The Cestello Annunciation
by Andrew Hudgins (b. 1951)

The angel has already said, Be not afraid.
He’s said, The power of the Most High
will darken you. Her eyes are downcast and half closed.
And there’s a long pause — a pause here of forever —
as the angel crowds her. She backs away,
her left side pressed against the picture frame.

He kneels. He’s come in all unearthly innocence
to tell her of glory — not knowing, not remembering
how terrible it is. And Botticelli
gives her eternity to turn, look out the doorway, where
on a far hill floats a castle, and halfway across
the river toward it juts a bridge, not completed —

and neither is the touch, angel to virgin,
both her hands held up, both elegant, one raised
as if to say stop, while the other hand, the right one,
reaches toward his; and, as it does, it parts her blue robe
and reveals the concealed red of her inner garment
|to the red tiles of the floor and the red folds

of the angel’s robe. But her whole body pulls away.
Only her head, already haloed, bows,
acquiescing. And though she will, she’s not yet said,
Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord,
as Botticelli, in his great pity,

lets her refuse, accept, refuse, and think again.

The Annunciation of Our Lord to the Blessed Virgin Mary will be observed this year on Monday, April 8 (transferred from March 25), with a Sung Mass in the Lady Chapel at 12:10 PM, an Organ Recital at 5:30 PM, and a Solemn Mass at 6:00 PM.

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 in and 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 Emily, Linda, Catherine, Charles, Luis, David, Clark, Willard, Virginia, Vicki, Celia, Rolf, Sharon, Victor, Jane, Murray, Jan, Barbara, Tom, Larry, Eleanor, Eugene, Quincy, Claudia, June, Joyce, José, Susan, Carmen, Brian, Antony, Manuel, Liduvina, Robert, Bruce, Randy, Christopher, Carlos, Liduvina, Shalim Abe, Bob, Gypsy, Hardy, Margaret, and John Derek; for James, Jack, Jamie, and Eleanor-Francis, religious; for Lind, deacon, Rob, Debbi, Robby, Allan, and Stephen, priests; and Michael, bishop

We pray for the repose of the souls of Allan Bevier Warren III, priest, and of Mary Johnson (1954), whose year’s mind is on Sunday, April 7.

IN THIS TRANSITORY LIFE. . . The Reverend Allan Bevier Warren III, fifteenth rector of the Church of the Advent, Boston, from 1999 to 2018, died in the evening of Easter Sunday, the fifty-first anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. A resident of Marblehead, Massachusetts, since his retirement, he had been admitted to the Sawtelle Family Hospice House in Reading, three days earlier. Father Warren was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, on January 14, 1947. After graduating from Princeton University and the General Theological Seminary in New York, he was ordained deacon in 1972 and priest in 1973. He served first in South Carolina at All Saints, Clinton, and Epiphany, Laurens. From there he was appointed curate of the Church of the Transfiguration, New York (1974-1981). Subsequently, he served as Canon Pastor of the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity in Paris, France (1981-84), and then returned to the United States after being called as rector of Parish of the Good Shepherd, in Waban, Massachusetts (1984-1990). He was assistant to the rector at the Church of the Advent (1990-1993), then rector of Church of the Resurrection in New York City (1993-1998). He returned to the Advent to serve as rector in 1999 and retired in 2018. He is remembered as a mentor to many young priests, including Father Sammy Wood, priest-in-charge at Saint Mary’s, who served with Father Warren at the Church of the Advent between 2008 and 2017. A Solemn Requiem Mass will be held at the Church of the Advent, 30 Brimmer Street, Boston, on Saturday, April 6, at 11:00 AM. Father and Mrs. Wood will be in attendance. Please keep Allan, his family, friends, colleagues, former parishioners, and all who mourn in your prayers.

EASTERTIDE AT SAINT MARY’S

Please join us for Evensong & Benediction at 5:00 PM
on Sunday, April 7, the Second Sunday of Easter.
Click here to learn more about E&B.

