FROM RICHARD MAMMANA: AVE AND THE ARROW, ALL ONLINE IN ONE PLACE

December was the culmination of two significant digitizing efforts related to the history of Saint Mary’s: all known issues of printed parish periodicals The Arrow (1891-1899) and Ave (1932-2004) are now available in searchable, downloadable format free of cost on the Internet Archive (IA). The IA (archive.org) is a non-profit initiative begun in 1996 as a “library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more” with coverage at this writing of almost 900 billion webpages in addition to printed materials, sound, and moving images.

The scanning efforts for these periodicals were spearheaded over a period of seven years by parish archivist Mary Robison and diocesan historiographer Wayne Kempton. Each series was previously posted in standalone files by month or issue within the year of publication, making searches across the full run of the serial impossible. The Internet Archive allows a more durable and effective way in which to engage with these month-by-month chronicles of parish history, hosted separately still on the parish website and on the Project Canterbury (anglicanhistory.org) website that begins its 25th year online in 2024.

Saint Mary’s is now almost certainly the parish with the largest and longest sustained digital historical footprint of its periodical online: a non-contiguous eight decades of service listings, staff changes, occasional sermons, advertisements, special event coverage, devotional material, and fundraising appeals. Ave alone represents 11,172 pages, with The Arrow an impressive 1228 pages of primary source material for the history of Anglo-Catholicism in North America.

The Arrow: https://archive.org/details/the-arrow

Ave: https://archive.org/details/ave_20231118

Richard Mammana founded Project Canterbury (http://anglicanhistory.org) in 1999 as a free online archive of out-of-print Anglican books, pamphlets, documents and other related materials. He is an active board member of the Bible and Common Prayer Book Society, founded in 1809 to distribute those books at no charge; a director of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament (American Branch), founded in 1867 to promote greater participation in the Holy Communion; and a trustee of the Yarnall Library at the University of Pennsylvania, founded in 1911 to supply books related to “the History, Doctrine or Worship of the Catholic Church, as treated by the early Fathers and Doctors, or those of the Mediaeval period, or recently by Anglicans.”

PRAYING FOR THE WORLD AND THE PEOPLE OF GOD

We pray for peace in Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Mali, and Myanmar, and Lebanon.

We pray for the people and clergy of two London parishes, both friends of Saint Mary’s, Saint Bartholomew the Great and All Saints, Margaret Street.

We pray for the sick, for those in any need or trouble, and for all those who have asked us for our prayers. We pray for those celebrating birthdays and anniversaries this week; for those who are traveling; for the unemployed and for those seeking work; for the incarcerated and for those recently released from prison; for all victims of violence, assault, and crime; for all refugees and migrants, especially those sheltering in our neighborhood; for those struggling with depression, anxiety, or addiction; for those whom we serve in our outreach programs, for our neighbors in the Times Square neighborhood, for the theater community, and for those living with drought, storm, punishing heat, flood, fire, or earthquake.

We pray for those for whom prayers have been asked for Lexi, Russell, Jessie, Sandy, Bruce, Robert, Tom, Jonah, Cara, Barbara, Carl, Aston, Margaret, Robert, Hemmi, Camrin, Shane, Nolyn, Natalie, Chelsea, Charlotte, Jennifer, Barry, Frank, Richard, Charles, Robin, Tatiana, Emily, Mary, Eleanor, Eugene, Steven, Quincy, Claudia, June, Joyce, Sharon, Carlos, Christopher, José, Brian, Susan, Carmen, Antony, Manuel, Abe, Bob, Gypsy, Hardy, Suzanne, Pat, and Eloise; Keith, Jim, Pamela, Linda, and Laura Katharine, religious; Stephen, Robby, and Allan, priests; and Michael, bishop.

We pray for the repose of the souls of Mary Lou Knox, John Gass Bratton, Sandra Day O’Connor, and of those whose year’s mind is on Sunday, December 17—William Henry Field (1878); Mary Elizabeth Thompson (1882); John Smith (1897); Mary Elizabeth Geiss (1915); Mary Alice Jeffrey (1919); John Church Brasier (1922); Matthew William Carswell (1925); Annie Ostrom Dows (2003); Helena M. Handy (2001). May they rest in peace and rise in glory. 

COMING UP AT SAINT MARY’S

There was an error in the recent Christmas appeal letter:
Note that the Solemn Mass on Christmas Day begins at 11:00 AM not 10:00 AM.

