The parable of the fig tree

Mount Calvary Church

A Roman Catholic Parish

The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of S. Peter

Eutaw Street and Madison Avenue

Baltimore, Maryland

Rev. Albert Scharbach, Pastor

Dr. Allen Buskirk, Choirmaster

Lent III

March 24, 2019

8 A.M Said Mass

10:00 A. M.  Sung Mass

Breakfast in the undercroft following the 10:00 A.M. Mass

____________________

Common

Missa de Angelis

____________________

Anthems

Richard Farrant (1530-1580)

Hide not thou thy face from us, O Lord, and cast not off thy servants in thy displeasure; for we confess our sins unto thee, and hide not our unrighteousness. For thy mercy’s sake, deliver us from all our sins.

Here is the choir of Westminster Abbey.

William Byrd (1540-1623)

Ne irascaris Domine satis, et ne ultra memineris iniquitatis nostrae. Ecce respice populus tuus omnes nos. Be not angry, O Lord, and remember our iniquity no more. Behold, we are all your people.

Here is the choir of Ely Cathedral.

Hymns

The Great Litany was the first service written in English. It was composed by Thomas Cranmer in 1544 from older litanies: the Sarum rite litany, a Latin litany composed by Martin Luther, and the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. The word litany comes from the Latin litania, from the Greek litê, meaning “prayer” or “supplication.” Litanies are penitential exercises. They are the urgent supplications of the people of God suffering under or dreading divine judgements and asking to be spared or delivered from calamities which at the same time they confess that they deserve. After invoking the Trinity, we ask to be delivered from the evils that come upon us because of sin: heresy, schism, natural disasters, political disasters, war, violence, murder, and sudden and unprovided death.

Rock of ages (TOPLADY) has been a stay and comfort in days of peril, and in the hour of death. No other English hymn can be named which has laid so broad and firm a grasp upon the English-speaking world. It was written by the Rev. Augustus Toplady (1740–1778), an Evangelical priest of the Church of England, who was first a friend of John Wesley but who quarreled with him over predestination.

Take up thy cross (BRESLAU) was composed by the American Episcopal clergyman Charles William Everest (1814—1877) when he was still a teenager. It is based upon the Scripture: “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’” We must die to self to be reborn in Jesus. If we accept the sufferings of this life in union with His sufferings, we like Him will rise from the dead to a new life. The cross is not only painful, but shameful, in the eyes of this world, which thinks it folly to deny oneself the pleasures of life in order to follow the perfect Law of the Lord. We train ourselves in small ways so that we can bear the greater crosses. We spend Sunday morning in church rather than in bed, so that we can patiently endure the death of a loved one. But we do not bear these crosses in our own power, but He in us bears them.

Mount Calvary church

A Roman Catholic Parish

The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of S. Peter

Eutaw Street and Madison Avenue

Baltimore, Maryland

Rev. Albert Scharbach, Pastor

Dr. Allen Buskirk, Choirmaster

Lent II

March 17, 2019

8 A.M Said Mass

10:00 A. M.  Sung Mass

Breakfast in the undercroft following the 10:00 A.M. Mass

____________________

Common

Missa de Angelis

____________________

Anthems

Richard Farrant (1530-1580)

Call to remembrance, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy loving kindness, which hath been ever of old. O remember not the sins and offences of my youth, but according to thy mercy, think thou on me, O Lord, for thy goodness.

Here is the Tewkesbury Abbey School Choir.

__________

William Byrd (1540-1623)

Lord in thy rage rebuke me not for my most grievous sin, nor in thine anger chasten me, but let me favour win. Have mercy Lord on me, because my state is weak to see, heal me, O Lord, for that my bones are troubled sore in me.

Here is Sara Stowe and a consort of viols.

__________________

Hymns

#119 O wondrous type! O vision fair (WAREHAM) is a translation of Cælestis formamgloriæ partly by John Mason Neale (1818-1866)Moses and Elijah are key persons in Jesus’ mission. Gospel writers mention Moses thirty-seven times and Elijah twenty-seven times. In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Abraham tells the Rich Man, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.” (Luke 16:31). Before his Passion, Jesus went to the top of a mountain to converse with Moses and Elijah. There Jesus “was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.” (Matthew 17:2), with Peter, James, and John as witnesses. Shortly after this event, Jesus “set his face to go to Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51) to battle Satan and death.

