EPICTETUS
Don’t explain your philosophy. Embody it.
Bishop Lopes' Visit to Victoria: FBJHN Website update.
The website of the Fellowship of Blessed John Henry Newman (Victoria, BC) has photos of the recent Confirmation Mass with His Excellency Steven J. Lopes, Bishop of the Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter.
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St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Bridgeport, PA In 2023, Monsignor Keith Newton, then head of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, coined the term “realized ecumenism” to describe how the Ordinariates created by the Apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus offer a welcoming path for those seeking the fullness of the Faith. https://ewtn.co.uk/article-the-head-of-the-ordinariate-for-former-anglicans-in-england-and-wales-assesses-its-past-present-and-future/ The Personal Ordinariates represent one of the most quietly remarkable ecumenical achievements of the last century: a form of unity that does not require amnesia. They embody a model of reconciliation in which distinct traditions are not dissolved but transfigured — brought into full communion without losing the theological, liturgical, and pastoral instincts that shaped them. The Personal Ordinariates are a quiet work of the Holy Spirit, gathering what was once separated and transforming it into communion. Th...
In the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, the September Ember Days are the traditional Autumn Ember Days, observed on the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday following the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14). They remain part of the Ordinariate's liturgical patrimony and are specifically encouraged for prayer, fasting, repentance, thanksgiving for the harvest, and prayers for vocations. For 2026, those days (Embertide) fall on: Wednesday, September 16 Friday, September 18 Saturday, September 19 The Ordinariate explains that the September Ember Days are associated with the grape harvest, directing our gratitude toward the wine that becomes the Precious Blood in the Holy Eucharist. They are also traditional times to pray for priests, deacons, and future vocations. Discipline Regarding discipline, the Ordinariate notes that Ember Friday is a day of obligatory abstinence from meat. The faithful are also encouraged to undertake additional fasting, prayer...
The Ordinariate’s Liturgy Shapes the Soul Through Beauty, Order, and Sacramental Realism Divine Worship, the liturgical expression entrusted to the Ordinariates, is far more than a beautiful way of praying. It is a formative environment — a spiritual architecture that shapes the worshipper’s imagination, posture, and self‑understanding. In a culture marked by distraction, fragility, and self‑invention, Divine Worship quietly trains the believer to stand firm, to speak truthfully, and to live faithfully. Its beauty is not ornamental; its order is not rigid; its language is not nostalgic. All of it works together to cultivate resilience and responsibility as lived habits of Christian maturity. The Gravity That Strengthens the Soul One of the most striking features of Divine Worship is its gravity. The Liturgy carries a seriousness that is neither severe nor distant, but deeply dignified. The worshipper is confronted with the reality that he stands before the living God. The Collects, the...
Attendees of the Ordinariate Mass habitually pray the Nicene Creed during the Sunday Mass. Since becoming a regular at the Ordinariate Mass, I am reminded every week how blessed we in the Ordinariate are by having a beautiful translation of the Creed to pray. While still a diocesan Catholic, I remember with joy and satisfaction the introduction of the revised (some might say a restored) English translation of the Creed for the Ordinary Form of the Mass. When I left diocesan precincts for the Ordinariate, I found the Credo as prayed in Divine Worship (DW), the Mass of the Ordinariate, to be awkward at first, though strangely attractive. The DW version motivated me to slow down and revisit each phrase. Having been exposed to and shaped by the Credo of Divine Worship for a few years now, I cannot imagine returning to even the improved English text of the Ordinary Form Liturgy. The Nicene Creed professed in the Ordinariate, in that older liturgical dialect, is lyrical, confide...
Screenshot | Artistic impression of Medieval Priory built beside the Holy House (Denny) The Foundation of the Chapel of Walsingham (The Pynson Ballad, published by Richard Pynson circa A.D. 1485*) https://www.walsinghamanglicanmedieval.org.uk/pynson.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20080725010750/http://www.walsinghamanglicanarchives.org.uk/pynsonballad.htm http://devotiontoourlady.com/shrine-of-walsingham.html Of this chapell se here the fundacyon, Bylded the yere of crystes incarnacyon, A thousande complete syxty and one, The tyme of sent Edward kyng of this region. Beholde and se, ye goostly folkes all, Which to this place have devocyon When ye to Our Lady askynge socoure call Desyrynge here hir helpe in your trybulacyon: Of this hir chapell ye may se the fundacyon. If ye wyll this table overse and rede Howe by myracle it was founded indede. A noble wydowe, somtyme lady of this towne, Called Rychold, in lyvynge full vertuous, Desyred of Oure Lady a petycyowne Hir to honoure with some...
St Mary the Virgin Parish, Arlington, TX At the Mass we discover that friendship is not something we manufacture for ourselves. Rather, it is a gift received while seeking God together. In an age marked by loneliness and fleeting connections, many people long for genuine friendship. Social media promises constant contact, yet countless hearts remain isolated. True friendship requires more than shared interests or casual conversation. It is founded upon a common pursuit of what is good, true, and beautiful. For Christians, there is no greater place to discover such friendship than in the Holy Mass. We come not to socialize but to worship Almighty God. The focus is not on ourselves but upon the sacred mysteries unfolding at the altar. Yet it is precisely this common orientation toward God that creates the deepest form of human fellowship. The liturgy teaches us that we are not isolated individuals approaching God alone. We gather as members of Christ's Body. Together we confess our s...
POPE LEO XIV Magnifica Humanitas
Even in the darkest nights, the Lord raises up men and women who refuse to give up, who persevere in doing good, who protect the vulnerable and open pathways to reconciliation. The memory of the saints, righteous people and the oft-forgotten peacemakers, show us that grace does not magically eliminate conflict, but instead it inspires active resistance to evil and an astonishing creativity in doing good” (paragraph 211).
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
I doubt not then but innocence shall make false accusation blush, and tyranny tremble at patience.
WORDS TO THE WHYS
You cannot subsidize irresponsibility and expect people to become more responsible. Thomas Sowell
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