The Fourth Sunday of Advent
Sunday, December 24
Mass 9:00 AM, Solemn Mass 11:00 AM

Christmas Eve
Sunday, December 24
Music 9:30 PM, Solemn Mass 10:00 PM

Christmas Day
Monday, December 25
Solemn Mass 11:00 AM

The First Sunday after Christmas
Sunday, December 31
Mass 9:00 AM, Solemn Mass 11:00 AM

The Holy Name of Jesus
Monday, January 1
Mass 10:00 AM

The Eve of the Epiphany
Friday, January 5
Organ Recital 5:30 PM, Solemn Mass 6:00 PM

STEWARDSHIP UPDATE

As of December 13, we’ve received pledges from 77 households for a total of $354,530.
This is 79% of our $450,000 goal.
We remain hopeful as 37% of 2023 pledgers have not yet pledged for 2024.

If you haven’t already, please take a moment and fill out your pledge card
and mail it to the parish office or put it in the collection basket on Sunday.
You can also make your pledge online.

We invite you to help us make our goal—and even more!

We are grateful to all those who continue to support the ministry of Saint Mary’s.

Pledge commitments in 2023 are critical to plan accurately for 2024.

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S

Our regular daily liturgical schedule: Monday through Friday, Morning Prayer 8:00 AM, Mass 12:10 PM, and Evening Prayer at 5:30 PM. On Wednesdays, Holy Hour is also offered at 11:00 AM and an additional Mass is said at 6:00 PM. Thursday’s Mass includes anointing and prayers for healing. On Saturdays, Confessions are heard at 11:00 AM, Mass is celebrated at 12:10 PM, and Evening Prayer is prayed at 5:00 PM. On the third Saturday of each month, a Requiem Mass is normally celebrated at 12:10 PM in the Mercy Chapel. On Sundays, a Low Mass (Rite One) is celebrated in the Lady Chapel at 9:00 AM. Solemn Mass is offered at 11:00 AM and Evening Prayer at 5:00 PM. Evensong and Benediction (E&B) is normally offered on the first Sunday of every month and will next be offered on January 7.

Saturday Confessions at 11:00 AM . . . The priest-on-duty can be found in one of the confessionals at the back of the church, near the 46th Street entrance, at 11:00 AM on Saturdays to hear confessions. Once nobody is left waiting, if it is after 11:15 AM, the priest will return to his office. If you arrive later, the sexton will be able to call him if it is not too close to the midday Mass. During Christmas Week and on the Epiphany—on Saturdays December 30 and January 6—confessions are heard only by appointment.

Saturday, December 16, Monthly Requiem in the Mercy Chapel, Confessions 11:00 AM, Requiem Mass 12:10 PM, The Eve of the Third Sunday of Advent, Evening Prayer 5:00 PM. The “O Antiphons”—said before and after Magnificat at Evening Prayer—begin this day with O Sapientia.

Saturday, December 16, 7:30 PM, The Young New Yorkers Chorus Mixed Ensemble presents “Sleepers, Awake!” The Mixed Ensemble continues its journey through rest and conscious being, with pieces by James Lavino, Reena Esmail, Patrick Vu, Chen Yi, Valentin Silvestrov, Harold Darke, and more. Plus, their beloved tradition of carol sing-alongs continues! Tickets may be purchased online.

Sunday, December 17, The Third Sunday of Advent (“Rose” or “Gaudete” Sunday), Mass 9:00 AM. The Adult Formation class does not meet today. Lessons & Carols and Holy Eucharist 11:00 AM, Evening Prayer 5:00 PM. The “O Antiphons” continue at Evening Prayer with O Adonaï.

Monday, December 18, Weekday of Advent, O Radix Jesse

Tuesday, December 19, Weekday of Advent, O Clavis David

Wednesday, December 20, Weekday of Advent, O Oriens, Morning Prayer 8:00 AM, Holy Hour 11:00 AM, Mass 12:10 PM, Evening Prayer 5:30 PM, Mass 6:00 PM, Class 6:30 PM

Thursday, December 21, Saint Thomas the Apostle, O Rex Gentium, Morning Prayer 8:00 AM, Mass & Healing Service 12:10 PM, Evening Prayer 5:30 PM

Friday, December 22, Weekday of Advent, O Emmanuel

Saturday, December 23, Of Our Lady, O Virgo virginum 

AND WE THANK YOU

Thank you to all who worked so hard last week to make our celebrations on our patronal feast, the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, December 8, so beautiful and so joyful . . . We are grateful to Renee Wood, who organized, hosted, and managed the reception after the Solemn Mass on December 8. Renee has been taking on some of the responsibilities of the hospitality ministry in recent months. We are grateful to her for this ministry. . . Thank you, Terry Carlson, for continuing to support our hospitality ministry with such an abundance of delicious sweets to serve at Coffee Hour and holy-day receptions . . . Thank you, MaryJane Boland, for your generous donation that made the reception after the Solemn Mass on December 8 possible . . . Thank you to the anonymous donor who has been bringing us canned goods and other non-perishable food items. We’ve been able to put them to good use this winter and we are grateful . . . Thank you, Clint Best, for your work in the church, unseen and unsung, caring for the shrine boxes and stocking the ushers’ table.

