Posts

Showing posts from January, 2020

A Precious Gift

Image
From Crisis Magazine:  https://www.crisismagazine.com/2020/be-england-thy-dowry So, what gifts do (Anglo-Catholic converts from Anglicanism) bring us? To begin with, a reverent liturgy in sacral language and an extensive devotional life—things lost among many Catholics after Vatican II. They bring deeply pastoral traditions, as the far smaller Anglo-Catholic parishes were always more of a family affair than the huge parishes most Catholics in urban centers are used to. Due to historical persecution, Catholic intellectual life in the Anglosphere was primarily carried on by converts and foreign immigrants. But Anglo-Catholicism produced not only many of those same converts but a large number of clerical theologians and lay thinkers of the caliber of T.S. Eliot, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, Arthur Machen, Dorothy Sayers, George Grant, and a host of others—all of whom can be re-examined for what insights they may offer.

The Ordinariate Bridge

Image
Divine Worship: The Missal/Thine Own Service From the Catholic Thing: Retconning the Reformation Gunnar Gundersen What if a group of earnest reformers, with the support of King Henry VIII, managed to produce a reverent English liturgy, in communion with the pope? What would that look like today? You may think that there is no answer to this question. But there is. This year, marking its tenth anniversary, Anglicanorum Coetibus – and the Ordinariates formed under it – make it clear: a beautiful and reverent liturgy capturing some of the best aspects of ancient Anglo-Saxon spirituality, Anglo-American hymnody, and Anglo-American prayer life. Crucially, it provides a bridge between the rest of the Church and Anglo-American culture, which Protestant Christianity had mostly claimed for itself. https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2020/01/23/retconning-the-reformation/

2020 annual conference of the Society for Catholic Liturgy

Image
Lopes/Ordinariate; Bullivant/St. Mary's At the New Liturgical Movement: (T)he upcoming 2020 annual conference of the Society for Catholic Liturgy, titled “That They May Be One: Liturgical Reconciliation”, (...) will be held at the University of Notre Dame from September 24–26. The Keynote Speakers will be Bishop Stephen J. Lopes, Bishop of the Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, and Dr. Stephen Bullivant, Director of the Benedict XVI Centre for Religion and Sociology, and Professor of the Theology and Sociology of Religion at St Mary’s University (Twickenham and London). http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2020/01/scl-2020-at-notre-dame-that-they-may-be.html#.Xi67D2hKhhE

Please - the Next Doctors of the Church.

Image
Given their extraordinary depth of understanding, the exceptional quality of their orthodox theological works (eminens doctrina), the tremendous influence of their writings, and their proven sanctity (insignis vitae sanctitas) and intercession before God, is it not good and true that Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman and Saint John Paul II (Karol Karol Wojtyła) be acknowledged (Ecclesiae declaratio) as Doctors of the Church ? https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/polish-bishops-call-for-john-paul-ii-to-be-named-a-doctor-of-the-church-80686 In October of 2019, the Polish Catholic Bishops Conference formally petitioned Pope Francis to consider making Saint Pope John Paul II a Doctor of the Church in an official proclamation, in recognition of his contributions to theology, philosophy, and Catholic literature, as well as the formal documents (encyclicals, apostolic letters, bulls, motu proprio documents, homilies, and speeches) that he issued. https://www.ewtn.com/catholic

Will Tradition-minded Methodists enter the Church through the Ordinariate?

Image
Redundant Methodist Church: photo at Ordinariate News ACS At the National Catholic Register, Peter Jesserer Smith writes The Methodists May Soon Split Up — Will Some Become Catholic? The United Methodist Church is considering a proposal for traditional Methodist communities to leave the church and enter a new denomination. Could some choose the Catholic Church via the Ordinariate? To read the article, click on the following link: https://www.ncregister.com/blog/pjsmith/the-methodists-may-soon-split-up-will-some-become-catholic#When%3A2020-01-18+14%3A41%3A01

R.I.P. Christopher Tolkien (1924-2020)

Image
[ Source ] From The Guardian: Christopher Tolkien, the son of Lord Of The Rings author JRR Tolkien, has died aged 95, the Tolkien Society has announced. The society, which promotes the life and works of the celebrated writer, released a short statement on Twitter to confirm the news. The statement said: “Christopher Tolkien has died at the age of 95. The Tolkien Society sends its deepest condolences to Baillie, Simon, Adam, Rachel and the whole Tolkien family.” Tolkien, who was born in Leeds in 1924, was the third and youngest son of the revered fantasy author and his wife Edith. He grew up listening to his father’s tales of Bilbo Baggins, which later became the children’s fantasy novel, The Hobbit. He drew many of the original maps detailing the world of Middle-earth for his father’s The Lord of the Rings when the series was first published between 1954 and 55. He also edited much of his father’s posthumously published work following his death in 1973.

