FROM THE PARISH ARCHIVES: EASTER

This week, we look back at an article from the April 1892 issue of The Arrow, Saint Mary’s monthly newsletter at that time. The author isn’t named, though this was during the rectorate of Father Thomas McKee Brown (1841-1898), founding rector of the parish. According to our parish archivist, Ms. Mary Robison, Father Brown was probably the author of this article. A digitized copy of this issue on Internet Archive can be found here.

Much has been written of the beauty of the Springtime; of the types of that blessed truth of Easter-day which the leaves and flowers, the buds and blossoms all unfold to our sight in their purity and freshness. The awakening is indeed beautiful, and men rejoice as the snows and shadows of winter days pass away; the cold and bitterness disappear, and in the new life there is so much of promise, the heart grows glad; even, it is said, the “earth smiles” at the glory of her hills and fields.

These things are true and doubtless keep alive in some hearts the hope which is inherent in every soul—the hope of an immortal life. But the awakening of Easter for the Christian heart is the certainty of the eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Types give place to Truth infinitely precious; we shall live through Him.

Through the long Lenten days our steps have followed Him; we have seen the Sorrow and the Suffering, the Agony and the Shame, and we have knelt about the Cross in the deep shadow of His Pain; we have heard the tender words of Pity and Prayer; our hearts have broken in the passing of the Perfect Life. In our weakness and grief we, too, have said “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

From the sixth day of the week until the morning of the first day we are watching, waiting; and now we hear the loving message, to faithful Mary given, “Go, tell those my friends who have believed on me, I go before them.” The redeemed world is filled with Light and Life. His promises are all fulfilled, “I am the Resurrection and the Life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” This is our Easter, the Easter of every Christian Soul, for “Christ the Lord is Risen today,” so the sons of men, with angels ever say. Once for all is given to mankind an answer to the hope of hopes—even eternal life. Doubt, question, fear, all are put away and hope perfected and complete abides. The Church of Christ places upon this Resurrection morn her great day, the Royal Day of Days, and Feast of Feasts. Her Altars are ablaze with light, and glad Hosannas fill the air. Throughout all the world, the Faithful receive the blessed Body and Blood, and with Christ are made inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven. Gratitude unspeakable fills our hearts, for now we know, “He died that we might live.”

PARISH PRAYERS

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

We pray for those who are preparing for confirmation: Elena, Sam, and Yue.

We pray for those who have asked us for our prayers, for Marley, Duke, Don, Claudia, Jesus, Willie, Sue, Sumar, Christine, Emilie, Sharon, Monique, Cassius, Lisa, Sue, Ruth Ann, Rosemary, Holly, Becky, Bill, Grady, Chris, Violet, Pat, Allen, Nadia, Giovanna, Ronald, Jose, Ben, Russell, Robert, Sandy, Desarae, David, Tony, Jan, Carlos, Quincy, Leroy, Margaret, and Robert; Victoria and Laura Katherine, religious; Lind, deacon; and Beth, Jay, and Stephen, priests.

We pray for the repose of the souls of those who have died, especially Thoreau, and for those whose year’s mind is on April 26: Juliet C. Dobbins (1924) and Mary Frances Kelly Rosenfield (1944).

AROUND THE PARISH

Rosary Guild — The Rosary Guild meets this Sunday, April 26, after the 11:00 AM Mass, to pray the rosary. All are welcome.

Richard Shindell at Saint Mary’s — Join us for an unforgettable evening with singer-songwriter Richard Shindell on Sunday, April 26, from 7:00-9:00 PM. Richard Shindell lives as both an immigrant and emigrant, crossing thresholds, that informs his illumination of the human experience through narrative song. Shindell has inhabited a Zen Buddhist monastery and busked in the streets of Paris. Originally from New York, now living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Shindell is a writer whose songs paint pictures, tell stories, juxtapose ideas and images, inhabit characters, vividly evoking entire worlds along the way and expanding our sense of just what it is a song may be. Click here for tickets and for more details about the artist.

Adult Formation — Adult Formation continues this Sunday with Fr. Matt’s series on Saint Catherine of Siena and how her writings can inform our Year of Service. We meet in Saint Joseph’s Hall at 9:45 AM, between the two Masses. Click here for more details about Adult Formation. All are welcome!

AIDS Walk 2026 — The AIDS Walk this year will be on Sunday, May 17. In 2025, Saint Mary’s team of 18 people ranked No. 3 of all teams in New York and No. 1 of all church teams, raising $56,890 from friends and family. The AIDS Walk is one of Saint Mary’s most important outreach efforts, and we would welcome you as a member of the team. Click here to join the team. If joining the team is impossible, we hope that you will be able to click here to support our team financially. Most team members will attend a Vigil Mass on Saturday, May 16, at 5:00 PM in order to walk with the crowd on Sunday, May 17. To have your questions answered, please contact one of the team leaders: Father Matt, MaryJane Boland or Clark Mitchell.