Be Thou my vision (SLANE) Be thou my vision. The Irish monk Eohaid Forgaill (530-598) was a Latin scholar and “King of the Poets.” He was said to have spent so much time studying that he went blind, and was give the name Dallán, “Little Blind One.”   He wrote this poem asking God to be his vision. But “vision” here means more than physical sight. The original Irish word means “vision” or “rapture,” in the sense used by the Old Testament prophets. The language of this hymn is drawn from traditional Irish culture: it uses heroic imagery to describe God as the ‘chieftain’ or ‘High King’ who provided protection to his people or clan.

‘Tis good, Lord, to be here (SWABIA) was written by Joseph Armitage Robinson (1858-1933), D.D., Dean of Westminster. Jesus, with Peter, James and John, had to come down from the mountain.  The next story in Matthew 17 is of Jesus meeting the crowd and healing an epileptic boy; He predicts His death.  In the Liturgy, we catch of glimpse of the Uncreated Light that shone through the humanity of Jesus. It is given to strengthen us in the realities and difficulties of everyday life, where God is to be found.

Mount Calvary Church

A Roman Catholic Parish

The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of S. Peter

Eutaw Street and Madison Avenue

Baltimore, Maryland

Rev. Albert Scharbach, Pastor

Dr. Allen Buskirk, Choirmaster

Lent I

March 10, 2019

8 A.M Said Mass

10:00 A. M.  Sung Mass

_________________

Common

Missa de Angelis

Anthems

Adrian Batten (1591-1637)

Lord, we beseech thee, give ear unto our prayers, and by thy gracious visitation lighten the darkness of our hearts, by our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Here is the Schola Cantorum Occidentalis.

Henry Purcell (1659-1695)

Lord, how long wilt Thou be angry, shall Thy jealousy burn like fire forever? O, remember not our old sins, but have mercy upon us, and that soon, for we are come to great misery. Help us, O God of our Salvation, for the glory of Thy Name. O deliver us, and be merciful unto our sins, for Thy Name’s sake. So we that are Thy people and the sheep of Thy pasture shall give Thee

Here is the Choir of Clare College Cambridge.

__________

The Great Litany

The Great Litany was the first service written in English. It was composed by Thomas Cranmer in 1544 from older litanies: the Sarum rite litany, a Latin litany composed by Martin Luther, and the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. The word litany comes from the Latin litania, from the Greek litê, meaning “prayer” or “supplication.” Litanies are penitential exercises. They are the urgent supplications of the people of God suffering under or dreading divine judgements and asking to be spared or delivered from calamities which at the same time they confess that they deserve. After invoking the Trinity, we ask to be delivered from the evils that come upon us because of sin: heresy, schism, natural disasters, political disasters, war, violence, murder, sudden death.

__________

Hymns

#335 Glory be to Jesus (CASWELL/WEM IN LEIDENSTAGEN) is an 18^th century Italian hymn Viva! Viva! Gesu! Che per mio bene translated by Edward Caswell (1814–1878), an Anglican clergyman who converted to Catholicism and joined John Henry Newman at the Oratory in Birmingham.

#55 Forty days and forty nights (HEINLEIN) was written by the Anglican clergyman George Hunt Smyttan (1822-1870). It was published in the March 1856 edition of The Penny Post and was revised five years later as Forty Days and Forty Nights in Hymns Fitted to the Order of Common Prayer (1861), by the Rev. Francis Pott (1832–1909).

Mount Calvary Church

A Roman Catholic Parish

The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of S. Peter

Eutaw Street and Madison Avenue

Baltimore, Maryland

Rev. Albert Scharbach, Pastor

Dr. Allen Buskirk, Choirmaster

Ash Wednesday

March 6, 2019

12:10 P.M. Said Mass

7:00 P. M.  Sung Mass

_________________

Common

Missa de Angelis

Anthems

Henry Purcell (1659-1695)

Remember not, Lord, our offences, nor the offences of our forefathers; neither take thou vengeance of our sins: spare us, good Lord, spare thy people, whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious blood, and be not angry with us for ever.

Lenten Prose: Attende, Domine

Refrain: Hear us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have sinned against thee. 1. To thee, Redeemer, on thy throne of glory, lift we our weeping eyes in holy pleadings: listen, O Jesus, to our supplications. 2. O thou chief cornerstone, right hand of the Father, way of salvation, gate of life celestial, cleanse thou our sinful souls from all defilement. 3. God, we implore thee, in thy glory seated, bow down and hearken to thy weeping children: pity and pardon all our grievous trespasses. 4. Sins oft committed now we lay before thee: with true contrition, now no more we veil them: grant us, Redeemer, loving absolution. 5. Innocent, captive, taken unresisting; falsely accused, and for us sinners sentenced, save us, we pray thee, Jesus our Redeemer.

