FROM DR. DAVID HURD: SANCTUS, SANCTUS, SANCTUS . . .

. . . Dominus Deus Sabaoth, or Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts; or, in Rite II, Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might. This ancient hymn is raised at all celebrations of the Holy Eucharist and is, in fact, the original hymn historically embedded in the canon of the Mass. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (1974) says the following in its entry for Sanctus:

“The hymn of adoration which follows the Preface in the Eucharist and begins with the words ‘Holy, holy, holy’. It is perhaps referred to by St. Clement of Rome (1 Cor. 34. 6 f.) and Origen (Hom. in Is. 1. 2). Based on the Lat. of the medieval rite, it runs in the BCP ‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of thy glory: Glory be to thee, O Lord most High.’ The words of the Benedictus qui venit (i.e. ‘Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest’), which completed it, were omitted in the 1552 and subsequent English Prayer Books.” (Benedictus qui venit has been restored in the present American Book of Common Prayer, 1979). 

According to the usage of the Book of Common Prayer 1928, the congregation was explicitly invited to make its “humble confession to Almighty God, devoutly kneeling.” (p.75) Since no further directive as to the intended posture of the congregation is given in the rubrics, it is presumed that, following the absolution and all that followed, including Sanctus, was to be said or sung while kneeling. This was, most certainly, the practice of the parishes in which I worshipped in the days of the 1928 Prayer Book. Regarding the three common postures in church, we were taught that one sat to listen, one stood to offer praise (singing was generally understood as offering praise), and one knelt to pray. So, what was going on at Sanctus? Was Sanctus a song of praise, a hymn, as it were? Was it simply a passing acclamation embedded in the text on the way to the great prayer of consecration which followed? Our posture seemed to accord Sanctus the attitude of prayer, but apart from the priest’s prayer which followed, there was no petition. Sanctus was really, therefore, more of an acclamation. The words were certainly those of praise and adoration, perhaps the prelude to asking for God’s presence in the sacrament, or they were an expression of confidence that God would indeed be manifest to his people in that Most Holy Sacrament of the altar. Consider the celebrant’s lead-in to Sanctus in the liturgical language of the day: “Therefore with Angels and Archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious Name; evermore praising thee, and saying, …” This moment of worship, Sanctus, certainly pushed the neat boundaries and conventions of church postures and intentions which we had learned in Sunday School.

The Book of Common Prayer 1979 is a bit more directive regarding Sanctus. It provides the rubric “The people remain standing” before the Dialogue and Proper Preface which precede Sanctus in both Rites One and Two (p.333 and p.361). The posture directive here seems to emphasize the “song of praise” aspect of Sanctus simply by having it expressed by the congregation standing. The standing posture also emphasizes the intentionally corporate nature of the congregation’s expression in contrast with a kneeling posture which is more suggestive of personal devotion. The celebrant’s lead-in to Sanctus in Prayers A and B of Rite II is even more explicit in the words “Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with Angels and Archangels and with all the company of heaven, who for ever sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of your Name” (p.362 and p.367). Here, Sanctus is clearly identified as a hymn sung by all the company of heaven in which the congregation is invited to join. Prayer C even describes this heavenly hymn as “unending” (p.370). A rubric following Sanctus in the 1979 Prayer Book offers the congregation the option of standing or kneeling, in that order, in Prayers A, B, and D. (Curiously, in Rite I the order of posture options is reversed with kneeling being the first option.)

One may conclude that The Book of Common Prayer 1979, in its liturgical texts and rubrics, has emphasized the corporate praise aspect of the entire Mass by placing this ancient hymn to the thrice Holy at the outset of its highest prayer, and directing that it be expressed by the assembly standing. As such, Sanctus is the primary hymn sung at celebrations of the Eucharist, to which all other singing is secondary. If anything is sung at Eucharist, it should be Sanctus.

Congregational settings of Sanctus in Episcopal hymnals of 1916 and 1940 have tended to be musically simple for practical reasons, but also perhaps because their intended performance was weighted toward prayerfulness rather than corporate praise. For example, Healey Willan’s well-known Sanctus in The Hymnal 1940 (#711) indicated that it should begin quietly (P) and “somewhat slowly.” The editors of The Hymnal 1982 deliberately omitted these 1928 instructions (S-114). Consequently, in more recent times, organists and congregations, standing, have chosen bolder sonorities and sturdier tempos for the beginning of this beloved setting. More recently composed congregational settings of Sanctus are often more energetic than those of a century ago.

