March 1
Second Sunday of Lent

Fr. Markey’s Homily for this Sunday about his departure from St. Mary Church:

On this second Sunday of Lent, Mother Church always places before us the fourth Luminous mystery of the Holy Rosary for our reflection, the Transfiguration of Our Blessed Lord on Mount Tabor. There is the great wonder of seeing Our Blessed Lord miraculously transfigured before the eyes of Sts. Peter, James and John, but also the message about the coming passion later in Lent. Ultimately, there is the certain hope of the resurrection. This weekend I have some important news to share about some changes here at St. Mary Church.

Last fall, Bishop Caggiano spoke to me about the possibility of returning to school to obtain an advanced degree in philosophy, with the intent to teach philosophy to our seminarians upon my return. In early January, the Bishop met with me and asked that I begin these studies in the fall of 2015.

While I am grateful for the appointment from Bishop Caggiano, I am at the same time filled with sadness because I will have to say good-bye to the beloved families of St. Mary Church, reflecting on the many joys and sorrows that we have shared through the past 11 years. However, each of you and your families will always be remembered in my thoughts and prayers.

After a number of recent meetings with the bishop, I asked the bishop if it would be possible to take a sabbatical prior to entering into studies. This would be an opportunity to spend time with my parents and to attend to some personal issues in my life. Bishop Caggiano has agreed. My scheduled time for departure will be in April and my last Sunday here will be April 12, Divine Mercy Sunday (Low Sunday).
I am sure one of the first questions that comes to mind is, “Who will take over as the new pastor?” Bishop Caggiano has asked me to announce that he has assigned Fr. Cipolla to be the new pastor of St. Mary Church. Of course we know Fr. Cipolla brings many gifts and many years of experience to this position. It also maintains continuity with much of the work we have been doing these past 11 years.

As we move forward, I ask for your prayers and support. You can be assured of my prayers as well. Thank you for the love and support you have shown me during this time. The many good works that we accomplished working together along with your kindness is something I will always cherish in my life. I also ask you to pray and support Fr. Cipolla, Fr. Check, and Deacon Steve during this time of transition.

After Mass I will be available to talk more with you. Let us entrust this time of transition into the hands of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that she would guide us on the path of peace and hope.

Sincerely in Christ,

Fr. Greg J. Markey

His Excellency Bishop James D. Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln, NE will be the final speaker in this year’s Art of the Beautiful series. Bishop Conley will address Beauty, Culture, and the New Evangelization on Saturday, 14th March at 7.30pm.

Audio of Father Bruno M. Shah, OP’s February 14th lecture – Film, the Aesthetics of Death, and the Culture of Life – is now online at the CAS Soundcloud page, here.

On Sunday, March 15 at 4 pm, at St. Mary Church, Norwalk, flutist Sharon Levin will perform with oboist Gerard Reuter and David Hughes at the piano in a concert of Telemann, Marcello, Quantz, Corrette and Gaubert. Admission is $15, $10 for students. A festive reception will follow the recital.

Sharon Levin, a parishioner at St. Mary’s Church, has performed in Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, France, Switzerland, Germany, Israel, and the U.S.A. She has appeared at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, NYC in 1988, 1989, (1991 at Merkin Concert Hall), 1996, 2000, 2002 and 2008 performing solos and chamber music. She has appeared on national television in Brazil, Costa Rica and Ecuador and has been interviewed and performed on New York’s WQXR radio with harpist, Karen Stern. Sharon Levin has won awards from Artists International in 1988, 1989 and 1991 with harpist, Karen Stern and in 1996 as a soloist. She has performed as a concerto soloist in Brazil, Ecuador, France, Connecticut and New Jersey. Since 1988 she was the principal Flutist with the New Jersey Pops Symphony Orchestra until they dissolved in 2002.

Gerard Reuter has enjoyed a varied and distinguished career as soloist, conductor and in chamber music, touring the United States, Europe, India and Africa. He is a member of the Dorian Wind Quintet and was a founding member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, An Die Musik and the Chelsea Chamber Ensemble. His many guest appearances at music festivals in the United States have included Caramoor, Marlboro, Tanglewood, LaJolla, Malibu, Tucson, Round Top, the Chamber Music Festival of the Library of Congress, Grand Tetons, Bar Harbor, and Market Square Concerts’ Summerfest;and in Europe at the Flanders and Dartington festivals, as well as the International Musicians’ Seminar at Prussia Cove. As a soloist, in New York he has appeared with the Jupiter Symphony, the Soviet Emigré Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Virtuoso, Orchestra of the Bronx and in Washington, DC with the National Chamber Orchestra. He has been heard on major radio stations throughout this country and in Europe. He has recorded for Sony, New World, Summit, Telarc, Columbia, Musical Heritage Society and in concert for the Voice of America.

