FROM FATHER WOOD: 100 DAYS OF DANTE

For me, 2022 will go down as the year I fell in love with Saint Mary’s — and Dante. 

Back in the summer, I joined “100 Days of Dante,” billed as “the world’s largest Dante reading group.” Each day, I’d read one canto of Dante’s Divine Comedy, his fourteenth-century epic poem universally recognized as one of the marvels of world literature, and then watch an eight- or nine-minute video of some academic explaining to me what on earth I’d just read. Within a few days, I was hooked. Dante’s vision, his mastery of language (I used Dorothy Sayers’ translation begun in the 1940s, with the final volume published only after her death), his imagination and the theological system behind it, all of it enraptured and bore me along. I think I wore my family out with daily descriptions of “where Dante the pilgrim and I traveled today.” I finished the 100th canto on the afternoon of our feast of title, the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on December 8, so my eyes may have even been a little wet still when we celebrated the Mass together that night! 

If you don’t know the poem (and what better New Year’s Resolution than to begin the 100 Days!), Sayers describes it in her introduction as “precisely the drama of the soul’s choice… an allegory of the Way to God — to that union of our wills with the Universal Will in which every creature finds its true self and its true being.” The three sections — l’Inferno (Hell), Il Purgatorio (Purgatory), and Il Paradiso (Paradise) — follow Dante the pilgrim as he travels through Hell, Purgatory, and to the highest Heaven. Each was beautiful, each was astounding, but the middle section was my favorite.

I’m not trying to convince anyone to believe in Purgatory — I’m not even sure what I believe about what N. T. Wright calls “life after life-after-death.” But I am trying to convince you of something about prayer. I was surprised to discover that in Dante’s Purgatory, the souls are almost always praying! Dr. Seth Fabian wrote: 

In Dante’s Purgatorio, the souls pray constantly, for each other and for us below… Dante’s poetry of friendship and prayer has a singular effect on its readers (at least, those who take his religious message at all seriously): shifting our prayer life away from praying for our own needs and toward far greater focus on praying for those we loved in this earthly life and look forward to seeing again in communion of saints and in union with God. Early in Purgatorio, Dante imagines an encounter on the shores of Purgatory with a friend he had not seen in 20 years, and this friend explains to him, “As I loved you in the flesh, just so do I love you now without it.” 

That’s lovely, I think. It’s built soundly on the doctrines of the Communion of the Saints and the Resurrection of the Dead. And it makes sense of my longtime habit of praying for the souls of the dead in my personal devotions. 

That’s why today I’m looping Dante into this present appeal — a proposal that all the Friends of Saint Mary’s consider the Guild of All Souls. I’ve been a member of the Guild for several years now, and I was delighted to learn of its connection to Saint Mary’s and its rich history here. The Guild itself started in England in 1873, and it’s purpose was to promote Catholic teaching about the Faithful Departed. It promoted prayer for the souls of the dead and encouraged Christian customs at burials, especially celebration of the Mass. The Guild’s numbers increased rapidly, and soon there were members in the U.S. seeking foundation of an American branch, which came into being on 14 May 1889. But Saint Mary’s involvement in the Guild dates to well before that time. Indeed, our parish branch of the Guild of All Souls is the oldest formally constituted in this country, in 1875, just two years after the Guild was founded in England! The current Superior-General wrote recently to tell me that our branch application listed 10 members, and the first name on the list was, of course, Father Thomas McKee Brown, our founding rector.

The membership requirements are not onerous. As a Guild member, I pray, at least weekly, for deceased members of the Guild from a list I receive in the mail every few months. As a priest, I assist at a Requiem Mass on All Souls Day, and I hope we will revive an old practice of regular Masses of Requiem (perhaps monthly) in the parish. You can download a membership form from the Guild’s website, or simply complete an online form and submit it with payment of dues — $10 annually or $50 for a lifetime membership. 

