Litany and Suffrages for Ordinations

From the Ordinal of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, USA

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O GOD the Father,
Have mercy upon us.
O God the Son,
Have mercy upon us.
O God the Holy Ghost,
Have mercy upon us.
O holy Trinity, one God,
Have mercy upon us.

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WE beseech thee to hear us, good Lord; and that it may please thee to grant peace to the whole world, and to thy Church;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

That it may please thee to sanctify and bless thy holy Church throughout the world;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

That it may please thee to inspire all Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, with love of thee and of thy truth;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

That it may please thee to endue all Ministers of thy Church with devotion to thy glory and to the salvation of souls;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

¶ Here, at the Ordination of Deacons or of Priests shall be said,

That it may please thee to bless these thy servants, now to be admitted to the Order of Priests, and to pour thy grace upon them; that they may duly execute their Office to the edifying of thy Church, and to the glory of thy holy Name;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

That it may please thee to guide by thy indwelling Spirit those whom thou dost call to the Ministry of thy Church; that they may go forward with courage, and persevere unto the end;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

That it may please thee to increase the number of the Ministers of thy Church, that the Gospel may be preached to all people;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

That it may please thee to hasten the fulfilment of thy purpose, that thy Church may be one;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to grant that we, with all thy saints, may be partakers of thy everlasting kingdom;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

OUR Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. Amen.

Minister  Hearken unto our voice, O Lord, when we cry unto thee;
Answer  Have mercy upon us and hear us.

Minister  O Lord, arise, help us;
Answer  And deliver us for thy Name's sake.

Minister  Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness;
Answer  And let thy saints sing with joyfulness.

Minister  Lord, hear our prayer;
Answer  And let our cry come unto thee.

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Let us pray.

GOD, who dost ever hallow and protect thy Church; Raise up therein, through thy Spirit, good and faithful stewards of the mysteries of Christ, that by their ministry and example thy people may abide in thy favour and be guided in the way of truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the same Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

+We beseech thee to hear us, O Lord.

The Bishop addresses those to be ordained priests

From the Ordinal in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer (USA)

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YE have heard, Brethren, as well in your private examination, as in the exhortation which was now made to you, and in the holy Lessons taken out of the Gospel, and the writings of the Apostles, of what dignity, and of how great importance this Office is, whereunto ye are called. And now again we exhort you, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye have in remembrance, into how high a Dignity, and to how weighty an Office and Charge ye are called: that is to say, to be Messengers, Watchmen, and Stewards of the Lord; to teach, and to premonish, to feed and provide for the Lord's family; to seek for Christ's sheep that are dispersed abroad, and for his children who are in the midst of this naughty world, that they may be saved through Christ for ever.

Have always therefore printed in your remembrance, how great a treasure is committed to your charge. For they are the sheep of Christ, which he bought with his death, and for whom he shed his blood. The Church and Congregation whom you must serve, is his Spouse, and his Body. And if it shall happen that the same Church, or any Member thereof, do take any hurt or hindrance by reason of your negligence, ye know the greatness of the fault, and also the horrible punishment that will ensue. Wherefore consider with yourselves the end of the Ministry towards the children of God, towards the Spouse and Body of Christ; and see that ye never cease your labour, your care and diligence, until ye have done all that lieth in you, according to your bounden duty, to bring all such as are or shall be committed to your charge, unto that agreement in the faith and knowledge of God, and to that ripeness and perfectness of age in Christ, that there be no place left among you, either for error in religion, or for viciousness in life.

Forasmuch then as your Office is both of so great excellency, and of so great difficulty, ye see with how great care and study ye ought to apply yourselves, as well to show yourselves dutiful and thankful unto that Lord, who hath placed you in so high a dignity; as also to beware that neither you yourselves offend, nor be occasion that others offend. Howbeit, ye cannot have a mind and will thereto of yourselves; for that will and ability is given of God alone: therefore ye ought, and have need, to pray earnestly for his Holy Spirit. And seeing that ye cannot by any other means compass the doing of so weighty a work, pertaining to the salvation of man, but with doctrine and exhortation taken out of the Holy Scriptures, and with a life agreeable to the same; consider how studious ye ought to be in reading and learning the Scriptures, and in framing the manners both of yourselves, and of them that specially pertain unto you, according to the rule of the same Scriptures; and for this self-same cause, how ye ought to forsake and set aside, as much as ye may, all worldly cares and studies.

We have good hope that ye have well weighed these things with yourselves, long before this time; and that ye have clearly determined, by God's grace, to give yourselves wholly to this Office, whereunto it hath pleased God to call you: so that, as much as lieth in you, ye will apply yourselves wholly to this one thing, and draw all your cares and studies this way; and that ye will continually pray to God the Father, by the mediation of our only Saviour Jesus Christ, for the heavenly assistance of the Holy Ghost; that, by daily reading and weighing the Scriptures, ye may wax riper and stronger in your Ministry; and that ye may so endeavour yourselves, from time to time, to sanctify the lives of you and yours, and to fashion them after the Rule and Doctrine of Christ, that ye may be wholesome and godly examples and patterns for the people to follow.

