WHAT’S ON YOUR BOOKSHELF

Steven Eldredge, what’s on your bookshelf?

Almost Catholic: An Appreciation of the History, Practice & Mystery of Ancient Faith by Jon M. Sweeney (Jossey-Bass, 2008)

How did you hear about this book?

I can’t quite say, but I think it points to the idea that books talk to other books, and one book will somehow lead me to another. I am forever rooting around in book lists, and this title immediately caught my attention in that it spoke to my lifelong feeling and identity of being “almost” Catholic. I had previously read other books by this author, one on Saint Francis, and another on monasticism and knew enough about the way he thought to be interested in and trust what he had to say.

Without giving too much away, what’s the book about?

It’s about the many things that make catholic (small c) worship so different from Protestant styles of living in the Faith, and why those things make it so compelling. The author was raised an evangelical, then as a college student, through involvement with a Baptist church, he went to the Philippines as a missionary to convert Catholics, a goal which did not quite go as planned as he discovered a way of relation to God through liturgy that he had never known or even suspected before. Things changed forever for him from this encounter with the daily lived faith of cradle Roman Catholics. At the time he wrote this book, he was an Anglo-Catholic Episcopalian, but he did finally convert to the Roman Catholic Church sometime in the last decade.

The book consists of various sections including “The Catholic Imagination,” “Much More than Kitsch and Jesus Junk,” which is a beautiful survey of sacramentals including genuflection, holy water, the rosary, icons, the stations of the cross, etc., “Sacred Spaces and Places,” “My Own Cloud of Witnesses,” which features Sweeney’s personal pantheon (Thomas Merton, Saint Francis of Assisi, G.K. Chesterton, Flannery O’Connor), and a wonderful little chapter dedicated to “Every Idealist Who Has Ever Tried.”

Almost Catholic is very personal, full of his own life experiences and his spiritual quest. It is not at all dogmatic, but often rather humorous in a charming way. Do not expect deep theological discussions. This is a purely hands-on exploration of the reasons why the catholic traditions and practices speak so profoundly to many of us. I do not want in any way to discount how rich and numinous some of his thinking is. Many passages felt like my own mind was speaking to me from the pages, as though a special friend in Christ was sharing ideas with me which resonated in the biggest possible way.

Why do you think other Saint Marians might be interested in reading it?

That is an easy one! He speaks especially of the need to worship with a community such as we represent. Everything about our common life at Saint Mary’s is reflected and lovingly extolled in this little book. All of the history, practice, and mystery of the worship in our parish speak to its truth.

“What’s on your bookshelf” is a series in the newsletter where members of our community can recommend books that might be of interest to other Saint Marians. If you have an idea that you would like to write about for a future issue of The Angelus, please contact Father Matt. The book may be fiction or non-fiction, and does not need to be a recent publication, but it should in some way relate to our common life at Saint Mary’s.

PARISH PRAYERS

We pray for the people and clergy of our sister parish, the Church of All Saints, Margaret Street, London, and for Pope Leo XIV.

We pray for those who have asked us for our prayers, for Gregory, Mary, Allison, Yuri, Jonathan, Liam, Penny, Priya, Nicolly, Christopher, Wally, Donald, Harris, Rick, Ronald, Jose, Karen, Kate, Behnam, Duke, Russell, Duncan, Robert, Sandy, Orham, Ruth Ann, Henry, Lexi, Vicki, Georgia, Desarae, David, Steve, Beverly, Claudia, Maddie, Nettie, Chrissy, Tony, Sharon, Rick, Adair, Jan, June, Carlos, Pat, Liduvina, Quincy, Leroy, Margaret, and Robert; Suzanne Elizabeth and Laura Katherine, religious; Lind, deacon; and Robby, Jay, and Stephen, priests.

We pray for the repose of the souls of those who have died, especially, Rena and Henry, and for those whose year’s mind is on May 11: Mrs. Prentice (1873), Clara Dietrich (1887), Elsa Wuhrman (1951), George Anderson Gordon (1959), Anna Hegel (1968), and Malcolm Benton Wallace (1994).