If you’re interested in learning more about the Guild of All Souls and perhaps reviving our branch, email swood@stmvnyc.org. And consider making prayer for the dead a part of your own devotions in 2023. You can watch for copies of the Guild’s Intercessory Paper to start reappearing on our tract table in the rear of the nave in January. And get thee to a library and start Dante!  — SW 

THE PARISH PRAYER LIST

We pray for those who are sick and for those in any need or trouble. We pray for those celebrating birthdays and anniversaries this week; for those living with drought, storm, flood, fire, and earthquake; and we pray especially for Ava Grace, Marilyn, Clark, David, Pat, Penny, Steven, Gloria, Samantha, Lourdes, Luis, Liduvina, Nora, Emily, Theodore, Joyce, Joe, Monique, Frank, Mary Hope, Marjorie, José, Bruce, Robert, Barbara, Gigi, Julie, Carol, Helga, Gina, Maria, Charlotte, Greg, Eric, Carlos, Christopher, Shalim, Greta, Quincy, Laverne, Gypsy, Robert, and Rick, priest; and for the repose of the souls of Jai-Jim, Pearl, and Emil.

We pray for the members of the Discernment Committee who have been asked to search for our next rector. We pray also for the Board of Trustees of this parish, especially the new members: Clark, Dale, Luis, and Clark.

IN THIS TRANSITORY LIFE

Pearl Stettner, the mother of parishioner Barbara Stettner, died on Tuesday at her home in Arizona after a brief illness. She had turned 100 years old the day before. Barbara has lived in Arizona and cared for her mother for many years. Please keep Pearl, Barbara, their family and friends, and all who mourn in your prayers.

Emil Bretzger, a longtime and active member of Saint Mary’s for many years, died peacefully at his home in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on Tuesday after a long illness. Emil was a thoughtful, kind, and generous man, who loved European culture, music, and art. He taught German language and literature at the Pennington School in Pennington, New Jersey, for many years. We have often heard from former students that Emil was a particularly popular and much-loved teacher. It was during his early years at Pennington that Emil began to travel into New York on weekends to worship at Saint Mary’s. After his retirement, Emil lived for a time in the Bronx. He later moved to Elizabeth, where he lived with his longtime friend Henry Moss and their friend Mecca. Henry and Mecca cared for Emil faithfully and sacrificially in his later years, making it possible for Emil to live, until his death, at home. Emil’s funeral will take place here at Saint Mary’s on a later date to be announced. Please keep Emil, Henry, Mecca, and Emil’s family in your prayers.

STEWARDSHIP UPDATE

As of December 7, we have received 60 pledge cards for a total of $299,311 -- almost 75% of our $400,000 goal. Last year, however, we had 130 pledges, so we still anticipate more coming in. The vital work of prayer and outreach at Saint Mary's is only possible because of the financial support of people like you, and the Board and Staff have already begun the process of budgeting for our work in 2023. If you have not done so, please consider making your pledge today. You can click here to submit a pledge online.

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S

Sunday, December 18, The Fourth Sunday of Advent, Adult Education 9:30 AM in Saint Benedict’s Study in the Parish House; Solemn Mass 11:00 AM. The Mass readings will be Isaiah 7:10–17, Psalm 24:1–7, Romans 1:1–7, and Matthew 1:18–25.

We welcome the Rev. Beth Maynard, who will be the preacher this Sunday at Solemn Mass. Recently retired as rector of Emmanuel Memorial Episcopal Church in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, Mother Maynard has served in parochial and campus ministries as well as teaching and spiritual direction. She lives with her husband Mark Dirksen in Beverly, Massachusetts.

Commemorations this week: Wednesday, December 21, Saint Thomas the Apostle; Saturday, December 24, The Last Mass of Advent, 9:00 AM in the Lady Chapel; Saturday, December 24, Christmas Eve, Musical Prelude 9:30 PM, Procession and Solemn Mass 10:00 PM; Sunday, December 25, Christmas Day, Solemn Mass 11:00 AM.

