EASTER
by Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1899)

Break the box and shed the nard;
Stop not now to count the cost;
Hither bring pearl, opal, sard;
Reck not what the poor have lost;
Upon Christ throw all away:
Know ye, this is Easter Day.

Build His church and deck His shrine,
Empty though it be on earth;
Ye have kept your choicest wine—
Let it flow for heavenly mirth;
Pluck the harp and breathe the horn:
Know ye not ’tis Easter morn?

Gather gladness from the skies;
Take a lesson from the ground;
Flowers do ope their heavenward eyes
And a Spring-time joy have found;
Earth throws Winter’s robes away,
Decks herself for Easter Day.

Beauty now for ashes wear,
Perfumes for the garb of woe,
Chaplets for dishevelled hair,
Dances for sad footsteps slow;
Open wide your hearts that they
Let in joy this Easter Day.

Seek God’s house in happy throng;
Crowded let His table be;
Mingle praises, prayer, and song,
Singing to the Trinity.
Henceforth let your souls alway
Make each morn an Easter Day.

THE PARISH PRAYER LIST

We pray for grace, courage, strength, patience, insight, and joy that we might enter fully into the liturgies of Holy Week.

We pray for the sick and for all those who 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; for those living with drought, storm, frigid weather, flood, fire, and earthquake, and for those preparing for Holy Baptism.

We pray in thanksgiving for our Jewish brothers and sisters, who are celebrating Passover this week. Chag Pesach sameach!

We pray for all who are in pain and trouble and all who suffer from injustice and oppression of any kind. We pray, too, that God may forgive us for the wrongs we have done: for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty.

We pray for peace throughout the world, and especially for the people of Ukraine, South Sudan, Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Yemen, and Myanmar.

We pray for Susan, who is gravely ill, and for Karl, Margaret, Michael, Bethel, Zulie, Debra, Marcus, Catherine, Pat, Liduvina, José, Carmen, Patrick, Bethel, Lauren, Emily, Theo, Michael, Opal, Debbie, Carlos, Christopher, Harka, Greta, Quincy, Ava Grace, Willard, Gigi, Phyllis, Jim, Bob, Ilde Luz, Sharon, Lina, Charlotte, Bruce, Barbara, Robert, Abe, Gypsy, Margaret and Rick and Allan, priests. 

Let nothing disturb you,
let nothing frighten you,
all things will pass away.
God never changes;
patience obtains all things,
whoever has God lacks nothing.
God alone suffices. Amen.
— Saint Teresa of Avila

WE GIVE THANKS…

The flowers and decorations in the church, at the shrines, in the chapels,
and in Saint Joseph’s Hall are given by the members and friends of Saint Mary’s
to the glory of God and in loving memory of the departed people and clergy of
The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin.

The flowers were arranged by the members of
The Flower Guild of
The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin
with the assistance of the parish’s many volunteers.

We are grateful to the members of
The Flower Guild and to the Acolytes, Musicians,
Ushers, Sextons, Volunteers, the members of the Altar and Candle Guilds,
the members of the Parish Staff, our assisting priests,
and the spouses and children of the parish clergy for
their ministry and support during this Holy Week.

Finally, we are grateful to all the members of
The Saint Mary’s community, near and far,
who are entering so deeply into the Paschal Mystery
with us during this Holy Week.

 THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S

Saturday, April 8, Holy Saturday Liturgy, 9:00 AM and The Great Vigil of Easter, 7:00 PM.

Sunday, April 9, Easter Day, Said Mass with Hymns 9:00 AM; Procession and Solemn Mass 11:00 AM. Refreshments will be served in Saint Joseph’s Hall following both of the Masses.

Monday, April 10, is Easter Monday. The church opens at 7:00 AM and closes at 7:00 PM. The Holy Eucharist is celebrated at 10:00 AM (note earlier time) in the Lady Chapel. Morning and Evening Prayer are not said in the church. The parish offices are closed.

Our regular daily liturgical schedule, Monday through Friday, is Morning Prayer 8:00 AM, Mass 12:10 PM, and Evening Prayer at 5:00 PM. Holy Hour is offered on Wednesday at 11:00 AM and Thursday’s Mass includes a Healing Service. On Saturdays, Mass is celebrated at 12:10 PM and Evening Prayer is prayed at 5:00 PM. On Sundays, Solemn Mass is offered at 11:00 AM and Evening Prayer at 5:00 PM.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE CONFIRMED OR RECEIVED INTO THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH?

On Saturday, June 10, at 10:30 AM at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, one of our diocese’s bishops will preside at a Mass during which he or she will confirm and receive. These are important and moving sacramental rites that recall the gift of the Holy Spirit at Baptism and allow the adult candidate to make a public affirmation of his or her faith. If you would like us to present you for confirmation or reception on June 10, please speak to Father Sammy or Father Jay so we can discuss preparing you to receive the sacrament and answer any questions you might have.

