The Catholic Legacy of Anglicans!

Well said and precisely so:

I thought for a moment and then could offer only this halting word of hope: “Everything we experienced in the parish church this morning is alien to our tradition and not in keeping with the doctrine or discipline of the Church; it was foisted on us during a time of cultural upheaval and chaos, and in due course, we will be rid of it. Meanwhile, everything we experienced in the Cathedral this morning is Catholic in its origin: the building, the music, the words, the vestments, the ritual, the ethos of prayer. Perhaps in the Providence of God these things had to be kept for us against that day when we would forget our own patrimony and no longer know how to worship the living God in spirit and in truth. All we have to do is reclaim our birthright.”

Read the rest of this excellent posting on Fr. Jay Scott Newman's website, the article entitled Kill Me Now.

A Pleading of the Passion

ORD, have mercy upon us.
...........Christ, have mercy upon us.
........................LORD, have mercy upon us.

OUR FATHER . . .

O Saviour of the world, who by the Cross and Precious Blood hast redeemed us ;
Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord.

JESUS, who to thine awed disciples didst foreshow thy body broken, and thy blood shed ;

Have mercy upon us.

JESUS, who in an agony of prayer, didst take the cup of pain ;

Have mercy upon us.

Jesus, betrayed by a kiss ;

Have mercy upon us.

Jesus, forsaken by thy friends ;

Have mercy upon us..

Jesus, denied by Peter ;

Have mercy upon us.

Jesus, who bound before Caiaphas,
didst confess thyself the Son of God ;

Have mercy upon us.

Jesus, blindfolded, struck, and spat upon ;

Have mercy upon us.

Jesus,
who while thine enemies were instant
with loud voices before the governor,
wast silent ;

Have mercy upon us.

Jesus, whom Herod mocked and arrayed in a gorgeous robe ;

Have mercy upon us

Jesus, crowned with thorns ;

Have mercy upon us

Jesus, brought forth that all might behold their king ;

Have mercy upon us.

Jesus, acclaimed by the people, "Crucify him crucify" ;

Have mercy upon us.

Jesus, rejected for Barabbas ;

Have mercy upon us.

Jesus, condemned to death ;

Have mercy upon us.

Jesus, scourged ;

Have mercy upon us.

Jesus, who wast led forth in shame along the way of sorrow ;

Have mercy upon us.

Jesus, falling beneath the Cross ;

Have mercy upon us.

Jesus, who amid uproar and weeping didst come to Calvary ;

Have mercy upon us.

Jesus, stripped naked before men ;

Have mercy upon us.

Jesus, laid on the cross ;

Have mercy upon us.

By the nails through hands and feet ;

Good Lord, deliver us.

By thy parched lips ;

Good Lord, deliver us.

By thy ears filled with ribaldry and scorn ;

Good Lord, deliver us.

By the forgiveness of thy foes ;

Good Lord, deliver us.

By thy promise to the penitenet ;

Good Lord, deliver us.

By thy love to thy beloved ;

Good Lord, deliver us.

By thy broken heart ;

Good Lord, deliver us.

By thy soul all desolate ;

Good Lord, deliver us.

By thy spirit rendered to the Father ;

Good Lord, deliver us.

By thy death ;

Good Lord, deliver us.

From all evil and mischief; from sin, from the crafts and assaults of the devil; from thy wrath, and from everlasting damnation ;

Good Lord, deliver us.

From all blindness of heart; from pride, vain-glory, and hypocrisy; from envy, hatred, and malice, and all uncharitableness ;

Good Lord, deliver us.

From fornication, and all other deadly sin; and from all the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil ;

Good Lord, deliver us.

From all dread of thy service, and distrust of thy love; from enmity to thy cross and scorn of thy passion ;

Good Lord, deliver us.

Let us confess our sins, saying together :

We confess to God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, before the whole company of heaven, that we have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed, through our fault, our own fault, our own most grievous fault; wherefore we pray God to have mercy upon us. May God Almighty have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy upon you, and forgive you all your sins, deliver you from all evil, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and bring you to everlasting life. Amen.

