Primacy of Grace
In April of 2024, two weeks before the premiere of Our Father with Cappella at the University of Mary, our Executive Director, Ryan Everson, was home in Arizona, celebrating Easter. Looking forward to his time with the students, he prayed that before he left Arizona that week, the Lord would give him an envelope with his name on it containing $100, so he could take the UMary students out for ice cream to celebrate ASM's first premiere, and thank them for their generosity and hard work.
Throughout Mass on his final day in Arizona, Ryan heard the Lord saying that he needed to go to the parish coffee shop after Mass. While this put a small wrench in his plans for the day, he obeyed, going to the coffee shop, sitting down with a couple parishioners, and setting his breviary (Liturgy of the Hours book) on the counter behind him. When he got up to leave, there was an envelope with his name on it, lying on top of his breviary.
Lo and behold, someone had left him a check for $600 to support the ministry of Angelico Sacred Music. That check was the very first donation ASM received, and it has shaped our ministry ever since.
Angelico Sacred Music's ministry is built upon this generous moment of Divine Providence. Accordingly, "The Primacy of Grace" expresses our desire to put prayer first in all we do. We ask for the prayers of our supporters through initiatives like the "Our Father Prayer Team," and we pray for our ASM Patrons. Ryan prays every time he composes, and every time he works with a choir in rehearsal.
We especially pray for the intercession of our patron saint, Blessed Fra Angelico, to guide this ministry according to the Lord's will, that together, we may build a beautiful cathedral in sound that radiantly expresses the beautiful Catholic faith that can be found in 21st-century America.
