Weekly Update from Fr. van Dooren 4.10.26
Dear members and friends of our parish family,
Blessings on this sixth day of Easter!
I begin this weekly update with a huge and heartfelt THANK YOU for the love, support, and faithful attendance at the Holy Week and Easter liturgies. How dear the efforts of the musicians, acolytes, decorators, ushers, and cleaners just to name a few! Fr. Cheng and Fr. Platt join me with sincerest appreciation for such commitment and generosity of spirit!
And the Easter blessings continue! This upcoming Sunday is affectionately nicknamed “Doubting Thomas Sunday.” Always on this Sunday after Easter Day, the Gospel passage tells the story of the risen Lord appearing to his disciple Thomas who had so famously declared that “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe” (John 20:19-31). The beauty of this tradition iterates the sacred role that doubt plays in the human soul. Every faithful Christian has known the experience of doubt that so often prods us to growth, openness, and deeper formation.
This week we all get to sing O filii et filiae, O Sons and Daughters of the King, Christian hymn celebrating Easter. It is attributed to Jean Tisserand (d. 1497), a Franciscan friar. It was originally a Catholic hymn of 12 verses sung in Latin. John Mason Neale translated the hymn in the 18th century. We sing this hymn this week because of the fourth verse which illuminates the lesson in which Our Lord appears to the disciples. The haunting tune is also inspiration for two organ pieces Claudia will play this week by French composers Dandrieu and Dubois.
Our beloved preacher of Holy Week, Dr. Joshua Heath, will give his last sermon on this special Sunday before returning to Cambridge. Thank you, Joshua, for what has become a tradition here at the Little Church. The combination of your scholarship and love for Jesus has blessed us deeply and dearly!
As we journey these fifty days of Easter, we are so looking forward to our Annual Choir Benefit "A Night in Bloom" on Friday, May 1 at 6:30 pm. Join us for a celebratory evening of music, entertainment, and philanthropy. Proceeds of our cocktail party with performances and live auction will benefit the Transfiguration Choir. This annual benefit is one of the most important and enjoyable celebrations of the parish.
The benefit will support, in part, this year’s choir trip, over Juneteenth weekend, to sing in the Sunday service at St. Paul's Church in Alexandria, VA. During this trip, they will also have the opportunity to tour Washington, D.C.
If you are interested in attending the benefit or supporting our choirs, please click here. If you are planning on attending, please make sure to purchase tickets by April 24.
Our Midday Music Concert series will resume this week! Our "One West / One East” series is a collaboration with Marble Collegiate Church. This spring, the theme is "The French Connection". At the first concert on Wednesday, April 15, Eddie Zheng will be performing a Concert of French Organ Music at Marble Collegiate Church. Suggested Donation is $10 per concert. For the full schedule, click here.
We invite you to join us for a special vocal recital featuring Dominick Matsko, baritone with Claudia Dumschat, piano and guest artists: b.j. Karpen, oboe and Allen Maracle, cello, performing Music of Bach, Schubert, Brahms, Ravel, Pasatieri, and Mahler. General admission tickets are $25/15 for students and seniors. Get tickets for this concert on Friday, April 17 in advance here.
The Holy Rosary will be prayed in the Family chapel at 9:30am this Easter Day. We will pray the Glorious mysteries throughout the fifty days of Easter.
We continue to live-stream each Sunday’s mass at 11:00am, and a link is sent out each Sunday morning at 8:00am. We live-stream on Facebook and YouTube. Please email the parish office (parishoffice@littlechurch.org) if you would like to pray the morning and evening offices with us by Zoom.
Thank you for your continued faith, support, and love for the parish.
Fides Opera
With loving wishes,
Fr. van Dooren