+We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

Anglican saints: Mother Cecile

We will remember her.

"Nothing helps one so much as to fix one's mind on Christ and let Him teach one how, from the Manger to the Cross, Incarnate Love gave to the uttermost. If we look long enough at that great fact, the nails may still be iron, but there comes the grace and strength not to wish to come down from our own cross."

Mother Cecile of Grahamstown

Mother Cecile, pray for us.

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"We must never forget that Our Blessed Lord Himself first looked out in human form upon this world of ours in the face of a little child; and we want to nurture and train his children for Him, that their life and their work here on earth may be a steadfast looking up to the Face of Our Lord Jesus Christ. "

Mother Cecile of Grahamstown

The Sisters of the Community

Of the Resurrection of Our Lord

Remembered: 20 February

South Africa

+Ora pro nobis.

Indian Bishop Wonders ...

Reflects That His Young Church Is Like the Church of Apostolic Times

KOENIGSTEIN, Germany, JUNE 22, 2012 (Zenit.org).- The Church in a diocese of the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh has grown 40% in the last three and a half decades.

According to the local bishop, John Kattrukudiyil of Itangar, part of the reason for such growth is the number of reports of supernatural healings.

During a visit to the international headquarters of Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need in Koenigstein, Germany, the bishop described the situation in his diocese saying: "Time and time again they tell me story after story of healings that have happened in various places.

"What they tell me fills me with amazement."

The bishop, whose region of India neighbours China, Bhutan and Burma, added: "I have a lot of theological background in my studies and it's easy to become skeptical about all these kind of things, but the people are absolutely convinced that they have received healing."

He told of one healing incident involving a man who renounced a past spent persecuting the Church and converted to marry a Catholic girl.

Bishop Kattrukudiyil said: "After becoming a Catholic the man was asked to go and pray over a paralysed man. He was unwilling but he still went and prayed and the next day that man rose up and walked to the church.

"He was so shocked at this miraculous experience he began to go to church and now today he is a very active member of the parish."

He went on to describe how these experiences were deepening people's spiritual lives.

"This is the experience of a very young Church, experiencing the same grace as that of the Church of Apostolic times," the bishop reflected. "The fact that many people experienced healing by praying to Jesus attracted many people to the Church in its early days - that and a kind of spiritual peace that they got by belonging to the Church."

Christian missionaries were not able to enter to work until the 1990s when strict entry permit laws were revoked. But in Arunachal Pradesh, the faith spread through Catholic schools in neighboring Assam, who educated some of the local students. These students sought baptism before returning to their villages.

While in many places new Catholics faced beatings, house burnings, the slaughter of domestic animals and expulsion from of jobs or schools, gradually things improved, and no incidents of persecution or harassment have been recorded in the past twenty years, ACN reported.

Bishop Kattrukudiyil said: "Today the church is not tolerated but looked up to for her developmental works in education and health care.

"The politicians use every occasion to praise the Church for her philanthropic activities."

If you are able, do financially support Zenit.org and EWTN.com for connecting the Catholic world in a way no one else does.

+Gratias agamus tibi, Domine

Can Light Be Cast Upon the Vatican Bank...

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Excerpt below is taken from "Inside the Vatican bank: silence, secrets and Latin cash machines":

On the ceiling of the conference room in the Vatican bank, there is a big, round allegorical painting:  There is the Virgin Mary somewhat improbably wearing a papal tiara and holding a model of a church. There is another holy lady offering the mother of Jesus a gold plate laden with crowns, a gold chain and an honorific decoration. In the background, Neptune is emerging from the sea on a chariot, while in the foreground there is snake winding its way through a patch of mushrooms.  Baffled? Well, what did you expect? This is the heart of what, until Thursday, was the most secret building in the "city of secrets" – the premises of an institution that has attracted more speculation, suspicion and sinister insinuation than almost any on earth.

+Eleison imas.

Full of hope

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The newly ordained priests of the Ordinariate are very fortunate.  They have been treated as priests, given respect even during the transition.  They will take up or continue their work as priests within a time frame that is most generous to them.  They will not have the experience of being treated badly by Catholic authorities.  They will come fresh to the work of the Gospel full of hope.  May the Ordinariate always give them a place of hope and light. 

Although their children will be denied the privilege they enjoy of being married priests, these Ordinariate priests have an opportunity to show the virtue and power of a married priesthood in the Latin Rite... something known in the Church's first eleven centuries but now completely eclipsed by the Cluniac reform and its alteration of priestly discipline in the Latin Rite to this day.  May they have abundant success from the Lord Jesus Christ in their ministries, and may their communities and parishes have much joy.