Hymns

#59 Lord, who throughout these forty days (ST. FLAVIAN) is by Claudia Frances Ibotson Hernaman (1838–1898). Forty is a symbolic number in Scripture. It rained for forty days and nights when the earth was overtaken by floodwaters, and Noah waited another forty days before opening the window of the Ark. Israel wandered in the desert for forty years. Jesus was seen on earth following the resurrection for forty days. In this case, Christ’s forty days in the wilderness provides the primary paradigm for the forty days of Lent.

#190 Let Thy Blood in mercy poured is by John Brownlie (1857–1927), a Scots Presbyterian minister. This hymn is a translation of a Greek hymn. The tune JESU MEINE ZUVERSICHT was first published in Johann Crüger’s Praxis Pietatis Melica (1653).

In this Lenten hymn attributed to Pope St. Gregory the Great (540—604), # 61 The glory of these forty days, (SPIRES) the typology so frequently used by the Fathers is employed. We are told that our fast, which we keep in imitation of Our Lord’s fast, was prefigured in the Old Testament – by Moses, fasting before receiving the Law; by Elijah who, while fasting, was given the vision of the chariot of fire; and by Daniel who, through fasting and meditation, was delivered from the lions’ den. And, as St. John the Forerunner fasted and became the herald of the Messiah, we pray that we may, through our fasting, be prepared to see Our Lord. The translator was Maurice Frederick Bell (1862-1947).

Domenico Fetti – The Parable of the Mote and the Beam – 1619

Mount Calvary Church

A Roman Catholic Parish

The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of S. Peter

Eutaw Street and Madison Avenue

Baltimore, Maryland

Rev. Albert Scharbach, Pastor

Dr. Allen Buskirk, Choirmaster

8:00 A.M. Said Mass

10:00 A.M. Sung Mass

March 3, 2019

Quinquagesima

_________________

Common

An Anglican Folk Mass, Martin Shaw

__________________

Anthems

Josef Rheinberger (1839-1901)
Meditabor in mandatis tuis, quae dilexi valde: et levabo manus meas ad mandata tua, quae dilexi.
I will meditate on thy commandments, which I have loved exceedingly: and I will lift up my hands to thy commandments, which I have loved.

Here is  the Millikin University Choir.

__________

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Verleih uns Frieden gnädiglich, Herr Gott, zu unsern Zeiten. Es ist doch ja kein andrer nicht, der für uns könnte streiten, denn du, unser Gott, alleine.
In these our days so perilous, Lord, peace in mercy send us; no God but thee can fight for us, no God but thee defend us; Thou our only God and Saviour.

Here is the Northwestern University Chorale.

__________________

Hymns

#414 O for a heart to praise my God (AZMON) is by Charles Wesley (1707-1788). This hymn has the Wesleyan emphasis on the religion of the heart, which is transformed by the saving blood of Jesus. The hope for perfection is deeply Wesleyan. The Beatitudes likewise point the Christian to greater and greater perfection: Blessed are the pure of heart, blessed are the meek. Perfection is found in love, because we become sharers of the divine nature, and Jesus reveals the “new, best name” of God, Love.

__________

#781 Lord Jesus, think on me (SOUTHWELL) is a translation by the Anglican clergyman Allen William Chatfield (1808-1896) of the Greek hymn, Μνώεο Χριστέ by Synesius of Cyrene (375-430). Synesius was the Bishop of Ptolomais, one of the ancient capitals of Cyrenaica that is today part of modern-day Libya.

__________

#409 Thou art the Way (DUNDEE) is by the Episcopal Bishop George Washington Doane (1799-1859). “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6). In His sayings which begin “ego eimi, I am,” Jesus implicitly makes a claim to divinity, because the name of God is  YHWH, “I AM WHO AM.” Jesus is the only Way to the Father, because Jesus alone is God and man and unites the two; Jesus is the only Truth, because He reveals the Father and He reveals the ultimate meaning of creation, which is Himself, in whom and for whom the universe was created; Jesus is the only true Life, which death itself could not destroy, and which through His resurrection and the power of the Spirit He pours forth onto a dying world to rescue it from eternal death.

Mount Calvary Church

A Roman Catholic Parish

The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of S. Peter

Eutaw Street and Madison Avenue

Baltimore, Maryland

Rev. Albert Scharbach, Pastor

Dr. Allen Buskirk, Choirmaster

8:00 A.M. Said Mass

10:00 A.M. Sung Mass

February 24, 2019

The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter

The Patronal Feast of the North American Ordinariate

_________________

Common

An Anglican Folk Mass, Martin Shaw

____________________

Anthems

Henry Walford Davies (1869-1941)

God be in my head, and in my understanding; God be in mine eyes, and in my looking; God be in my mouth, and in my speaking; God be in my heart, and in my thinking; God be at mine end, and at my departing.