Choral settings of Sanctus from the earliest documented chant to compositions of living composers—which we are privileged to hear from week to week at Saint Mary’s—range from those which express this historic and central liturgical text with introspective awe and wonder to those that project it with extraverted power and authority. This wealth and variety of expressions collectively give us a glimpse of the vastness and diversity of the praise of God by Angels and Archangels in heaven into which we are invited to join at every Mass. — David Hurd

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

PRAYING FOR THE CHURCH & FOR THE WORLD

We pray for peace in the Middle East, in Ukraine, Russia, Mali, Iran, the Red Sea, and Myanmar. We pray for an end to violence and division in our neighborhood, city, and nation.

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 migrants and those seeking asylum, 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 Sharon, Natalie, Robert, Hemmi, Juan, Liz, Murray, Frank, Jorge, Bill, Charles, Brian, Elizabeth, Ruth Ann, Barbara, Celia, Rolf, Jan, Cindy, Brian, Tom, Avdi, Larry, Violet, Eleanor, Eugene, Quincy, Claudia, June, Joyce, Robert, Bruce, Christopher, Carlos, Susan, Carmen, Brian, Antony, Manuel, Abe, Bob, Gypsy, Hardy, Margaret, and John Derek; Thomas, religious; Lind, deacon, Robby, Allan, and Stephen, priests; and Michael, bishop.

We pray for the repose of the souls of those whose year’s mind is on Sunday, February 11— Florence May Devine (1914); Ida Stoeppel McHale (1925); Florence McFall (1951). 

AT THE CATHEDRAL

You are invited to the installation of the XVII Bishop of New York,
The Right Reverend Matthew Heyd
Saturday, February 10, 2024, 11:00 AM
The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine

The service will celebrate the life of the Diocese of New York and the church's mission to heal the world. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend. A reception will follow the service. You can indicate that you plan to attend by clicking here.

Congregations will not be processing at this service. Instead outreach partners, including sites assisted by Episcopal Charities and others will process. The service will not be a Eucharist. The service will include with festive music, scripture, prayer, and a homily by the Reverend Winnie Varghese. All are welcome and are encouraged to attend.

COMING UP AT SAINT MARY’S

Ash Wednesday
February 14, 2024
Mass 8:00 AM, Sung Mass 12:10 PM, Solemn Mass 6:00 PM
Ashes will also be imposed in the Mercy Chapel according to the following schedule:
8:30–9:30 AM, 12:45–1:30 PM, 5:00–5:45 PM, and 6:45–8:00 PM

Stations of the Cross
Friday, February 16, 2024, 6:00 PM

Lenten Quiet Day
Saturday, February 24, 10:00 AM–3:00 PM

Saint Joseph
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Mass 12:10 PM

The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday
March 24, 2024
Procession to Times Square & Solemn Mass 11:00 AM

Maundy Thursday
March 28, 2024, 6:00 PM

Good Friday
March 29, 2024, 12:30 PM

LIFE 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 March 3.

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.

Sunday, February 11, The Last Sunday after the Epiphany, Mass (Rite One) in the Lady Chapel at 9:00 AM, Solemn Mass (Rite Two) 11:00 AM, Adult Formation 9:45–10:40, Evening Prayer 5:00 PM. The confirmation class will not meet this Sunday at 9:45 AM.

Tuesday, February 13, Absalom Jones, Priest, 1818, Mass 12:10 PM

February 14, The First Day of Lent: Ash Wednesday, Fast Day (Cyril, Monk, 869, and Methodius, Bishop, 885), Mass with Imposition of Ashes 8:00 AM, Sung Mass with Imposition of Ashes 12:10 PM, Solemn Mass with Imposition of Ashes 6:00 PM. Ashes are also imposed in the Mercy Chapel at the following times: 8:30–9:30 AM, 12:45–1:30 PM, 5:00–5:45 PM & 6:45–8:00 PM.

