A Glorious Option

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Our Lady of Walsingham Cathedral

Thanks be to God for the Personal Ordinariates! I am thankful, as are others, that there is an Ordinariate presence here, and that Tradition-minded Catholics are able to find refuge among former Anglicans who truly love the Eucharistic Lord and who seek to "worship God in the beauty of holiness" (Psalm 96:9) in the Catholic Church established by Jesus Christ.

It is especially relevant that, during these unsettling times, believers may enjoy a haven of right liturgy where they can find Jesus Christ reverently worshiped, the unvarnished truth (2Thess 2:15) heralded by the Apostles proclaimed, biblical wisdom for daily living is made available to the congregation of believers, and authentic hospitality - characteristic of the Anglican Patrimony - is practiced.

An oasis exists for those who cherish the Holy Eucharist and who understand, or are willing to learn, that the Mass is Christ Present among us. That oasis is Divine Worship, the Mass of the Ordinariate.

As much as the awesome Eastern Catholic liturgies entice the soul into communion with God, because God's Presence fills such liturgies, the Mass of the Ordinariate is a beautiful liturgical feast that far surpasses the quality of that which most Catholics know as the Novus Ordo liturgy, a valid but highly redacted form of Holy Mass. Arguably, the Novus Ordo Mass (NOM), or at least the manner in which the NOM is routinely celebrated, has led to the spiritual impoverishment of hundreds of millions of Roman Catholics since the revised Liturgy constructed by the Concilium headed by the controversial Archbishop Bugnini was promulgated. A plain reading of the documents of the Second Vatican Council, as narrated by reliable interpreters such as Pope Benedict XVI, show that the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council did not suggest many changes which developed in the wake of introduction of the Novus Ordo Mass, changes which have led to a loss of sacrality, a trivialization of doctrine and the Sacred Liturgy, and marginalization of Biblical wisdom, among many other untenable developments.

Thankfully - providentially! - the modest reforms and conservation of liturgical heritage envisioned by the Council are authentically realized in Divine Worship, which also happens to retain the magnificent elements of Catholic culture, liturgical practice and pastoral spirituality (e.g., hospitality) preserved in the Anglican experience that is referred to as the Anglican Patrimony.

https://ecatholic-sites.s3.amazonaws.com/3059/documents/2016/3/2015_Di_Noia_Antiphon.pdf

A New and Ancient Direction

When we study the most ancient liturgical practices of the Church, we find that the priest and the people faced in the same direction, usually toward the east, in the expectation that when Christ returns, He will return “from the east.” - Bishop Edward J. Slattery

Divine Worship - because it clearly embodies the transcendentals of truth, goodness and beauty - brings order and meaning to one's life. The heart and mind therein situated become habitually oriented to God. Divine Worship cultivates in the worshiper a vital orientation to God because the Liturgy itself is explicitly oriented to God. Ad Orientem worship, i.e., Mass prayed by priest and people facing liturgical East, orients the soul to God. Beautiful liturgy disposes the heart and mind to savour truth, the Truth of God.Where there is truth, there is hope. Where there is hope, joy. Where there is joy, a willingness to serve in the emerging Kingdom.

Catholics are defined by their relationship to Christ in the Liturgy. We are, it has been said, a Eucharistic people, because the Holy Eucharist is the "source and summit of the Christian life (CCC1324)." The Ordinariate is a home for Catholics desiring to learn and to live a Eucharistic identity. The Ordinariate is a mission within the mission of the Church, an opportunity to dwell confidently in the certainty of Apostolic Tradition and be engaged by the mission of Jesus Christ.

For those living in the Capital Regional District on Southern Vancouver Island - Brentwood, Colwood, Esquimalt, Langford, Metchosen, Oak Bay, Saanich, Saanichton, Sidney, Victoria and View Royal - the Ordinariate community of Blessed John Henry Newman Church offers Catholics and all-comers a home for encountering and embracing the love of God. The Ordinariate is a home with open doors that allow in the seeker of truth, goodness and beauty; open doors that open to the light of Christ that illuminates the pathway to peace.


Blessed John Henry Newman Church meets at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church (OLQP), 849 Old Esquimalt Road. OLPQ is an "extraordinary" parish, home to three forms of the Mass: a reverently celebrated Novus Ordo Mass; the Extraordinary Form (Traditional Latin Mass); and the Ordinariate Form called Divine Worship.

Divine Worship Mass Times

Monday to Thursday & Saturday at Queen of Peace, Esquimalt
Sung Mattins: 8:45am; Holy Mass (Said): 9:30am

Fridays at Our Lady Help of Christians Oratory, 10225 Resthaven Drive in Sidney
Sung Mattins: 8:45am; Holy Mass (Said): 9:30am; Adoration 10:45am to 11:45am

Sundays at Queen of Peace, Esquimalt
Holy Mass (Sung): 2:00pm
***except the First Sunday of every month: Holy Mass is at 3:00pm

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