Here is the Clare College Chapel Choir.

__________

Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548–1611)

Tu es Petrus et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam, et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus eam. Et tibi dabo claves regni caelorum.

Thou art Peter and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And I will give Thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

Here is The Cardinal’s Music.

____________________

Hymns

Firmly I believe and truly (NASHOTAH) is adapted from John Henry Newman’s 1865 poem The Dream of Gerontius about the progress of a soul from death to salvation. As an Evangelical, Newman (1801—1890) rejected the doctrines of purgatory and the intercession of saints, but as part of his conversion (1845), he came to a realization of the fullness of the communion of saints: those striving on earth, those being purified by the divine fire, and those in heaven moved by love to pray for those on earth and in purgatory. The poem (Greek Geron: old man), relates the journey of a pious man’s soul from his deathbed to his judgment before God and settling into Purgatory. As the priests and assistants pray the prayers for the dying, Gerontius recites this creed and prays for mercy. Sanctus Fortis, Sanctus Deus is from the Good Friday liturgy and is alluded to in the line “him the holy, him the strong.”

__________

#393 Faith of our fathers (ST CATHERINE) by Frederick William Faber (1814–1863), in its original form, spoke to Catholics of their history, and conflicts (‘living still/in spite of dungeon, fire and sword’; ‘Our Fathers, chained in prisons dark,/Were still in heart and conscience free’), as well as their aspirations. Faber wrote the hymn at a critical time for Roman Catholics in the British Isles: in England: Catholic Emancipation and the restoration of the Catholic Hierarchy were key issues; meanwhile Ireland was still suffering from the devastation caused by the Great Famine, and was wrestling with the inequities occasioned by British rule.

__________

From all Thy saints in warfare (KING’S LYNN) is by Horatio Nelson (1823—1913), nephew of Admiral Horatio Nelson. He became 3rd Earl Nelson in 1835. In 1857 he and John Keble, one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement, compiled the Sarum Hymnal. This hymn was published in 1864. It honors the saints while carefully avoiding mention of any intercessory role.

__________

The Chair of St. Peter in Antioch

Philip Kosloski

While St. Peter is widely known as the first bishop of Rome, the “prince of the apostles” started out his ministry in the “Rome of the East,” the ancient city of Antioch.

The Roman Empire at the time of Christ hailed Antioch as the new capital of the East over that of Alexandria. It became a pivotal city, one favored by the emperors of Rome and a vital part of the Empire.

It also became an important city for Christians in the first few decades after Jesus’s death. Antioch became the home to many Jewish Christians who fled Jerusalem after St. Stephen was stoned to death. For this and other reasons it made perfect sense for Peter to minister to the spiritual needs of these early Christians.

According to the Golden Legend, Peter arrived in Antioch to preach the good news of Christ. However, Theophilus, governor of the city, did not want him there and said, “Peter, why are you corrupting my people?” Peter tried to convert Theophilus, who immediately had Peter imprisoned.

St. Paul heard about Peter’s imprisonment and visited Theophilus in order to gain his trust. While there St. Paul was able to visit Peter and then urged Theophilus to release him. Theophilus refused, but was curious about St. Paul’s claim that Peter could raise the dead. He said that if Peter could raise his son that he would release him. Miraculously, the governor’s son was raised from the dead through Peter’s intercession and he was given freedom in Antioch to preach the gospel. Theophilus would later receive an account of Jesus’ life through the hands of St. Luke.

Whatever the veracity of this story is, the people of Antioch welcomed Peter’s preaching and built a chair for him to be placed above everyone else while he taught them about Jesus. It is believed that Peter stayed in Antioch for seven years before going to Rome to become the first bishop there.

In the centuries after Peter’s death, it was the custom for bishops to celebrate the anniversary of their initial consecration. The Church appointed February 22 as the anniversary of Peter’s elevation to a bishop in Antioch. This was called the “Chair of St. Peter in Antioch,” referencing the chair that Peter sat in to teach the people.

Over time this feast was merged with the feast commemorating the “Chair of St. Peter in Rome,” and became a single feast on February 22.