THE EUCHARISTIC FOUNDATION OF PATRICK CHARLES KEELY’S ARTISTRY

On Friday, March 20, 2015, The Monuments Conservancy will present its 25th Annual Symposium at the New York Marriott East Side, 525 Lexington Avenue, 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 pm, to discuss the life and legacy of architect Patrick Charles Keely.

OPEN FREE TO PUBLIC.  TO RESERVE A SEAT CALL 212-764-5645 x10 OR E-MAIL  SYMPOSIUM@NATIONALSCULPTURE.ORG

SPEAKERS AT 2015 SYMPOSIUM        

Morning Session

DONALD M. REYNOLDS, Art Historian

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION

1. PHILIP McALEER, Art and Architectural Historian, Retired, Technical University of Nova Scotia, New Bedford, Nova Scotia.

PATRICK CHARLES KEELY, THE “AMERICAN PUGIN”

FATHER KENNETH MYERS, Former Pastor, The Pittsburgh Latin Mass Community, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

               THE TRADITIONAL ALTAR AND THE CONCEPT OF SACRIFICE

FATHER MATTHEW McNEELY, FSSP (THE PRIESTLY SOCIETY OF ST. PETER), ADMINISTRATOR, OUR LADY OF FATIMA CHAPEL, PEQUANNOCK, NEW JERSEY

               THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE SACRED TRADITION OF THE CHURCH

PEDRO d’AQUINO, Acting Director of the Latin Mass Community, Church of the Holy Innocents, New York City

                THE POSTMODERN RECOVERY OF GREGORIAN CHANT IN THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS AND ITS ROOTS

Lunch Break

Afternoon Session

EDWARD H. FUREY, Artist, Educator, Founder and President of The Keely Society, Enfield, Connecticut

                THE KEELY ARCHITECTS, IRELAND AND AMERICA

KATHLEEN HECK, Special Assistant to the Moderator of the Curia and Vicar General, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston—2004-2008, Boston, Massachusetts

                 CONSOLATION THROUGH CONSERVATION: THE RESPONSIBLE RE-USE OF CHURCH ART AND SACRED OBJECTS

DELMA TALLERICO, Independent Scholar, Author, Lecturer, Wexford, Pennsylvania

               KEELY DESIGN: SITES FOR SACRIFICE

DONALD M. REYNOLDS, Art Historian and Holy Innocents Parishioner, New York City

               “THE MIRACLE ON 37TH STREET”: TRANSFORMATION AND COEXISTENCE IN KEELY’S CHURCH OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS

FATHER LEONARD VILLA, Administrator, The Church of the Holy Innocents, New York City

             THE POSSIBLE CROSS-POLLINATIN BETWEEN THE ORDINARY FORM AND THE EXTRAORDINARY FORM OF THE MASS

*Donald M. Reynolds founded the symposium in 1991 on the 20th anniversary of the death of the renowned art historian Rudolf Wittkower.  The Symposium is made possible through bequests of Elaine Zlobik Skinner, Joan Zlobik Gdosky, and John Leo Zlobik, siblings of Nancy Zlobik Reynolds, parishioner of Holy Innocents Church.

Father Joseph Koterski, S.J. will offer the Catholic Artists Society Lenten recollection at the Church of the Holy Trinity on Manhattan’s upper west side on Wednesday, 18th March at 6.30pm. A reception will follow.  All welcome!  The church address is 213 West 82nd Street, between Amsterdam and Broadway.

( Holy Innocents Parish, New York City)

St.  Mary’s, Norwalk, CT, Solemn High Mass,  5:30 PM

Missa Inter vestibulum (Francisco Guerrero, 1528-1599)
Antiphon at the blessing of ashes: Exaudi nos, Domine (plainsong, mode vii)
Antiphon at the imposition of ashes: Immutemur (plainsong, mode i)
Antiphon at the imposition of ashes: Juxta vestibulum (plainsong, mode iv)
Motet at the imposition of ashes: Emendemus in melius (William Byrd, 1540-1623)
Gregorian Mass of Ash Wednesday: Misereris omnium
Motet at the Offertory: Inter vestibulum (Cristóbal de Morales, c.1500-1553)
Motet at the Communion: Ne irascaris Domine (Byrd)

The St. Mary’s Schola Cantorum

St. Stanislaus Church, New Haven, CT; 5 pm

Holy Innocents, New York, NY, 8:00 AM; 6:00 PM

St. Anthony’s Church,  Bronx, NY,  10:00 am

Immaculate Conception, Sleepy Hollow, NY, 5 pm

St. Anthony of Padua Church, Jersey City, NJ, Missa Cantata, 5:30 p.m. 

