WHAT’S ON YOUR BOOKSHELF

Rodney Hale, what’s on your bookshelf?

Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind by Maura O’Halloran (Thorsons Publishers, Harper-Collins, 1995)

Can you tell us a little bit about this author?

In 1979, Maura O’Halloran went to Japan at age 24 after earning degrees in mathematical economics and statistics from Trinity College Dublin. Educated by the Loretto Sisters, she was passionate about volunteer social work and meditation. Leaving her waitressing job in Boston, she studied Zen in Tokyo before continuing her studies in northern Japan. Her journals and letters offer insights into her journey, as detailed in Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind.

At 27, Maura reached enlightenment after three years of intense study. While traveling to a monastery in Thailand, she tragically died in a bus accident. Today, a statue in her honour stands at the monastery where she lived, and she is revered as a Buddhist saint. This book tells the story of her journey.

This sounds like an interesting life story. Why do you think that the book may appeal specifically to Saint Marians?

I see the book as a parallel in many ways to the mission Jesus had for humanity when he came to earth, in that Maura finds peace, a sense of purpose in her work, humbleness, keeping commandments, loving her neighbours, serving those less fortunate, being thankful for mercies given. These are all matters that Jesus told us through example, via parables, from the ancient writings, and importantly through His words, Those who have not seen believe, yet some who have seen do not believe. Maura says something similar . . . I saw one purple iris wild in the wet green of the rice field. I wanted to send it to you. I can only tell you it was there.

Jesus was so devoted to Mary His mother, right to the end when He asked John to care for her now, as He hung on the cross and after, when He had returned to heaven—Son hold your mother, Mother hold your son. Maura cared for her mother as seen within the constant letters to her.

It is interesting to note that both Maura and Jesus spent three years getting the things needing to be done, done. Though I suspect both would have liked a little more time—at one point Maura reflects that maybe she has… fifty or sixty years of time of a life, open, blank, ready to offer. What else is there to do with it?  The difference is of course that Jesus knew he was on a limited time schedule. However, both sensed urgencies.

Here are three examples to illustrate the application of this concept, which are not taken from the book, but serve as useful reminders.

Toward the end of Schindler’s List, Liam Neeson’s character realizes the war is ending and rushes to free as many Jewish prisoners as possible. Our lawyer friends would say time was of the essence! Maura saw this—there were urgent tasks at hand.

In the film Shenandoah, James Stewart portrays a character whose son is captured by the opposition in the War of the States. Determined to find him, Stewart's character says, “You must try; if you don’t try, you won’t do, and if you don’t do, why are you on this earth?” Maura saw similar responsibilities: caring for the poor, nursing the addicted, loving the elderly, and feeding the hungry. These were the tasks assigned to her.

During a trip to Louisiana, I saw a bumper sticker that read “Jesus is coming! Ready or not!” We know Jesus is coming, and we should prepare for it. Maura, despite her distance from her past with the Loretto Sisters and her Roman Catholic upbringing, would still recognize the Christian influences on her early life. She even enjoyed spending Palm Sunday with Christian friends.

Do find a copy of this book and enjoy it as much as I did. — RH

Rodney Hale is a long-distance friend of the parish. He lives in Mudgee, a small town (12,000 folk approximately) in the Central West of New South Wales, Australia, a winegrowing region, with coal mines nearby, farming and agricultural areas and many small to medium businesses. He worships at Saint John the Baptist Anglican Church in Mudgee where he is the Honourary Church Verger, a Lay Assistant and Church Tour Guide. He has visited Saint Mary the Virgin Church many times during some 17 trips to the United States. His son and daughter in law live in Charlotte, NC. Previously his daughter, son-in-law and granddaughters lived in Brentwood, CA, before recently returning to Australia.

PARISH PRAYERS

We pray for the people and clergy of our sister parish, the Church of All Saints, Margaret Street, London, and for the staff, teachers, and students of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School as they conclude the school year.

