FROM FATHER WOOD: HOLY WEEK CAN CHANGE A LIFE [1]

Holy Week is perhaps its own season, distinct from Lent, the week for which Lent is preparing us and towards which it is pointing. So we have come to the end and edge of our wilderness journey, out beyond Jordan and back again, and now we find ourselves standing with another crowd of pilgrims, all preparing, on Palm Sunday, to enter Jerusalem. ~ Malcolm Guite [2]

In 2002, Renee and I experienced our first Holy Week as Episcopalians in our little parish near my seminary on Boston’s North Shore. That’s where I first experienced Anglican liturgy, where I met one of my most impactful mentors (coincidentally, our preacher for this year’s Triduum at Saint Mary’s), where I met Jesus in a totally new way for the very first time. And it’s where I learned a truth you’ve heard me repeat often of late:

Holy Week can change a life.

Holy Week is the Church’s annual commemoration of the climactic events of our redemption—the last days of Jesus’ life, his crucifixion, and resurrection. We call it the “Week of Salvation,” and if the Church’s life flows from the Paschal Mystery, then it’s no wonder the liturgies of Holy Week are so important because they make those mysterious events present to us right here, right now—in New York, today. Father Donald Garfield, former rector of this parish, whose year’s mind we commemorated on April 8, understood that. He wrote in 1971:

Remembrance of things past has a new dimension for Christians: it is always new. Holy Week and Easter not only commemorate events: they are events. They happen to us now. They are an eternal mystery into which we can enter by the waters of Baptism and by the bread and wine of the Eucharist: things we see and handle, and therefore things of our life, fulfilling our thirst for life and for strength to live it. [3]

These liturgies are “not designed to impress us, but rather to involve us.” [4] This isn’t just some story; we are players in the drama. And in the heart of the Theater District, next week ours is the greatest show in town.

My friend Mother Beth Maynard says Lent is designed “to funnel us right into the center of the universe.” Holy Week especially pulls us deep into the events of Jesus’ death and resurrection because that’s precisely where life-changing power can be found.

The week begins for us on Palm Sunday, the day on which, since the fourth century, the Church has remembered our Lord’s entry into Jerusalem. The entrance rite of the Mass is elaborated to mark Jesus’ “triumphal entry” into Jerusalem and our own entrance into the sacred time of Holy Week. We bless palms and process through Times Square. This liturgy sets the tone for the whole week because our own voices that say Hosanna! and sing All glory, laud, and honor to thee, Redeemer, King! will shift in tone and timbre in just the course of this one service to confess “I crucified thee.”

Then comes the great pinnacle of the Christian year—the Sacred Triduum (“three days”) comprising Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday—essentially one long liturgy spread over three nights and days. On the night before he died for us, our Lord ate a final supper with his friends, so Thursday marks the institution of the Lord’s Supper with bells that then fall silent until the first Mass of Easter (NB: Bring your bells to ring on Thursday night and again on Saturday—the more, the better!). We keep the “maundy”—from mandatum novum, Jesus’ “new commandment” to love one other—and wash each other’s feet. Thursday ends with a procession to the Altar of Repose where the Sacrament is reserved and watch is kept until midnight with our Lord in Gethsemane. The sanctuary is stripped, the bare altar washed, the tabernacle left open and empty, and we stumble out into the night.

Next comes the desolation of Good Friday, a day unique in the Christian year. The ceremonial is stark, jarring, singularly powerful, and the meaning is unmistakable: Friday is about the Cross. Saint John’s Passion Gospel is chanted for, as former Archbishop Michael Ramsey wrote, “In the passion story of St. John, the glory dominates.” [5] The Solemn Collects, some of the Church’s oldest prayers, are prayed. Then each worshiper is invited to venerate the sacred wood “whereon was hung the world’s salvation.” After Communion from the reserved Sacrament (in some places called “the Mass of the Pre-sanctified”), the service is ended. Jesus is in the sepulcher. The church has come undone. 

Saturday dawns quietly with a brief liturgy in the church. If you’ve never experienced this short service, it is simple, strange, and marks “the necessary and meaningful pause of Holy Saturday.” [6] An anonymous ancient homily for Holy Saturday takes note of the weirdness:

What is happening? Today there is a great silence over the earth, a great silence, and stillness, a great silence because the King sleeps; the earth was in terror and was still, because God slept in the flesh and raised up those who were sleeping from the ages. God has died in the flesh, and the underworld has trembled. Truly he goes to seek out our first parent like a lost sheep; he wishes to visit those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. He goes to free the prisoner Adam and his fellow-prisoner Eve from their pains, he who is God, and Adam’s son . . . [7]

Finally, when evening falls, the faithful gather again—expectant, we wait in darkness, just as when we left on Good Friday. But to quote my favorite Prayer Book rubric: In the darkness, fire is kindled. During this service, the Church comes into being again as God’s breath animates dead bones. New fire, Sacred Scripture, the ancient Exsultet hymn, the blessing of the font—all culminating when the Resurrection is proclaimed, the lights blaze on, the organ springs to life, bells ring out again, and voices that cried “Crucify” now shout “Alleluia!”

