no version of Christianity I was familiar with, just wow.
My biggest memory, however, was of Jesus mosaiced into the chancel at the end of the church. He was not the gentle shepherd with a kind face that graced churches I had entered until then. This was a powerful angry man with a muscled body and outstretched crucified hands scowling down at me while flames shot out of his head. His stare penetrated the entire length of the church. "Wow", my kid self wanted to know, "why was Jesus so angry?" The image stuck with me.
That whole trip to DC was the best thing we did in the sixth grade and the stop at the National Shrine served to wake me up to the outside world. Churches could be grand and could follow rituals I had no idea about. Even if I was a child, it made an impression.
Later in the Georgetown years I would occasionally take the metro over to the Shrine for a walk down memory lane, but by that time I was a "convert" to the National Cathedral. I loved the Cathedral not because it was closer to Georgetown, but because of its gothic architecture and details. The Shrine was Byzantine and looked more like a Greek Orthodox church or even a mosque than a Latin church following the Western rite. The Shrine even today looks and feels "new" even though it was completed in 1959, long before the Cathedral. The National Cathedral was built to look old and was still under construction while I was at university. Nonetheless, sometimes I went over to Brookland just to stare up at angry Jesus who glared menacingly at all those who sat in the nave.
Much later in life, Brookland became my place of refuge staying with DV and PM repeatedly when my life was resetting (or falling apart). I would visit angry Jesus sometimes, but not often - even though the Basilica was only a 10 minute walk away. In fact, their street was a short cul-de-sac where the Italian stone masons all lived in the years they chiseled and crafted the Shrine into existence. They created a little Italian community there in Northeast Washington under the shadow of the giant mosque-twin, just across the railroad tracks.
I am grateful I saw such a grand sanctuary when I was a kid if not only to be introduced to a large space that was not a museum nor a government building. I could not get over that huge edifice with all its crypts and chapels was just ONE church. A formative moment in my young mind when I came to understand more about the world, it only fed my desire to know more and see more. If this was in Washington, just a couple hours from York PA, what else was out there in the wide world to see?
As an adult I know why Jesus is angry, too. The Shrine is the "stick" of the divine carrot and stick approach. Jesus is pissed off at us for our multitude of sins - foremost of which is not caring for our neighbor. Buff Angry Jesus of the Shrine, you just keep scowling. We need the reminder.