When I was in middle school, I entered the science fair at Marymount School in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. The Benedictine sisters encouraged everyone to enter.

My project one year was a cloud chamber. You get a large glass jar, cut a hole in it, place a radioactive particle at the center and fill it with dry ice — yes, you could order radium from the then-Atomic Energy Commission in those days. You could get dry-ice easily too.

You evacuate all the air from the sealed container and with any luck you can see trails of ionized gas streaking like falling stars in a miniature firmament.

My chamber never worked. My project was an empty glass container with clouds of carbon dioxide swirling in it. No ionized particles.

Science fair projects have evolved over the years. At this year’s Arlington Diocesan science fair 34 schools sent their seventh- and eighth-graders to participate.

Holy Spirit School in Annandale won the fair’s top honors with All Saints School in Manassas coming in second and St. Leo the Great School in Fairfax placing third.

There were winning projects in mathematics, physics and chemistry. A winning project at Holy Spirit was one that used algae as biofuel, which is a lot more practical then ionizing radium for a light show.

Check out my story on Holy Spirit and other graduation stories in next Thursday’s print edition.

More

Here are some of the top stories from the Catholic Herald last week:

Our most popular story, by far, was Editorial Assistant Katie Collins' piece on Catholic Montessori schools. "According to many Catholic families who have found it a good fit," Collins writes, "they are drawn to Catholic Montessori because it nurtures the whole child, spiritually and academically, and creates self-motivated, self-aware, confident children who love to learn and have a deeply personal relationship with God."

Senior Staff Writer Gretchen Crowe's Mother's Day story follows the life of Laura, a young, homeless mother whose life changed after she sought refuge at Arlington's Borromeo Housing Inc.

Katie Bahr, staff writer, visted Oakcrest School in McLean, where they welcomed Jane Belford, chancellor of the Washington Archdiocese, as she gave a brief presentation about religious liberty.

“I urge you to pay attention and educate yourself,” Belford told the students. “The more you know, the more prepared you are to be able to defend and speak intelligently about your faith, which will enable you to take action.”

And Staff Writer Dave Borowski woke up at 3 a.m. to go fishing with the Knights of Columbus on the Chesapeake Bay. 

We also published a wide variety of ever-popular Letters to the Editor, many of which have elicited comments from readers, as well as several opinion pieces, including this one from Barbara Curtis on working mothers.  

Curtis writes: "While motherhood can look easy — it’s certainly not rocket science, after all — the irony is this: While lots of important people in important places conduct lots of important business every day, the truly most important work in the whole world is really going on at home, where the CEO is mommy."

The next issue of the Catholic Herald will be in mailboxes starting this Thursday. As always, check catholicherald.com for most of the content, as well as …More

Happy Mother's Day weekend!

Here's a look at a few highlighted items happening in the Arlington Diocese in the next couple of days.

Tonight, May 11, Rev. Julian Dobbs of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America is giving a talk entitled "One Lord or Many Gods" at St. Luke Church in McLean, in which he will explore whether the God of the Bible and the God of the Koran can be the same. The talk begins at 6:30 p.m.

For you art lovers, Alphonse Pinto is giving a talk Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. on "Beautiful Love: Sacred Art and Devotion to God" at St. Mary Church Lyceum in Alexandria. 

Young adults can stay busy, too, with Young Adult Ministry's holy hour and social tonight (Friday) at 8:30 p.m. at St. Mary in Alexandria and Catholic Sports Club's indoor soccer Sunday at St. Bernadette Church in Springfield at 7 p.m. Also, St. Charles Borromeo's Ignite program is hosting a hike and mountaintop Mass Saturday, with participants from the Arlington church leaving at 8 a.m.

If you're thinking about checking out "The Avengers," or another movie this weekend, see our online reviews to find out ratings and what to watch out for.

And prepare for Mass this weekend by looking over Fr. Jerry Pokorsky's Gospel Commentary, which focuses on the love of Christ.  

Lastly, if you like to plan ahead and are interested in eating out for a good cause this week, don't forget Wednesday's fundraiser for the Tilly Egge Coyle and her family at local Lebanese Taverna restaurants. 