Wednesday, December 21, Holy Hour, Lady Chapel, 11:00–11:50 AM. A time of prayerful silence in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.

THE GREAT O ANTIPHONS OF ADVENT

Beginning on Friday, December 16, we will recite the traditional Advent antiphon appointed for that day at the beginning and end of the Magnificat, the canticle recited after the first reading at Evening Prayer. We will recite a different Advent antiphon each day through and including December 23. From An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church: “The Great O Antiphons are the antiphons sung [or said] before and after the Magnificat at [Evening Prayer] on the seven days before Christmas . . . Each antiphon begins with the letter ‘O” and a name or attribute of God from the Hebrew Scriptures: O Sapientia,/‘O Wisdom’; O Adonai/‘O Sacred Lord’; O Radix Jesse/‘O Root of Jesse’; O Clavis David/‘O Key of David’; O Oriens/‘O Rising Sun’; O Rex gentium/‘O King of the nations’; and O Emmanuel. In the Roman rite the antiphons are sung December 17–23, but in the medieval Sarum use [which we use here at Saint Mary’s], they begin on December 16 [and conclude] on December 23 with O Virgo virginum (‘O Virgin of virgins’). The Great O Antiphons have been adapted as a popular Advent hymn, ‘O come, O come, Emmanuel’ (Hymnal 1982 # 56).”

The O Antiphons are a beautiful and much-loved part of the Advent season. Their appearance in the Daily Office marks the soon-to-arrive Feast of the Nativity. The antiphons can be used as a form of prayer and meditation both within and outside of the Daily Office. They remind us that both Jews and Muslims recite the Names of God as a form of prayer and devotion. For Christians, to recite the Names of God during Advent is to point to Jesus the Christ, Son of God, Word of God, second person of the Holy Trinity. They remind us that Jesus is the helpless child in the manger and is also, miraculously and ineffably, God from God, Light from Light, the One “through whom all things were made.” They point us to Jesus of Nazareth who suffered, died, and was buried “for our sake,” but who also rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, taking his and our humanity into the very heart of God, and who is now present with us through the power of the Holy Spirit.

AROUND THE PARISH

Changes to the Board of Trustees: Ms. MaryJane Boland, Mr. Thomas Jayne, Mrs. Grace Mudd, and Dr. Mark Risinger, vice president, have completed their terms on the board. We thank them for their service to the parish in this important ministry. Joining the board are Mr. Clark Anderson, Mr. Clark Mitchell, Mr. Luis Reyes, and Mr. Dale Reynolds. We look forward to their leadership. Continuing on the board are Mr. Steven Heffner, treasurer, Dr. Charles Morgan, who will serve as the new vice-president, Ms. Mary Robison, secretary, Ms. Marie Rosseels, and Dr. Leroy Sharer. Please pray for our Board of Trustees.

The Parish Prayer List: Intercessory prayer is very important to the people of Saint Mary’s. The clergy receive several requests to add new names to the prayer list each and every week. Unlike some parishes, we do not remove names after a set number of days or weeks. Some names have been on the list for a very long time.

We would like to bring a bit more clarity to this process:

a.) When asking for names to be added to the prayer lists, try to give us an estimate of how long you’d like the name to be on the lists.

b.) If you’d like the name to remain on the list “indefinitely,” please send an e-mail to Father Smith every month, letting him know if you’d like the name to remain on the list for another month.

c.) Whenever possible, please try to avoid making requests on Sunday mornings or just before the beginning of a weekday Mass, solemn or said. If you do that, the name will have to be written into the list, and the name is then easily forgotten in subsequent weeks. This is, unfortunately, where the mundane and bureaucratic comes crashing into the spiritual and pastoral.

FROM THE FLOWER GUILD

Volunteers are needed for Christmas flowers and decorations!

