Easter

by Edmund Spenser (1552/1553–1599) 

Most glorious Lord of Lyfe! that, on this day,
Didst make Thy triumph over death and sin;
And, having harrowd hell, didst bring away
Captivity thence captive, us to win:
This joyous day, deare Lord, with joy begin;
And grant that we, for whom thou diddest dye,
Being with Thy deare blood clene washt from sin,
May live for ever in felicity!

And that Thy love we weighing worthily,
May likewise love Thee for the same againe;
And for Thy sake, that all lyke deare didst buy,
With love may one another entertayne!
So let us love, deare Love, lyke as we ought,
—Love is the lesson which the Lord us taught.

PRAYING FOR THE CHURCH & FOR THE WORLD

We pray for an end to war and violence, remembering especially the people of Gaza, Israel, the West Bank, Sudan, Ukraine, Russia, Mali, Iran, and Yemen. We pray for an end to violence and division in our neighborhood, city, and nation. We pray for justice and peace.

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 around Times Square, for the theater community, and for those living with drought, storm, punishing heat, flood, fire, or earthquake.

We pray for those who are sick or in any special need, especially Pat, Marjorie, Donald, Christine, Linda, Catherine, Charles, Abdush, Luis, David, Clark, Willard, Virginia, Vicki, Celia, Rolf, Sharon, Victor, Murray, Jan, Ruth Ann, Barbara, Cindy, Tom, Avdi, Larry, Violet, Eleanor, Eugene, Quincy, Claudia, June, José, John, Luis, Patrick, Charles, Susan, Carmen, Brian, Antony, Manuel, Liduvina, Robert, Bruce, Randy, Christopher, Carlos, Shalim, Abe, Bob, Gypsy, Hardy, Margaret, and John Derek; for Jack, Jamie, Curtis, and Eleanor Francis, religious; for Lind, deacon, for Rob, Debbi, Robby, Allan, and Stephen, priests; and Michael, bishop.

We pray for the repose of the souls of Jonathan Diller of the New York Police Department; Jason Volz, who died in a subway station in East Harlem this week; those who died in the terrorist attack in Moscow; James Patrick Grindley; Miguel Luna and all those who died on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 26; Vonnie Hubbard, deacon; and those whose year’s mind is on Sunday, March 31— Elizabeth Kirby (1913). 

EASTER AT SAINT MARY’S

Holy Saturday/Easter Eve
March 30, 2024

Holy Saturday Liturgy 9:00 AM
The Great Vigil of Easter 7:00 PM

Confessions heard by appointment only

Easter Day
Sunday, March 31, 2024

Said Mass (Rite One) with Hymns 9:00 AM
Procession and Solemn Mass 11:00 AM
Followed by a Festive Coffee Hour
Atrium Open House during Coffee Hour

Evening Prayer is not said in the church on Easter Day.

The Second Sunday of Easter
April 7, 2024

Said Mass (Rite One) 9:00 AM
Solemn Mass 11:00 AM
Evensong & Benediction 5:00 PM

LIFE AT SAINT MARY’S

Easter Egg Hunt after Solemn Mass . . . Children six and under are invited to an Easter egg hunt following the 11:00 AM Solemn Mass on Easter Day. We will gather in Saint Joseph’s Hall (i.e., the parish hall) during coffee hour for instructions.  Any older kids who would like to help hide eggs should meet in Saint Joseph’s Chapel, also known as the Wedding Chapel, after the liturgy.

Atrium Open House on Easter Day . . . Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a children’s formation program, begins Sunday April 7 during our 9:45 AM formation hour, and you are invited to the Atrium on Easter Day to visit the newly renovated space. The Open House will be during Coffee Hour after the 11:00 AM Mass. Contact Renee Wood for more info.

Easter Monday . . . On Monday, April 1, the church opens at 7:00 AM and closes at 7:00 PM and the Mass will be at 10:00 AM. The parish offices are closed. The Daily Office is not said in the church on Easter Monday.

