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As we look back on 1995, we see a year of change at Saint
Mary's. Some familiar faces are gone, other new members have joined us. The National Anglican Youth
Conference was a success, and 1996 is already scheduled and being planned to include the Dioceses of
New Orleans and the Pacific Southwest. We have been blessed with gifts that have enabled us to paint the
church exterior and renovate the former Convent. Two new helpers, Father Sutter and Howard Hillman
have joined our clergy staff, each with special talents to offer our parish family.
The Advent and Christmas seasons have an added dimension this year as we celebrated Father Sutter's Ordination to the Holy Priesthood at Saint Mary's on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It has been a long road for the Sutters, and we rejoice with them.
1995 has also brought us a new Chief Shepherd, the Rt. Rev'd James R. McNeley. The joining of the Dioceses of the Holy Trinity and Great Plains is the first step in a strategy of evangelism for the Rocky Mountains and Plains states. New clergy have come to troubled parishes in the new diocese and provided sound leadership and growth for their congregations.
1996 is a New Year and a year of challenge for Saint Mary's. With two full-time clergy our financial needs have increased. We need to continue to grow in numbers and commitment. Saint Mary's has a long and proud history. I am honoured to be your Rector. I ask your prayers and help as we meet the challenges of the New Year. It can be a great one!
Father Stephen +
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John D. Paul, who had been baptized on Labour Day, was
confirmed by Bishop McNeley at Evening Prayer on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. John, a
student at Red Rocks Community College, comes to us from the Reformed Episcopal Church, and we
gladly welcome our newest communicant to our church family.
The Rev'd Richard L.B. Sutter was elevated to the Sacred Order of
Priesthood at a
6:30pm Pontifical Solemn High Mass at S. Mary's, on Friday, December 8th, the Feast of the
Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God. Bishop McNeley and Madelyn had journeyed
from Kansas City for the happy event and were greeted by Fr. Sutter's three lovely daughters
at his ceremonial reception at the door of the church. Fr. Thom Lewis preached a moving
sermon on "Feeding the Lord's Sheep," and Fr. Wallsteadt presented Fr. Sutter for
Ordination.
Being a Marian feast, the Mass concluded with the seasonal anthem of Our Lady, accompanied by the "Queen Anne" performed by Brad Holmes and Patrick Woolley on the thuribles. Most of the 120 present came forward to receive the new Priest's blessing after Mass. The music of the Mass was marvelous, highpointed by premier trumpeter Mr. Gerald Endsley, and our always-excellent parish organist Joylin Yukl-Campbell.
A delightful buffet supper followed, to which most of the congregation came. At the supper
attendees were serenaded by the wonderful strains of bagpiper Ben Holmes.
The Society of the Holy House of Our Lady of Walsingham was
founded by Father Alfred Hope Patten, (the restorer of the shrine) in 1923 at Walsingham. Fr. Patten's
intention was to associate people who were dedicated to Jesus and Mary as regards the shrine at
Walsingham, and the intention would be twofold, one for people to support the shrine by prayer for its
work and two by people who did to be remembered at the shrine prayers, thus creating circle of prayer.
But its primary reason was to enable people to develop a deeper devotion to our Lord and his Blessed
Mother, through a rule of life.
Most Catholic Anglican parishes have societies such as this, and they are important to the growth of any parish, as they provide the infrastructure that keeps a congregation together, and ultimately helps it grow, by strengthening the bond that exists by virtue of the sacraments.
A Cell is the chapter of the shrine in a local area. A cell consists of a local superior (priest) also chaplain, a clerk (secretary) and its general membership. It would meet once a month for Mass, Rosary and intercessions (for all who wish to be prayed for) and a meeting which would be in the context of a Agape meal, there would be speakers (who could talk about any subject) and generally fellowship also healing services using water from the shrine (called sprinkling). The cell is a mystical incarnation of the shrine itself, what its purposes was to provide for those who could not get to Walsingham physically, a way to share its spirituality, so enabling the faithful to receive the benefits from the shrine.