We pray for those who have asked us for our prayers, for Olutoyin, Jessica, Brendon, Nadia, Christian, Carol, Billy, Ken, Dennis, Sandy, Modesto, Giovanna, Mary, Yuri, Jonathan, Liam, Penny, Priya, Christopher, Wally, Donald, Ronald, Jose, Karen, Kate, Behnam, Duke, Russell, Duncan, Robert, Sandy, Orham, Ruth Ann, Henry, Lexi, Vicki, Georgia, Desarae, David, Steve, 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 for Walter, and for those whose year’s mind is on June 8: Janet Louise Hoffman (1892), Annie Bush (1894), Carrie Webb (1918), Anna Magagnos Dorritie (1958), and Anthony Louis Guarino (1998).

AROUND THE PARISH

Sister Hannah Spiers, CCN, this Sunday . . . Join us at Coffee Hour this Sunday to learn about the Community at the Crossing from Sister Hannah Spiers, CCN. Click here for a recent article about the community in The Living Church.

Novena to the Holy Spirit . . . As a parish, we are currently praying a novena (nine days of prayer) to the Holy Spirit from Ascension to Pentecost. Please join us by clicking here for the prayers and to learn more about novenas.

Trinity Sunday . . . Next Sunday, June 15, is Trinity Sunday. Rite I Mass in the Lady Chapel at 9:00 AM and Solemn Mass at 11:00 AM. A Solemn Te Deum for Trinity Sunday will be offered at the 11:00 AM liturgy. Father Daniel Heischman will be our guest preacher.

Corpus Christi . . . Mark your calendars for Sunday, June 22, when 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.

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.

Adult Formation is on summer break . . . Adult Formation will return in the fall after a break for the summer.

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. Our next Drop-by Day will be June 20. Please speak to MaryJane Boland or Marie Rosseels for more information.

THE DIOCESE AND WIDER CHURCH

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.

Pride at the Cathedral . . . Click here to learn about Pride events being offered at the Cathedral throughout the month of June.

Serve with your neighbors: Episcopal Charities Day of Service . . . On Saturday, June 7, join the Episcopal Charities Day of Service. Roll up your sleeves and serve through hands-on volunteer opportunities across our Diocese. Click here for details about the volunteer opportunities and to register.

Pinkster celebration at the African Burial Ground . . . This year’s Pinkster celebration at the African Burial Ground National Monument will take place on Saturday, June 7, at 12:00 PM at 290 Broadway (just south of 26 Federal Plaza and north of City Hall Park in Lower Manhattan). Pinkster is the Dutch term for Pentecost and an African Pentecost celebration was brought over by the eleven Congolese/Angolans of the Catholic Empire of Congo in 1626 to New York, then called Nieuw Amsterdam. It is the oldest African American holiday in the United States. Click here for an Angelus article written by John Derek Norvell in 2023 about Pinkster to learn more.

Vocations Day . . . On June 14th, the Diocese will host Vocations Day—an intentional gathering to help those who are beginning to discern a call to ordained leadership in the life of the church. Lay people who have not yet formally entered the ordination process are invited to attend and are strongly encouraged to invite their clergy as well. Commission on Ministry members and Bishop Heyd will talk about ministry for lay people and clergy, the expectations of the Commission on Ministry for those seeking ordination, and clear and practical next steps. The gathering will be held at the Cathedral from 9:00 AM through 2:00 PM. Sign up here.

Installation of Archdeacon Denise LaVetty . . . The Rev. Deacon Denise LaVetty will be installed as Archdeacon for the Episcopal Diocese of New York, during Choral Evensong at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine on June 15 at 4:00 PM. This special service will celebrate Denise's faithful leadership and new ministry as Archdeacon. All are welcome as we offer our prayers and support, and give thanks for the work of the Spirit in our Diocese. A reception will follow. Click here to watch a livestream of the event.

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

Jean-Jacques Grunenwald followed in the footsteps of Charles-Marie Widor and Marcel Dupré as organist of Saint-Sulpice in Paris. Grunenwald also followed the example of his father who was an architect and musician. Although his principal studies were in architecture, he maintained his musical studies and ultimately enrolled in Dupré’s organ class at the Paris Conservatory taking first prize in organ playing and improvisation in 1935. In addition to organ music, his compositions include piano, chamber, and orchestral works, an opera, piano concerti, and film scores. The Sonate pour Orgue was completed in July 1964. The short, brilliant introduction of the first movement gives way to a solo statement of a twelve-tone theme on the pedals which is then varied in six short sections, culminating with a toccata. Only the second movement of Grunenwald’s Sonate directly references Pentecost by using a chant cantus firmus from Second Vespers of Pentecost. However, the bracing character of the work as a whole suggests the powerful wonder of the Spirit’s decent.