I think especially of my former parish Our Lady of Walsingham in Houston which is now styled Principal Church of the Ordinariate.  In Anglican parlance it would be the Cathedral Church of Our Lady of Walsingham, and the new very young Rector would be its Dean.  Our Lady of Walsingham has not had a priest with a young family since its founding 25 years ago.  It will be a very different experience, and I pray that the introduction of youth and a young family will be a tremendous gift for the people of the Principal Church.

 +Laus Deo.

Fort Worth 6 Ordained by Catholic Bishop for the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter

The first day of the Novena of Our Lady of the Atonement

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An auspicious day for the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter -- as this is the first day of the Novena of Our Lady of the Atonement -- with the ordination of six priests in Fort Worth and 2 in Calgary.   Pictured below are the newly ordained priests including Fr. Charles Hough IV (far left) who is the new Rector Deisgnate of Our Lady of Walsingham Principal Church in Houston, Texas.  (In Anglican parlance Fr. Hough IV would be the dean of the cathedral.)  The priests are pictured with their Ordinary, Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson, a mitred priest with jurisdiction:

+Laus Deo!

Novena: Our Lady of the Atonement

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Medal of the Rosary League of Our Lady of the Atonement

Father Paul Wattson

The Devotion to Our Lady of the Atonement began in the Episcopal Church with Father Paul Wattson, the visionary Franciscan of Graymoor who conceived of the Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity and also promoted devotion to Our Lady of the Red Mantle that is, Our Lady of the Atonement.   

   Mother Lurana of Graymoor

When Father Paul and his company of Franciscan faithful left the Episcopal Church and entered the Catholic Church, they brought this devotion with them.  It was embraced and honoured by the Holy Father and the Octave for Christian Unity gave rise to the worldwide week of prayer for Christian unity.  The Franciscans of the Atonement in the Catholic Church are the order founded by Fr. Paul Wattson.

The Novena to Our Lady of the Atonement will begin this year on June 30th (Saturday).

On each day, if possible, assist at Holy Mass, and go to Confession and Communion at least once during the Novena. The following prayers are recommended to be said daily:

NOVENA

In the Name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

ONE DECADE OF THE ROSARY
(One Our Father, ten Hail Marys, one Glory be.)

MEMORARE OF ST. BERNARD (said by all, together)

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To thee do I come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy, hear and answer me. Amen.

THE THREE-FOLD SALUTATION (said by all, together)

We salute thee, Holy Mary, Daughter of God the Father, and entreat thee to obtain for us a devotion like thine own to the most sweet Will of God.

We salute thee, Virgin Mother of God the Son, and entreat thee to obtain for us such union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus, that our own hearts may burn with love for God and an ardent zeal for the salvation of souls.

We salute thee, Immaculate Spouse of God the Holy Ghost, and entreat thee to obtain for us such yielding of ourselves to the Blessed Spirit, that He may, in all things, direct and rule our hearts, and that we may never grieve Him in thought, word, or deed.

THE LITANY

Lord have mercy upon us.
Christ have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us; Christ hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us. 

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God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy upon us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy upon us.
God, the Holy Ghost, have mercy upon us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy upon us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Daughter of God the Father, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Mother of God the Son, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Spouse of God the Holy Ghost, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, standing by the Cross, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, given to us as a Mother, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, our Mediatrix, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, firm Hope, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, sure Refuge, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Mother of Divine Love, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Shepherdess of the wandering sheep, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, pillar of Unity, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Mother of Conversions, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Mother of the outcast, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Star of the pagans, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Mother of missionaries, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Mother most sorrowful, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Lily of Israel, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Model of resignation, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Haven of peace, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Comfort of the afflicted, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Guide of the doubtful, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Welcomer of the pilgrims, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Handmaid of the Father, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Mirror of the Son, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Queen of the Precious Blood, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, true Model, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, strong Protectress, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, hailed by the Archangel Gabriel, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Splendor of Heaven, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Delight of the Saints, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Strength of the weak, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Comfort of the dying, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, triumphant with Jesus, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Queen of the Universe, pray for us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Queen of the Children of the Atonement, pray for us.

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy upon us.

Pray for us, O Blessed Mother;
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray. O God, who didst deign that we, thy children, should invoke our Mother Mary under the title of Our Lady of the Atonement; grant that through her powerful intercession we may obtain the fullness of thy blessings; through thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost ever, one God, world without end.  Amen.
  

+Ora pro nobis!

An Office for the Church's Missionary Work

From A New Prayer Book, Oxford: London

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STANDING

Blessed be the Lord God for his tender mercy whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us;

To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

JESUS said, They shall come from the east and west, and from the north and south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.

Thanks be to thee, O Christ, for thy holy Gospel.

Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also must I bring, and they shall hear my voice; and they shall become one flock, one shepherd.