We are grateful to Deacon Lind Phillips for her many recent donations to our Neighbors in Need clothing closets; and we are grateful to all our donors to Neighbors in Need, we couldn’t do this without you . . . Thank you, Father Peter Powell, for teaching the series on Isaiah for the past six weeks. Your eager students are very grateful, and we are thankful, as always, for your expertise, careful preparation, and thoughtful and challenging teaching . . . Thank you Father Matt and Meredith—and all your neighbors on 79th Street, too—for donating clothing, once again, to Neighbors in Need. Thank you to Paul Grzella and Ed Edward for the carload of clothes recently donated to the program, which in part came from the Clothes Closet Ministry at Saint John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in Somerville, NJ. All these donations are very helpful, especially during these winter months . . . We are grateful to our sexton, Marcos Orengo, who is so watchful and attentive—and sensitive—when we have confused or troubled visitors during Mass. The clergy are grateful that our recent guest wasn’t able to surprise them with a tap on the shoulder at the altar on Friday . . . Thank you, Marie Rosseels, for volunteering to sell those lovely 2024 calendars at Coffee Hour. We hope you’re raising lots of money for the Flower Guild. Thank you, Brendon Hunter, for designing the calendar. It was a huge effort, and we know how much work it took to get that job done. Thank you for paying attention to all those details. The result is very helpful.

Thank you, Blair Burroughs, for continuing to manage the livestream for us Sunday after Sunday with such skill and without grumbling or complaint. This ministry has made a huge difference to our common life, and we thank you . . . Thank you, Chris Howatt, for all that you do for us around here. We are especially grateful to you this month as you handle a host of end-of-year details, while dealing with the recent unfortunate and unexpected issues with the building . . . We are grateful to parishioner and board member, Clark Anderson, who continues to make himself available to play the service and conduct the choir when David Hurd needs to be away—and we expect that there will be a bit more of that in 2024. Thank you, Clark, for doing all this so beautifully and so seamlessly . . . Thank you so much, Canon Victor Conrado, for making yourself available to lead services this month—a difficult and busy month for you. You’ve helped us so much with our nascent Hispanic Ministry and with your ongoing pastoral presence. We are very grateful . . . Thank you, Mary Robison, for all your hard work on the parish archives, work that is often invisible to many at Saint Mary’s. However, those of us who avail ourselves of your knowledge and expertise are very grateful for all that you do . . . We are grateful to MaryJane Boland and Marie Rosseels for their ongoing work in the Undercroft and throughout the complex, processing donations for Neighbors in Need and for readying things for our monthly Drop-by events. It’s a lot of work, and we know it . . . Thank you Grace Mudd, Marie Rosseels, Susanna Randolph, and Brendon Hunter for giving up an entire Saturday to construct the biggest Advent Wreath in Christendom. It’s beautiful (we are also grateful to the anonymous donor who added the hedgehog to the wreath).

LIFE AT SAINT MARY’S: NEWS & NOTICES

Father Stephen Gerth, ninth rector of Saint Mary’s, will celebrate the 40th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood on the Feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle, December 21, 2023. Father retired at the end of 2021. His final Sunday with us was the Fourth Sunday of Advent that December. He now lives happily in Naples, Florida, with his husband, Richard Mohammed, and has begun to serve now and again (“doing supply”) at local parishes. Since some of our readers, and even some of those now worshiping with us, do not know Father Stephen, we thought it would not be inappropriate to write a bit about his life and ministry as he prepares to celebrate this anniversary.

