FROM THE VICAR: ON WEEKDAY SUNG MASSES

In 387, St. Augustine of Hippo decides that it is time for him to be baptized and moves to Milan, where he will be baptized at the Easter Vigil by St. Ambrose. In his classic work, Confessions, which was written about ten years later, Augustine describes the days immediately following his baptism as being filled with a “wonderful sweetness” as he meditates on Our Lord’s design for salvation. He particularly emphasizes the impact of music in church as being central to his experience:

How copiously I wept at your hymns and canticles, how intensely was I moved by the lovely harmonies of your singing Church! Those voices flooded my ears, and the truth was distilled into my heart until it overflowed in loving devotion; my tears ran down, and I was better for them. [1]

This summer, I too have been moved by the music at our parish as the “voices flooded my ears, and the truth was distilled into my heart.” By having a quartet rather than a cantor in the choir loft on Sundays, I’ve been reminded of how much of a difference the music program at Saint Mary’s really does make to our liturgies. Approaching the fall, and the start of a new program year with the full choir, we are also planning to have music more often during the week at Mass.

In recent years on Marian feast days, we’ve been offering our 12:10 PM weekday Mass in the Lady Chapel as a Sung Mass. Dr. David Hurd, organist and director of music, has been encouraging us to celebrate more Sung Masses during the week and has offered to make himself available to play them. With his enthusiastic support, when possible, we will elevate certain major weekday feasts with a Sung Mass. Additionally, with the start of the new program year, we will bring back Sung Masses to every Wednesday midday celebration. We are very grateful to Dr. Hurd for making this all possible.

In September, for example, we will have four weekday Sung Masses. There are two Marian feasts on our parish calendar: the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (September 8) and Our Lady of Walsingham (September 24). The Mass for Holy Cross Day, which falls on Monday, September 14, will also be sung. Additionally, there is a Wednesday after the start of the program year, a lesser feast in commemoration of St. Jerome (September 30), where Mass will be sung as well.

From a practical standpoint, we have decided to use a simple handout rather than a full bulletin for these Sung Masses and we experimented with this a few weeks ago for the Feast of the Transfiguration. The handout will include all the sung elements that the congregation needs to participate fully. We have already added hymnals to the Lady Chapel which we will use to sing congregational settings of the Gloria or Kyrie, the Sanctus and Benedictus, and the Agnus Dei. We will also sing an offertory hymn as the altar is being prepared. Additionally, there are several parts of the Mass that the celebrant sings.

Mark your calendars for upcoming Sung Masses with our detailed liturgical schedule. We will also highlight these Masses the week prior in this newsletter. Let the hymns and canticles of the Church distill the truth into our hearts! — MDJ

P.S. The program year officially kicks off with Solemn Mass at 6:00 PM on Michaelmas, Tuesday, September 29. The full choir will support us musically that evening!

PARISH PRAYERS

We pray for our sister parish, the Church of All Saints’, Margaret Street, London, and for the Church in the Province of the West Indies in the Anglican cycle of prayer. We pray for those preparing for ordination, especially Elis, deacon.

We pray for those who have asked us for our prayers, for Theodore, Jennifer, Laura, Dorian, Jay, Rita, Courtney, Dennis, Burks, Steven, Kofi, Blaise, Jon, Jeff, Derick, Phil, Laura, Sue, Emilie, Sharon, Monique, Cassius, Lisa, Ruth Ann, Rosemary, Holly, Becky, Bill, Grady, Violet, Pat, Allen, Giovanna, Ronald, Jose, Ben, Russell, Robert, Sandy, Desarae, David, Tony, Jan, Carlos, Quincy, Leroy, and Margaret; James, Victoria, 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 Roy and Evelyn, and for those whose year’s mind is on August 30: Mary Oakley Place (1905), William deHertburse Washington (1914), and James Robert Adams (1915).

AROUND THE PARISH

Ordination of Mtr. Elis — Our curate, Mtr. Elis Lui, was ordained to the diaconate in February and will be ordained to the priesthood on Saturday, September 12, at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. The liturgy begins at 10:30 AM. Fr. Sammy and Fr. Matt will be attending her ordination, and we warmly welcome all Saint Marians to join us!

Saint Stephen’s Young Adults Guild and Third Wednesdays — The Young Saint Marians have recently chosen St. Stephen as their patron after discovering in the Ave archives that in the early-to-mid-1900’s there had been a young adult guild at the parish named for him. In addition to special gatherings and events as announced, the guild attends the 6:00 PM Mass on the third Wednesday of each month in the Lady Chapel, followed by fellowship.

Novena for Holy Cross Day — This year, Holy Cross Day falls on Monday, September 14, and the midday Mass will be sung. In preparation, the parish will pray a novena, nine days of prayer, starting on Saturday, September 5. The prayers and more information about novenas can be found here.