The Second Sunday of Easter
April 7, 2024
Said Mass (Rite One) 9:00 AM in the Lady Chapel
Solemn Mass 11:00 AM
Evensong & Benediction 5:00 PM

And we hope you will join us for
The Feast of the Annunciation (transferred)
on Monday, April 8!

The Annunciation of Our Lord to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Monday, April 8
Morning Prayer 8:00 AM
Sung Mass 12:10 PM in the Lady Chapel
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.

From Father Sammy: Happy Easter! & Come Join Us!
Newcomers’ Reception in the Rectory 1:00 PM
Sunday, April 14, The Third Sunday of Easter

Please allow me to invite you to join Renee and me for dessert and coffee (perhaps a mimosa, too) to honor Saint Mary’s Newcomers on Sunday, April 14, at 1:00 PM after the Solemn Mass and a bit of Coffee Hour. The event will be at the Rectory, right next door to the church on 47th Street (the street entrance is 144 West 47th).
Please RSVP by Thursday April 11, if you plan to attend, so we will know how many guests to expect.

The Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 5, 2024
Solemn Mass and May Crowning 11:00 AM
Annual Meeting of the Parish in Saint Joseph’s Hall 1:00 PM
Evensong & Benediction 5:00 PM

Ascension Day
Thursday, May 9
Morning Prayer 8:00 AM
Sung Mass 12:10 PM in the Lady Chapel
Organ Recital 5:30 PM
Procession, Solemn Mass & Confirmation 6:00 PM
The Right Reverend Matthew Heyd, Celebrant & Preacher

The Day of Pentecost
Sunday, May 19
Procession, Solemn Mass & Holy Baptism 11:00 AM
The Reverend Landon Moore, Preacher

WE ARE GRATEFUL

The weeks before Holy Week and Holy Week itself are times of dedicated hard work here at Saint Mary’s. In order to prepare to worship during that week, we rely on the work and ministry of many of our members and friends. We are more grateful to them than we can adequately say. We would like to acknowledge the following for all that they have done for our community during this time: The Flower Guild of the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, The Acolytes, Musicians, Ushers, Sextons, and the many Volunteers, who came to assist the members of the Guilds. We are grateful to the members of the Altar, Candle, and Photography Guilds, the members of the Parish Staff, the parish’s assisting priests, and the spouses, families, and children of the parish clergy for their ministry and support during this Holy Week.

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

SOME EASTERTIDE CUSTOMS

The word “alleluia” and the joyous sense of praise associated with that word was not heard in our liturgies during the forty days of Lent. Alleluias return and are conspicuously present, during Eastertide. You will hear them in the Opening Acclamation and in the Dismissal at Mass, and it also makes an appearance at the conclusion of Morning and Evening Prayer. “Alleluia” is also beautifully interpolated into Psalm 117, which we chant at the conclusion of Eucharistic Benediction at 5:00 PM on the first Sunday of most months—including this coming. Please join us on April 7 and May 5 at 5:00 PM for Evensong and Benediction. It is a beautiful service, and we hope that you will find it particularly satisfying to sing those additional alleluias at day’s end as Benediction concludes.

NEWS & NOTICES

“The grass withers and the flowers fade” (Isaiah 40:8) . . . Can you help the Flower Guild this coming Sunday? Many volunteers have already been hard at work for the past few weeks readying the church for Holy Week and Easter, but as we approach the end of Easter week and close out the Octave, one more task remains: what goes up must come down and we will be bringing down the Easter decorations after coffee hour this Sunday, April 7. Can you help? Many hands make light work and with a dedicated crew, it doesn't take more than a couple of hours to take down arrangements, clean vessels, sweep debris, and carry various supplies back down to the flower room. Every willing pair of hands makes a difference. Please contact Grace Mudd to say you will be able to help or if you have questions. — Grace Mudd

The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd begins on April 14 at 9:45 AM . . . The Atrium is ready and will reopen on the Third Sunday of Easter for the younger members of our congregation! Learn more about this formation program for children in an article by Renee Wood from a past issue of The Angelus. If you have any questions about the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd or would like to enroll your child, please send Renee an email. Please keep this important program in your prayers!