Preparations will begin on Saturday, December 17, with work continuing daily through December 24, with particular need for people of any skill level (no flower arranging happening) to help unpack deliveries, move materials into place, and hang greenery on Saturday, December 17 from morning through afternoon; Sunday, December 19 in the afternoon; and Tuesday, December 21 in the morning.

Anyone interested in creating flower arrangements, of any skill level, is also welcome during the production week.

Please contact Brendon Hunter if you are able to help or have any questions.

Many Sundays and feast days in 2023 are available to donate the altar flowers, including the Epiphany and Baptism of Our Lord, January 6 and 8; Sundays January 15 and 22; Candlemas, February 2; Sundays February 5, 12, and 19. Please contact Chris Howatt if you would like to make a donation for one of the available dates.

NEIGHBORS IN NEED, SAINT MARY’S OUTREACH MINISTRY

There will be two Drop-by distributions of clothing and hygiene items in December. The first was on Tuesday, December 13, and was designed primarily for families with children, especially for those seeking asylum now sheltering in our neighborhood. The second takes place on Friday, December 16, and will be primarily for the guests, mostly single adults, whom we’ve served for some time now. This two-part distribution system will allow us to prepare somewhat different items for each group and to provide Spanish-speaking interpreters for those who have come from South and Central America, many of whom have limited English.

If you would like to ask questions about volunteering for any of our Neighbors in Need activities or if you would like to volunteer, please send us a message at neighbors@stmvnyc.org.

ABOUT THE MUSIC AT THE SOLEMN MASS ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18

The organ prelude on Sunday, Fugue on the Magnificat, is one of the miscellaneous chorale preludes of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). It is a fugue in the French manner with theme and counter-theme introduced simultaneously at the outset. The theme is based upon the Tonus peregrinus (“Wandering Tone”) sometimes called the ninth tone, a distinctive medieval melodic formula to which Magnificat was often sung. Only in the final section of this fugue does Bach call for the use of the organ’s pedals to play the theme in long notes as the fugal counterpoint continues above.

The setting of the Mass will be Missa Dixit Maria by Hans Leo Hassler (1564–1612). Hassler was a student of Andrea Gabrieli (c. 1510–1586) in Venice, and one of the first of a succession of German composers to experience in Italy the musical innovations that were shaping what would later be identified as Baroque style. Although he was a Protestant, Hassler’s early compositions were for the Roman church. His Missa Dixit Maria, published in 1599, is a parody Mass with themes borrowed from his own motet Dixit Maria ad Angelum. The text of the source motet recounts Mary’s words to the angel of the Annunciation, “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me, according to your word.”

Each December since 1983, David Hurd, organist and music director at Saint Mary’s, has composed and distributed a new composition as a seasonal greeting to friends, family and colleagues. In 2017, for this purpose, he began a series of the Great O Antiphons. The Great Os are a cycle seven of scripture-based antiphons which traditionally surround Magnificat at Vespers from December seventeenth through the twenty-third, the final week of Advent. These antiphons are paraphrased in the stanzas of the hymn O come, O come, Emmanuel, sung today at the Offertory. It may be noted that an alternative medieval English practice moved the seven antiphons one day earlier and added an eighth antiphon, O Virgo virginum (O Virgin of virgins), which is the practice at Saint Mary’s. Nonetheless, the even more ancient pattern has assigned the antiphon O Adonai for 18 December, and it is Dr. Hurd’s 2018 setting of this antiphon which will be sung as the Communion motet on Sunday. The primary scriptural bases of this antiphon are Isaiah 11:4-5 and 33:22. This choral setting is mostly for four voices but, as it ends with a reference to God’s outstretched arm (brochio extento), the texture broadens to eight voices.