Thanks be to thee, O Christ, for thy holy Promise.

Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you.

Thanks be to thee, O Christ, for thy holy Word.

Ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.

Thanks be to thee, O Christ, for thy holy Gospel.

Let us pray,

KNEELING

Thanks be to thee, most glorious God, + Father Son, and Holy Spirit, for the revelation of thyself in this our world, and for thy commission to thy Church to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to every creature.

Thanks be to thee, O God.

For the early disciples who were sent forth by Christ to proclaim the coming of the kingdom;

We praise thee, O God.

For the apostles of the nations, who in obedience to his word carried the Gospel through the world;

We praise thee, O God.

For the missionaries, known and unknown, who first brought the Gospel to these shores;

We praise thee, O God.

For all the faithful who, in ages of darkness, kept their lamps burning and watched for the coming of the Lord;

We praise thee, O God.

For all who at any time have recalled the Church to her great task of evangelizing the world;

We praise thee, O God.

For those who have gone to the ends of the earth with the joyful news, and have sought out the dark places to bring light to them that dwell in the shadow of death;

We praise thee, O God.

For thy messengers who have joined the noble army of martyrs, and for all converts to the faith who have sealed their testimony with their blood;

We praise thee, O God.

For the innumerable company who now praise thy Name, out of every kindred and nation and tongue;

We praise thee, O God. Alleluia. Amen.

We humbly acknowledge, O Lord our unworthiness of thy mercies, and confess how little we have done to hand on in freedom and fulness the faith which was brought to us through so many perils, and purchased with such pain.

Our long neglect of this, our bounden duty,

O Lord,  forgive.

Our past unfaithfulness,

O Lord,  forgive.

Our neglected opportunities,

O Lord,  forgive.

Our deafness to thy calls,

O Lord,  forgive.

Our small sacrifice for so great a cause, 

O Lord,  forgive.

Our forgetfulness of those who have gone forth relying on our prayers,

O Lord,  forgive.

We beseech thee to hear us, O Lord, that thou wouldst stir up the hearts of thy faithful people to greater obedience, and unite thy Church to face the world's great need.

That thou wouldst send forth labourers into thy harvest;

Hear us, we beseech thee.

That those who have gone forth may be supported by thy presence, guided by thy counsel, and filled with thy power;

Hear us, we beseech thee.

Let us pray in silence for . . .

Finally, O Lord, we pray thee to give to all professing Christians living in foreign lands a sense of their responsibility, that they may adorn the doctrine of our Saviour by their good example, and so commend the faith to tohers; and we beseech thee to hasten the time when the Gospel shall be preached to all nations, and the whole world filled with the knowledge of thy love.  Amen.

O God of all the nations of the earth, help us to remember the multitudes who have been created in thine image, yet know not the fulness of thy truth; and, according to the love of thy Son Jesus Christ, grant that by the prayers and labours of thy Church they maybe delivered from superstition and unbelief, and brought to worship thee; through him whom thou hast sent to be our salvation, the resurrection and the life of all the faithful, they Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, shine in your hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

Devotional Offices for General Use

John Wallace Suter, DD

The Century Co.: New York, 1928

+We beseech thee to hear us, Good Lord.

New Evangelisation Retreat in the OLW Ordinariate

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Click on the image of the Holy Father to enlarge the information below.

 I sincerely hope that many will attend this Saturday retreat by Professor Tracey Rowland. 

Temporary Notice

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Posting hiccups have required that I repost the article "Not Anglican enough?"  The missing paragraph now appears in red or maroon at the bottom of the post.   The colour does not indicate emphasis but is employed simply to facilitate observation of the paragraph that newly appears with the reposting of the text.

Not Anglican enough?

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I reprint the following from the Our Lady of Walsingham Ordinariate website.  It is regrettable that the article from The Tablet about this matter misses the important point that the Ordinariate returned the funds of its own volition.  Perhaps in missing such a point (and writing in such a way as to make it appear that the Ordinariate had been ordered by Authority to return the funds) those writing for the Tablet justify its being called The Pill.

There is so much I could write about what all of this represents, but I would be pointing to things already decided that could not be undone.  The tragedy is that those who objected to the gift could not see the Ordinariate in relationship to the stated purpose of the Confraternity i.e., "advancement of the Catholic faith in the Anglican Tradition".  What should wake us up is that the Charity Commissioners could not look at the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham and see "the Anglican Tradition".

The question of course is whether or not the Ordinariate is Anglican enough to be seen as carrying forward the Catholic faith in the Anglican Tradition.  By way of example, it calls into question an editorial decision in the otherwise excellent forthcoming Customary of Our Lady of Walsingham ...  the use of the Roman Breviary 2 year Office Lectionary instead of the Office Lectionary in The Book of Divine Worship which is of Anglican Communion provenance.  In relation to a separate decision taken, the ill-advised statement that there is no well-beloved Anglican baptismal rite needs to be withdrawn forthwith: it is manifestly untrue.  What a huge loss of beautiful Anglican prayers would take place if our leaders decided to make the futile Ultramontane gesture to simply use the Ordinary Form of the Baptismal Rite.