Now after many years of contact with the shrine through Bishop Mote's pilgrimages there, S. Mary's now has the chance to a part of the work of the shrine. Many of you have seen the video of Walsingham, now you can participate in its reality. The Cell of the Holy House of Our Lady of Walsingham and S. David (this is its title) was established at Father Sutter's First Holy Mass on Saturday, December 9th at 9.30am. We began with Rosary and intercessions (sheets will be provided for names to be remembered in future), followed by Mass and the reception of members at the beginning. Following the Mass, the new members enjoyed a french toast breakfast, and officially organised the cell, electing Fr. Wallsteadt as Local Superior, who then appointed Frs. Thom Lewis and Richard Sutter as Chaplains to the cell in Albuquerque and Denver, respectively, and Mr. Michael Cridland as Clerk of the Cell.
The rule is that members will say one decade of the Rosary a day for the Intentions of the shrine and those prayed for. Membership fees are $6.00 a year for the magazine and costs. Each member will have their names inscribed in roll kept by the society at the shrine itself. Any other question can be answered by the clergy or myself.
Michael A.Cridland
Christmas Confessions will be heard on Saturday, December 23, from 4 to 5pm, and from
10 to 11pm on Christmas Eve, or by appointment with Frs. Nevels, Sutter, and Wallsteadt.
Editor's note One of the traditional emphases the Church
places on the season of Advent is that of
the Four
Last Things: Death , Judgment, Heaven, & Hell. In line with that venerable tradition, we offer Pat Clair's
reflections on her recent experience of bereavement.
Their father was dying. All life support had been withdrawn, and he was transferred from the Intensive Care Unit into a private room whose picture window faced East. It was a very simple, quiet room. It only lacked a crucifix over the bed. It was Saturday night. The eldest daughter was to stay the night, and the mother and other daughter would return in the morning; no one, however, expected him to live through the night. It was ten p.m. She pulled a recliner around to his right side and, facing him, held his hand. He was in a coma and gave no acknowledgment of his daughter's touch. It seemed his only focus was on breathing as he went rapidly form one shallow laboured breath to the other. Something rumbled deep in his throat, a death rattle.
Then abruptly he startled awake and seemed to be following something with his eyes. They were stretched so wide open that the white encircled his dark pupils. He pulled his hands, palms outwards, towards his head in a cringing protective gesture. He opened his mouth wide and drew back his lips exposing his teeth to the gum line. He seemed to be trying to scream, but only a choked anguished whimper escaped. Fear drew the daughter up out of her chair. Her love pulled her toward him, but some deep primordial fear of death repulsed her, and so she stood frozen there until his reaction passed and he again lapsed into unconsciousness. This severe fear reaction would grip him again and again and again, approximately every ten minutes.
When he would grimace, she would try to comfort him (and at the same time reassure herself) that everything was going to be all right. She recited the Rosary, the Our Father, the Twenty-third Psalm, and every prayer that she could remember from her childhood. She sang to him and talked to him. She hoped that the sheer volume of all her words and prayers would push him over to the other side. And still the fear grimaces continued. Perhaps all of her singing, praying, and talking were distressing him, and were causing this anguish. So she turned away from him and watched TV for a while. All the time she agonized with him with each laboured breath and with every small cry.
She snapped off the TV and turned back to him. She was angry at him for taking so long to die. She was angry at God for torturing him with this endless death. And she was angry at herself. Almost out of her mind with grief, fatigue, and guilt, she cried and cried over her father.
A nurse came in and administered a different sedative, placed a fan in the room, and called the hospital chaplain for the daughter. It was two a.m. The sky was black, and the rain beat hard against the window. His daughter sat by his side and wept. The priest came in and anointed and prayed over her father. Then he pulled up a chair and listened as the daughter railed against God. He shared what the Church taught and what he himself believed. Finally she admitted that she could not live without a personal loving God, even if she had to make one up herself. The priest smiled. He prayed over her father again and said that he would stop up before Sunday Mass. It was four a.m. He had no further fear reactions. Figuratively, she had refilled the oil in her lamp. She was back on speaking terms with God again, and she felt at peace. She curled up in the recliner beside him. She fell asleep to the sound of his breathing.
