Mass in Front Royal on St. Cyril's Feast Day

I attended Mass at St. John the Baptist in Front Royal this morning which is always an edifying experience. As I walked into the church, the congregation, led by the pastor, Fr. Jerome Fasano, was praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. As Father processed in from the sacristy we prayed the Angelus. Mass, as is the norm at St. John's, was said ad orientem (Novus Ordo) with the Greek Kyrie and some of the responses in Latin. Oh, and of course the bells and the reverent silence (except for the chirping of the baby birds in the congregation) and the many veiled women all contributed to an atmosphere of of awe and holiness. So many people attend morning Mass that distribution of Communion (at the altar rail where congregants can kneel or stand) takes about ten minutes. How I love attending daily Mass there!

Being St. Cyril's feast day, Father's homily focused on the Council of Ephesus which declared Mary the Mother of God (Theotokos). Early Church councils always addressed heresies and the Council of Ephesus was no exception. The Bishop Nestorius of Constantinople, a major see in the Church, was teaching that Jesus was two persons, one divine and one human. Mary, he said, was mother only of the human Jesus, not the divine. Of course, this heresy flew in the face of both Church doctrine and common sense, making Jesus the ultimate schizophrenic with His body separate from his spirit. St. Cyril, a doctor of the Church, opposed Nestorius and it is to him we owe the second half of the Hail Mary which declares her "Holy Mary, Mother of God."