Father grew up in Virginia and attended the University of Virginia and the University of Chicago before going to Nashotah House in preparation for ordination. At Nashotah, he studied liturgy with the late Father Louis Weil, who, along with Bishop Frank Griswold, were great influences on him and his approach to liturgy. Father Gerth graduated from Nashotah in 1983 and was ordained to the diaconate by Bishop Quintin E. Primo, Jr., on June 11 of that year. His first call was to the Church of the Incarnation, Dallas. He was ordained to the priesthood by the suffragan bishop of Dallas, the Right Reverend Robert E. Terwilliger on December 21, 1983. He served as curate under Father Charles Jenkins, at Saint Luke’s Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, from 1985 to 1988. He was called as rector of Trinity Church, Michigan City, Indiana, in 1988, where he served until 1999, when he came to Saint Mary’s. While at Trinity, Father Stephen fell in love with the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and its approach to teaching and working with young children. He would later bring the Catechesis to Saint Mary’s.

Called to Saint Mary’s in 1999, Father Gerth labored tirelessly to preserve the parish’s aging buildings, led the Open Doors Capital Campaign, and worked with the lay leadership to make changes to the administration and governance of the parish. He regarded worship and prayer as the central ministry and purpose of the parish and shepherded the parish’s liturgical life throughout his time at Saint Mary’s. Father Gerth led the parish through the height of the pandemic. His thoughtful and non-anxious response to the crisis was designed to keep Saint Marians safe, while allowing us to open again for public worship as soon as the Bishop permitted us to do so. He found a way for us to celebrate the Eucharist and pray the offices without fail each day during the crisis. Aided by the size of the building, this approach meant that Saint Mary’s never became a “hot spot” source of infection, but it also meant that we were able to open our doors again as soon as possible and to continue our ministry in Times Square—“Open Doors” being one of the parish’s defining symbols and one of its central purposes.

Father Gerth loves Saint Mary’s and served it well during his years here. In a remembrance of his predecessor, Father Edgar Wells, Father Stephen once wrote in these pages, “Father Wells was deeply loyal to the Episcopal Church and the breadth of the fellowship within our Anglican Communion. He believed in a future for Saint Mary’s.” The same could be said of Father Gerth. Happy anniversary, Father!

It was a pleasure to be able to welcome a number of old friends and members of the parish on the Feast of the Conception. Among them, Brother William Benefield, BSG, who recently joined the parish and chanted the Prayers of the People that evening, Larry Hamil, who has donated the altar flowers for this coming Sunday, and the Reverend Dr. Ryan Lesh, a great friend of the parish, who was in town for a conference. Father John Beddingfield was also with us on December 8, and we are always happy when he is here to worship with us. Two young priests from the Diocese of Long Island were with us last Friday, Father Ben Holt and Father Landon Moore. It was good to learn more about their work and ministry, and we hope that they will come back to visit us frequently.

We were able to celebrate the birthday of longtime parishioner, Margaret Malone, at Coffee Hour last Sunday. Margaret turns ninety-two on Wednesday, December 13. We are grateful for her presence, her support, her kindness, and her determination. Congratulations, Margaret.

It looked to us as if some of the younger members of the Wood Family have been coming home for Christmas. It was good to see them in church on Sunday and we hope that all three of the Wood children have had a good semester. Welcome home.

Life in Times Square . . . The Times Square Alliance tells us that the gray trailers in front of the church on Forty-sixth Street are being used by the New Year’s Eve production team and they will be there until around January 6. How to Get to Mass on New Year’s Eve, Sunday, December 31 . . . The area around Times Square will be closed starting very early December 31, beginning at 2:00 AM. Therefore, those coming to Mass that morning—either at 9:00 AM or 11:00 AM—must enter the church on 46th Street. This means that they will need to go to the access point at the corner of 46th Street and 6th Avenue to gain entry to the church. Finding parking near the church will likely be impossible. Please note: The only cross streets in Midtown that will be fully open as corridors running west to east that morning will be at 59th and 34th Streets. This means that those coming to Saint Mary’s from the west would have to use one of those cross streets to go to Sixth Avenue. Having reached Sixth Avenue, they can travel up or down to reach the 46th Street access point. We will try to gather information about subway station closings closer to December 31. We will send out an e-mail blaster during Christmas Week that includes this information. It is suggested that you print the blaster or make sure it’s accessible on your phone to show the police at the 46th Street access point. We suggest that folks leave early in order to deal with this unique but annual disruption of our normal life.

Board of Trustees Update . . . Mr. Luis Reyes, Ms. Marie Rosseels, and Dr. Leroy Sharer have recently completed their service on the Board and the following new members have been elected to serve three-year terms: Ms. Patricia Ahearn, Mr. Steven Eldredge, Ms. Katherine Hoyt, and Ms. Renee Pecquex-Burroughs. They will join continuing Board members: Mr. Clark Anderson, Mr. Steven Heffner, treasurer, Mr. Clark Mitchell, Dr. Charles Morgan, vice president, Mr. Dale Reynolds, Ms. Mary Robison, secretary, Ms. Reha Sterbin, and Father Sammy Wood, president. Thanks to all who serve in this important ministry on behalf of the parish! Please pray for our Board!