Everything revolves around Easter, says Mother Church. And if Jesus’ resurrection is the center of history, then we must put Jesus right at the center of our own lives. There’s nothing like Holy Week to recenter us on Jesus. Holy Week is how, Mother Beth says, God “kills death, wrenches our broken bones and lives back into joint, and shoves us trembling out into his world to start acting like Jesus.” 

Won’t you join us this year for the greatest show in town? And remember to bring a “Plus-One,” someone you invite to come along with you for some or all of these transformative services.

If they ask why they should come, maybe say: “Because someone told me once . . . Holy Week can change a life.” — Fr. Sammy

Assist us mercifully with thy help, O Lord God of our salvation, that we may enter with joy upon the contemplation of those mighty acts, whereby thou hast given us life and immortality; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

PARISH PRAYERS

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

We pray for those who have asked us for our prayers, for Jose, Angie, Angelina, Ashley, Aubrey, Nicolly, Christopher, Wally, Donald, Harris, Rick, Ronald, Jose, Karen, Kate, Behnam, Duke, Russell, Duncan, Robert, Sally, Sandy, Audy, Orham, Ruth Ann, Henry, Lexi, Vicki, Georgia, Desarae, David, Steve, Beverly, Claudia, Maddie, Nettie, Chrissy, Tony, Sharon, Rick, Rolf, 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, for Enrique, and for those whose year’s mind is on April 13: Eleanor Marsden Cook (1885), Joseph Moor Houghton (1915), Robert Glasper Smith (1918), Susan Rhea Bayard Irving (1930), Amelia Unsold (1950), Marie Desmond (1953), Earle Stevenson (1958), and George Edward Mueller (1992).

AROUND THE PARISH

Palm Sunday . . . Sunday, April 13, is Palm Sunday. Weather permitting, we will process to Times Square during the 11:00 AM liturgy. Please plan to join us for the Sunday of the Passion and the start of Holy Week! 

Principal Holy Week and Easter Liturgies

The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday, April 13, 11:00 AM

Maundy Thursday, April 17, 6:00 PM

Good Friday, April 18, 12:30 PM

The Great Vigil of Easter, April 19, 7:00 PM

Easter Day, April 20, 11:00 AM

Click for a detailed calendar.

Requiem Mass on April 12 at 12:10 PM in the Mercy Chapel . . . The parish Requiem Mass this month will be on Saturday, April 12, and not on the third Saturday, which is Holy Saturday.

Help us prepare for Holy Week and Easter . . . Volunteers are needed to help prepare the church for Holy Week and Easter! On Saturday, April 12, we will begin major Holy Week work by preparing palms, candles, and vessels for Palm Sunday. Volunteers are also needed for branch delivery on Monday and flower unpacking on Tuesday. Work with the Altar of Repose and floral arrangements will begin Wednesday and continue Thursday, and on Holy Saturday, April 19, we will prepare the church for Easter. Many hands make light work and coffee and snacks are provided. Volunteer opportunities are available whether you have advanced floral skills or none at all! For more information or to volunteer, contact Grace Mudd.

Adult Formation . . . This Sunday, Father Pete Powell concludes his series on the Passion and the Resurrection narratives in the Gospel accounts. Father Powell’s classes are also being streamed over Zoom here. Recordings of prior classes are available for viewing online: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, and Week 4. After this Sunday, Adult Formation takes a break for Easter. We resume on May 4 when Father Matt Jacobson will lead a discussion on the Acts of the Apostles. Adult Formation meets on Sundays at 9:45 AM in Saint Joseph’s Hall.

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? . . . Please call the Parish Office (212-869-5830) or email Chris Howatt for more information, available dates, and to reserve a Sunday or feast day. The customary donation is $250.

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 soon-to-be-published book, A Change of Habit. 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.

Confessions . . . There is never a bad time to make a confession, though Lent is a particularly appropriate season for sacramental confession. The priest on duty each Saturday hears confessions at 11:00 AM in a confessional near the 46th Street entrance. Confessions are also available by appointment and will be heard after the Good Friday liturgy.

AIDS Walk 2025 . . . AIDS Walk this year will be on Sunday, May 18. Last year we finished fourth among all teams in terms of fundraising and raised $52,005. Our team is just beginning to form for 2025, but we hope to do even better this year! 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.

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.

THE DIOCESE AND WIDER CHURCH

Faith in the Public Square . . . Wednesday, May 7, 7:00-8:30 PM (via Zoom). This three-session series brings together theologians and leaders to discuss theological questions that are immediate right now. The first discussion in the lineup, titled “Faith formed in Refuge: How exile and refuge influenced the spirituality of the Book of Common Prayer” will explore how the worship and belief of the Church of England, and thus of the Anglican tradition, was formed through dialogue with the Reformation traditions in Europe. A live discussion will follow, led by The Rt. Rev. Allen K. Shin, Bishop Suffragan, featuring theologians and leaders from various backgrounds. You can click here to register for this session and future ones in the coming months.

