The thing I'll miss most about this city is, without a doubt, this place:
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It's hard to put into words how incredible this place is. It contains an amazing bookstore—every time I go there, I want to buy the place out. It has a gorgeous chapel that offers daily Mass and Adoration, and regular Confession. And the lectures and discussion groups that meet at the CIC feed the mind as well as the soul.
"The CIC is the home of Catholic intellectual life in the District," someone once told me. Truer words were never spoken. It's also the closest Catholic tabernacle to the White House—just a few blocks away.
To me, the best thing about this amazing place is the community that's grown up around it. From its stellar employees to the store volunteers to the speakers at all the amazing lectures, everyone connected with the CIC is fantastic. Every time I go there, I connect with old friends and meet fascinating new ones.
I like to say that the CIC contains everything necessary for the good life: books and intellectual life, a chapel with the sacraments, community and fellowship, and even wine (during happy hour). I first visited there just a week after I moved to DC, and over the past two years it's become another home for me in this town. It's not much of an exaggeration to say that it's my favorite place to be in the world.
If you ever get a chance to visit the CIC, please do! Browse around and buy a book or icon, or just say hi to Our Lord in the tabernacle. And if you see anyone who works there, tell them Tess said hi. I sure am going to miss that place.
I grew up outside of DC my whole life and I never knew about that place! I'll have to check it out!
ReplyDeleteI hope you get a chance to—I think you'll love it!
DeleteAlso, I'm glad you commented as it gave me a chance to discover your awesome blog. I'm excited to keep reading!
Every urban diocese ought to have something like this in a central, downtown-y area. It's such a great idea! Obviously it's a bit easier in DC, which is a city with so many young professional people and intellectuals, but it seems like the same kind of thing could work in Chicago, NY, LA, etc.
ReplyDeleteI agree! I'd give anything to see a similar place here in Chicago, and it would definitely work in other big cities too! Someone needs to make that happen. :)
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