__________

A Digression on the Popular Use of Hymns

Faber wrote an Irish version of Faith of our Fathers. This version, entitled ‘the same Hymn for Ireland’ featured seven stanzas. In it ‘Mary’s prayers/ Shall keep our country fast to thee’. The most important alterations/additions were as follows (the last two lines remain the same in all versions):

1. Faith of our Fathers! living still,
        In spite of dungeon, fire and sword: 
    Oh! Ireland's hearts beat high with joy
        Whene'er they hear that glorious word,
     Faith of our Fathers, &c.
5. Faith of our fathers! guile and force
        To do thee bitter wrong unite;
    But Erin's Saints shall fight for us,
        And keep undimmed thy blessed light. 

6. Faith of our Fathers! distant shores
        Their happy faith to Ireland owe; 
    Then in our home, oh, shall we not
        Break the dark plots against thee now?

7. Faith of our Fathers! Days of old
        Within our hearts speak gallantly;
    For ages thou hast stood by us,
        Dear Faith! And we will stand by thee.

Though ‘Faith of our fathers’ was intended by Faber for use in church and in private devotions (it became one of the most popular Catholic hymns of the 19th century), it acquired a more secular purpose, though still with religious associations: it is sung at the All-Ireland Gaelic football final, though now as part of the half-time show, rather than before the start of the match. The sport has important connections with the Catholic Church: parish priests were often chairmen or presidents of local clubs, and bishops were patrons of provincial Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) councils. Indeed Thomas Croke (1824-1902), Archbishop of Cashel and an ardent Irish nationalist, was instrumental in founding the GAA. While traditions such as the bishop’s throwing out the first ball at the All-Ireland final have passed into history, the singing of ‘Faith of our fathers’ still survives as an expression of communal feeling, and also of pride in Irish national identity, with which Gaelic sports are particularly associated.

Jesus preaching from the boat, Jacques Callot 1635

Mount Calvary Church

A Roman Catholic Parish

The Ordinariate of the Chair of S. Peter

Eutaw Street and Madison Avenue

Baltimore, Maryland

Rev. Albert Scharbach, Pastor

Dr. Allen Buskirk, Choirmaster

10:00 A.M. Sung Mass

February 10, 2019

Epiphany IV

_________________

Common

An Anglican Folk Mass, Martin Shaw

____________________

Anthems

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621)

Il faut que de tous mes esprits Ton los et prix J’exalte et prise: Devant les grands me presenter, Pour te chanter, J’ay faict emprise. En ton sainct temple adoreray, Celebreray ta renommee, Pour l’amour de ta grand’bonté, Et feauté tant estimee.

 I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, with my whole heart: even before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy Name, because of thy loving-kindness and truth: for thou hast magnified thy Name and thy word above all things.

Here is the Ensemble Sweelinck de Genève.

__________

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 – 1958), text by George Herbert (1593 – 1632)

Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life: Such a Way, as gives us breath: Such a Truth, as ends all strife: Such a Life, as killeth death. Come, My Light, my Feast, my Strength: Such a Light, as shows a feast: Such a Feast, as mends in length: Such a Strength, as makes his guest. Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart: Such a Joy, as none can move: Such a Love, as none can part: Such a Heart, as joys in love.

Here is baritone David John Pike, and treble Philip Martin.

____________________

Hymns

Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty  (NICAEA)is by the Anglican Bishop of Calcutta, Reginald Heber (1783—1826). It is a reverent and faithful paraphrase of Revelation 4:8-11 and John’s vision of the unceasing worship in heaven: as such, it is a fine example of Heber’s care to avoid the charge of excessive subjectivity or cheap emotionalism in his hymns, and so to win support for the use of hymns in worship within the Anglican Church. Beginning with the thrice repeated ‘Holy’, it proceeds to find images for the Holy Trinity that attempt to capture its elusive magnificence. Particularly notable is ‘though the darkness hide Thee’, which expresses the awareness of God in mystical terms through the via negativa.

O God unseen yet ever near (ST. FLAVIAN) is a Communion hymn by Edward Osler (1798–1863), a surgeon in the British Navy. The hymn refers “the manna from above,” a type of the Body of Christ, and the ‘streams that through the desert flow,” a type of His Blood.

Rise up, O men of God (FESTAL SONG) (1911) was written by the Presbyterian minister William Pierson Merrill (1867–1954) as part of the Men and Religion Forward Movement of the early 20^th century. Protestant leaders noticed the chronic lack of men in congregations (then and now!) and sought to inspire men in particular to energize the church to both fulfill the Great Commission and to combat social evils. The Episcopal Church had the most success of all churches in increasing the proportion of male communicants.

FESTAL SONG written in 1894 by American composer and organist, William Henry Walter (1825-1893).