The Sunday Morning Adult Formation Class will not meet on the Second Sunday of Easter, April 7. The class will resume on Sunday, April 14 at 9:45 AM, when Father Matt Jacobson begins his three-part series (April 14, 21, and 28) on the theological concept of theosis (also sometimes referred to as deification or divinization). Look to next week’s issue of The Angelus, where Father Matt will outline his plans for these sessions in which he will explore what it could possibly mean for humans to become gods with a lowercase “g.”

Save the Date . . . On Friday, May 17, 6:00–8:00 PM, at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, an Event to Celebrate the Tenth Anniversary of the Consecration of the Right Reverend Allen Shin, Bishop Suffragan. Bishop Shin served as a curate here at Saint Mary’s before leaving New York for his studies in Oxford in the fall of 2000. He remains a very good friend and supporter of the parish.

Restoration work . . . This week, restoration work began on and around the Twelfth Station of the Cross to repair water damage from an old leak (see photo in this issue). The first stage of the project should be done this week. The restoration work is being funded by an anonymous donor. Thank you!

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

You may assist the work of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem through the Friends of the Diocese website. The website provides information about the work of the Diocese in the Middle East and updates concerning the Israel-Hamas War and the war’s impact on the region. We continue to pray “for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6) and all the peoples of the Middle East.

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 scan the code below. We are grateful to all those who continue to support this ministry.

The New York City Landmarks Conservancy Sacred Sites Open House 2024  will take place once again this year  on Saturday and Sunday, May 18-19th! Saint Mary’s has once again registered for the Open House and will welcome visitors to use our recorded self-guided tours.

ABOUT THE MUSIC AT THE SOLEMN MASS ON THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER, APRIL 7, 2024

The organ voluntaries on Sunday are both based upon the well-known Easter hymn O filii et filiae (“O sons and daughters”). The melody of this hymn is thought to be of fifteenth-century French origin. It is found in two different forms in The Hymnal 1982. At #203, the hymnal gives a rhythmic form of the tune, in the manner of a carol, with the stanzas most suitable for Easter Day. At #206 the hymnal presents an equal-rhythm plainsong-like form of the tune with stanzas most suitable for the second Sunday of Easter and the Feast of Saint Thomas (December 21). Several French composers of organ music since the seventeenth century have composed pieces based upon popular carol melodies. Ofertoire pour le jour de Pâques (“Offertory for Easter Day”) from the First Organ Book of Jean-François Dandrieu (c. 1682–1739) is a continuous set of twelve variations on O filii et filiae. Dandrieu was born into a Paris family of artists and musicians, and he gave a harpsichord performance at the royalty court as young as age five. From age eighteen he was organist at the Church of Saint Merri where he was named titular organist five years later. In 1721, he became one of the four organists of the Chapelle Royale of France. His variations on O filii et filiae call forth the characteristic sounds of the French classical organs. Lynwood Farnam (1885–1930) was one of the most highly acclaimed concert organists of his time. He was born in Quebec and, as a young man in Montreal, became organist at Christ Church Cathedral and taught organ at McGill Conservatory. After some years in Boston, Farnam was appointed organist at the Church of the Holy Communion in Manhattan, where he remained until his death. During that time, he toured extensively in North America and abroad, made radio broadcasts and, although he made no phonograph recordings, his playing is recorded on organ rolls which he made for the Aeolian company in 1930. His only surviving composition is his Toccata on “O Filii et Filiae” which he reportedly used to test the sonic capabilities of organs he was to play.

The setting of the Mass on the Second Sunday of Easter  is the four-voice Missa secunda of Hans Leo Hassler. Born in Nuremberg and baptized on October 26, 1564, Hassler’s musical career bridged the late Renaissance to the early Baroque periods. His initial musical instruction was from his father, Isaak Hassler (c. 1530–1591). Hans Leo left home in 1584 to study in Venice with Andrea Gabrieli (c. 1532–1585) and become a friend and fellow pupil with Gabrieli’s nephew Giovanni (c. 1554–1612). Thus, Hassler was 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. Hassler was recognized in his day not only as a composer, but also as an organist and a consultant on organ design. Although he was a Protestant, Hassler’s early compositions were for the Roman church. His Missa secunda, first published in Nuremberg in 1599, is a model of efficient and concise text setting. The text is mostly set syllabically, and much of the musical texture is homophonic and rhythmically energetic. Often Hassler has the higher two voices and lower two voices singing phrases in playful alternation. These aspects all help to set forth the text with particular clarity.