Friday, February 16, Weekday in Lent, Day of Abstinence and Special Devotion, Morning Prayer 8:00 AM, Mass 12:10 PM, Evening Prayer 5:30 PM, Stations of the Cross 6:00 PM

Saturday, February 17, Weekday in Lent, Confessions 11:00 AM, Monthly Requiem Mass 12:10 in the Mercy Chapel

NEWS & NOTICES

The Observance of a Holy Lent . . . As you think about the shape of your Lenten practices this year, we hope that you will consider the following:

The Saint Mary’s Shape of Lent Booklet . . . The electronic version of this year’s guide to Lent at Saint Mary’s can be downloaded here. Hardcopies will also be available at the usher’s table starting this Sunday. The booklet contains suggested prayers, readings, and devotions for the parish community during Lent.

Bring your palms to church! If you still have palms at home from Palm Sunday 2023, including the palm cross you made during Holy Week, you are invited to bring them back to Saint Mary’s. They will be burned and prepared for use on Ash Wednesday, February 14, 2024. There will be a basket on the ushers’ table at the back of the church, near the Forty-sixth Street entrance, where you can leave them.

Wednesdays at 12:45: Brown Bag Bible Study. The class will not meet on Ash Wednesday. The class resumes on Wednesday, February 21, at 12:45 PM in Saint Benedict’s Study. We have been reading the Gospel of Mark in this class, and during Lent we will jump ahead to read the Passion Narrative in Mark (14:1–16:8). This is the gospel text appointed to be chanted at Mass on Palm Sunday. It is the text that begins our Holy Week journey.

Wednesday Nights in Lent: “Introduction to a Rule of Life” . . . In his homily last Sunday, Brother Ephrem Arcement quoted Mark Twain: “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” We’ve thought a lot about our why around Saint Mary’s this year, and on Wednesdays in Lent we have a chance to continue that conversation. Join Father Sammy and others, including our own Brother Thomas Steffensen, as we examine the concept of a Rule of Life as a “trellis” to help us grow toward our God-ordained purpose. The class meets on four consecutive Wednesdays (February 28 and March 6, 13, and 20) from 6:30–7:30 PM in Saint Benedict’s Study right after Evening Prayer at 5:30 PM and the 6:00 PM Mass. All are welcome!

Fridays in Lent at 6:00 PM . . . Please join us at 6:00 PM on February 16 and 23, and on March 1, 8, 15, and 22, for Stations of the Cross in the church following Evening Prayer. This devotion, by using the words and images of Scripture, helps us to meditate on God’s sacrificial love for the world as we move towards Holy Week and Easter.

Please Join Us for Lenten Quiet Day on Saturday, February 24, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM (coffee served beginning at 9:30 AM). The day will be led by Sister Monica Clare Powell, CSJB, the superior of the Community of Saint John Baptist in Mendham, New Jersey. Sister Monica Clare is well known to many Saint Marians—she lived and worked here for several years not too long ago. She is an experienced spiritual director and retreat leader and is known for her kindness and compassionate pastoral care. Sister Monica is preparing for ordination to the priesthood in the Diocese of Newark and recently completed her coursework at the School of Theology at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. If you would like to attend the Quiet Day, please send an e-mail to Father Jay Smith—this is to keep track of numbers for set up in Saint Joseph’s Chapel and for lunch. We hope you will join us!

OTHER NEWS . . .

We are again collecting non-perishable food items for those in need in our neighborhood, who have access to kitchen facilities. We are looking for canned soups, canned vegetables, tuna fish, and stews, in addition to breakfast cereals, pasta, bottled sauces, peanut butter, jams and jellies, and bottled condiments. Please place these items in the basket at the ushers’ table or take them in a bag to the parish kitchen. Please label the bag “donation” and tell us who the donor is. And we thank you!

Saturday, February 10, 8:00 PM, Concert: New York Repertory Orchestra (Saint Mary’s Resident Orchestra). Michael Griffith, guest conductor. Program: Radamés Gnattali: Sinfonia Popular; J.S. Bach/Stokowski: “Little” Fugue in G minor; César Franck: Symphony in D minor. Admission is free. A freewill offering of $15.00 is encouraged.