So I take this ruling to be a wake up call to be intentionally Anglican in every area in a manner that is not in conflict with the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the ordinary magisterium.  The various Vatican Congregations will be more than happy to make it clear if we have gone too far.  But we must go as far as we can for the sake of this catholic Anglican Tradition that we love.  Our leaders and those deputised for the liturgical Working Group must be advocates for the Anglican experience in its world-wide catholic expressions and avoid unhelpful and unnecessary Latinising that so plagued the Eastern Catholics before Blessed Pope John Paul II.  There are many of us who understand the vital importance of these matters and have nothing to lose by being bold for our heritage, tradition, and Patrimony.
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Latest News from the Ordinariate
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Statement . 28 June 2012   A grant of funds from the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament to the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham has been returned.  . The grant was awarded by the Trustees of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament following extensive legal advice in 2011.   . Subsequently the grant was challenged and, as the result of an investigation by the Charity Commissioners, the Ordinariate has returned the funds of its own volition.  . Until the conclusion of the investigative process undertaken by the Charity Commissioners, the charitable aims of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham precluded the return of the funds.   . . It is deeply regrettable that this generous benefaction is to be returned, but our sincere hope is that the conclusion of the legal process regarding this grant may now lay this issue to rest. . ENDS

I expect that the lesson taken from the Charity Commissioners ruling will be focused on the particulars of the ruling regarding the inquorate vote and the impropriety of the donors giving to something from which they will benefit (?!?).  Others will come away saddened by the mean-spiritedness of some who have chosen to stay in the C of E.  I hope the larger issue of Anglican-ness does not get lost.  If one were to mount an appeal (I admit I do not know if it is now possible to appeal the ruling of the Commissioners), would one not want to fit the very definition of the CSB's stated purpose: for the advancement of the Catholic faith in the Anglican Tradition...

+Christ, have mercy upon us.

Collect for the New Evangelisation

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With the Anglican Use Society Annual Meeting studying the Call for the New Evangelisation of Blessed Pope John Paul II, let us remember that great Prayer for Mission of the sainted Charles Henry Brent that stands par excellence as the perfect prayer  for Roman Catholics of the Anglican Patrimony to express our acceptance of the Call to the New Evangelisation given by Blessed Pope John Paul II:

Lord JESUS Christ, who didst stretch out thine arms of love upon the hard wood of the Cross, that all men everywhere might come within the reach of thy saving embrace: So clothe us with thy Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know thee to the knowledge and love of thee; for the honor of thy Name. 

This prayer by Dr. Brent may be found in The Book of Divine Worship authorised by the Holy See for the Anglican Use communities in the USA and for the worldwide membership of the Personal Ordinariates of the Anglican Patrimony. It would be encouraging to see this prayer on Ordinariate and Anglican Use websites.

+Laus Deo!

Anglican Patrimony: Charles Henry Brent

"With God in Prayer"

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EUCHARISTICAL PRAYERS

Christ of the Passion, who at the Last Supper didst bequeath to the Church a perpetual memorial of the Sacrifice of the Cross, help us in this holy Sacrament steadfastly to contemplate Thy redeeming love, that we may ever be mindful of the price wherewith Thou hast bought us; who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God world without end. Amen.

O Christ of the Eucharist, who in a special manner dost manifest Thyself to Thy people in the Sacrament of Thy body and blood, make Thyself known to us in the Breaking of the Bread, that by faith we may clearly see Thy form and humbly adore Thy presence, who art God forever and ever. Amen.

O Living Bread, that camest down from heaven to give abundant life to the world, in this Sacrament of the holy food, feed us with Thy body and Thy blood, that we may live in Thy life, labor in Thy strength and inherit Thy joy; who livest and reignest, God, world without end. Amen.

Grant, O Son of God, that as Thou and the Father are one, so we Thy people may be bound together in Thee, Unite in mutual forbearance, loyalty, and brotherly kindness, us Thy brethren who are fellow-guests at this Thy Table, that we, being moved by the common impulse of Thine eternal purpose, may promote the peace of Thy Kingdom in the daily interminglings of our common life; whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost we worship and glorify as God forever and ever. Amen. 

Charles Henry Brent

PECUSA Bishop of the Philipinne Islands (1902-1918)

PECUSA Bishop of Western New York (1918-1929)

Memorial: Episcopal Church, March 27

Memorial: Philippine Episcopal Church, August 25

+Laus Deo!

Meditation Upon the Annunciation

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Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman

Here again … we must understand what is meant by calling our Lord a Saviour, in order to understand why it is used to form one of the titles given to Mary in her Litany.