Jacob Handl (1550–1591), also known as Jacobus Gallus, is credited with over five hundred compositions, both sacred and secular, including twenty Masses and hundreds of motets. Though Handl was Slovenian by birth, his compositions incorporate the influences of the leading Franco-Flemish and Venetian musical schools of his time. His motet Stetit Jesus from Opus musicum III (1587), sung during the administration of Communion, sings the post-resurrection appearance of our Lord reported in John 20:19–20. Handl’s motet captures the drama of the narrative. — David Hurd

Music on Monday, April 8, The Feast of the Annunciation (transferred): At the Recital: Alleluyas by Simon Preston (1938–2022); Meine Seele erhebt den Herren (“My soul magnifies the Lord”), BWV 648 by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750); Magnificat V from Vêpres du commun des fêtes de la Sainte Vierge, Op. 18 by Marcel Dupré (1886–1971); Prière à Notre-Dame from Suite Gothique, Op. 25, by Léon Boëllmann (1862–1897); Homage to H. T. Burleigh by Daniel Ficarri (b. 1996). At the Mass: Missa Dixit Maria by Hans Leo Hassler (1564–1612); Ave Maria for Five Voices by Robert Parsons (c. 1530–1572).

LEARNING TO SPEAK ANGLO-CATHOLIC:
WHAT’S A “MONSTRANCE”?

A “monstrance,” or an “ostensorium,” is a vessel—often elaborate and richly decorated—in which the consecrated Eucharistic bread, or host, is placed so that it can be carried in processions or shown during certain rituals or services, such as Eucharistic Benediction and Eucharistic Adoration. Here at Saint Mary’s Benediction follows Evensong on the first Sundays of most months at 5:00 PM. It is called “benediction,” because the priest (or bishop) officiant blesses the people with the consecrated host—which has been carefully secured within the monstrance—during the service. At the Holy Hour on Wednesdays at 11:00 AM, the host, within the monstrance, is placed on the altar of the Lady Chapel, so that Our Lord’s presence in the sacrament becomes the central focus during that hour of prayer. Both names, monstrance and ostensorium, are derived from Latin words (monstrare and ostendere) that both mean “to show.” First used in France and Germany in the fourteenth century, when popular devotion to the Blessed Sacrament developed, monstrances were modeled after pyxes or reliquaries, sacred vessels used to hold, protect, and display the host or relics of the saints. (Such late-medieval devotions included the institution of the Feast of Corpus Christi and the processions that took place on that feast day.) The host was shown in a glass cylinder mounted on a base and surmounted by some sort of metal crown. In the sixteenth century the monstrance took its more common present shape: a circular pane of glass set in a cross or surrounded with metal rays. The host is placed in a holder called a luna or lunette, which fits into an opening behind the glass. Viewed by those who are not part of the catholic tradition, the monstrance and the humeral veil—a vestment used by the officiant to hold the monstrance without touching it—often seem excessive and their use unnecessarily complicated. However, they are meant to express and to deepen a belief in the presence of Christ in the Sacrament.

See https://www.britannica.com/topic/monstrance (adapted). Also, follow this link for more information about, and images of, monstrances and ostensoria. The article at that website includes an interesting fact and an image: In the Ambrosian Rite, used in northern Italy, especially in Milan, it is the older, tower-like ostensoria that are used during processions (the vocabulary used to describe these two different vessel styles is fluid—sometimes the word monstrance is used to describe both types and vice versa.

If you would like to see an example of a monstrance in action at Saint Mary’s, watch the above video of Evensong & Benediction, beginning at minute 44, or come to E&B this Sunday at 5:00 PM!

  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.