She was awakened just as a pencil-thin line of light was edging back the darkness on the horizon. It was ten minutes to six. His breathing had changed; from the rapid thirty to thirty-five breaths a minute, now he drew only five or six. These were his last moments. His profile was silhouetted against the window. Thy sky was slowly becoming suffused with colours: purples, oranges, reds, blues; and the room became lighter and brighter. His last expiration was long and gentle, and seemed to go on and on and on. That must have been when his spirit left his body. She went over to the other side of the bed and cradled his head in her hands. Tears were streaming down his face. She had never seen her father cry before. It was like witnessing a miracle.
The priest came in then, and as he was
blessing her father's body for the last time, he
glanced up and caught the sun in all of her
morning glory. "Look! The Resurrection!" They both watched the sky in silence, for
it was a holy moment. Before the priest left
the room, he made a grand gesture toward the
magnificent sunrise which was now flooding
the room with light, and said, "Now tell me
that there is no personal God!" This time she
smiled. Then she turned back toward the
window, and closing her eyes, let the warmth
of God's love heal and comfort her.
Editor's note We have obtained the services of a learned and
discreet priest to answer questions on
the
Church. He prefers to remain anonymous, and to that end has adopted the name of the delightful Oscar
Wilde
character from "The Importance of Being Earnest." To submit questions, just address them to "Ask Dr.
Chasuble," and drop them off in the office, we'll see he gets them.
Dear Dr. Chasuble:
I recently converted to the ACC, and I was wondering about how to receive communion. I see so many different ways; what is correct?
I'm glad you asked! Although there is no one single "correct" way to receive our Lord in the Sacrament, there are many that are incorrect because they are not sufficiently reverent. Remember, this is God Himself, giving Himself to us. With that in mind, let's walk through an ideal picture of how reverently and worshipfully to receive the Blessed Sacrament. As the clergyman (which may be either a priest or a deacon) with the Host is one or two people away, we sign ourselves with the cross, then hold our hands together in a prayerful position. Some people cross their arms over their breast. (Anyone who is not receiving our Lord in the Sacrament, for whatever reason, should signify this by crossing his arms over the breast and bowing the head.) We quietly respond, "Amen," to the words of administration, and open our mouth, extending the tongue and tilting our head back, so that the priest or deacon can place the Host on our tongue. (We should not presume to receive Our Lord's Body on our hands as if it were a canape.)
As the Chalice approaches, we again sign ourselves with the cross, and, saying "Amen" to the words of administration, use the right hand gently to guide the base of the Chalice. (For a variety of reasons, some people prefer not to receive the Chalice. Those who don't, should remember that it is highly irreverent, abruptly to rise and walk away from Our Lord. To signal that one does not wish to receive the Chalice, one uses exactly the same method as above, by crossing arms over the breast and bowing the head. Once the person after you has received the Chalice, rise and return to your seat.
Some of us, usually while in protestantism, have become accustomed to the practice of intinction, that is, dunking the Host in the Chalice. Anyone who wishes to intinct should discuss the practice with the Priest in his study. Rather than to intinct, it is preferable to receive "in one kind" only, that is, just the Host, and let the Chalice pass one by.
Doctor Chasuble +
Father Thom Lewis, new Rector of S.
Peter's Church in Albuquerque, New
Mexico, came and led our Advent Quiet
Day for several parishioners and clergy on
Saturday, December 2, from the 8am
Mass until 2pm. He based his reflections
on the Rosary, and Pat Clair kindly took
notes for those who were unable to attend.
Father Lewis' adventure at S. Mary's continued with him celebrating and preaching at the 7.30am Mass and preaching at the 9.30am Solemn High Mass on Sunday the third. That afternoon, he delivered a "Sunday at S. Mary's" lecture at 3pm on Gregorian Chant, complete with many taped examples, a fine inauguration of the Christian New Year.