This coming Sunday, February 11, the Last Sunday after the Epiphany, Dr. David Hurd will be at Saint Luke’s Church, in Atlanta, Georgia. On Sunday afternoon at 4:00 PM, Saint Luke’s will host the world premiere of David’s newest composition, the Evening Canticles for Choir and Organ, the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis. This commissioned music is made possible through the generous support of Saint Luke’s rector, the Reverend Winnie Varghese, in honor of Elizabeth Toledo. The event will be live streamed at stlukesatlanta.org/live. Earlier that day, at 10:15 AM on Sunday morning, David will lead a conversation with Matthew Brown, director of music at Saint Luke’s, and Mother Varghese, as part of the Saint Luke’s Sunday Forum series. The forum will focus on David’s life and career, his creative process, and thoughts about the future of music in the Episcopal Church.

Adult Formation on Sunday mornings . . . On Sunday, February 11, Father Jay will lead the Sunday morning Adult Formation Class in a final discussion—for the moment—of the Rule of Saint Benedict and the Benedictine way of life, which have done so much to shape Western Christian spirituality, Anglican life, prayer and worship, and Western European culture . . . On Sunday, February 18, Father Peter Powell will resume his series, begun last fall, on Isaiah 1–12. Father Pete will tell us his plans for his classes—which will take place on all the Sundays in Lent, including Palm Sunday—in next week’s Angelus. Stay tuned.

Confirmation Preparation for Young People 13-18 . . . Father Sammy is leading a confirmation class for young people on Sunday mornings. The class will meet on Sunday mornings, January 14 to May 5. The class will not meet this coming Sunday, February 11, nor will it meet on Palm Sunday (March 24) or Easter Day (March 31). If you are interested in the class, please speak to Father Sammy.

Donating Flowers for Altar and Shrines . . . We are looking for donations for flowers for the following dates: April 8, The Annunciation (transferred); and many Sundays in Eastertide, In order to make a donation and reserve a date, please contact the parish office. In addition, we always welcome donations to support the ministry of the Flower Guild during Holy Week and at Easter.

Neighbors in Need . . . Our next Drop-by will take place on Friday, February 16, 1:30 to 3:00 PM. Please speak to Father Jay Smith or MaryJane Boland, if you are interested in volunteering. Warm-weather clothing is a particular need at the moment. In addition, we have been providing food support to a number of folks in our neighborhood in recent months, including many recent immigrants. We do this through a voucher system. We welcome financial donations so that we may continue this work. You may donate online or with a check—when making the donation please be sure to indicate that your gift is for “Neighbors in Need.”

Father Sammy Wood will be away on retreat, Wednesday, February 21, until Friday, February 23.

ABOUT THE MUSIC AT THE SOLEMN MASS ON THE LAST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY:
FEBRUARY 11, 2024, 11:00 AM

At the Solemn Mass on Sunday, parishioner Clark Anderson will play the service and conduct the choir.

Jean Langlais (1907–1991), who was one of the great organists and composers of the twentieth century, wrote in a highly individualistic style and experimented widely. His Livre Œcuménique (“Ecumenical Book”) was an “ecumenical” experiment for this devout Roman Catholic, in that he used both traditional plainchant and Protestant chorales in the collection. On Sunday, we hear two of the works based on chant, specifically from Mass XI in the Kyriale, the great collection of Gregorian settings for the Ordinary of the Mass. The text of Mass XI begins “Orbis factor, rex aeternae eleison” (“Creator of the world, eternal King, have mercy”) and is thus particularly appropriate for this Last Sunday after the Epiphany as we both celebrate the Transfiguration and look toward Lent. The prelude is unique in Langlais’s output in that, for the first time ever, he employed a plainchant theme in its entirety. The Gloria is presented intact, without introduction or afterword and within a relatively spare setting.

