FROM THE RECTOR: LENT AND HOLY WEEK 2021

A year ago, few of us foresaw that the pandemic would still be with us in the spring of 2021. The shutdown last March emptied midtown Manhattan. As February 2021 began, I was hopeful that we could offer Evening Prayer and Stations of the Cross on the Fridays of Lent. But I don’t think we’re ready to be open in the evening. If I am walking home after dark by myself, I know that I need to be very careful about reaching the rectory. Until the pandemic was underway, I never carried the key to enter the locked doors of the church complex on West 46th. It’s a large key—I’m still not used to it being on my keyring.

Daylight Saving Time begins this year in the early hours of Sunday, March 14. With DST, sunset on Maundy Thursday, April 1, will be at 7:29 PM. I’m hopeful that we can be open that evening for the Holy Eucharist at 6:00 PM. Good Friday, April 2, will be at 12:30 PM. Easter Day Mass, April 4, will be at 11:00 AM.

I do want us to celebrate the Great Vigil of Easter on Saturday, April 3. The first Easter Vigil at Saint Mary’s was on Easter Eve, April 9, 1898 (The Arrow, April 1898, page 2), one hundred twenty-three years ago. Father Thomas McKee Brown was rector. The Easter Vigil celebrated by the resident priests and friars on April 11, 2020, was ninety minutes in length—most years, this liturgy requires a little more than three hours. I think the Lord will understand if we decide to have the Easter Vigil at 6:00 PM on Saturday, April 3, and to include only the essential elements of that liturgy. I think a service like that would also last about ninety minutes. The sun will set at 7:23 PM. Times Square is still bright at night. I think all will be well.

Dr. David Hurd will be writing about music in Lent and Holy Week for next week’s newsletter. On Ash Wednesday, the music carried the service beautifully. Though we did not bless or impose ashes, we did celebrate Communion, the essential focus of Christian worship. Our choir consisted of five voices (the fifth often being Dr. Hurd), and that many musicians can sing from the gallery while wearing masks and practicing safe distancing; and so, we plan to have quartets on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Eve, and Easter Day. The Feast of the Annunciation falls on Thursday, March 25. Since it is a holy day, but not a holiday, we will have a said Mass with a cantor at 12:10 PM.

In my homily for Ash Wednesday, I spoke about the role a blind man in Mark plays during the story about his healing. After Jesus has spit on the man’s eyes and touched them, Jesus asks him: “ ‘Do you see anything?’ And [the man] looked up and said, ‘I see men; but they look like trees, walking.’ Then again [Jesus] laid his hands upon his eyes; and [the man] looked intently and was restored, and saw everything clearly. And [Jesus] sent [the man] away to his home’ ” (8:22–26). Jesus gave the man a role in his healing.

It’s not an easy time in many ways. I’m trying to be gentle with myself this Lent. I think there are days when all of us may need the Lord to reach out and touch us in some way so that we can see and feel his strength. —Stephen Gerth

YOUR PRAYERS ARE ASKED FOR Dale, Nam, Penelope, Ken, Loretta, Aston, Burton, Bob, Glee, Caryn, Christine, Trevor, Marilouise, Quincy, Florette, John, Shalim, Luis, José, Abraham, Dennis, Emil, Ethelyn, Hardy, Margaret, and Robert; for all who suffer from COVID-19; for Gaylord and Louis, priests, and Charles, bishop; for all those who work for the common good, and for all the members and friends of this parish . . . GRANT THEM PEACE . . . 1909 Angelica Baraclough Shea; 1915 Sarah Morris Cory; 1929 Marguerite Spear Slocum; 1941 Rosa Payne Collins.

THE WEEKDAYS OF LENT AND OF HOLY WEEK, except for the feast of Saint Joseph and the feast of the Annunciation, are observed by special acts of discipline and self-denial.

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S . . . Sunday, February 21, The First Sunday in Lent, Adult Education 9:30–10:30 AM, Mass 11:00 AM. The church opens at 9:00 AM and closes at 12:30 PM. The preacher is the Reverend Stephen Gerth. The service is played by Dr. David Hurd. He will be joined by cantor, Ms. Charlotte Mundy, soprano . . . Tuesday, February 23, Racism Discussion Groups, 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM. Please contact Brother Damien Joseph or Brother Thomas for more information . . . Wednesday, February 24, Saint Matthias the Apostle, Mass 12:10 PM.

STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN 2021 . . . Our stewardship campaign has come to an end. We were not able to achieve our $400,000.00 goal, but we recognize that we are living in a difficult time, and we are all doing the best we can. We live in hope and trust in God. Still, we continue to ask you for your help. We would welcome your financial pledge if you have not yet pledged for 2021. and we are grateful to all those who continue to support Saint Mary’s so generously.

JOINING US FOR WORSHIP IN PERSON . . . It makes us very happy to be able to open our doors again for public worship, on weekdays as well as on Sundays. The surge of infections in our city and around the country has plateaued and is beginning to drop. Still, vigilance is required. We have committed ourselves to redoubling our efforts to keep every member of the community safe and healthy. If you are at all unwell, do not come to church. If you are experiencing symptoms, contact your primary-care physician and get tested. If you have a fever of 103.5, which is not being handled by an analgesic, and/or you are having difficulty breathing (by difficulty we mean you must stop talking in order to focus on your breathing), go to an emergency room immediately.

FROM THE FRIARY . . . The brothers took part in a facilitated discussion about community sustainability with the Chapter of the Society of Saint Francis via Zoom on Monday, February 8 . . . Brother Damien Joseph SSF recently led the Adult Education class on five succession Sundays in January and the beginning of February. In each class, he talked about a different Franciscan mystic as a way of introducing the class to the study and practice of Christian mysticism. He will repeat the class in March for the C. G. Jung Institute of New York. The class is open to the public. For more information, follow this link . . . Brother Thomas Steffensen SSF has been working with the Diocese of Northern Michigan for some time now, focusing on baptismal ministry, lay leadership, and church growth. He will soon be teaching a class for the diocese, once per month, via Zoom . . . He will also be leading our upcoming Lenten Quiet Day via Zoom . . . Thomas and Damien continue leading formation study for the New York Service and Justice Collaborative. These meetings have also moved to Zoom due to COVID concerns . . . Brother Desmond Alban SSF continues to work from his home office in the Parish House on the affairs, administrative and pastoral, of the Society of Saint Francis Province of the Americas. He also assists during the liturgy and with the parish’s outreach programs.

MUSIC AT SAINT MARY’S . . . The organ prelude on Sunday is a setting from the Orgelbüchlein (“Little Organ Book”) of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). The Orgelbüchlein is a collection of forty-six chorale preludes mostly composed between 1708 and 1717 when Bach was organist at the ducal court in Weimar. Although the original plan was for a collection of 164 settings of chorales for the church year, the realized collection spans the yearly liturgical cycle impressively. Seven of the forty-six chorales illuminate chorales sung in Lent and Holy Week. Bach’s Orgelbüchlein setting of O Mensch, bewein dein Sünden groß (“O man, bewail thy grievous sins”) is particularly distinctive and especially suited to the beginning of the Lenten season. The melody is attributed to Matthias Greitter and dates from 1525. The chorale, text by Sebald Heyden dating from 1530, has associations with both Bach’s Saint Matthew and Saint John Passions. The organ setting, BWV 622, is one of Bach’s most poetic ornamented melody chorale preludes. The final phrase, which references the crucifixion, is expressed with slower tempo and striking chromatic harmony. Sunday’s postlude is Bach’s four-voice harmonization of the same chorale, cataloged as BWV 402.

The musical setting of the Mass on Sunday is from the traditional plainsong Mass XVII, In Dominicis Adventus et Quadragesimae, designated for use on Sundays in Advent and Lent. This setting, as presented in the Graduale Romanum, includes three options for Kyrie, the first two of which are in mode 1. All three are set forth in the traditional nine-fold format with an extended final iteration. The first, Kyrie salve, dates from the tenth century while the second and third (in mode 6) may be of somewhat later origin. The first option, Kyrie salve, will be sung today. Sanctus and Agnus Dei —both in mode 5— are dated from the eleventh and thirteenth centuries, respectively.

