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Unfolding Joy
Volume 6, Number 4, December 21, 2003


Unfolding Joy

Thomas Merton recounted in his first book, The Seven Storey Mountain, his delight at entering the monastery at Gethsemane, Kentucky at the beginning of Advent. If I recall correctly, one of his observations about his experience was that the liturgy of the Church draws people into themselves and brings them to a place where God can meet them.

If you do not know the writings and career of Merton, winter is a wonderful time to begin reading him and the biographies written after his death. He struggled all his life with sin and guilt.

He was also seriously in love with God, whom he encountered through the community of the Roman Catholic Church, and he acted on his love.

Our own parish community is a place where people can act on their love of God, radically and seriously. No day need pass without prayer. Despite the moments of Gethsemane and Calvary in every person's life, there are more moments of Resurrection, Easter and Pentecost that sustain us in this life and surround us in the life to come.

The Gospels record the unfolding of redemption for humankind in the person of Jesus Christ over the course of Jesus' life. Redemption and judgment are rendered by God when his Son dies and rises. It is then that everything changes. Since his death and resurrection, God has shown humankind his will to save all.

Across the course of our own lives God's will for us unfolds. Is it possible for us to reject God completely? Certainly since the beginning of the Christian era preachers have been speaking about that. Descriptions of hell are strangely comforting to many people. Theological systems can be built upon a conviction about the utter and complete depravity of humankind.

As I grow older I find myself seeing more good in people than not. I'll leave it to God to judge the Hitlers and Husseins of this world. Mostly I seem to encounter people like myself, ordinary in their sins, ordinary in their desire to be in the right relationship with God and with other people. Increasingly, I don't want to miss God's presence in other people. I want to recognize him in them.

The mystery of the humanity and divinity of Christ is one of the greatest mysteries. I think that God continues to unfold the meaning and reality of his presence in human lives across the course of our lives. Advent 2003 means more joy than Advents past. Christmas 2003 means more joy than Christmases past. Daily we are closer to eternity. The signs of God's purposes and love for us are in every person we see. God has already come in his holy might; he has already redeemed us for eternal day. May nothing separate us from him. Stephen Gerth

PRAYER LIST . . . Margaret, Will, Jay, Mabel, Heidi, Robert, Gloria, Jason, Harold, Billie, Matthew, Virginia, Bart, Margaret, Marion, Hugh, Rick, Mary Angela, religious, and Charles, priest, and for the members of our Armed Forces on active duty, especially Ned, Timothy, Patrick, Kevin, Christopher, Andrew, Joseph, Marc, Timothy, David, and Colin . . . GRANT THEM PEACE . . . December 24: 1962 Charles Moran; December 25: 1986 Norman Albert Rollings.

CHRISTMAS CONFESSIONS . . . Confessions will be heard on Saturday, December 20, from 11:30 AM to 12:00 PM and from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM by Father Beddingfield. Confessions will be heard on Christmas Eve from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM and from 10:00 PM to 10:30 PM by Father Gerth. During Christmastide the parish clergy will not sit for confessions on Saturdays except by appointment.

AROUND THE PARISH . . . Many thanks to Saint Mary's Guild (vestments) and Saint Vincent's Guild (altar servers) for their work on Saturday, December 13 . . . For those who knit or may enjoy learning more about knitting, there will be a "Knitters' Retreat" at Mount Saviour Monastery, February 6-8, 2004. For more information, please see Penny Byham . . . On Friday evening, December 19 and Sunday evening, December 21, at 7:30 PM the men's ensemble Rorate caeli will be presenting concerts in our church of music by Jacobus de Kerle and Thomas Crequillon. All are invited to attend, tickets ($35/$25), can be obtained by calling SmartTix at (212) 868-4444 or at the door that evening . . . The parish office will be closed on Friday, December 26, but the regular schedule of Masses and Offices is observed . . . Attendance last Sunday 222.

PLEDGES AND YOUR TAX DEDUCTION . . . There are only 10 days left to complete pledge payments; all payments must be received by December 31, 2003 to qualify for tax deduction this year. We want you to know that every dollar is very much needed. If you have any questions about the status of your pledge payments, please call our treasurer, Barbara Klett.

NOTES ON MUSIC . . . This week at the Sung Mass, played by associate organist Robert McDermitt, the prelude is Andante from Organ Sonata No. 7 by Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (1839-1901) and the postlude is Voluntary on 'Winchester New' by C. S. Lang (1891-1971) . . . This week at the Solemn Mass, the prelude is Chorale Prelude on 'Christe, redemptor omnium' by C. Hubert H. Parry (1848-1918) and the postlude is Fuge über das Magnificat, BWV 733 by J. S. Bach (1685-1750). The setting of the Mass ordinary, sung by the sopranos and altos of the choir, is Missa brevis in D, Op. 63 by Benjamin Britten (1913-1976). It was written in 1959 for the boys of the Westminster Cathedral (London) Choir and George Malcolm, then organist of the Cathedral. It is set for 3-part treble choir and organ. The anthem at Communion is I sing of a maiden by Patrick Hadley (1899-1973) . . . The organ recital at 4:40 is played by Robert McCormick, and includes works of Bach and Reger . . . On Christmas Eve, music for choir and congregation begins at 10:30 and includes carols and motets of Hadley, Handl, Holst, Vaughan Williams and Victoria. At the Solemn Mass, the Mass ordinary is Mass in G Minor by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958). It is set for unaccompanied double choir and is a treasure of 20th century liturgical music. Vaughan Williams wrote it in 1920-1921 for Gustav Holst and his Whitsuntide Singers. Anthems at Communion are A Child my choice by Richard Wayne Dirksen (1921-2003) and Candlelight Carol by John Rutter (b. 1945) . . . Music offered on Christmas Day is by Dupré, Hassler, Praetorius and Bach.

Christmas Eve at Saint Mary's
Morning Prayer 8:30 AM, Advent Mass for December 24 9:00 AM
Evensong of Christmas Eve 6:00 PM

Christmas Music & Carols 10:30 pm
Procession & Solemn Mass 11:00 pm
Music: Mass in G Minor, Ralph Vaughan Williams

The Right Reverend Richard F. Grein, XIV Bishop of New York
Presiding & Preaching

Christmas Day at Saint Mary's
Solemn Mass & Procession 11:00 am
Music: Hassler, Praetorius
Sermon by the Reverend John Beddingfield

The Calendar of the Week
Sunday The Fourth Sunday of Advent  
Monday Saint Thomas the Apostle (transferred)  
Tuesday Advent Weekday  
Wednesday Advent Weekday 9:00 AM
Christmas Eve 11:00 PM		  
Thursday Christmas Day  
Friday Saint Stephen, Deacon & Martyr      Abstinence Dispensed  
Saturday Saint John, Apostle & Evangelist  

Last Published: December 26, 2003 6:47 PM
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