FROM GRACE MUDD: I WILL GO UNTO THE ALTAR OF GOD

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. I will go unto the altar of God: Even unto the God of my joy and gladness.

Before every Solemn Mass at Saint Mary’s, the servers and clergy gather in the sacristy to prepare ourselves by praying together. By 10:50 AM or so, many of us have been running around for much of the morning, taking care of practical matters, and this is our chance to refocus on why we are together in the first place. I have known the Preparation for Mass for more than 20 years and no matter where I go, I carry the same phrase (from Psalm 43) in my heart: I will go unto the altar of God, even unto the God of my joy and gladness.

I have been serving as an acolyte almost continually since I was 10 years old and across four different parishes. Growing up in a parish without incense, I dreamed of being a thurifer. Once I landed at an Anglo-Catholic parish, I immersed myself in the complexities of the liturgy, learning as much as I could, a project that has never ended. What I have always loved about serving at the altar is the proximity. As long as I can remember, my spiritual life has been centered on the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and I have spent as much time as I can going unto the altar of the God of my joy and gladness.

I was thrilled when I learned that Saint Mary’s would be reviving the practice of Solemn Mass with three sacred ministers. I was already well familiar with this “gothic dance” (as Father Sammy likes to call it) from time spent in other places with a history similar to ours. I knew that this would include lay people serving in the role of subdeacon and the consensus among clergy and the leadership of the servers’ guild was that it would be filled by servers who had worked their way up through the roles, who had the most thorough knowledge and experience of the liturgy.

Once we started walking through the Mass and I took my turn practicing this new role, I discovered two things. The first was that the role has its own internal logic, an ebb and flow as the sacred ministers move together through the space at the altar, movement that my many years at the altar made almost intuitive. The second surprised me more. Every time I ascend the steps to the altar, I feel my heart quicken, especially as we enter the Canon of the Mass. It is impossible not to feel the power of the Sacrament while standing so near and it is a great privilege to bring lay participation to the physical center of the spiritual center of what we do.

Then again, being drawn ever nearer to God is meant to be our aim, in whatever ways we serve. This is my prayer for all who come to the altar in this place. — GM

PARISH PRAYERS

We pray for the people and clergy of our sister parish, the Church of All Saints, Margaret Street, London, and for the Anglican Church of Mozambique and Angola in the Anglican cycle of prayer.

We pray for those who have asked us for our prayers, for Bella, Loredana, Ely, MaryJane, Valdez, Helen, Fanny, Brendon, Nadia, Christian, Carol, Ken, Dennis, Sandy, Giovanna, Mary, Yuri, Jonathan, Penny, Priya, Christopher, Wally, Donald, Ronald, Jose, Behnam, Russell, Duncan, Robert, Sandy, Orham, Lexi, Georgia, Desarae, David, Claudia, 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 Jay and Stephen, priests.

We pray for the repose of the souls of those who have died, especially Rino, Benoit, and Edmund; and Larry, religious; and for those whose year’s mind is on June 22: Henry Lankton (1899), Henrietta Brooks Grant (1911), Agnes Weinshrimer Lang (1921), Rachel Todd (1958), Elizabeth Kellock Brown (1967), Richard Taylor (1973), and Richard Leitsch (2018).

AROUND THE PARISH

Corpus Christi . . . This Sunday, June 22, we will celebrate Corpus Christi. Weather permitting, we will process with the Blessed Sacrament to Times Square at the conclusion of the 11:00 AM Solemn Mass.

Rosary Guild this Sunday . . . The Rosary Guild will meet after Solemn Mass this Sunday to pray the rosary. The guild meets on the fourth Sunday of each month.

Summer Schedule . . . After this coming Sunday, the parish will be on a summer schedule until the first Sunday after Michaelmas. The Sunday Mass times are unchanged, though we will be led musically by a cantor at 11:00 AM instead of the Choir. Formation programs and Evensong & Benediction return in the fall.

Summer Reading . . . We are excited to announce that Dr. James Como will teach the first block of Adult Formation in the fall, a five-week class on C.S. Lewis. While we don’t begin until September 21, we thought that some might want to use the summer to work through the reading list. Please click here for the reading list and for more details about the course.

Summer cookie donations needed . . . During the summer months, we plan to have lemonade and cookies at Coffee Hour and are looking for cookie donors. Please get in touch with Father Sammy Wood if you are able to help.

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. Please speak to MaryJane Boland or Marie Rosseels for more information.

Upcoming vacations . . . Father Matt Jacobson will be away from the parish starting this Monday, June 23. He returns to the parish on Thursday, July 10. Father Sammy Wood will be away starting Thursday, July 3, and will return to the parish on Tuesday, July 8. He plans to take additional vacation time in August. Father Jay Smith will celebrate the Masses on Sunday, July 6.

July 4 . . . The parish will follow our federal holiday schedule on Independence Day. The church will be open from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Daily Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 AM. The parish office will be closed.

Pride at Royal Family Productions . . . Come spend a joyous Pride at Royal Family Productions, mingling and belting out showtunes in the theater at Saint Mary’s (Parish House, third floor). Royal Family, best known for their innovative productions of new work, transforms into a West Village showtune sing-along piano bar from 1:00–5:00 PM on Saturday, June 28. Alex Barylski, pianist at Marie’s Crisis and The Townhouse, will be taking requests and playing all of your favorites. This event will have complimentary snacks as well as a waived cover charge for all members of Saint Mary the Virgin.