Wednesday, April 3, Weekday in Holy Week . . . Morning Prayer 8:00 AM; Holy Hour 11:00 AM; Mass 12:10 PM; Evening Prayer 5:30 PM; Mass 6:00 PM. The Bible Study Class and the Evening Adult Formation Class do not meet on Wednesday in Holy Week. 

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Evensong & Benediction
Sunday, April 7, The Second Sunday of Easter, 5:00 PM 

The Annunciation of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Monday, April 8
Morning Prayer 8:00 AM
Sung Mass 12:10 PM
Organ Recital 5:30 PM
Solemn Mass 6:00 PM
Daniel Ficarri, from The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine,
will be the recitalist on the Annunciation. Read more about Daniel here.

Newcomers’ Reception in the Rectory
Sunday, April 14, The Third Sunday of Easter, 1:00 PM

Father and Mrs. Wood invite all those new to the parish
to join them in the Rectory after Solemn Mass on April 14.
Come and meet some members of the parish community and
have a chance to ask questions about Saint Mary’s and
tell us what you’ve experienced so far.
RSVP to Father Wood by e-mail

SOME EASTERTIDE CUSTOMS

“Eastertide” is the fifty-day period that begins on Easter Day.

What’s an “octave”? An octave is the eight-day period during which [a solemnity, that is a particularly important holy day, such as Christmas or Easter] is celebrated, and includes the actual feast. The eighth day is also called the octave or “octave day,” and days in between are said to be “within the octave.” The feast itself is considered the first day, and it is followed by six days called “days within the octave.” The eighth or octave day is kept with greater solemnity than the “days within the octave.” At first, the Christian feasts have no octaves. Sunday, which may in a sense be considered the first Christian feast, falls on the seventh day; the feasts of Easter and Pentecost, which are, with Sunday the most ancient, form as it were only a single feast of fifty days. The feast of Christmas, which too is very old, originally had no octave. But in the fourth century, when the primitive idea of the fifty days’ feast of the paschal time began to grow dim, Easter and Pentecost were given octaves. (See Strasser, Bernard, With Christ Through the Year, 1947, p. 39; and the online Catholic Encyclopedia.

This year the “octave of Easter” begins on the Sunday of the Resurrection: Easter Day (March 31) and ends eight days later on the Second Sunday of Easter (April 7). The first seven days of the octave—in this case, March 31 to April 6—are sometimes referred to as “Easter Week.” For this reason, the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25), which fell during Holy Week this year, is not transferred to just after Easter Day, but to just after the Easter Octave. The Annunciation will be observed at Saint Mary’s with a Sung Mass at 12:10 PM, an organ recital at 5:30 PM, and a Solemn Mass at 6:00 PM on Monday, April 8.

What’s the “Regina coeli”? Regina coeli is Latin for “Queen of Heaven,” [one of the titles of] the Blessed Virgin Mary. Regina Coeli [are also the first two words of a prayer], common in [Anglo-Catholic parishes], used during the Easter season in place of the Angelus [which is rung here at Saint Mary’s at 7:30 AM, 12:00 PM, and 5:30 PM.] The customary bell-ringing sequence for Regina Coeli, at morning, noon, and evening, consists of four sets of two strokes, with pauses between each set, followed by eight peals. The Regina Coeli begins “O Queen of heaven, be joyful, alleluia; Because he whom so meetly thou barest, alleluia, Hath arisen, as he promised, alleluia; Pray for us to the Father, alleluia.” (From An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church.)

“Regina coeli” (or “caeli”) is a musical antiphon addressed to the Blessed Virgin Mary that is used in the liturgy of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church during the Easter season [and in many Anglican religious orders and parishes], from Easter Sunday until Pentecost. During this season, it is the Marian antiphon that ends Compline (or “Night Prayer,” the final service of the day), and it takes the place of the traditional thrice-daily Angelus prayer, which is said, or sung, from the day after Pentecost until Easter Day. (See Regina caeli on Wikipedia.)