The Almighty and merciful Lord grant unto you pardon, absolution, and remission of all your sins, time for true repentance, and the grace and comfort of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Now unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood and hath made us kings, and priests unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Cambridge Offices and Orisons
E. Milner-White & B.T.D. Smith

Prayers for the Souls of the Faithful

ALMIGHTY, eternal God, to Whom there is never any prayer made without hope of mercy, be merciful to the souls of Thy servants departed from this world in the confession of Thy name, that they may be associate to the company of Thy saints; through JESUS Christ our Lord. Amen.

WE COMMEND unto Thee, O Lord, the souls of Thy servants and handmaidens ( . . . ), and of all the faithful departed, that being dead to this world they may live to Thee : and whatsoever sins they have contracted through the frailty of their conversation in this world do Thou through the forgiveness of Thy most merciful pity wipe away.

QUICKEN, O LORD, our departed in Thy compassion, and set them at Thy right hand. Clothe them with excellent glory in Thy kingdom, and join them to the just and righteous who fulfil Thy will in Jerusalem which is above : O LORD of our death and of our life, FATHER, SON, and HOLY GHOST for ever. Amen.

from Sursum Corda
A Handbook of Intercession and Thanksgiving
W.H. Frere and A.L. Illington

A Thanksgiving

To JESUS the life of our flesh,
Who quickeneth whom He willeth :
To JESUS the life of our soul,
Who came that we might live more abundantly:
To JESUS the life of His Church,
Who loved her and gave Himself for her :
Let all mankind in earth and in paradise,
Reconciled by His death, and saved by His life,
Give glory and honour, worship and praise,
Now and for ever and ever.

from Sursum Corda
A Handbook of Intercession and Thanksgiving
W.H. Frere and A.L. Illington

A Lament for Britain

At Fides et Ardor:

Nineveh's Choice

Ash Wednesday

On this Ash Wednesday when we are put in mind of our own mortality and the transitory nature of our days, I am put in mind of those things upon which we labour so as to leave a legacy. We can think of philanthropists who give their money to good causes as well as philanthropists who give their money to Dr. Mengele's abusive and murderous step-children. Legacies are left whether we make sure our name is on a monument or not, and just off in the wings is Ozymandias warning us about such things.

Scripture tells us to lay up treasures in heaven where nothing can destroy them. And those treasures all flow from our love of Jesus and knowing that what we do to one another we have also done to him. There are many traditions in the Church showing us how our worship adorns the place the Lord has gone on to prepare for us. And many a soul knows the benefits of interceding for souls who have left this life and remain on a journey of cleansing until they see Jesus face to face that is, the souls in Purgatory. We are always being moved to the furthest edge of care for the stranger, the widow, the orphan, oh yes, and our enemies too, and even souls we have never met.

This reminds me of the Anglican spiritual legacy. It would be very easy to forget it all and just become a "regular" Latin rite Catholic. However, there are elements of that legacy that led me here to the Catholic Church, and they continue to speak with a Catholic voice for those of Anglican heritage who have entered the Catholic Church. As one born from the Anglican legacy into the Catholic Church, I can no more turn my back on it than to turn my back on my own family. Of course, the Church never intends this sort of categorical rejection and denunciation of one's previous denomination, and Holy Mother Church has made ample provision for such traditions to be judged, vetted, and then employed within the Catholic Church. Nonetheless, the truth is that there are many in the Roman rite who do not wish it to be so. They would rather see things Anglican die a permanent death because of its Englishness and because of the Catholic martyrs of England and Wales.

I find that this feeling against all things Anglican is very understandable but also dangerously misguided. It is through the prayers of the same Martyrs that Anglicans are coming home to the Church. As Cardinal Newman once noted, the Anglican Church was never entirely de-Catholicised. Many of the most beautiful prayers and hymns in the world have their origin in the Anglican Church -- but only because the Anglican authors and translators turned to the ancient traditions of the Church, the ancient texts, and looking toward Constantinople found a new appreciation for their Latin Sarum legacy.