CPR/AED Training — To continue to have an automated external defibrillator (AED) at the parish, we need to have members of our community certified. Certifications from our last CPR/AED training session are expiring in November 2026, and we are now planning our next training session. If we have enough interest, we will be able to hold the session in the parish hall on a Sunday afternoon, likely in November. In addition to clergy and staff, altar servers, ushers, and members of our parish with a medical background who attend regularly on Sundays are especially good candidates for this training. Please email Rick Miranda in the parish office if interested in participating.

Property Committee Forming — The Board of Trustees is actively working to assemble a Property Committee to advise them, manage projects, and interact with vendors. If you have experience in these areas, please contact Fr. Sammy.

Neighbors in Need: Winter is coming! — It may not feel as if winter is coming, but it is, and we hope to build up our supply of coats and jackets. If you plan to replace your coat this winter, please bring us your old coat now, still in good condition. Our other most needed items are casual clothes: pants and jeans, jackets, tops and shoes—we always need shoes. Men’s clothes are harder to come by than women’s clothes, especially in sizes 32-36. We don’t need professional clothing or children’s clothing. We would also be happy to talk to you about being a volunteer. Please speak to MaryJane Boland or Marie Rosseels for more information or email neighbors@stmvnyc.org. The next Drop-by day will be Friday, September 18. 

WEEKDAY MASS COMMEMORATIONS

Monday, August 31 — Aidan of Lindisfarne, 651
Tuesday, September 1 — Feria
Wednesday, September 2 — The Martyrs of New Guinea, 1942
Thursday, September 3 — Phoebe, Deacon
Friday, September 4 — Feria
Saturday, September 5 — Of Our Lady

Click here for detailed monthly calendars.

MONTHLY LITURGIES

Parish Requiem — We offer a monthly Requiem Mass in the Mercy Chapel as part of our chapter of the Guild of All Souls. This Mass is typically celebrated on the third Saturday of the month unless a major feast falls on that day. All are welcome. Our next parish Requiem Mass will be on Saturday, September 19, at 12:10 PM.

Rosary Guild — Our Rosary Guild meets in the Lady Chapel after Solemn Mass (and a brief stop at Coffee Hour) on the fourth Sunday of the month to pray the rosary. All are welcome, including those who are curious, but have never prayed the rosary before! The Rosary Guild next meets on Sunday, September 27.

Evensong & Benediction — During the program year, we offer Evensong & Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in lieu of Evening Prayer at 4:00 PM on the first Sunday of the month. E&B will next be offered on Sunday, October 4.

THE DIOCESE AND WIDER CHURCH

Get to know our Cathedral — The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine offers a variety of guided tours such as the Vertical Tour and the Gardens & Grounds Tour. Click here for more details about their tours and to RSVP. Of course, another great way to get to know our Cathedral is to come to Mtr. Elis’s ordination on Saturday, September 12, at 10:30 AM!

Camino de Santiago de Compostela 2027 — Fr. John Beddingfield, former curate at Saint Mary’s, invites you to join Holy Trinity and Friends from May 24, 2027 to June 3, 2027 for a pilgrimage to the city of Santiago de Compostela, the burial place of St. James the Apostle. This will be a 10-night pilgrimage along the final 127km / 79 miles of the Portuguese Way, beginning in Porto, crossing into Galicia via Valença do Minho and Tui, and finishing in Santiago de Compostela, with time for worship, shared meals and rich encounters with local history and culture. For those who choose, we’ll walk eight consecutive days (Days 2–8), with one full rest and exploration day in Santiago at the end. A private coach accompanies you each day, giving you flexibility—so that if someone needs to take a rest or walk less, one can shorten a stage or ride if needed. More information and registration can be found here. Also, feel free to contact Fr. Beddingfield.

ABOUT THE MUSIC ON THE FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

The setting of the Mass on Sunday is Missa Cantabo Domino (I will sing to the Lord) by Ludovico Gossi da Viadana (c.1560–1627). Viadana was an Italian composer, teacher, and Franciscan friar. He may have been a student of Costanzo Porta. The positions he held included choirmaster at the cathedral in Mantua, choirmaster at the cathedral of San Luca in Mantua and cathedrals in Concordia and Fano. He also served as musician to several religious communities including in Busseto and Gualtieri where he later died. Viadana straddled late renaissance and early baroque musical practices and is credited as one of the first Italian composers to utilize baroque figured bass notation in his compositions.

The Communion motet is Exsultate justi, also by Viadana and one of his most well-known, reprinted, and often performed works. The text of the motet is from Psalm 33:1–3. The dancing triple meter of its opening section well expresses the spirit of rejoicing which the text enjoins. Its middle section in duple meter feels a bit more serious, but it is followed by a return to the more dance-like opening music. This motet demonstrates a clear baroque harmonic organization which was relatively new to seventeenth century ears.

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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. Mother Elis Lui also assists with editing the newsletter. 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.

[1] Augustine, Confessiones, trans. Maria Boulding (New City Press, 1997), 9.6.14.