NEWS & NOTICES

A Message from the Bishop of New York

The Good Friday offering has traditionally supported ministries in Jerusalem. This year I am suggesting that the Good Friday offering be directed to the Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, a ministry of the Diocese of Jerusalem.  The offerings can be designated through the American Friends of the Diocese of Jerusalem.

The hospital has been dramatically affected by the Israel-Hamas war and continues to provide care for the people of Gaza, regardless of their background. Last Friday I had the opportunity to meet the hospital director. Their experience has been both horrifying and inspirational.

Blessings as we prepare to walk together through Holy Week.

Grace & Peace,
The Right Reverend Matthew Heyd, Bishop of New York

The Flower Guild is Looking for More Than a Few Good Volunteers . . . On Saturday, March 30, we will begin after the brief Holy Saturday Liturgy, sometime around 9:30AM. This will include unveiling the church, putting back everything that was taken out after the Maundy Thursday Liturgy, deconstructing the Altar of Repose, setting up the Paschal Candle stand, and arranging more flowers and candles throughout the church. We will need many hands for many tasks! We must be done setting up by 3:00 PM to allow time to clean up our workspaces before the server rehearsal at 4:00 PM. — Grace Mudd

The Sunday Morning Adult Formation Class will not meet on Easter Day, March 31, nor on the Second Sunday of Easter (Low Sunday), April 7. The class will resume on Sunday, April 14, when Father Matt Jacobson begins his three-part series (April 14, 21, and 28) on theiosis, which is to say “becoming like God,” or “participating in the divine nature.” See for example, the Second Letter of Peter 1:3–4, “His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence. Thus, he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust and may become participants of the divine nature.”

Wednesdays at 12:45: Brown Bag Bible Study. The class will not meet on Wednesday in Easter Week, April 3.

The Saint Mary’s Centering Prayer Group meets in the Atrium on most Fridays at 6:00 PM, following Evening Prayer. On Good Friday, the Group will meet at 3:00 PM, after the Good Friday Liturgy. Click here or speak to Blair Burroughs for more information about this beautiful and distinctive form of prayer.

AIDS Walk New York 2024 . . . This year AIDS Walk New York takes place on Sunday, May 19. The Saint Mary’s AIDS Walk Team will be walking together that weekend in order to raise funds for their fellow New Yorkers living with HIV and AIDS. To support the Team and make a donation please click here. We are grateful to all those who continue to support this ministry.

ABOUT THE MUSIC AT THE SOLEMN MASS ON EASTER DAY, MARCH 31, 2024, 11:00 AM

The remarkable twentieth-century English composer Herbert Howells (1892–1983) was mentored in his youth by prominent English musicians of the time including C. V. Stanford, C. H. H. Parry, and Charles Wood. Rather than pursuing the more avant-garde impulses which propelled some young composers of his time, he cultivated the more tonally oriented but distinctively original vocabulary of melody, harmony, and lyrical rhythms for which his music is recognized. Highly regarded, particularly in Anglican church circles, for his richly expressive anthems and settings of the daily office canticles, Howells’s sensitivity for the expression of texts extended also into his music for organ solo. His “Saraband for the Morning of Easter,” composed in 1940 and played for the prelude on Easter Day, is the second of his Six Pieces for Organ published in 1949. In its ABA structure and with singing melody, Howells colors his stately dance of Easter morning in the shades of his distinctive post-romantic harmonic palette, finally ending in a blaze of C-major.

The musical setting of the Mass on Sunday morning 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 of 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’s few Masses based upon chant. Only in the Kyrie (not sung on Easter Day) 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. During the administration of Communion at the Solemn Mass on Easter Day, the choir will sing the six-voice setting of this Easter antiphon by William Byrd (1543–1623). This notable setting was first published in Byrd’s Sacrarum Cantionum II of 1591. Byrd, like the slightly older Thomas Tallis, enjoyed the favor of Queen Elizabeth I and composed extensively for both the Anglican and Latin rites of his time. Byrd’s setting of Haec dies expresses Easter jubilation with stirring melodic and rhythmic energy.

  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.