Some regard Anglo-Catholicism as merely an invention of something that had never existed before. They fail to see the operation of the Holy Ghost in the organic development of the Anglo-Catholic traditions from a once lost but reclaimed heritage. And while this Catholic Renewal in the Anglican Communion may reference Cardinal Newman or the great John Mason Neale, it is first and foremost a motion of grace and a movement of the Holy Spirit himself. Through the many years since the Oxford Movement many generations of Anglicans grew up as I did believing themselves to be Catholic and intending to live a Catholic life. Again, one must look at the organic development of these things and then watch whilst praising God for His work in bringing the Catholic elements of this Anglican spiritual legacy back into the Catholic Church through the Pastoral Provision of Pope John Paul II in 1980.

Now I find myself occupied with efforts to carry forward this Catholic-minded Anglican spiritual legacy of prayer, music, art, and theological reflexion within the Roman Catholic Church. All of my little anglo-Catholic prayer manuals still speak truly of the Catholic life of the faithful. They contain treasures from Heaven which when employed become part of that treasury of good things we store up in heaven where nothing corrupts or destroys it. I know that many a former Anglican and Episcopalian feel betrayed by their denomination, by its continual and ongoing corruption, but no feeling gives us permission to disown the beautiful things the Holy Spirit did in that denomination for the greater glory of the Blessed Trinity and for the building up of the Catholic Church throughout the world.

This Lent I will be posting prayers and litanies from various books, wee bookies, and manuals that I pray may be useful to you, gentle Reader, and will outline more clearly just what I have in mind in trying to preserve this Anglican legacy -- Anglican heritage and tradition -- where it is in accord with the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.

The Humility and Modesty of Mary

Mary’s Modesty Exerts a Gentle Sway

When first He went out to preach, she kept apart from Him; she interfered not with His work; and, even when He was gone up on high, yet she, a woman, went not out to preach or teach, she seated not herself in the Apostolic chair, she took no part in the priest's office; she did but humbly seek her Son in the Holy Mass of those, who, though her ministers in heaven, were her superiors in the Church on earth.

Nor, when she and they had left this lower scene, and she was a Queen upon her Son's right hand, not even then did she ask of Him to publish her name to the ends of the world, or to hold her up to the world's gaze, but she remained waiting for the time, when her own glory should be necessary for His. (…)

When dispute arose about her among her children, she hushed it; when objections were urged against her, she waived her claims and waited; till now, in this very day, should God so will, she will win at length her most radiant crown, and, without opposing voice, and amid the jubilation of the whole Church, she will be hailed as immaculate in her conception.

John Henry Newman Discourses Addressed to Congregations
Discourse17. The Glories of Mary for the Sake of Her Son (1849)

Today is the Birthday
of the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman.

A Tabernacle, Veronica, A Veil

Look to Him and Be Radiant

A beautiful reflexion at Vultus Christi

Shrove Tuesday Prayers

The Collects for the Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus

O God, who willed that your only–begotten Son
should become man,
and show us in his human nature a perfect image of your divinity,
grant, we beseech you,
that by venerating the image of his Holy Face
we may be united with him
in the mysteries of his Passion and Death,
and so come to contemplate forever his glorious Face
in the joy of the resurrection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever. Amen.

Collect at the General Intercessions

Almighty and ever-living God, whose splendour on Sinai was such
that Moses was obliged to veil his face made radiant by the brightness of your holiness; remove the veil from our faces, and open our eyes to the knowledge of your glory shining in the face of Christ, that we, with the gaze of our hearts fixed on him, may, by the power of the Holy Spirit, be changed into his likeness and so praise you forever in the company of the saints in light. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Or:

O Lord Jesus Christ, beauty of the heavenly Father and light of souls, we beseech you with confidence that, as we advance in the darkness of this world, the splendour of your Face may shine upon us and that, in the light of your Countenance, we may one day merit to contemplate the eternal light in which you live and reign with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
forever and ever.