Sunday’s cantor is soprano, Charlotte Mundy. During the Communion she will sing Turn thy face from my sin by Thomas Attwood (1765–1838). Attwood was born in London and became a chorister in the Chapel Royal at age nine. Having impressed the Prince of Wales (later King George IV) with his harpsichord facility, he was sent to the continent for further study and was a student of Mozart in Vienna. In 1796 he was appointed organist at Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London, and became composer of the Chapel Royal. He was the composer of anthems which were sung for the coronations of several English monarchs. In 1823 we became a professor at the then recently established Royal Academy of Music. His anthem “Turn thy face from my sins,” composed in 1831, takes its text from Psalm 51 and features a solo soprano.

More about Sunday’s cantor: Soprano Charlotte Mundy specializes in music that is new, daring, and sublime. She has been called a “daredevil with an unbreakable spine” (SF Classical Voice). Recent performances include George Benjamin’s one-act opera Into the Little Hill at the 92nd Street Y and a set of music for voice and electronics presented by New York Festival of Song, described as “an oasis of radiant beauty” by the New York Times. She acted and sang in A Star Has Burnt My Eye at the BAM Next Wave Festival and The Apartment at Abrons Arts Center. As a member of Ekmeles vocal ensemble and TAK ensemble, she has been an artist-in-residence at the music departments of Columbia, Stanford, Penn, Cornell, and many other universities. The multi-sensory ritual of Mass at ‘Smoky Mary’s’ is a constant inspiration to her. Learn more at charlottemundy.com.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION . . . On Sunday, February 21, 9:30–10:30 AM, Father Peter Powell will resume his series on the Revelation to John, the Christian Bible’s final book. On Sunday, he the class will begin reading at Revelation 12:1. Father Powell will teach on all the Sundays of Lent and on Palm Sunday. No prior experience is necessary, and attendance at the autumn session is not a prerequisite to attend classes during the winter and spring. We invite you to join us in person or via Zoom.

If you would like to attend Father Powell’s classes via Zoom, please send an e-mail to Grace Mudd or to Father Powell, who will send you a link.

The class will meet in Saint Joseph’s Hall, with face coverings and social distancing required. For all these classes, seating in Saint Joseph’s Hall will be arranged to maximize social-distancing. Unfortunately, we will not be able to provide refreshments. All those attending the class must wear a face covering.

AT THE MUSEUMS . . . At the Metropolitan Museum Fifth Avenue and Eighty-second Street, Selections from the Department of Drawings and Prints: New York Inspired. From the museum website, “The Department of Drawings and Prints boasts more than one million drawings, prints, and illustrated books made in Europe and the Americas from around 1400 to the present day. Because of their number and sensitivity to light, the works can only be exhibited for a limited period and are usually housed in on-site storage facilities. To highlight the vast range of works on paper, the department organizes four rotations a year in the Robert Wood Johnson, Jr., Gallery. Each installation is the product of a collaboration among curators and consists of up to one hundred objects grouped by artist, technique, style, period, or subject.

To celebrate The Met’s 150th anniversary, the Department of Drawings and Prints [is presenting] four thematic installations inspired by the depth of its collections. Each illustrates important aspects of a remarkable history and highlights how the department has been shaped by collectors, artistic practice, the art-historical canon, and the Museum’s connection to New York.

This third installation features works that relate to New York’s history and urban development, its iconic monuments and skyline views, the people who call it home, and the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Many of the artworks on display represent reflections of and reactions to New York as a physical place of residence and refuge. Others capture the city’s more metaphysical characterizations, made famous, for instance, by Frank Sinatra’s song “New York, New York.” Lyrics such as “a city that doesn’t sleep” and “if I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere” aptly express the bifurcated nature of the New York experience as one of excitement and chaos, opportunity, and hardship.

This edition of the Angelus was written and edited by Father Stephen Gerth and Father Jay Smith. Father Gerth is responsible for posting the newsletter on the parish website and for distributing it via mail and e-mail, with the assistance of Christopher Howatt and parish volunteer, Clint Best.