Lady days

We Episcopalian Anglo-Catholics have a history of continuing Catholic reverence for Mary, mother of Jesus, though typically we tend not to mention her much as the BVM (the Blessed Virgin Mary)....I'm not sure if that's because it sounds too "Romish" or if theologically we don't teach that Mary maintained her virginity after the birth of Jesus as do the Papists. One of the old traditions of the English church, though, is that instead of referring to the BVM, we refer to "Our Lady." Feast days and solemnities referring to Our Lady are called "Lady Days."

In the modern United States and in England, those Anglo-Catholics who choose to practice Mariolatry on a level approaching that of the Catholics particularly revere Our Lady of Walsingham, and the shrine in Walsingham, England, where Our Lady allegedly appeared in 1061 is a frequent site of Anglican pilgrimage. St. Paul's K Street here in Washington has an entire principal chapel altar dedicated as a shrine to Our Lady of Walsingham, and I noticed on my recent New York trip that there is a Walsingham shrine at St. Thomas Fifth Avenue, too.

The Anglican church recognizes Our Lady of Walsingham on October 15, but the Roman Catholic Church recognizes Walsingham on September 24.

So, Wednesday the 24th, I was in St. Stephen Martyr R.C. Church and lit my Lady candle. While I was there, I saw the sun shining through the stained glass in the baptistry in a particularly attractive way, so I snapped a photo.