2024 Saint Mary's Calendars are now available! Saint Mary’s Flower and Altar Guilds have produced the 2024 Saint Mary’s Calendar, and all proceeds will help fund critical guild supplies and restore antique furnishings. The suggested donation for each calendar is $20 in-person and $25 online (which includes shipping). Calendars are available in-person after Solemn Masses in Saint Joseph’s Hall during the month of December 2023. Click here to order your calendar online. Please contact Brendon Hunter with any questions about the 2024 Parish Calendar.

We invite you to help us decorate the church for Christmas . . . Volunteers are needed for Christmas flowers. Preparations will begin on Saturday, December 16 with work continuing daily through December 24. There is a particular need for people of any skill level (no flower arranging happening) to help unpack deliveries on Saturday, December 16 from morning through afternoon and Tuesday, December 19 in the morning. Additional preparations will take place after Coffee Hour on Sunday, December 17. Anyone interested in arranging the crèche and creating flower arrangements is most welcome during the week of December 17-23! Please contact Grace Mudd if you are able to help or have any questions.

To make a flower donation, please contact Chris Howatt or donate online. Once on the donation page of our website, click the “Donate” button to open the form. Inside the form, there is a “Fund” dropdown, where you may direct your donation to the Flower Fund. If you’d like to find out about dates in January that are available for making a donation of flowers on a Sunday or feast day or have other questions about the Flower Guild, please call the Parish Office.

Coming up at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine . . . On Sunday, December 17, at 4:00 PM, the Very Rev. Patrick Malloy will be installed as Dean of the Cathedral during Evensong. On Saturday, February 10, at 11:00 AM, the Right Rev. Matthew Heyd will be installed as our next Bishop of New York.

Neighbors in Need . . . Urgent Needs: We need warm-weather jackets and coats in all sizes—though we especially need sizes Large, XL, and XXL—for both men and women. We also like having some jackets and coats for children, toddler to adolescent in ages. We would also gratefully receive new or lightly-used shoes and sneakers in all sizes for men and women. If you’d like to make a donation of a stuffed animal for a small child, we’d be happy to receive it. We also depend on cash donations to support this work. Please speak to MaryJane about how to make a donation. You may also call the parish office and speak to Chris Howatt if you would like to set up a recurring donation. We are so grateful to all those who support this ministry with such generosity.

Thank you to all those who volunteered for the Drop-by today. Our next Drop-by will take place on Friday, January 19, 1:30 to 3:00 PM.

National Public Radio (NPR) has posted a comprehensive list of organizations that are providing aid in Israel and Gaza. You can read the list and NPR’s analysis by following this link.

Adult Formation Class. . . The class will not meet on December 17. Father Powell’s series on Isaiah 1–12 will resume on the First Sunday in Lent, February 18. Stay tuned for more information about Adult Formation classes in January and early February after the Christmas Break . . . Wednesday, December 13: Adult Formation—Catechumenate: Anglicanism 101—This class will meet at 6:30 PM, after the evening Mass. The noonday Bible Study Class will not meet on December 13. Anglicanism 101 will also meet on December 20. It will not meet on December 27, though the 6:00 PM Mass will be celebrated that day.

Father Jay Smith will be away from the parish from the afternoon of December 11 until the evening of December 14. He returns to work on Friday, December 15.

Father Matt Jacobson will be away from the parish from January 1 until January 25.

ABOUT THE MUSIC AT THE SOLEMN MASS ON THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Sunday’s organ voluntaries are both from the North German Baroque school and are based upon Luther’s chorale Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (“Come now, Savior of the Gentiles”). This chorale (54 in The Hymnal 1982) is Martin Luther’s sixteenth-century adaptation of the fourth-century Latin hymn Veni Redemptor gentium attributed to Ambrose of Milan (55 in The Hymnal 1982). Sunday’s Prelude is an extended Choralfantasia by Nicolaus Bruhns (1665–1697). Bruhns was a highly regarded virtuoso of both keyboard and stringed instruments of the generation before Johann Sebastian Bach. He was known to play the violin while accompanying himself on the pedals of the organ. His Choralfantasia is a monumental example of its genre. Each of the chorale’s four melodic phrases is set for two manuals and pedals in its own separate section and embellished thoroughly. The Postlude on Sunday is the third of the three settings of Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland from the Great Eighteen Leipzig Chorales of J. S. Bach. (The first and second of this set of three were played as voluntaries two weeks ago on Advent I.) This third setting, BWV 661, is a vigorous fugue for the hands under which each of the four phrases of the chorale in turn is stated boldly in long tones played on the organ pedals.