The postlude, by contrast, alternates dramatic, craggy expostulations at full organ with sections of the Kyrie plainchant, stated first and last in the pedal. In 1976, Langlais recorded this work on the famous organ of Sainte-Clotilde in Paris, where he was organiste-titulaire for forty-three years. His remarkable performance reminds us why the organ became the instrument of choice for churches. Both kingly grandeur and a cry for divine mercy—“O immense source of pity, have mercy on us”—are captured in a sonority that only great organs can produce. — Clark Anderson

The setting of the Mass on Sunday is Missa Aeterna Christi Munera by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525–1594). Palestrina was both a source and inspiration for many of the composers who followed him and a practitioner of already established musical practice. He stood on foundations largely laid by the Netherlandish composers Guillaume Dufay (c. 1397–1474) and Josquin des Prez (c. 1450–1521) and is credited with having set the canons for Renaissance polyphony and the enduring standards for Catholic liturgical music. Among his hundreds of compositions are 105 Masses, most of which were published in thirteen volumes between 1554 and 1601. The Missa Aeterna Christi Munera is based upon a plainsong melody for the hymn commemorating Apostles and Martyrs attributed to Saint Ambrose (340–397). A translation of this Ambrosian hymn appears at 233 and 234 in The Hymnal 1982, but with different music. At 132 in The Hymnal 1940 one finds both the translated Ambrosian hymn and the plainsong melody on which Palestrina based his four-voice Mass. As one often finds in Renaissance polyphonic Masses, an additional voice is added for a rich final Agnus Dei.

Max Reger (1873–1916) was an extremely prolific composer both in terms of the volume of music he composed during a relatively short period of time, and in the density and intensity of that music from the standpoint of harmony, counterpoint, and sheer number of notes and accidentals to the page. His music paid a great debt to the counterpoint of Bach yet stretched forward to a powerful post-romantic expressiveness. Composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic, Reger was a professor at the Royal Conservatory in Leipzig and a music director both at the Leipzig University Church and at the court of Duke Georg II of Saxe-Meiningen. Catholic from birth, Reger married his wife Elsa, a divorced Protestant, in 1902 and was subsequently excommunicated. His choral and organ works reflect both the Catholic and Protestant musical cultures of late nineteenth-century Germany. The Communion motet on Sunday is from Max Reger’s Acht Geistliche Gesänge, Opus 138. This collection of eight motets, ranging in voicing from four to eight parts, was composed in 1914. Reger died before completing the corrections of the publication proofs of the motets. Morgengesang, sung at the Solemn Mass this week, is the second of the eight in Reger’s Opus 138. It is an harmonically rich six-voice setting of a text by the German Reformer and hymn writer Johannes Zwick (c. 1496–1542). Zwick’s text characterizes Christ as the highest and most redemptive Light. — David Hurd

A SERIES OF FIVE EDUCATIONAL FORUMS ON FACING CHRISTIAN ANTI-JUDAISM

Guest Speakers: Dr. Ellen Charry & Prof. Matthew Glandorf

Visit the diocesan website for more information: https://dioceseny.org/24forums
Session 2, Thursday February 15th, 2024: The Lectionary (register)
Session 3, Thursday March 14, 2024: Sacred Music and Hymnody (register)
Session 4, Thursday March 21, 2024: Preaching: John’s Passion Gospel (register)
Session 5, Thursday April 18, 2024: A Peace Proposal for Jews and Christians (register)

Sponsored by the Episcopal-Jewish Dialogue Committee of the Ecumenical & Interreligious Commission of the Diocese of New York

CONCERTS AT SAINT MARY’S

The Miller Theatre at Columbia University presents
The Gesualdo Six in their concert “Lux Aeterna”
Saturday, February 17, 2024, at 8:00 PM

From Miller’s website, where tickets may be purchased, “Renowned as ‘weavers of rich and plangent aural tapestries’ (BBC Music Magazine), The Gesualdo Six returns with a program of poignant and uplifting music commemorating the departed. Through a thoughtfully curated selection of works spanning from the Renaissance to the present day, the a cappella ensemble explores the rich variety of musical responses to the themes of mourning, loss, and hope over centuries. The repertoire features compositions by Tavener, Byrd, Tallis, and de Morales alongside contemporary works, including Joanna Marsh’s I take thee, which was composed for The Gesualdo Six in 2020.

We need your help to keep holding our services.
Click below, where you can make one-time or recurring donations to support Saint Mary’s.
We are very grateful to all those who make such donations and continue to support Saint Mary’s so generously.

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.