Please join us for Vespers this Sunday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. to commemorate the great Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. The Second Vatican Council asked that the laity join in the praying of the Divine Office, and particularly Vespers, and today affords a splendid opportunity to participate in this beautiful prayer of the Church.
“The Divine Office, because it is the public prayer of the Church, is a source of piety, and nourishment for personal prayer. And therefore priests and all others who take part in the Divine Office are earnestly exhorted in the Lord to attune their minds to their voices when praying it. The better to achieve this, let them take steps to improve their understanding of the liturgy and of the Bible, especially of the psalms.” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 90)
“Pastors of souls should see to it that the chief hours, especially Vespers, are celebrated in common in church on Sundays and the more solemn feasts. And the laity, too, are encouraged to recite the divine office, either with the priests, or among themselves, or even individually.” (SC, 100)
Following Vespers, at 4:30 p.m., all parishioners are invited to join Organist & Choirmaster David Hughes for an informal lecture/demonstration on the King of Instruments: what it is, its construction, how it works, and how our instrument at St. Mary’s fits into a 2400-year tradition. The program will be interspersed with several short works to demonstrate the range of the organ.
For further information about the St. Mary’s Concert Series, please contact the music office: (203) 866-5546 x115 or music@stmarynorwalk.net.