May Crowning & Annual Meeting — Sunday, May 3, the Fifth Sunday of Easter, is also May Crowning. Following the Solemn Mass, we will gather in Saint Joseph’s Hall for the parish’s Annual Meeting. Please plan on attending if possible. May 3 is also the day of the Five Boro Bike Tour, which goes up 6th Ave. Those coming from the east side may want to allow extra time to reach Saint Mary’s.

Evensong & Benediction on May 3 — In addition to May Crowning and the Annual Meeting, May 3 is also the first Sunday of the month and we will offer Evensong & Benediction at 4:00 PM. Join us for a full day on May 3!

Ascension Day — Ascension Day is Thursday, May 14. Dr. David Hurd, our organist and music director, will offer an organ recital of French and German music at 5:30 PM. Solemn Mass follows at 6:00 PM. Our guest preacher will be Fr. Phillip Channing Ellsworth, Jr., rector of the Church of the Good Samaritan in Paoli, PA.

The Day of Pentecost — On the Day of Pentecost, Sunday, May 24, The Rt. Rev. Allen K. Shin, Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of New York, will be the celebrant and preacher at the 11:00 AM Solemn Mass. Three of our parishioners are preparing to be confirmed by Bishop Shin and a baptism is also planned.

Livestream update — Solemn Mass and monthly Evensong & Benediction are now also being streamed to our YouTube page (which has been resurrected!) in addition to the livestream page on our website and to our Facebook page. For those who like to follow along with the Mass bulletin, that will continue to be posted to our livestream page ahead of the Mass. All the archived videos and sermon clips will also continue to be available on our website. We use Vimeo as a behind the scenes provider for our website and find it easiest to use our website itself rather that going directly to the Vimeo page (though the livestream is available on there too).

Thursday Bible Study — Thursday evening Bible study meets over Zoom at 6:00 PM. If interested, please email Fr. Wood for the link.

Neighbors in Need — As we enter warmer weather, you may have lost interest in your winter coat, but we have not. We can store coats until next winter—and we would love to! Please bring us your lightly-used coats and jackets. We accept all kinds of casual clothing: jackets, pants, tops and shoes, but we do not need professional clothing or children’s clothing. Thanks to many wonderful cash donations, we are able to purchase toiletries and underwear. Please speak to MaryJane Boland or Marie Rosseels for more information or send an email to neighbors@stmvnyc.org.

THE DIOCESE AND WIDER CHURCH

2026 Vocations Day: Listening Hearts Retreat — On Saturday, April 25, 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM at Christ Episcopal Church (20 Carroll Street, Poughkeepsie, NY), join us for an intentional gathering to help those who are beginning to discern a call to lay or ordained leadership in the life of the Church. Seekers will hear from the Bishop and members of the Commission on Ministry about the ministry of the Laity and Clergy, the expectations of the Commission on Ministry for those seeking ordination, and clear and practical next steps. There will be prayer, a plenary session, breakout groups, and lunch. Break out groups will include sessions exploring priesthood, the diaconate, and discerning lay leadership for your community’s needs. Seekers are encouraged to attend with their clergy person, and the expectation is that participants will be present the whole day. Parking is available. Click here to register and learn more.

Blessing of the Bicycles — Join the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine and the Very Reverend Winnie Varghese, Dean, for the 28th annual Blessing of the Bicycles on Saturday, May 2, at 8:30 AM. Click here to RSVP or here for the Blessing of the Bicycles webpage.

Spirit of the City: Annual Benefit for the Cathedral — On Wednesday, May 6, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, join the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine for their annual benefit, Spirit of the City. This year, instead of a traditional seated gala dinner, the Cathedral will fill with community members, partners, congregations, and friends from New York and beyond, to celebrate what brings our communities to life. Complimented by sumptuous hors d'oeuvres, mocktails, and cocktails, attendees will explore the Cathedral throughout the evening and discover opportunities to interact with stone carving and artistic experiences, before gathering together to recognize the incredible honorees: The Rt. Rev. Mariann Budde and Dr. Elizabeth Alexander. Click here to learn more and to buy tickets.

Law Day Celebration at the Cathedral — The 2026 Law Day Evensong and Celebration will be on May 17 at 4:00 PM. Bishop Matthew F. Heyd will lead the evensong service to celebrate Law Day and the work of attorneys in the Diocese. Reception to follow at 5:00 PM. Click here to register by May 15.

ABOUT THE MUSIC 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 today 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. The 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 on Sunday.

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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 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.