THE EASTER APPEAL

At the end of March, the annual Easter Appeal letter was mailed to the members and friends of the parish. In the letter, our interim rector, Father Sammy Wood, asked for financial assistance for two projects: replacing kneelers in the nave and repairing water damage on a wall in the church located near the Mercy Chapel. He writes, “Will you prayerfully consider supporting these projects by making this appeal a priority in your Easter giving?” You may donate via the parish website, or by placing a check in the offering basket. Please write “Easter Appeal” in the memo line of your check. We are grateful to all those who continue to support Saint Mary’s so faithfully and with such generosity.

AROUND THE PARISH

Pledge envelopes have arrived! After a very long delay due to production issues at the printer, pledge envelopes were delivered early this week and will be on or near the ushers’ table. If you requested envelopes, please speak to an usher and ask him or her to locate your box, all of which are numbered.

Bring a bell to church! On Saturday evening, at the Great Vigil of Easter, we begin in darkness. Five vigil prophecies are read. After each reading, a psalm or canticle is sung. After the fifth reading and its accompanying psalm, the Celebrant will sing that beautiful collect, which begins, “O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery . . .” Then, bit by bit, lamps and candles will be lit, and the organ will be heard. Then, the Celebrant will proclaim the Opening Acclamation three times, “Alleluia. Christ is risen!”; and each time the Congregation will reply, “The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!” Finally, bells will be rung throughout the church as the choir sings Gloria in excelsis. You are invited to bring a bell (no cowbells, please) and add your own music to the joyful noise.

Donations for altar flowers may be made for many Sundays in Eastertide, upcoming feast days, and other dates through the end of 2023. Dates available include Sundays April 23 and 30; May Crowning on Sunday, May 7; Ascension Day on May 18; Sunday, May 21; and the feasts of Pentecost, Trinity, and Corpus Christi. The suggested donation is $250 which provides flowers on the high altar; shrines of Christ the King, Blessed Virgin Mary, and Sacred Heart; and/or other locations in the church depending on the commemoration or feast on the calendar. To arrange a donation for the altar flowers for a Sunday or feast day, please contact Chris Howatt. For questions about flowers or the Flower Guild, please speak with Brendon Hunter.

Saint Mary’s Book Club. On Sunday, April 23, at 1:00 PM, Father Jay Smith will lead a discussion of Pat Barker’s 1993 novel, Regeneration. The book is set in England during the Great War, and is focused on Siegfried Sassoon, poet and war hero, who has spoken out against the war and, as a result, been committed to an institution for “rest and rehabilitation.” The novel portrays the relationship between Sassoon and a psychiatrist, who has been assigned the morally ambiguous task of returning Sassoon and other young men, shattered in mind, body, and spirit to the front. The novel is well written and explores the difficult interplay between nationalism, patriotism, virility, psychiatry, and modern technological warfare. In some sense, World War I “changed everything” in the Western world. Barker puts a human face on those changes.

We’d love to have you join the discussion in April. We are a small group, but we have lots of ideas and opinions. Come share your opinions with us! — JRS

Father Sammy Wood will be away from the parish from Monday, April 10, until Monday, April 17. He returns to the office on Tuesday, April 11.

Father Jay Smith will be away from the parish from Monday, April 24, until Saturday, April 29.

ABOUT THE MUSIC ON EASTER DAY, APRIL 9, 2023

The organ prelude at the Solemn Mass on Easter Day is from the Orgelbüchlein (“Little Organ Book”) of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). This collection of forty-six organ pieces, mostly composed while Bach was in Weimar between 1708 and 1717, is a small fraction of the originally intended project which would have included 164 settings of chorales spanning the liturgical year. Nonetheless, the Orgelbüchlein stands as an extraordinary body of shorter chorale preludes and a compendium of the compositional techniques pertinent to that genre in Bach’s day. In addition to serving as a practical collection of organ music for church services, the Orgelbüchlein has also been considered to be a treatise on composition, a faith statement of its composer, and a manual for instruction in organ-playing. Christ ist erstanden (Christ is arisen) is a three-stanza Easter chorale, found in The Hymnal 1982 at #184. Bach’s Orgelbüchlein setting, played for the prelude this morning, treats each stanza separately in three individual sections. A form of the chorale melody is featured in the uppermost voice of each section.

