A New Beginning

-
This Blog was preceded by a six month period of abstinence. That is, an absence from blogging. A previous blog had run its course. This new journal marks a return with an adjusted focus. The blogger has been adjusted and sees things with a healthier perspective.

This blog will focus on the three transcendentals — truth, goodness and beauty — as found in and through Divine Worship, the Mass of the Ordinariate. For those unfamiliar with Divine Worship, it is enough to point you in the direction of the Mother Ship, or HQ as it is sometimes known: The Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter.

Questions? Visit the following link: https://ordinariate.net/about

It should be said, right at the outset, that this blog does not pretend to be the final authority on Divine Worship, nor the Ordinariate nor even the Catholic Faith. Rather this blogger intends to draw attention to the True, the Good and Beautiful that is found in the Ordinariate, the wonderful oasis established by Pope Benedict XVI for Anglicans seeking individual and corporate reunion with the Catholic Church.

In the Ordinariate one finds former Anglicans, cradle Catholics and converts like myself who have discovered in the Ordinariate a liturgical life that corresponds to and uniquely realizes the intention and letter of the Second Vatican Council, a liturgical spirituality that can also connect the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms of the Mass.

The Ordinariate Form of the Mass, i.e., Divine Worship, the third form of the Mass if you will, will herein be lauded by yours truly who, in deference to others with a broader and deeper knowledge of what is known in Ordinariate circles as 'The Patrimony', will do his best to represent Divine Worship in ways that help others access the richness of a liturgical patrimony waiting to be discovered by those who earnestly seek the True, the Good and the Beautiful.

This blogger's journey into the Ordinariate marks a third conversion begun more than a decade ago — to beauty and authentic liturgy. Readers are welcome to join the conversation by simply appreciating the information and/or by offering their own joys, struggles, insights and questions through which we may together discover and respond to the grace of God working to bring souls to Himself.

As the subtitle of this Blog indicates, articles will appear occasionally as time permits.

And, the design of the Blog will gradually be refined to better reflect its intended mission.

Welcome!

Comments

Post a Comment

Your comments will be appreciated and posted if 1) they are on topic and 2) preserve decorum.

Stand by your word. Do not be anonymous. Use a pseudonym.

Popular Posts

Life At The Altar Rail: 22 Behaviours Categorized

-
Image
Cantius/NLM [ 4 min read ] Some communicants make things interesting (...tricky, delicate, awkward, awesome...) at The Communion. Now don't get the wrong idea. Spoofing one's brothers' and sisters' behaviour is not meant to be proof of one's own moral or spiritual superiority. There's always a need to keep in mind the heart of another when lampooning (or celebrating) the externals, as curious or as laudable as those externals might be. The Moving Target: either the head or the tongue is moving a mile a minute. A good patener knows how to tame the fidget. See also #18: The Rubberneck. The Obstacle Course: fingertips touching the chin or mouth making it difficult for the patener to place the paten beneath the chin. The Curtain: face is completely covered with a veil. The NOFB (Not Open For Business): closed eyes, closed mouth; despite the need for a gentle prompt, typically a deeply reverent person. The Taker: wants to steal the Host from the priest. Note to commu...
Read more

You Know You're In A Progressive Catholic Parish When... .

-
Image
... you rarely (if ever) hear the following phrases. "Party like it's A.D. 1570!" "We should sing more plainchant at this parish." "I'd like to thank the choir for their sublime rendition of the Mass For Five Voices by William Byrd." "I just love the way the four torchbearers process in with such dignity." "People treat the Host like a snack. I think it's time we went back to communion on the tongue." "My entire family goes to Confession every week." "We need a central Tabernacle on the altar." "The altar servers' lace cottas are so beautiful." "I just love Father Steve's sermons about the Real Presence and living a Eucharistic life." "People are leaving in droves for Saint Pius X Parish and the reverent Mass there. Do you think we're doing something wrong here at Harvey Milk Parish?" "I'm thrilled that the design for the new church includes a choir loft....
Read more

Review: Saint Gregory's Prayer Book

-
Image
Two copies of the St. Gregory's Prayer Book (SGPB) arrived a few days ago. It is a lovely work replete with beautiful devotions drawn from the English Patrimony. Both Ordinariate and diocesan Catholics would do well to acquire a copy to access its riches. The SGPB is "a collaborative venture" of the three personal ordinariates and the Anglicanorum Coetibus Society . A blurb from the Ignatius Press site where one can go to purchase copies: https://www.ignatius.com/St-Gregorys-Prayer-Book-P3228.aspx The St Gregory's Prayer Book is a beautifully produced leatherette prayer book compiled by the Ordinariates established by Pope Benedict XVI and drawing on the riches of the Anglican liturgical heritage and the exquisite Cranmerian language of the Book of Common Prayer to further enrich the panoply of Catholic liturgy and devotion. The text includes ancient English collects, introits and hymns available together for the first time for the whole Church...
Read more

You know you're a REAL altar server when... .

-
Image
In a movie theatre, you genuflect before entering the aisle to take a seat. Riding a bus, sitting in class or at the doctor's office, and/or when watching TV, you rest your hands palms down on your thighs, finger tips at your knees. You can identify each and every variety of incense used in the Mass simply by its scent. You habitually wear black socks and black dress shoes... even when wearing shorts for gym class or at the beach. You turn a perfect right angle when entering a building. You have nightmares about serving Mass at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress. You hear a bicycle bell ring and you drop to your knees. You can't resist the urge to lift a curtain from the bottom. You have a copy of Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described by Adrian Fortescue on your smartphone for recreational reading. You have a copy of Ritual Notes (11th Edition) on your smartphone for recreational reading. As a torchbearer, you can carry a processional candle without spilling one dr...
Read more

TRUE PARTICIPATION IN THE MASS

"I was gathered into the offering of the Son to the Father. I participated in the self-offering of God today."

FEATURED SCRIPTURE | Revelation 7:9-12

AFTER this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels stood round the throne and round the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.”

THE GOLDEN ARROW

May the most holy, most sacred, most adorable, most incomprehensible and unutterable Name of God be always praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified in Heaven, on earth, and under the earth, by all the creatures of God, and by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Amen.

FEATURED QUOTE

When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear. ― Thomas Sowell