Diocesan Day Trip to Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture . . . The Anti-Racism Committee (ARC) is planning a Diocesan visit to the Museum of African American History and Culture, in Washington, DC. You can sign up on this form to be on the Interested List. Please note: this is not a commitment to go on the trip, it is a registration of interest to help organizers plan the trip. We will travel on tour buses leaving NYC and Hudson Valley between 4:00 AM and 6:00 AM, returning between 10:00 PM and midnight, with about 6 hours to see the museum and for meals. Entrance tickets will be reserved at no cost. The fee for bus transportation is likely to be $150. Middle school and high school youth must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. For any questions, contact Zoe Moffitt (917.670.6392, zoemoffitt123@gmail.com).

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

The prelude this Sunday is a setting of the chorale Valet will ich dir geben by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). The melody upon which this chorale prelude is based is that to which the Palm Sunday processional hymn “All glory laud and honor” is most often sung, found in The Hymnal 1982 at #154. The same melody is also associated with the Advent hymn “Blest be the King whose coming” (#74 in The Hymnal 1982). Bach’s setting of this melody, however, is one of two from his miscellaneous chorales on Valet will ich dir geben (Farwell, I gladly bid thee), a text which expresses the soul’s delight in departing from this flawed world into the joys of heaven. The second of these two settings, played this Sunday, is an exuberant fantasia in 24/16 meter with the melody in long notes in the bass register.

The Palm Sunday liturgy begins with music expressing the festivity and excitement of the occasion. The antiphon Hosanna to the Son of David traditionally introduces the liturgy. This antiphon has received many splendid choral settings over the centuries. This Sunday, as the ministers enter, it will be sung to a setting by Orlando Gibbons. Gibbons (1583–1625) was baptized on Christmas Day 1583 in Oxford, where his father, William Gibbons, was employed as a town musician. He was a chorister at King’s College, Cambridge, between 1596 and 1598, while his elder brother, Edward (1568–1650), was master of the choristers. King James I appointed Orlando Gibbons a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, where he served as an organist for the last ten years of his life. He was active as a court musician and served as organist at Westminster Abbey. In his relatively short life, Gibbons composed generously for keyboard, for viols, and for voices in both sacred and secular realms. His setting of Hosanna to the Son of David effectively expresses the boisterous festivity of the crowd gathered to hail Jesus’ presence. Then, as palms are distributed through the church, another traditional antiphon is sung, interspersed with verses from Psalm twenty-four.

The musical settings of Sanctus and Agnus Dei are from Missa in die tribulationis by Orlando di Lasso (1532–1594). Di Lasso, or Lassus, as he was also known, was one of the most prolific and admired European composers of his time. Born at Mons in the Franco-Flemish province of Hainaut, Lassus was well traveled particularly in northern Italy, but was centered in Munich much his adult life. His compositions include about sixty authenticated Mass settings, most of which are elaborate parody works based upon motets, often his own, as well as French chansons, and Italian madrigals from such composers as Gombert, Willaert, Resta, Arcadelt, Rore and Palestrina. Missa in die tribulationis is based upon a motet of the same name by Jacquet de Mantua (1483–1559), a setting of a Matins Responsory for Palm Sunday with text taken from Psalm 77 and Matthew 28, and is in five voices. Lassus’ Mass setting is scored likewise.  

The communion motet is a choral setting for four voices of a modern text derived from the eight-stanza seventeenth-century German O Traurigkeit! The source text has evolved over time, having been translated to English by Catherine Winkworth for her 1863 collection Chorale Book for England. Further translation work by Winfred Douglas (1867–1944) and James Waring McCrady (b.1938) has been merged to yield the four-stanza form of O Traurigkeit! which is found at 173 in The Hymnal 1982. It is this four-stanza form of the text which was set as O Sorrow Deep by David Hurd in 1998. The setting was composed in memory of Donald Joyce, whom Dr. Hurd had recently succeeded as Director of Music at the Church of the Holy Apostles, Chelsea, and where it was first sung on Palm Sunday 1998, shortly after Mr. Joyce’s death.

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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.

[1] Adapted from an April 10, 2022 article in The Angelus.
[2] Malcolm Guite, The Word in the Wilderness: A Poem a Day for Lent and Easter (Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2014): 153.
[3] Warren C. Platt, The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, New York City: A History (2024): 120.
[4] Roger Greenacre & Jeremy Haselock, The Sacrament of Easter (Gracewing: Herefordshire, 1995): 95.
[5] Arthur Michael Ramsey, The Narratives of the Passion (Mowbray: 1962): 24.
[6] Greenacre & Haselock, 124.
[7] “Ancient Homily for Holy Saturday” (https://brandonvogt.com/ancient-homily-for-holy-saturday-2/).