Tomás Luís de Victoria (c. 1548–1611), the composer the Mass ordinary on the Third Sunday of Advent, knew and may have been instructed by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525–1594), who was maestro di cappella of the Seminario Romano in Rome at the time Victoria was studying at the nearby Jesuit Collegio Germanico. During his years in Rome, Victoria held several positions as singer, organist, and choral master, and published many of his compositions. He was ordained priest in 1575. There are twenty authenticated Mass settings of Victoria in addition to two Requiems. Although the Missa Dominicalis, Sunday’s Mass setting, has long been attributed to Victoria, it is considered spurious by some scholars who recognized elements in the music which appear uncharacteristic of Victoria’s style. However, no alternative authorship has been determined. Missa Dominicalis is an alternatim setting, that is, phrases of text are sung in segments which alternate chant with polyphonic writing. In this case, the polyphonic segments are in four voices and are rigorous in their use of chant phrases as cantus firmus. The cantus firmus for the Kyrie and the Gloria (not sung on Sunday morning) is Mass XI, Orbis Factor, the plainsong designated for Sundays throughout the year. The cantus firmus for the Sanctus and the Agnus Dei is Mass XVIII, the plainsong designated for Weekdays in Advent and Lent, and at Masses of the Dead.

The Great O Antiphons are an ancient set of liturgical texts which traditionally surround Magnificat at vespers on the last seven days of Advent. Sunday, December 17, is the date to which O Sapientia (O Wisdom), the first of the cycle of antiphons, is assigned. (Note: Saint Mary’s follows the English tradition and begins the O Antiphons at Evening Prayer on December 16.) References to the Great O Antiphons can be found in sixth-century sources, and their monastic use in Rome is documented by the eighth century. In addition to their traditional usage as Magnificat antiphons for the final week of Advent, the Great O Antiphons over the centuries have provided structure for various other seasonal devotions.

Many of the faithful have come to know these antiphons through their paraphrases in the hymn O come, O come Emmanuel, an essentially nineteenth-century creation based upon ninth-century Latin sources. This hymn, which we will sing in its entirety at Saint Mary’s next Sunday, is found at #56 in The Hymnal 1982 where each stanza shows the date on which its source text would traditionally be sung.

The Great O Antiphons conflate relevant scriptural texts and are distinguished by their consistent formal structure. Each is headed with the vocative “O” (for which they are known). The “O” precedes a Messianic title from scripture, which is followed by an explanation or characterization of that title. This address is followed by the request: veni, come, and a further projection of what is hoped for as a result. This structure aligns entirely with what we have in our Prayer Book Collects: an address to God, often with further description of God, followed by a request or petition, often with the context or rationale for that request. So, the Great O Antiphons are as much ancient prayers as they are acclamations. As such, they are suitable responses in alternation with the progression of readings which is our Word Liturgy this morning.

The Great O Antiphons have a distinctive Mode 2 chant melody. These texts have also inspired many choral compositions. Five of the Antiphons are sung this morning as choral responses to the readings in settings by David Hurd, Director of Music at Saint Mary’s. The settings to be sung this morning are O Sapientia (O Wisdom), O Adonai, O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse), O Oriens (O Morning Star), and O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations). These short motets were composed, one a year since 2017, and sent out each year as the composer’s Christmas greeting. The motets are in Latin and are set for four to eight unaccompanied voices.

During the Communion, the choir will sing an anonymous sixteenth-century English setting of a passage from the fourth chapter of Saint Paul’s letter to the Philippians traditionally associated with the season of Advent and prescribed in the lectionary as the epistle for the third Sunday of Advent in Year C. This motet had previously been attributed to John Redford who, at the time of his death in 1547, was organist and choirmaster at Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London. Current scholars dispute this attribution and prefer to consider the work anonymous. Nonetheless it has become a staple of the English choral repertoire and presents its text clearly and expressively.

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Saint Mary’s is a vibrant Anglo-Catholic witness in the heart of NYC. With our identity in Christ and a preference for the poor, we are an inclusive, diverse community called to love God and each other for the life of the world.

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.