Wishing you a faith-filled weekend — and blessings on all mothers! More

Since her dad was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2008, my friend Mary (you might remember her as Herald Staff Writer Mary Frances McCarthy) has walked with a group of friends in the annual 5K Race for Hope in downtown D.C. This year, the multitude of participants raised nearly $2.3 million for brain cancer research, with the proceeds supporting the National Brain Tumor Society and Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure.

I joined Mary’s team for the first time last Sunday — a dreary day in our nation’s capital that was sadder than I expected. Signs and T-shirts remembered and honored loved ones lost. Fathers in their 50s, women in their 20s. A 12-year-old girl. Parents, children, old, young — no one is spared the horrible disease that claims 13,000 people a year in the United States alone.

When I mentioned my inner grief to Mary, who lost her dad, Joe, in June 2009, she told me: Yes, it is sad. But that sadness is tempered by watching the survivors cross the finish line. And she was right.

While some racers finished with tears streaming down their faces, others — the survivors clad in yellow shirts — held the hands of loved-ones and smiled. They pushed strollers. They beamed at the applause. They celebrated their lives with the hope that, one day, they’d no longer be racing because the race would no longer exist.

Since that first year when Mary and her best friend from high school started a team in honor of their father and step-father, Mary’s group has expanded to include the families and friends of two more men who have all died from the same strain of brain cancer over the years. The team, through its blue homemade shirts, proclaimed that its members were walking “For our Fathers.”

"It was bittersweet last year to add two team members whose father passed away just months before the race," Mary said. "But it is always comforting to know that we can find strength and support …More

When you think about Mother’s Day, it’s easy to put all the focus on only the mothers you know personally — the mothers, wives, grandmothers and other women that you see every day. While those women are definitely important, there are many others who are struggling to support their children, but may go unnoticed.

Last week, I attended a meeting of a brown bag lunch club for senior citizens at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Triangle. The club, which meets twice a month for social and service activities, spent last week’s meeting making fleece blankets for women in crisis pregnancies.

At the beginning of the meeting, organizer Anne Tunney shared a simple prayer for mothers that I thought was a nice way of paying tribute to the many women who are struggling without support or appreciation. In this week before Mother’s Day, while you are shopping for greeting cards or ingredients for breakfast in bed, I encourage you to take a minute and read through this.

While we cannot always offer physical support for all mothers, as Christians, we can offer our prayers.

God our Creator, we pray:

for new mothers, coming to terms with new responsibility;

for expectant mothers, wondering and waiting;

for those who are tired, stressed or depressed;

for those who struggle to balance the tasks of work and family;

for those who are unable to feed their children due to poverty;

for those whose children have physical, mental or emotional disabilities;

for those who have children they do not want;

for those who raise children on their own;

for those who have lost a child;

for those who care for the children of others;

for those whose children have left home;

and for those whose desire to be a mother has not been fulfilled.

Bless all mothers, that their love may be deep and tender,

and that they may lead their children to know and do what is good,

living not for themselves alone, but for God and for others.

Amen. …More

Tilly Egge Coyle, a graduate of Bishop O’Connell High School and parishioner of St. Agnes Parish in Arlington, lost her husband, Matt, to a cardiac arrest in February. He was 40 years old. The family has three boys, aged 5, 3 and 2 months, the youngest born about a month after Matt died.

Because the family was so young, they did not have life insurance or a will in place.

Lebanese Taverna will hold a fundraiser for the family May 16 at locations in Arlington; McLean; Baltimore; Annapolis and Bethesda, Md.; and Washington, D.C.

Present a copy of the flier below at the restaurant, and 20 percent of the total cost of a meal, both takeout and dine-in, will go to help the Coyle family.

Donations also may be made through a trust fund set up in their honor.

How to help

Send a donation to:

Trustee of the Coyle Family Fund

c/o BB&T

416 Sixth St.

Annapolis, MD 21403

or copy and paste the following URL into your browser:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick &hosted_button_id=7YXRTQHJBVAP2 

 More

Here are some of the top stories from last week’s Catholic Herald:

Middle-school students from around the diocese spent the day bouncing on inflatables, eating pizza and talking about God at the office of youth ministry’s annual junior high Bash in Dumfries.

St. Bernadette students in Springfield heard the story of William T. Fauntroy, a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen of World War II, and Marymount students received writing advice from author Jen Egan, who won the Pulitzer Prize for her book, A Visit from the Goon Squad.