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Newark, NJ,  Missa Cantata, 7 pm, (Msgr. Ambrosio, celebrant)

St. Catherine Laboure, Middletown, NJ, 12 noon.

St. Anthony of Padua Oratory, West Orange, NJ, 9 am; Missa Cantata 7 pm 

Our Lady of Fatima Chapel, Pequannock, NJ, 7 am; 8 am; 12 noon; 7 pm

The St. Cecilia Society of St. Mary Church, Norwalk, CT,  has announced the first installment of this season’s concert series, a recital by James Wetzel, the organist of St. Agnes on 43rd Street in Manhattan. The concert will feature works of Bach, Mendelssohn and Franck and take place this Sunday, Feb. 22 at 4 pm. in St. Mary’s Church. General Admission: $15 / Students: $10. A festive reception will follow the recital.

Pittsburgh-born James D. Wetzel has been the Organist and Choirmaster of the Church of Saint Agnes in Manhattan since 2010, directing one of the most respected Catholic music programs in the nation. The church’s professional Schola Cantorum sings for over 120 liturgies annually, including the weekly Tridentine Latin Mass. James is the Assistant Conductor and accompanist for the Greenwich Choral Society in Connecticut, accompanist for the New Choral Society in Scarsdale, New York, and holds a post as Assisting Organist at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine where he formerly served as Organ Scholar for two years under Bruce Neswick. Also, he is an adjunct lecturer at Hunter College where he directs the Chamber Singers and teaches organ.

Mr. Wetzel is also active as an organist and continuo player; recent highlights include performing at the Berkshire Choral Festival, with the American Symphony Orchestra in Carnegie Hall and with the American Classical Orchestra in Alice Tully Hall. He is a board member of the New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and the Catholic Artists Society, is music advisor to the New York Purgatorial Society, and is a member of the Saint Wilfred’s Club for Organists in Manhattan.

Mr. Wetzel earned a bachelor’s degree in organ performance from The Juilliard School where he studied with Paul Jacobs and was the first person ever to graduate with a master’s degree and a post-graduate professional studies certificate in choral conducting from Manhattan School of Music under Kent Tritle. He also studied privately with Donald K. Fellows and Robert Page. Additionally, James spend a year studying Early Christianity and Apologetics at Columbia University.

The other concerts in the series:

Sunday, March 15th
4:00 P.M.
Sharon Levin, flute
Gerard Reuter, oboe
David Hughes, piano
works of Telemann, Marcello, and Quantz

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Wednesday, April 1st
8:00 P.M.
Tenebræ
The St. Mary’s Schola Cantorum
The St. Mary’s Student Schola

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Sunday, May 17th
4:00 P.M.
Charlotte Dobbs, soprano
David Hughes, piano
works of Karg-Elert, Copland, and Hughes

From the Facebook Page of the event:

As a basilica, (Old. St. Patrick’s Cathedral) observes with special care a number of feasts: one of them is the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Apostle. This year, to celebrate the bicentennial of the founding of the basilica, the Schola will sing a Renaissance Vespers on Sunday, February 22 at 4:00 PM. The music includes:

Prelude: Toccata in the 8th Tone – Paolo Quagliati (c. 1555-1628)
Domine ad adjuvandum – Lodovico Grossi da Viadana (c. 1560-1627)
Dixit Dominus – Alessandro Grandi (1586-1630)
Confitebor tibi – Maurizio Cazzati (1616-1678)
Beatus Vir – Alternatim Chant
Laudate Pueri – Giacomo Finetti (? – 1630)
Memento Domine David – Felice Anerio (1560-1614)
Magnificat – Lodovico Grossi da Viadana (c. 1560-1627)
Postlude: Toccata – Johann Jakob Froberger (1616-1667)

The Schola will be supported by continuo played on organ and theorbo, making for a unique and gorgeous sound.

There will be a Missa Cantata in honor of Our Lady of Lourdes on Wednesday, February 11th at 7:30 in the evening at St. Mary Church, 178 Greenwich Ave., Greenwich, CT