Prayer Over the Offerings

O God, the Father of lights,
look upon us, we beseech you,
and beholding the Face of Christ your Son
who offered himself for us as a victim of reconciliation,
grant that we, like him, may offer ourselves to you
as a spiritual sacrifice to the praise of your glory.
Through Christ our Lord.

Excellent Translations by Vultus Christi

Last Prayer added to Compline on Shrove Tuesday

Lord, give us grace to inaugurate with holy fasting, the defenses of Christian warfare, so that we who are to fight against spiritual wickedness, may be helped and strengthened by self-denial. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

And speaking of Dominicans

A Prayer for Dominican Vocations

Blessed Jordan, worthy successor of St Dominic, in the early days of the Order, your example and zeal prompted many men and women to follow Christ in the white habit of Our Holy Father. As patron of Dominican vocations, continue to stimulate talented and devoted men and women to consecrate their lives to God. Through your intercession, lead to the Order of Preachers generous and sacrificing persons, willing to give themselves fervently to the apostolate of Truth. Help them to prepare themselves to be worthy of the grace of a Dominican vocation. Inspire their hearts to become learned of God, that with firm determination they might aspire to be 'champions of the Faith and true lights of the world'. Amen.

Godzdogz Blog

One of my favourite blogs is Godzdogz: The English Dominican Studentate. Be sure to visit it this Lent.

If you are in the Blackfriars neighbourhood, there is a wonderful opportunity to join them for Compline.

The Shriving Bell

Our parish of Our Lady of Walsingham has three blessed bells made in France that call to the faithful for Holy Mass and for the Angelus. There are different sorts of peals with the three indicating what is at hand. I am convinced that churches need real baptised bells -- and not electrified speakers playing hymns recordings of tubular bells. Later I shall post more on bells and their Catholic purpose, but today I have in mind the Shriving Bell.

Being a 21st century and a 14th century man myself, I believe my priest needs a Shriving Bell beyond the blessing of the 3 French bells in the Tower. We have been blessed with priests who are marvellous confessors, and I would like to hear the tolling of that special Shriving Bell calling one to Confession. To hear such a bell reminds the faithful of their need to shrive, to confess. We all need reminders, and the sounding of a bell that is blessed has a special call to the souls of the Catholic faithful. Those already shriven can hear the tolling of the Shriving Bell as a call to pray for the penitents and to pray for their Father Confessor.

Today I find myself confined to home because of infirmity. So there will be the eating of pancakes using up all the butter, eggs, and fat here in the Cottage. At Our Lady of Walsingham in Houston there will be a Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, and Fr. Bruce Noble will be in the Confessional at noon and in the evening. A Tower Bell will toll as the Shriving Bell today. At the Pancake Supper three members of the laity will be honoured for their faithful service to the parish. They are extraordinary individuals -- Margaret Pichon who was Fr. Moore's administrative assistant, a brilliant photographer, and the soul who keeps the Parish website going -- Ron Thorp, a genius of a business manager and a spiritual Encourager to all -- and Elliott Goulas who has been responsible for buildings and grounds for many faithful years.

Most Anglicans remember the pancakes part but have forgotten what "Shrove" means and do not have Confession anywhere on their radar screens. Having lost Shrovetide and the 'Gesimas we become lost in a secular, diabolical Mardi Gras, and then we fall into Ash Wednesday exhausted, overfed, and uprepared for the sacred fast of the Great and Holy Season of Lent. Some day I hope our bishops in the Catholic Church will attend to this part of the liturgical year and offer the faithful the guidance that we need. One must prepare for Lent, and pre-Lent was just such a time. Shrovetide made it even clearer how one was to get ready for Lent -- all for the purpose of undertaking a holy fast unto the Lord.

Although I will not make it into the Confessional at Our Lady of Walsingham this day -- and although my body cannot engage in any exercise this day, I will endeavour to engage body and soul in spiritual exercises of repentance and reparation in order to prepare for an holy Lent. All of my old anglo-Catholic manuals still come in handy at this time of year, and they will keep good company with me till evening falls.