AROUND THE PARISH

Icon in honor of Father Smith installed! . . . On Monday, we welcomed Kristin Holder from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to install the new icon of the Virgin Hodegetria in the Lady Chapel. Kristin is an Assistant Conservator at the Met, specializing in panel painting restoration and exhibition installation. She constructed a custom frame for the icon and then mounted it securely in the Chapel, along with special museum-quality lighting. The Virgin Hodegetria—“She Who Points the Way”—is one of the oldest and most beloved of icon images. This particular image is inspired by the great Byzantine icon mosaic in the apse of the Torcello Cathedral in Venice, created in the 11th century. Mary holds the Christ child in loving embrace while with her right hand gestures toward him as the Savior of the world. She is dressed in a robe painted with pure lapis lazuli, the most expensive of all pigments, in honor of her status as the Mother of God and Queen of Heaven. The icon was commissioned from our resident icongrapher Zachary Roesemann in celebration of Father Jay Smith’s ministry at Saint Mary’s. Many thanks to all of you who contributed to this gift!

Guest Preacher . . . Father Nathan Humphrey, the rector of Saint Thomas’s Anglican Church in Toronto, Canada, will be our preacher this Sunday. Prior to his move to Canada in 2021, he served as the vicar and later rector of The Zabriskie Memorial Church of Saint John the Evangelist in Newport, Rhode Island during which time he helped restore the church to long-term sustainability. He and Father Wood met several years earlier, when Father Humphrey was on the ministry team at Saint Paul’s, K Street, in Washington, DC, and had the great pleasure of serving as deacon at Father Wood’s ordination to the priesthood. Father Humphrey is married to Anne Stone, a communications consultant, and they have two teenagers—Margaret and Andrew.

Another great week for the AIDS Walk team, but the Walk is only a week away! . . . We raised roughly $7,000 this week and are now at $45,082! That puts us in second place for the time being. Help us keep the momentum going and top our goal of $50,000. To join our team or contribute, please visit our team page. If you have any questions, please speak to one of the team captains: MaryJane Boland, Clark Mitchell, and Father Matt. AIDS Walk 2025 is now only a week away on Sunday, May 18!

Adult Formation . . . Adult Formation continues this Sunday with Father Matt Jacobson’s series on the Acts of the Apostles. Adult Formation meets on Sundays at 9:45 AM in Saint Joseph’s Hall. All are welcome.

Young Adult Network Steering Committee on May 11 . . . The Young Adult Network Steering Committee of the Diocese of New York will be at Saint Mary’s for Solemn Mass this Sunday. They are responsible for hosting events for 20s and 30s across the Diocese. If interested, please connect with them at Coffee Hour after Mass or email them at hello@episcopal20s30s.org.

Save the date: Sister Monica Clare on May 25 . . . On Sunday, May 25, Sister Monica Clare, CSJB, will be at Coffee Hour after the 11:00 AM Solemn Mass to present her newly published book, A Change of Habit. There was a recent New York Times article about Sister Monica Clare and her book. Sister Monica Clare was in residence at Saint Mary’s for many years and is a good friend of the parish. Click here to learn more about her order, the Community of Saint John Baptist.

Neighbors in Need . . . Donations of casual pants, such as jeans or khakis, are needed, as are sweaters, tops, rain jackets, and other light jackets. Shoes are especially in demand (i.e., sneakers, sandals, and practical shoes, but not high heels). Large sizes, for both men and women, are also helpful. The next Drop-by day will be on May 16. Please speak to MaryJane Boland or Marie Rosseels for more information.

Hospitality at Saint Mary’s . . . Are you willing to serve on a team to plan Coffee Hours and receptions? We need you! Please get in touch with Father Sammy Wood if you are able to help.

Would you like to donate the altar flowers? . . . Sunday, May 25, is still available. We are also looking for an Ascension Day donor for Thursday, May 29. Coming up in June, we hope to find donors for Pentecost (June 8), Trinity Sunday (June 15), and Corpus Christi (June 22). Please call the Parish Office (212-869-5830) or email Chris Howatt for more information and to reserve a date for a donation. The customary donation is $250.

