St. Mary’s Catholic Church vs. St. Peter’s Catholic Church

Who would think that two Catholic churches would be so different from one another? I attend two churches of the same religion; it is a very diverse experience at each one. I am a member of St. Mary’s Bryantown Catholic Church, but I also attend St. Peter’s Catholic Church. I attend both churches because there are features at both that I like and at times one is more convenient. However, there is also one feature that I do not like about St. Mary’s Bryantown Catholic Church.

St. Mary’s Bryantown Catholic Church is medium size. The church’s capacity is approximately five hundred and fifty people. Each pew fits about ten people. On each side of the main aisle are twenty rows of pews, and on the two sides are four rows. In the balcony area is six rows of pews. The size of the church also adds to its pleasing look.

The old-fashioned architectural design of St. Mary’s is appealing to me. The light brown brick building with the crucifix placed atop the roof is an eye-catching site from the road. The inside of the church is incredibly stunning. It is always decorated with flowers and banners that depict religious themes. The atmosphere at St. Mary’s is exceptionally serene. The stained glass windows, which portray religious symbols, help create the peaceful feeling. The smell of incense makes the church spiritually comforting. Despite the fact that the church is beautiful, a drawback of the church is the length of the mass, which is exceptionally long.

At St. Mary’s the four o’clock mass on Saturday is generally an hour and a half long. The priest at St. Mary’s makes the mass longer by repeating himself continually during the homily, which makes it difficult for people to understand the point he is trying to make. Because of the length of the four o’clock mass at St. Mary’s, many people choose to go to the shorter mass at St. Peter’s Catholic Church.

The five o’clock mass on Saturday at St. Peter’s Catholic Church is generally forty-five minutes long. The officiating priest of the Saturday mass makes his homily comprehensible to all. The homily reflects on the readings, but the priest also tells stories that people can relate to. Because of the size of St. Peter’s, it allows many people from St. Mary’s to attend the Saturday mass.

St. Peter’s Catholic Church is one of the largest catholic churches in the Southern Maryland area. St. Peter’s capacity is approximately one thousand people. On each side of the main aisle are about forty rows of pews, and on the sides there are about ten rows. St. Peter’s large appearance also has a striking look.

The exterior of St. Peter’s Church is more modern than that of St. Mary’s. The recently laid brick is much darker than that of St. Mary’s, and the crucifixes are placed on the front of the church’s exterior wall. The inside of the church is gorgeous, but rarely does it contain flowers or other decorative items. Because of the many people that attend St. Peter’s, the atmosphere is not as serene as it is at St. Mary’s. People move around, cough, and babies cry, but it still provides the same spiritually-comforting feeling.

In conclusion, because of the physical environment and size of the congregation, attending two catholic churches can be a very different experience that one would not expect. One might think that all Catholic churches would be alike, but the different aspects of these two churches set them apart from one another. Even though both churches meet the spiritual needs of their parishioners, I prefer St. Mary’s Bryantown Catholic Church because of its old-fashioned appearance and atmosphere.

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