The postlude this Sunday is by the celebrated African-American composer Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1941), currently professor of composition at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia. In Hailstork’s Toccata on “Veni Emmanuel” one can hear fragments of the fifteenth-century Advent hymn O come, O come Emmanuel, based upon the Great O Antiphons, although the entire chant melody is never stated as such. The unusual meter of five beats to the bar gives the Toccata a curious off-balanced rhythmic energy, and the harmonic dissonances may reflect a world in chaos awaiting the birth of the Savior.

ADULT EDUCATION 2022–2023

This coming Sunday, December 18, at 9:30 AM, in Saint Benedict’s Study (Parish Hall, 145 West 46th Street), Father Peter Powell will conclude this first part of his series on the Deutero-Pauline Letters. He will resume the series, with a second set of classes, on the Sundays in Lent. We are very grateful to Father Pete for his continued commitment to our adult-education program. After this Sunday, we pause for our winter break. Classes will resume in January with our series on the Eucharist. Stay tuned for details.

We hope you’ll be able to join us in Saint Benedict’s at 9:30 AM on Sunday. Coffee available. All are welcome. Questions and discussion encouraged.

To find Saint Benedict’s Study, please enter Saint Joseph’s Hall via the entrance at 145 West 46th Street, bear right and head down the long hallway which takes you past the rest rooms, the windows, and then head toward the Sacristy. The classroom is located on your left, just short of the doors to the Smoke Room, the Control Room, and the Sacristy.

COMING UP

Saturday, December 24, The Last Mass of Advent, 9:00 AM in the Lady Chapel.

Saturday, December 24, Christmas Eve, Musical Prelude 9:30 PM, Procession and Solemn Mass 10:00 PM.

Sunday, December 25, Christmas Day, Solemn Mass 11:00 AM.

Saturday, December 31, New Year’s Eve. The church opens at 9:00 AM. Mass will be said in the Lady Chapel at 10:00 AM. The church will close at the end of Mass. The parish offices will be closed that day, since Times Square will be preparing for its famous New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Sunday, January 1, The Holy Name of Jesus. Solemn Mass 11:00 AM. Evening Prayer will not be said in the church. Evensong and Benediction will not be offered during the month of January 2023.

Friday, January 6, The Epiphany of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Said Mass 12:10 PM, Organ Recital 5:30 PM (Gail Archer, Barnard College), Procession and Solemn Mass 6:00 PM. Brother Jim Woodrum, SSJE, will preach at the Solemn Mass.

AT THE MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
1220 FIFTH AVENUE AT 103RD STREET
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 18, 2023

City of Faith: Religion, Activism, and Urban Space. Open Thursday 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM and Friday to Monday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. From the museum website: “[This exhibition] looks under the surface of New York’s image as a secular city and maps the complex and often surprising relationships that connect religion to public space. The exhibition focuses our attention on how religion engages the city at a public level—in “secular” streets and sidewalks, waterfronts, and other liminal spaces. Focusing on South Asian American and other communities who have faced religious profiling and surveillance—particularly after 9/11—the exhibition critically examines the nature of secularism in the city, how it has historically favored Protestantism while rendering other communities hyper-visible, and how these latter communities assert their right to the city through transformative art and collective action.” Visit the museum’s website for more information about timed tickets and the museum’s other exhibitions.

ORGAN RECITALS AT SAINT MARY’S IN 2023

Friday, 6 January, The Epiphany
Gail Archer, Barnard College, New York City

Thursday, 2 February, The Presentation
David Hurd, Church of Saint Mary the Virgin New York City

Friday, 24 March, Eve of The Annunciation
Timothy Pyper, Church of the Holy Apostles, New York City

Thursday, 18 May, Ascension Day 5:30 PM
Mickey Thomas Terry, Howard University, Washington, D.C.

This edition of the Angelus was written and edited by Father Jay Smith, except as noted. Father Matt Jacobson also edits the newsletter and is responsible for formatting and posting it on the parish website and distributing it via mail and e-mail, with the assistance of Christopher Howatt, parish administrator, and parish volunteer, Clint Best.