As if he had not had enough of us here
at S. Mary's, Fr Lewis kindly returned the
following Friday to preach at Fr Sutter's
priestly ordination.
On Christmass Eve, I've heard it said,
The Christ Child wanders far and wide,
And looks at every single house
To see that there He may abide.
So - Christmass, place a candle bright -
At night - to deck the window fair -
That Christ may see the burning flame,
And know that He is welcome there.
G.A.C. Lehman
Brother John of the Cross will be coming back to Denver for the Christmas holidays. He is now part of the Franciscan Order of the Divine Compassion at Holyrood Seminary in Liberty, New York.
Christmas Lessons & Carols is scheduled for Sunday, December 31, at 4pm with an Open House buffet following. The renovated Rectory will be open for visitors, too.
Open House at the Nevels' will be Sunday, January 7, from 12.00 - 5.00 pm. Father and Mary's house is at 2232 South Clayton Street.
Brother John-Charles will return to visit us March 10-18 to once again lead our Lenten School of Prayer Retreat (1996 theme: Repentance and Forgiveness), and to preach and say Mass with us. He will also have a Sunday at S. Mary's lecture on Prayer and Inner Peace on his first Sunday with us. We are blessed by his willingness to visit us again.
Summer Camp set for August 10-18, 1996: The National Anglican Youth Camp will convene at S. Mary's for ten days of fun, camping, worship, learning, and fellowship with the Dioceses of New Orleans and the Pacific Southwest joining Holy Trinity and Great Plains. This year's camp fees are $175 with scholarships available. Fees that are paid by December 31 will be reduced 10 percent! Bike-a-Thon participants raising $75 or more in pledges will receive an additional $50 rebate on their camp fees!
Sara Lewis writes from Turkey,
where she is an exchange student, to thank
you for your letters. She is the daughter
of Paul and Rita Lewis, and a student at S.
Mary's Academy. Her address is posted
on the bulletin board in Mote Hall.
At this most delightful time of the
year, we are blessed more than usual with
saints to inspire us, to remember, and to
ask for their intercession in our behalf.
Let's take a moment to look at a couple of
them.
Probably foremost among the saints of Advent is the saint by whose day we determine the beginning of the season: S. Andrew, Apostle and Martyr, 30 November. Andrew, who is almost always depicted in the shadow of his brother Simon Peter, was one of the first disciples. His first act as a disciple was to go and bring his brother to Our Lord, and so Andrew has especial significance for those engaged in evangelization. Tradition has it that Andrew was martyred by being crucified on an X-shaped cross, thus a cross in saltire form is referred to as "S. Andrew's cross." S. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, the only apostolic patron in the British Isles.
S. Nicholas, Bishop, 6 December, is probably the saint best known in modern secular America, but he is known by the Americanization of his Dutch name, Sinta Klass, or Santa Claus. The real Santa Claus was Bishop of the Asia Minor seaport of Myra in the fourth century, and attended the great First Ecumenical Council at Nic‘a. He is the patron of sailors, of children, and of Russia, among others. Countless legends abound about him, the best of which may be heard from the Rector over coffee.
S. Lucy, Virgin & Martyr, 13 December, had attracted a pagan suitor, and, to discourage his attentions, Lucy is reported to have disfigured herself by plucking out her eyes. Denounced as a Christian during the Diocletian persecution, she was martyred by a sword through her throat in AD 303. Her name means "light," and in Sweden on her day is baked a "Santa Lucia" crown, a circular sweet bread with candles. In Italy, her feast is celebrated with torchlight processions and bonfires. Before the calendar reforms of 1582, her feast was the shortest day of the year.
S. Stephen, Deacon & Martyr, 26 December, was one of the first to be made deacon (his story is in the book of Acts), and was the very first Christian to be called to martyrdom. A very ancient tradition speaks of him as a teenager, a challenging witness to us today!
S. John, Apostle & Evangelist, 27 December, was one of our Lord's "inner circle," that shared a special friendship with him. It was to John that our Lord committed the care of his Blessed Mother from the cross. John settled in Ephesus, and it is probable that he died there of old age. He alone of the Twelve was spared a martyr's death.
