The Body of Christ

Our parish since its inception has been known for pushing the envelope, as it were, especially in matters of worship.  Saint Mary’s was founded in 1868 at a time when the “liturgical act” was a dream for a very small group of Christians, Anglicans, Roman Catholics and others, who were stumbling onto the heritage of their Christian tradition.

Richness

For the 2,500 people or so who came through the doors of Saint Mary’s on Ash Wednesday, I’m sure it felt as if Lent had started.  My heart was in what I call “producer mode.”  I was reading the lessons, presiding at Mass, ‘ashing’ – a verb among members of the clergy in the city – those who presented themselves, encouraging all who were here to help, and trying to remember the details that make our ministry of hospitality so remarkable. 

Our Father

There are a few things in the Prayer Book (and things left out) that strike me as reflections of the less attractive side of the Church in the 1970s.  For example, I do not understand how it was possible for the revisers, who did such good work in so many ways, to give us Eucharistic Prayer C, a prayer that praises God primarily for the material creation. 

Lenten Worship & Lifestyle

Lent is the season when the Church prepares to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  In the early centuries of the Christian era, the word Easter (and especially its non-English equivalents) was not the name of a day as much as it was a gloss for the word “Baptism.”  Easter was when those the Holy Spirit was bringing to faith would die and rise in Jesus.  Easter was not the occasion for Baptism; Baptism was the Easter event – “Jesus dying and rising still in his holy ones” - to use a phrase, if I recall correctly, of Aidan Kavanagh.

FROM THE CURATE: PUTTING AMAZING BACK INTO GRACE

One can learn a lot in a monastery.  They almost always have fine libraries and there is plenty of time for reading.  There is time to think, too.  Not only that, but there is time to reflect on nature—time to “consider the lilies of the field how they neither toil nor spin” yet they are clothed more splendidly than Solomon.  When I was on retreat in November at Saint Gregory’s Abbey in Three Rivers, Michigan, I did a little of all these things.  I learned a lot about the cure of souls from reading, for the first time, Gregory the Great’s Pastoral Care. (It won’t be the last!) 

Anglo-Catholic Vision

Saint Mary’s was founded by a priest and a group of laypersons who caught a particular vision of renewed Christian community that had sprung to life among Anglican Christians in the nineteenth century.  It was in part a revival of patterns of living and praying from the past but it was grounded in their present and future.  Saint Mary’s quickly became a center for a widespread revival that recalled the Episcopal Church to much of the most important parts of its heritage.  Since those days, a renewed consciousness of the Lord’s sacramental presence among us has marked the life of the Anglican Communion.

Annual Meeting

The Annual Meeting of the congregation of the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin will be held this Sunday following the Solemn Mass in Saint Joseph’s Hall.  For a number of years it has been customary to have a parish brunch on the Sunday of the annual meeting.  Because of the early date for Easter, our Carnival Sunday brunch – another tradition – falls on Sunday, February 10.  After consulting with the parish leadership I decided we should simply have a meeting and save our fellowship for two Sundays hence.

Evensong and Preaching

Yours truly is going to preach at Evensong for the first time in his life this Sunday.  At seminary it would have been possible for me to preach once at Evensong when I was a senior.  It was voluntary and I chose not to do so.  I have never served in a parish where Evensong & Sermon was a regular service.  In my former parish in Indiana, when we had Evensong & Benediction at different festivals through the year, I would almost always have preached already to the same congregation at Mass in the morning.

The Evening Sky

There was a beautiful sunset in New York City on Wednesday, January 9.  I didn’t see much of it.  I was in midtown.  But when I looked down the streets south and west I could see wonderful small clouds colored pink and orange.  Even if a million people and I were stuck in the caverns of the city, I knew that if I could get to the Battery or even to the Hudson River, the sky would open up for me.  I wasn’t able to stop my mind from thinking of the song from the musical Annie about the sun coming out tomorrow.  It wasn’t a Beethoven or Vaughan Williams moment, but it did bring a smile to my heart.