The special name by which our Lord was known before His coming was … that of Messias, or Christ. Thus He was known to the Jews. But when He actually showed Himself on earth, He was known by three new titles, the Son of God, the Son of Man, and the Saviour; the first expressive of His Divine Nature, the second of His Human, the third of His Personal Office. Thus the Angel who appeared to Mary called Him the Son of God; the Angel who appeared to Joseph called Him Jesus, which means in English, Saviour; and so the Angels, too, called Him a Saviour when they appeared to the shepherds. But He Himself specially calls Himself the Son of Man.

Not Angels only call Him Saviour, but those two greatest of the Apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, in their first preachings. St. Peter says He is “a Prince and a Saviour,” and St. Paul says, “a Saviour, Jesus.” And both Angels and Apostles tell us why He is so called — because He has rescued us from the power of the evil spirit, and from the guilt and misery of our sins. Thus the Angel says to Joseph, “Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins,” and St. Peter, “God has exalted Him to be Prince and Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins.” And He says Himself, “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost.”

Now let us consider how this affects our thoughts of Mary. To rescue slaves from the power of the Enemy implies a conflict. Our Lord, because He was a Saviour, was a warrior. He could not deliver the captives without a fight, nor without personal suffering. Now, who are they who especially hate wars? A heathen poet answers. “Wars,” he says, “are hated by Mothers.” Mothers are just those who especially suffer in a war. They may glory in the honour gained by their children; but still such glorying does not wipe out one particle of the long pain, the anxiety, the suspense, the desolation, and the anguish which the mother of a soldier feels. So it was with Mary. For thirty years she was blessed with the continual presence of her Son — nay, she had Him in subjection. But the time came when that war called for Him for which He had come upon earth.

Certainly He came, not simply to be the son of Mary, but to be the Saviour of Man, and therefore at length He parted from her. She knew then what it was to be the mother of a soldier.  He left her side; she saw Him no longer; she tried in vain to get near Him. He had for years lived in her embrace, and after that, at least in her dwelling — but now, in His own words, “The Son of Man had not where to lay His head.” 

And then, when years had run out, she heard of His arrest, his mock trial, and His passion. At last she got near Him — when and where? — on the way to Calvary: and when He had been lifted upon the Cross. And at length she held Him again in her arms; yes — when He was dead. True, He rose from the dead; but still she did not thereby gain Him, for He ascended on high, and she did not at once follow Him. No, she remained on earth many years — in the care, indeed, of His dearest Apostle, St. John. But what was even the holiest of men compared with her own Son, and Him the Son of God?

Meditations and Devotions, 3rd Ed.
Longmans, Green and Co., 1894

Wonderful News from the UK

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Praise be to God!  Fr John Hunwicke was ordained in Oxford according to a post on Facebook by the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in England.

After his great -- and entirely unnecessary -- suffering, this is tremendous news.  I can only hope that the Ordinariate in the UK will be wise enough to make good use of his very special gifts.

On his blog one can read news regarding his First Mass in the Extraordinary Form at Brompton Oratory as well as his First Mass in the Ordinary Form.

Deo gratias!

And in case you missed these glad tidings:

Pope Benedict XVI has elevated three priests of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham to the rank of Chaplain of His Holiness (Monsignor).

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Monsignor Edwin Barnes, Monsignor Robert Mercer, and Monsignor David Silk, have all received the honour from the Holy Father, recognising their former ministry as Anglican bishops.

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Msgr Barnes and Msgr Silk were received and ordained via the Personal Ordinariate in 2011, whilst Msgr Mercer was received and ordained in 2012.

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The Ordinary, Msgr Keith Newton, said “By establishing Personal Ordinariates, Pope Benedict is seeking to be generous in making provision for those Anglicans who wish to come into the full communion of the Catholic Church. In every possible way he has sought to recognise the fruitful Anglican ministry which we undertook before entering the Catholic Church; this honour for these three distinguished men is a further sign of our Holy Father’s love and warmth toward this project”.

Note: On this blog I use the North American abbreviation "Msgr." for Monsignor as the abbreviation "Mgr." signifies "Manager".

+Laus Deo!

Gaudium magnum!

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It is a very great joy to see so many being ordained for the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.  I note with special joy the following announcement:

Six Former Episcopal Priests in Fort Worth to Make Catholic History

Father and son are among 30 former Anglican priests being ordained nationwide

Six former Episcopal priests from the Fort Worth area, including a father and son, will become part of history when they are ordained Catholic priests together on June 30.

The six are part of the first ordination class for the new Catholic Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. Based in Houston, the ordinariate is equivalent to a diocese, but national in scope. It was created earlier this year by Pope Benedict XVI for Anglican groups and clergy in the United States seeking to become Catholic while retaining elements of their Anglican heritage.