The musical setting of the Mass on Easter Day is Missa Paschalis by Orlando di Lasso (1532–1594). Roland de Lassus, as he was also known, was one of the most prolific and admired European composers of his time. Born at Mons in the Franco-Flemish province of Hainaut, Lassus was well traveled particularly in northern Italy, but was centered in Munich much his adult life. His compositions include about sixty authenticated Mass settings, most of which are elaborate parody works based upon motets – often his own – as well as French chansons, and Italian madrigals from such composers as Gombert, Willaert, Resta, Arcadelt, Rore and Palestrina. Missa Paschalis (1576), however, is one of Lassus’ few masses based upon chant. Only in the Kyrie (not sung this morning) is the cantus firmus plainly stated in long notes in soprano and tenor voices. Following the Kyrie the chant elements are integrated into the polyphonic texture. The present performing edition derives from a 1579 collection of various composers’ works entitled Liber primus Missarum quinque vocum (First Book of Masses for Five Voices). Notable in this Mass setting are several passages where polyphony turns to chordal writing, giving particular emphasis to certain phrases of the text.

The antiphon Haec dies quam fecit Dominus (“This is the day which the Lord has made”) is traditionally appointed to be sung throughout Easter Week. As such, many splendid choral settings of this text have been composed over the centuries. The setting of this antiphon, composed by Herbert Howells (1892–1983) and sung at the Solemn Mass on Easter Day during the administration of Communion, was first performed at Compline of Easter Day 1918 at Westminster Cathedral, London, under the direction of Howells’s early mentor, Dr. Richard Terry. Haec dies was the last of nine works that Howells composed for the Latin liturgy at Westminster Cathedral while he was a student at the Royal College of Music. Published posthumously in 1992, Howells’s dramatic setting of this ancient Easter antiphon is scored for five voices. — David Hurd

PRAYING THE DAILY OFFICE

At Saint Mary’s, Morning and Evening Prayer are normally prayed Monday through Friday, Morning Prayer at 8:00 AM and Evening Prayer at 5:00 PM. The Daily Office is not prayed in the church on most federal holidays—which usually fall on a Monday—or on Easter Monday. There are some changes to the schedule on major feasts. On Saturdays and Sundays, Evening Prayer is said in the church at 5:00 PM, though Morning Prayer is not. On the first Sunday of most months, Evensong and Benediction are offered at 5:00 PM. We invite you to join us.

If you are unable to join us but would like to start praying the Daily Office at home, a good place to start is the Daily Prayer website of the Forward Movement, which we recommend.

If you would like some instruction in how to pray the Daily Office, please speak to one of the members of the clergy.

Some other useful resources may be found below.

Book of Common Prayer Online
Holy Bible, New Revised Standard Version
Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version
Common English Bible

AIDS WALK 2023: SUNDAY, MAY 21

We’ve gotten off to a great start with nine members on the team and $31,104 raised! Thank you to those who have already supported us. We are currently ranked second overall in fundraising, but there is a lot of time until May 21. Help us keep the momentum going!

To join or to contribute, visit our page on the AIDS WALK website. Additional detail about our team’s history can also be found on the parish website. Our team captains—MaryJane Boland, Clark Mitchell, and Father Matt Jacobson—welcome your questions.

NEIGHBORS IN NEED

For the next several months, Neighbors in Need is blessed with help from five young people working with the Diocese of New York’s branch of Episcopal Service Corps, the New York Service & Justice Collaborative. We expect that they will help with sorting and hanging clothes as well as carrying them up from the basement to set up for our drop-by days. Even so, we would welcome your inquiry about volunteering.

We held our monthly Drop-by Event on March 17, during which we distributed clothing and personal items to around forty-five people. Next month the Drop-by takes place in Easter Week, on Friday, April 21.

Our biggest needs now are clothing, especially shoes (sneakers or athletic shoes and other sturdy shoes), men’s and women’s pants and tops, and coats—for winter and for warmer weather. And, of course, donations help us to purchase toiletries and underwear.

Please contact us at neighbors@stmvnyc.org for more information about volunteering or about the goals, work, and methods of Neighbors in Need.

BEING HOSPITABLE, WELCOMING OUR GUESTS

Hospitality is an important ministry at Saint Mary’s, since it is our privilege to welcome guests from near and far almost every Sunday morning. Coffee Hour and other receptions are an important part of that ministry, but the cost of hosting such events continues to rise.

We are seeking your help. We invite the members and friends of the parish to volunteer to “host” a Coffee Hour or reception. That can be done in one of two ways: you can make a cash donation, or you can provide food and beverages for the event. If you make a cash donation, the suggested amount is $100.00. If you would like to do this, please contact the Parish Office or speak to Father Jay Smith.

In order to prevent duplications, and therefore waste, if you plan to bring food for a Coffee Hour, please let us know a week ahead of time. That way we can work with Marcos Orengo, our weekend sexton, to prepare for that day’s event.

We hope that this will not be taken as an invitation to compete. That is not desirable and is likely to discourage some who would otherwise like to help. We hope to keep things fairly simple—something to look forward to, but neither brunch, lunch, or supper.

We are grateful to all those who have already made donations to support this ministry.

“All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me’ (Matt 25:35).”— The Rule of Saint Benedict

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.