I went to the Shrine yesterday

in the wake of July 4th revelry. As I crossed over the 14th Street bridge into the DC I saw a bunch of big boats anchored from the night before. Last year I saw the fireworks from the water on my boat in that very spot. It was worth the experience but even if I still had my boat I wouldn’t do it again. Drunk people stumbling around on land are bad enough. When drunk people are piloting boats on a dark and stormy night you stay off the water.

The Shrine was quiet save from some tourists knocking around with their young children. I had a wonderful confession with an elderly priest and prayed the Rosary in front of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. I also went a little nuts at the bookstore. I bought several copies of Mark Shea’s This is My Body for my Evangelical friends. That was my mini-retreat on my day off.