Fort Worth Bishop Kevin Vann will ordain the men as Catholic priests on Saturday, June 30, 9 a.m. at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, 2016 Willis Lane, Keller, TX 76248.   Msgr. Jeffrey N. Steenson, head of the Ordinariate, will participate.

I find it especially wonderful that they will be ordained at a church dedicated to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first Episcopalian convert to the Catholic Church to become a Saint of the Universal Church. 

 I sincerely hope, dear reader, that you will join me in prayer for the men to be ordained to the sacred priesthood: Joshua Whitfield, Christopher C. Stainbrook, Timothy Perkins, Charles Hough, IV, Charles Hough, III, and Mark Cannaday. Let us together ask the intercession of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton for these men and for their ministries in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church as priests of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Let us also pray for their wives, children, Ordinariate groups, as well as other men who aspire to follow in their footsteps.

For my part on the day of their ordination I shall pray Te Deum laudamus for the incredible gift to the Church that these men represent, a gift from the Catholic heart of the Anglican Patrimony for the life of the Roman Catholic Church and the world.

+Te Deum laudamus.

Chalice half-full or half-empty

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On the English side of the Ordinariate developments we see Msgr. Burnham's forthcoming Customary of Our Lady of Walsingham with its clear vision that certain liturgical formularies are needed right now for the English Ordinariate instead of waiting for the liturgical Working Group to finish their slow and steady work.  Simply bringing something out into the light of day on behalf of the Ordinariates is a great gift.

Of course, the English context is very different from the USA.  One can forgive English commentators and others who think Americans like me want everything sprung full-form like Athena from the head of Zeus.  Nothing could be further from the truth. Nevertheless, we do want to see all of the Ordinariates moving together on liturgical matters instead of the usual Anglican "Each man to his own tent" mentality that governed the most recent liturgical books of the Anglican Communion.

People like me are grateful for every Anglican Use Mass, for each  liturgy from The Book of Divine Worship, and for every beautiful homily preached by the Ordinary and the other former Anglican clergy already within the Catholic Church as well as those newly arriving.  In fact, we celebrate each former Anglican lay person coming into the Church.  In the eyes of the Catholic Church all of those coming in are lay people regardless of what they might have been outside of the Church.  And what joy it was to see that the Holy Father intending to welcome into the diaconate in Christ and the priesthood those who had previously served as clergy outside of the Church.  Seeing this come to fruition is cause for one's cup to overflow with thanksgiving.

What some in the United Kingdom and elsewhere outwith the USA may not realise is that in the States some of us former Anglicans have been Roman Catholic for 25 years already quietly labouring in the vineyard to build temples worthy of God and a place of haven for those drawn to the reverence of our tradition.

To many it feels as though in some quarters 25 years of experience has been treated as if it does not exist.  Even if this is not substantially true, it is more than lamentable that such an appearance be given or that numbers of people should be made to feel this way.  

Yes, the training and the ordination of the priests coming in is a priority of capital importance.  But there already has been "a people in the Land" and they should have been consulted, celebrated and thanked.  And they should have been seen as collaborators in the gift of Anglicanorum coetibus rather than as issues to be adjudicated in secret.  When a person knows they have been reduced to an 'issue', the pain of it is enormous.  It violates the Christian conscience.  It wounds the soul.  One's life's work and their person seem to have been judged as not being of the same worth and value as those coming in 25 years later... what should one expect from people in such a painful situation?

The creation of the U.S. Ordinariate is not rocket science nor is it the Manhattan Project, but too many who have hoped to participate in its development have been shut out of its enormously secretive processes.  According to some there is little to no collaboration with the lay faithful or the current or past clergy of the Anglican Use parishes.  Why would this be?  I am at a loss to understand it, but then I do not understand the spirit of fear that seeks to keep people silent on all points lest the Holy See discontinue the project of Anglicanorum coetibus.  We would do better to focus on a Scriptural truth that perfect love casts out fear, and the love made manifest by Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI in Anglicanorum coetibus will not be turned.  Frankly, the spirit of fear of the future is a tool of manipulation straight from the nether regions that should be cast out at once.  

If you are labouring in the Church in a spirit of fear for the future, you have sorely misunderstood the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.  All of this secrecy around the genesis of the U.S. Ordinariate as well as the secrecy around the work of the international liturgical Working Group ... all of it is much like one would encounter in the company of the Freemasons. 

I am told that I am naïve about the Catholic Church and the way things work.  Praise God if I am.  Those who labour in the light have nothing to fear, and those who work in secret always succumb to needless fears.  Are we not all of the household of the Faith?  Did the Holy Father really expect us to toil in the shadows, under the radar, if not in blackout conditions and be afraid?  Come out from fear and anxiety into Christ's marvellous light.