Bl. William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury & Martyr, 10 January, was principal ecclesiastical advisor to Charles I for many years. He was an unapologetic Catholic Anglican, and defended many aspects of the catholic faith that were unpopular with the puritans. It was this witness to the faith that eventually cost him his life, for he was martyred in 1645 by the puritans for his support of the episcopacy and the Book of Common Prayer.
S. John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople, 27 January, was one of the finest preachers the Church has ever known--his name means "the golden-mouthed." He eloquently criticized Christians who fell short of their baptismal promises, and did not hesitate to publicly denounce the Empress for her licentious lifestyle. Many of his sermons are extant, and may be read in English translation, of which our parish library boasts copies.
Bl. Charles Stuart, King & Martyr,
30 January, was a staunch defender of the
catholicity of the Anglican Church. The
puritans ordered his death because he was
not willing to eliminate the episcopacy
and prayerbook worship from the Church
of England. The cult of Charles as martyr
began immediately upon his death, and he
was credited with miraculous cures. The
fact that we are today in the Anglican
Catholic Church rather than a puritan
association also can be credited to the
witness and intercession of this great
Anglican Catholic saint. In 1662 he was
added to the calendar in the BCP, but in
1859 he was removed without proper
authorization, by command of Queen
Victoria. Efforts to reinstate his day
continue to the present time. Fortunately,
he does appear in our missals and on our
ordo calendar. The motto of the Society
of King Charles the Martyr is one we
would all do well to keep. It is, simply,
"Remember!"
The Corpus Christi Window has been
installed. Given
in memory of devoted S. Maryites Edith
Awenius and Fred Van Matre, this first of
nine nave windows depicts the Body and
Blood of Our Lord in delicate grapes and
wheat sheaves.
This issue of the Angelus is titled the
"Incarnation Issue" because it covers those
seasons of the Church year wherein we
prepare for and then celebrate the great feasts
of Christmas and Epiphany. In this time,
when the secular world seems almost to wake
up to the spiritual realities around it, the
Church pauses. She pauses to regard the
Incarnation of her Lord. Now, this Incarnation
is one of the great mysteries of the Christian
faith, so great a mystery that S. Anselm
dedicated much effort to explain it in his
treatise Cur Deus Homo, or "Why God
Became Man." Why, indeed, we may ask, and
as the answer to this question is the central
tenet of our faith, it would be well for us to
take a few moments to consider it ourselves.
God, in his deep desire to reconcile man to himself, sent his Son, the Divine Word, the Logos. This Divine Word, which was the effective agent of Creation, now was sent to be the effective agent of Re-Creation, the restoration of the cosmos that had been tainted by man's sin. In order to do this, God and man became joined in the Virgin's womb. Jesus Christ, true God and true man, sharing both a divine and a human nature in one Person, is the ultimate expression of God's love for us.
This is the way God works. Just as in the Incarnation, when he joined divine and human into one being, so in the Sacraments he joins spiritual and physical into one thing. And the Sacraments work, that is, they carry God's grace objectively to us, not only because the Incarnation has a dual nature (divine and human), and not only because the Sacraments have a dual nature (spiritual and physical), but because we human beings have dual natures. We are both physical beings and spiritual beings, and so we are able to receive the spiritual grace that God transmits to us through the physical with the Sacraments.
I urge us all to take the time out of our busy preparations for the Christ Mass, to look out the window and contemplate the natural world that confronts us. Look at the trees, bare-limbed against the sky, the grass and mountains brown (and white), the roses hipped and dormant, the yews and firs and spruces and holly the only signs of life to be found. Then open your Book of Common Prayer to page eleven, and join in the great hymn of Creation to God, the Benedicite, omnia opera, and bid the frost and cold, the ice and snow, to bless the Lord, to "praise him and magnify him for ever." With Tiny Tim, let us simply say, "God bless us, every one!"
Father Richard +
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