THE DIOCESE AND WIDER CHURCH

From the Margins to the Mainstream . . . The next Dialogues on Divinity offering at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine will be on May 12, from 6:30–8:00 PM. The Cathedral will welcome three leaders in interreligious dialogue for a panel entitled “From the Margins to the Center: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in Conversation.” The tragic events of October 7th and their aftermath have catapulted the engagement of Judaism and Islam into the center of dialogue with Christianity. Is it still possible to maintain good relations or are the three Abrahamic religions doomed to be locked in a widening gyre of enmity? Can the center hold? The conversation promises to be a meaningful exploration of the intersection of tradition, contemporary challenges, and shared values in a world that increasingly calls for interfaith cooperation. The speakers will be:

Rabbi Dr. Burton Visotzky, scholar of Midrash and Interreligious Studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he serves as director of the Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue and as the Louis Stein Director of the Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies.

Emre Celik, Executive Director of the Peace Islands Institute New York and a Leadership Fellow at the Interfaith Center of New York.

The Rev. Eva Suarez, Canon for Community Engagement at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine.

The Dialogues on Divinity series seeks to address vital contemporary issues with a theological lens. It is presented by the Community at the Crossing, an ecumenical community for young adults, in residence at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. The series is co-sponsored by Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute (GEII). Click here for tickets.

Honoring Dean Malloy . . . Join us at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine on June 11 for a joyous celebration of The Very Reverend Patrick Malloy’s nine years of faithful leadership as Dean. The evening will begin with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at 6:00 PM, followed by a festive program at 7:00 PM. Please RSVP to Emma Reber at ereber@stjohndivine.org by May 28, 2025.

Listening Hearts Discernment Retreat . . . Join us for this year’s Listening Hearts Discernment Retreat at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine on Saturday, June 14, at 10:00 AM. This is an opportunity for vocational discernment, both for lay ministry and for those discerning a call to holy orders. There will be prayer, a plenary session, breakout groups and light bites. Wherever you are in your discernment journey, all are welcome. Click here to register.

FROM DR. HURD: ABOUT THE MUSIC AT SOLEMN MASS ON THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

The organ prelude is from the Orgelbüchlein (Little Organ Book) of J. S. 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 lag in Todesbanden (Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong bands) appears in two melodic forms in The Hymnal 1982 at #185 and #186, the latter being Bach’s own harmonization from his Cantata No. 4.  Bach’s Orgelbüchlein setting of this chorale, played for the prelude, presents the melody clearly in the uppermost voice supported by a three-voice contrapuntal accompaniment. Bach’s harmonization of this melody from Cantata 4 will follow.

The Lord as Shepherd is familiar to us, from the twenty-third psalm through to the Gospel according to Saint John and beyond. The Collect for the Fourth Sunday of Easter is addressed to God “whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people.” Sunday’s Mass setting and motet echo this reference. Surrexit pastor bonus (“The Good Shepherd has arisen”) is the second Matins responsory for Easter Monday. Its text declares and rejoices that the good shepherd, who has lain down his life for his sheep, has indeed risen. Orlando di Lasso (c. 1532–1594), also known as Orlande de Lassus, was one of several composers of his time to set this responsory text, as he did in his 1562 collection of sacred songs for five voices published in Nuremberg. The motet, which will be sung during the administration of Communion, begins with an upward sweeping phrase sung by the highest three voices. The two lower voices then echo the same. The two soprano parts joyfully weave among one another through the motet, and it concludes with many alleluias. Sunday’s Mass setting, Lasso’s Missa Surrexit pastor bonus, is Lassus’ parody of his motet, and it carries the same incipit and the same voicing. The Gloria and Sanctus begin with writing very similar to the opening of the motet. This Mass does not include a setting of Agnus Dei. However, another Surrexit pastor bonus parody Mass, previously attributed to Lassus but now thought to be the work of Ivo de Vento (c. 1543–1575), does include Agnus Dei. This latter setting of Agnus Dei, in six voices (SSAATB), is paired with Lassus’ Gloria and Sanctus for the liturgy.

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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 Matt Jacobson, except as noted. Father Matt is also responsible for formatting 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. If you have an idea for an article that you would like to publish in an upcoming issue of The Angelus, Father Matt would be happy to discuss it with you.