The Great Tradition

When I went to work after seminary, I encountered for the first time something called “The Feast of Lights.”  It is an Epiphany pageant, popular among southern Episcopalians.  (Does anyone know when or where it was invented?)  It’s usually a good way for Episcopalians who still care about the integrity of the Christmas Season,

Now in Flesh Appearing

Christmas at Saint Mary’s opens the doors of our lives so that we can see God’s eternal presence in our midst, in his Son, in ourselves, in the Word proclaimed and, most of all, in the assembly of his faithful people.  One of the things that is so very true of this parish is that it is our religious conviction above all else which draws us together.  Each of us surely has sweet memories of Christmases past with family and friends. 

Helena Maria Martinuk Handy, 1919 – 2001

Helena Handy died on Monday night, December 10, at Cabrini Hospice.  Her husband of fifty-seven years, George Handy, was with her as he had been throughout her illness.  She was born on May 30, 1919.  They would have been married fifty-eight years on December 19.  May she rest in peace.

From The Curate: Thank You

Several people have asked me since my ordination last Friday, "So, how are you feeling?  Do you feel different?"  My answer has repeatedly been, "Yes, I feel more grateful, both to the Lord, and to more people than I have ever felt before."  I want each and every member and friend of Saint Mary's to know that I am, almost more than words can express, deeply appreciative for all the prayers, money, time, and energy which went

Advent

There are occasional mornings and evenings when the Daily Office is read and there is no one in the church except the officiant.  This happens most often on Saturday evenings, when we only have the Office and not a Mass.  Of course, one doesn’t ever feel alone at Saint Mary’s.  The sounds of the city are always with us, and it is almost never quiet in Times Square on a Saturday night.  The experience of praying alone I take as a grace and as an opportunity.  Saint Mary’s is simply a beautiful and blessed place to be.

Ordination of a Priest

There are so many good theological and so many simply practical reasons for celebrating ordinations in cathedrals that I can foresee a time in the not too distant future when virtually all ordinations will be celebrated in cathedrals.  It is extraordinary that a conjunction of location and events enables us to be the host parish for the ordination of our curate to the priesthood and to have the Presiding Bishop and Primate of our Church

From Father Weiler: Retreat

Retreat.  The word conjures up unpleasant thoughts and the gruesome events that precipitated them. Consider Napoleon’s ill-fated retreat from Russia after months of tireless battle. Eventually, the cold was so deep and the food supplies so low that the French and their emperor simply had to turn back, no matter how difficult the journey home.  It was the beginning of the end of Napoleon’s reign.  Consider also the Federal retreat after the Battle of Chancellorsville or the Confederate retreat after Gettysburg.  Military history overflows with countless other retreats.  “Retreat” rhymes with “defeat” and usually signifies it, except in Christianity.

KAREN BENSON, 1939 - 2001

Karen Benson died on Sunday, November 4, at Saint Vincent’s Medical Center from complications following surgery.  A Requiem Mass will be offered on Tuesday, November 27, at 6:00 PM.  She will be cremated and her body will be buried in the graveyard of the Community of Saint John the Baptist, Mendham, New Jersey.  She had been a member of Saint Mary’s since 1996.

Formation

Matthew Weiler is going to spend a few days on retreat at Saint Gregory’s Abbey, Three Rivers, Michigan, to have a period of prayer and reflection as he prepares for ordination to the priesthood.  I told Matthew that when he came to Saint Mary’s I would try to be a good senior colleague for him and to provide him with opportunities to develop as a member of the clergy.  I also told him that he was my first curate to be right out of seminary.

November 2001

We will begin the month of November with the great privilege of the Visitation of the Bishop of New York.  We will end the month of November with the great privilege of the Ordination of a Priest by the Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Church.  In Matthew’s Gospel the Kingdom of heaven is described by Jesus as something small that is always growing into something great.  I hope it is not presumptuous of me to like to think of our parish community as something small that is indeed growing.

Beatrice Lillian Norling, 1906-2001

Miss Beatrice Norling died on Friday, October 12, 2001.  She had just celebrated her ninety-fifth birthday on September 14, Holy Cross Day.  On Tuesday, October 16, services were conducted near her home in Carlstadt, New Jersey, and she was buried later that day in Dorchester, Massachusetts by the graves of her parents.  May she rest in peace.