In Gainesville and Fairfax, local Catholics were inspired by John Michael Talbot, who showcased his contemplative folk music talents and shared his faith story during two concerts.

In this week’s Journey in Faith, local filmmaker Martin Doblmeier talks about his experiences making movies about the Faith.

And are you retired or about to retire? Be sure to check out the Retirement Living section, with stories about securing your financial future, outreach from parishes, living single as a senior and a peek inside the priests’ retirement home.

Thanks for reading and have a blessed week!More

Join chef Sandy Greeley for a “Cooking with Our Saints” class at St. Veronica Church in Chantilly Saturday at 1 p.m. The event, which will touch on the lives of St. Thomas the Apostle and St. Francis Xavier, will feature a class in how to cook Indian cuisine.

For those near Manassas: The Knights of Columbus Squire Roses will be collecting diapers and baby formula to be donated to the AAA Women for Choice, an organization that helps mothers in need. The young ladies will be in the vestibule at All Saints Church after all the Sunday morning Masses May 6 and May 13 to collect diapers and formula. All sizes of baby diapers will be accepted; however, the greatest need is for newborn to size 2. Contact Mary Lewandowski at 703/335-7471 for more information.

Young Adults: The Catholic Sports Club is gathering for softball tonight (Friday) at St. Leo the Great Church in Fairfax at 6 p.m. 

The Institute of Catholic Culture is presenting "Shadows of the Rosary: A pilgrimage study" at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., Saturday at 10:30 a.m.

Also, don't forget, while you're out and about, that Metro is doing major track work from 10 p.m. Friday through system closing on Sunday. Be prepared for delays and leave early! More

Actually, the Chesapeake Bay was pretty nice on Thursday for the annual Edward Douglass White Council No. 2473 Knight of Columbus rockfish fishing trip. Only problem was that there were few fish willing to take the bait from the Knights.

We were on the bay at 6 a.m. cutting through slightly choppy water, and a light drizzle. It was chilly, but a few hours later the sun came out, stopping the wind and turning the surface of the bay into a slate colored blackboard.

My boat was named “Patience,” and you needed to be.

The first fish was on board around 8 a.m. Two hours later a second rockfish took the bait. After another few hours, fish three and four came on in relatively quick fashion — two hours instead of three.

I asked the first mate why there were so few fish. He said that the unusually warm winter forced the rockfish to spawn earlier. By now they were vacationing in Long Island. NY.

The fish were big, just sparse.

Check out my story and photo spread in next Thursday’s print addition.

More

On Tuesday morning I ran over to the St. Rose of Lima priests retirement villa in Annandale to snap a quick photo of Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist Sister Maria David, the daytime administrator there, to accompany a short story in this week’s retirement section.

Since I hadn't set foot in the building since before it was dedicated, Sister Maria David gave me a quick walk-through, pointing out the trailing ivy in the main gathering space, the square tables in the dining room, and, of course, the courtyard, where she had most recently planted sweet peas under the hummingbird feeder.

After our brief photo shoot among the rose bushes, Sister Maria David was about to see me out when she paused. Did I need to take photos of any of the priests? Would I like to say hello to Msgr. Mahler? Did I have time?

Honestly, I didn’t have much. It was mid-morning and we were putting the paper to bed that afternoon, with a special section, and it would take me at least 30 minutes to get back to the office from the Annandale house. Time, as anyone on deadline knows, was precious that day. But I couldn’t say no. And I’m so glad I didn’t.

Inside his suite, Msgr. Frank E. Mahler stood to greet me. He cleared off a chair and asked me to sit down, his Bible and prayer book next to him on an ottoman. We commented on the cool breeze blowing in through the open windows. I told him I’d heard so much about him and was so pleased to meet him. He cracked a joke.

Only then did I look around my surroundings. Gone was the “institutional” apartment space I’d seen two years ago, set up thoughtfully, but impersonally, for an unnamed inhabitant. In its place was a treasure trove reflecting the long life of the man who celebrated 55 years as a priest last May.

Art covered the walls, including a map of Long Island, N.Y., where Msgr. Mahler was born. A full-size atlas was propped next to his chair in case he needed to look up a …More