THE DIOCESE AND WIDER CHURCH

Pope Leo & New Possibilities . . . Join Episcopal Divinity School on Tuesday, June 24, at 7:00 PM for a conversation exploring the future of Anglican-Catholic relations with the first American pope. Moderated by the Rt. Rev. Matthew Heyd, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese New York, the conversation will examine Pope Leo’s emerging priorities in the context of ongoing global crises such as migration, nationalism, and war, and consider how could his leadership build on the legacy of Pope Francis’s emphasis on justice and pastoral care. Panelists will reflect on the evolution of Anglican–Catholic ecumenical dialogue over recent decades and what new possibilities Pope Leo may open, both at the level of theological collaboration and in the day-to-day lives of parishioners—especially those who have moved between the two traditions. Click here to register and for more detail about the event.

Pride 2025 . . . Click here to learn about Pride events being offered at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine throughout the month of June. . . Saint Luke in the Fields will offer their annual Pride Evensong on Sunday, June 22, at 4:00 PM. Click here for more details about the Evensong. . . Join the Episcopal Diocese of New York at the NYC Pride March on Sunday, June 29. They plan to meet at 1:15 PM at the corner of Madison Avenue and 27th Street, with a lineup time of 1:30 PM. They are limited to 100 marchers, and registration will be on a first-come basis. Please click here to register.

Diocese of New York Safer Communities Survey . . . The Diocese of New York is committed to creating communities of safe belonging, where care for one another shapes our common life. As part of that commitment, we are conducting a confidential survey to better understand past experiences and strengthen our practices for preventing and responding to sexual misconduct. This survey is a key component of the independent audit we have commissioned to examine how sexual misconduct has been handled in our diocese. We invite all individuals connected to our congregations, chaplaincies and schools— past or present— to participate. Your voice matters as we work toward greater transparency, accountability, trust, and healing for survivors and all those affected. All responses are completely confidential and managed exclusively by Guidepost Solutions, not Diocesan staff. Once the information is analyzed, findings will be included in a final report that we will make public. Click here to take the survey, which will remain open until July 3, 2025.

FROM DR. HURD: ABOUT THE MUSIC AT SOLEMN MASS ON CORPUS CHRISTI

Olivier Messiaen is widely regarded as one of the most original voices among twentieth century composers. Born in Avignon, son of the poetess Cécile Sauvage, he was a student of Marcel Dupré and Paul Dukas at the Paris Conservatory where he became professor of musical analysis, philosophy, and aesthetics in 1942. His legendary tenure as titular organist of Trinité, Paris, began in 1931. The brilliant light and vivid colors of this magnificent church proved a defining stimulus to Messiaen’s musical imagination for sixty years. Messiaen’s Le Banquet Céleste (The Celestial Banquet), played for the prelude, is one of his early organ compositions, dating from 1928 and based upon a movement of an unfinished orchestral work. It bears the quotation “Celui qui mange ma chair et boit mon sang demeure en moi et moi en lui.” (Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwells in me and I in them.) John 6:56. Its slow movement and reflective mood are suggestive of the timeless expanse of the heavenly meal. Messiaen’s Apparition de l’Église éternelle, played for the postlude, dates from the early 1930s. Michel Roubinet describes this work as “an immense, hypnotic crescendo calling upon the characteristic piling of tier upon tier of sound rising from the symphonic organ—indissociable from Messiaen both as organist and improviser—followed by a long decrescendo in mirror image. One perpetual and unchanging rhythm, linking an iambus to two long notes, sustains the entire structure of the work.”

The Mass setting on Sunday is Missa Aedis Christi which was composed in 1958 by Herbert Howells (1892–1983) for the Cathedral Church of Christ, Oxford. The Christ Church Cathedral setting is one of several liturgical cycles Howells composed for a particular place. Although he also composed extensively for orchestra and smaller instrumental ensembles, he is most remembered for his choral compositions, many of which were composed for Anglican services. Howells had been a student of Charles V. Stanford and Charles H. H. Parry at the Royal College of Music in London. He was also a close friend of Vaughan Williams whom he considered a mentor. Extending from this distinguished lineage, Howells is especially recognized for his expressive approach to text setting and his distinctive harmonic vocabulary. Most of Howells’ English church music is composed for choir and organ. While Missa Aedis Christi includes an optional organ part, it is essentially conceived as a work for unaccompanied choir in four voices. Liberal divisions within voices accommodate his expressive harmonic and textural palette.

The communion motet is a modern setting of the fourteenth-century Eucharistic hymn Ave verum corpus. The text, attributed to Pope Innocent VI (d. 1362), is a meditation on the presence of Christ in the sacrament and the relationship between suffering and redemption. It has been sung consistently for centuries in various Eucharistic contexts and set to music by the leading composers of sacred music in each generation. John Cantrell (b. 1972) is Choirmaster and Organist of Saint Michael’s Episcopal Church on the Upper West Side. He holds degrees in music from the University of Louisville and from Yale University. As an organist, pianist, conductor, and composer, his creative fluency in a broad range of musical styles is particularly noteworthy. His Ave verum corpus motet is dated 2008 and is scored for unaccompanied eight-voice double choir. The four upper voices initially exchange dialogue, phrase by phrase, with the four lower voices in subtle velvet harmonies. In the motet’s final section, the upper and lower choirs join together in a richly expressive fabric.

Click below, where you can make a one-time or recurring donation.
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 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.