The truth is that I am not naïve at all.  Because no one was interested in listening to me or letting me participate inside the new "inner sanctum", I am here on my blog doing what I as a layman must do under the teaching of Blessed Pope John Paul II in Christifidelis laici.  Those who know me know that I have the patience of Job having lived with great faith for years under debilitating illness that mostly kept me bed-ridden.  Those who know me are aware that I received a miraculous healing a little while after I had an experience of clinical death, a death through which I experienced the fulness of the Kingdom followed by an urgent need of returning to earth.  

I know what awaits those who labour in the Light for the Kingdom of heaven, and I know what awaits those who work for other purposes in the company of the Shining Darkness.  That is why it is so important to me that those working in the Ordinariate realise that they are being called by God to work out in the clear light of day and forsake everything that smacks of secrecy and secret groups working deliberately away from the gaze of the lay faithful.

It is a huge spiritual mistake not to prefer the light of Christ Jesus.  And if it seems that this simply cannot be done for reasons of privacy and sensitivity to this or that, it would have been better that the whole thing had not been begun.  No one is interested in taking my word for it, but one day you will all stand around the Throne and learn the truth of all that the Lord desired to do for us people of Anglican heritage and through us to bring a new chapter of His marvellous light into the way things are done within the Church.  It is not too late.

With regret I must also note that the chalice seems definitely half-empty for some of those who are Anglican Use Catholics of Hispanic ethnicity.  Too many were apparently told in private by people with no authority to do so that they could not be part of the Ordinariate even though for long years they laboured and served in the Anglican Use parishes  Then others were told they could not join unless they were a cradle Anglicans which was nonsense for the children who had been born and baptised in the Anglican Use Catholic parishes.  Whether or not any of this was actually true or not I do not know.   Again, the appearance of things can be more destructive than the thing itself.

I do know that the matter reached such a point of pain and contention at Our Lady of Walsingham in Houston that the Ordinary had to take to the pulpit and issue a most awkward invitation to all as a gift of the generosity of the local territorial bishop.  Everyone was very enthusiastic for Cardinal Di Nardo's guidance and leadership and the revelation that all members of Our Lady of Walsingham would be admitted to membership in the Ordinariate should they apply.  (Of course, it is obvious to the novice that the transfer of a parish to an Ordinariate by the Holy Father's decree meant the transfer of the whole congregation of the lay faithful -- as well as the buildings.)

What of Anglican Use parishioners elsewhere?  Is there one rule for Our Lady of Walsingham in Houston and a different rule for the other parishes and congregations?  To my knowledge no one has received any sort of notice that they have been received into the Ordinariate as lay faithful.  I would think it would be very easy to gather up willing lay volunteers to get such letters of welcome out, but then what do I know. I was only a parish priest in the Anglican Communion. ... It would be even easier to put a notice on the website inviting all of the Anglican Use parishioners to join... unless that is not what someone wants.

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The whole "membership" process issue was one of a series of missteps that could have been avoided if there had been a collaboration with the laity of the Anglican Use parishes (which were all in Texas).  I must assume there was collaboration with the AU clergy because the notion that there wasn't is simply too awful to consider.  I see all of this secrecy and fearfulness and going about as though one were walking on eggshells to be a clear sign that something has been going horribly awry since the U.S. Ordinariate began to be developed.  Now is a good time for the Holy See to make it clear that no one is going to erase Anglicanorum coetibus or the Ordinariates and that Christ's lay faithful are as valued a part of this effort as ex-bishops and ex-ministers of the Anglican Churches.  

From the very start it would have been so easy to call for a General Conference with the giving of papers, presentations, discussion and working groups, and a rich welcome for the thoughts and ideas of all.  The complete absence of funding would not have rested solely upon the Ordinary but could have been shared with the laity who have the skills and desire to work such a problem to solution.

NB: I do thank God for the catechetical instruction that will come from the Anglican Use Society Meeting on the Call to the New Evanglization of Blessed Pope John Paul II.  One can hope that genuine missionary efforts and focus can arise from such a conference and find welcome in the Ordinariate.  (I hope they will remember that it is Our Lady of Guadalupe who is the Star of the New Evangelisation and see to it that her image is properly a part of any study of the New Evangelisation.)  Holding such a conference does not make one a missionary nor is the conference properly a missionary effort, but the catechetical importance is profound and is in concert with the Ordinary's gifts as a scholar and educator.

I don't think the chalice is half-empty. Neither do I find it half full.  We all hold  in common one exquisite Chalice of Anglican provenance filled with water right now that is, tears of sorrow and tears of Joy.  Oh that we could come together in the light of day and beg Our Master Jesus to come to us and help us!  To beg Him to transform the fresh water newly brought together with water of those already labouring in his Catholic fields... to entreat Him through the intercession of His Most Blessed Mother to transform those waters into the wine and oil of gladness by His all-gracious power and infinite Divine Mercy.

+Patrimonia Anglicana populus noster est.