Composers of organ music in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries produced a wealth of pieces based upon the melodies of the well-known hymns of their time. Some of these were plainsong melodies or chorales based upon plainsong. Others were tunes of the time or adaptations of contemporary popular songs, but they all took on a life of their own when sung with sacred texts in worship. Even instrumental settings of these melodies conjured the devotional intent of these sacred songs, and such pieces were used as introductions to actual singing, or as substitutions for sung stanzas. Today, the melodies of some of these chorales are not as widely recognized as they were in times past, but many organ pieces based upon them continue to have great expressive power. Johann Sebastian Bach’s setting of the chorale Komm, heiliger Geist, Herre Gott (Come, Holy Ghost, Lord God), Sunday’s postlude, is one of Bach’s Great Eighteen Leipzig settings. It delivers the rushing wind and burning flame of Pentecost in a brilliant and energetic torrent of counterpoint which dances and cavorts above the chorale melody, stated on the pedals in long notes. Whether or not one recognizes the melody, the excitement of Pentecost can be felt in this music.

The Mass setting is Mass of Light and Smoke by Daniel Santiago Castellanos (b.1995) which received its premiere here at Saint Mary’s on the Day of Pentecost 2023. Daniel is a composer, vocalist, and pianist. His piece for mezzo-soprano and piano, Death is nothing at all, won first prize at the 2019 NYC songSLAM competition. Ensembles that have performed his music include the Semiosis Quartet, JACK Quartet, The Orchestra Now (TŌN), Da Capo Ensemble, and The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys. He received two bachelor’s degrees from Bard College Conservatory of Music and received a master’s degree in music composition from Mannes School of Music in May 2023. Daniel was a member of the Choir of Saint Mary’s from 2018 until 2023. He writes,

I composed Mass of Light and Smoke (previously titled Missa Brevis) for the Choir of Saint Mary the Virgin in 2023. The title of this Mass alludes to the copious incense used at Saint Mary’s, and how it spins in the dim, refracted light of the church. The piece itself also draws inspiration from various Renaissance and plainsong cadences often sung in the church. The Gloria begins with a decorated plainsong chant sung by the lower voices, followed by lively punctuated syllabic rhythms from the choir. The Sanctus maintains this energetic rhythm, while the Benedictus slows down to a more reverent pace and showcases one of my favorite cadences from the Renaissance era, known as a ‘false relation.’ In this cadence, two leading tones compete with each other to reach the tonic, the home key of the piece. The Agnus Dei features a solo that floats in the liminal space between the tenor and countertenor voices. I wanted to create a personal piece for myself to sing, aiming to imbue the final movement of the Mass with a sense of vulnerability and spiritual intimacy. This choice also acknowledges my experience of singing both tenor and countertenor during my time singing with the choir of Saint Mary the Virgin.

The communion motet is by Tomás Luís de Victoria (1548–1611), widely considered the most important Spanish composer of Renaissance polyphony. Born in Avila, the seventh of eleven children, he began his musical education as a choirboy at Avila Cathedral and began his classical education at San Gil, a Jesuit school for boys founded in 1554. By 1565 Victoria had entered the Jesuit Collegio Germanico in Rome, where he was later engaged to teach music and was eventually named maestro di cappella. Victoria knew and may have been instructed by Palestrina (1525-1594) who was maestro di cappella of the nearby Seminario Romano at that time. During his years in Rome, Victoria held several positions as singer, organist, and choral master, and published many of his compositions. He was ordained priest in 1575 after a three-day diaconate. Victoria’s five-voice motet Dum complerentur was first published in his first book of motets in 1572. Its text derives from the Pentecost narrative in the second chapter of Acts, and occurs as an antiphon for Pentecost Vespers.

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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.