Canadian Ukrainian Greek Catholic Bishop to London, UK.

Image
NW Eparchy Photo From the Catholic Herald : The Vatican announced on Wednesday that Pope Francis named Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski of the Canadian Eparchy of New Westminster, British Columbia, to be the new bishop of the Eparchy of the Holy Family of London in the UK . Bishop Nowakowski, 61, had led the Canadian diocese since 2007. Story at the BC Catholic: https://bccatholic.ca/news/catholic-van/new-westminster-eparch-appointed-bishop-in-london

Southern Cross Ordinariate dons new look.

Image
Check out the update to the website for the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross (Oceania). http://www.ordinariate.org.au/

The Pachyderm In The Parish

Image
Most Precious Blood Ordinariate Church, London UK There are two rivers: one is healthy, teeming with fish; the other is drying up, a mere trickle, unable to sustain life. The first is a parish fully oriented to the Apostolic Tradition, to truth, beauty and to goodness. The second is a community marked by a preoccupation with - and an idolatry of - progressive ideology. The headline reads: Island churches’ urge to merge: Two Saanich parishes are part of trend https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/island-churches-urge-to-merge-two-saanich-parishes-are-part-of-trend-1.24046355 Two United Church parishes in Saanich are attempting to get ahead of any upcoming decline in attendance by merging. The article continues: Rev. Cheryl Black, St. Aidan’s lead minister, said the coming amalgamation is driven by a shared vision. “We both believe the progressive Christian voice needs to be a strong voice and we both believe we will be stronger together. The United Church of

Syro-Malabar Church: The Ad Orientem and Versus Populum Debate

Image
The Syro-Malabar Church (SMC), an  Eastern Catholic Major Archiepiscopal Church based in Kerala, India, is visiting the issue of the orientation of the altar. That is, the orientation of the priest at the altar. The question they are visiting: should the priest face in the direction of the liturgical east (ad orientem), or versus populum (toward the people)? The SMC is an autonomous ( sui iuris ) particular church in full communion with the Pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. [Wikipedia] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/syro-malabar-synod-may-take-up-liturgy-alteration-laity-meet-today/articleshow/73062622.cms Times of India reports that the issue pertains to the difference in conducting masses in dioceses under the Syro-Malabar Church (SMC). In Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese (and most other dioceses to the north of Ernakulam), the celebrant faces the laity during the mass. Howev

Ordinariate Scenes

Image
Enjoy some photos from around the North American Ordinariate. Holy Martyrs https://www.hmcatholic.org/ Southwest Riverside County, California St. Mary the Virgin, Arlington, Texas https://www.stmarythevirgin.org/ St. Augustine of Canterbury, San Diego County, California  https://staugustineofcanterburyorg.squarespace.com/ St. Alban's, Rochester, New York https://stalbanscatholic.com/

2019 Ordinariate Year In Review: A Few Highlights

Image
2019 Conference on the Anglican Tradition in the Catholic Church https://anglicanorumcoetibussociety.blog/2019/11/24/anglican-tradition-conference-a-big-success/ Pope Grants Plenary Indulgence for Praying at Ordinariate Mass http://www.ncregister.com/blog/pjsmith/pope-grants-plenary-indulgence-for-praying-at-ordinariate-mass-this-sunday?fbclid=IwAR2NjK6pJ66Pm_yLUUN350KNxZP_3U6LcC4xeUHwha9J-eGyIQTR6xRNqf0 https://d2y1pz2y630308.cloudfront.net/3059/documents/2019/10/ACJ%20091419%20Indulgentia.pdf Canonization of John Henry Newman https://zenit.org/articles/its-official-saint-john-henry-newman-canonized-by-pope-francis-in-rome/ Solemn Mass of Consecration: Parish Church of the Most Precious Blood http://www.preciousblood.org.uk/consecration.html https://www.ordinariate.org.uk/news/OrdinariateNews.php?A-landmark-for-the-Ordinariate-in-Southwark-509 New Ordinary for Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross https://zenit.org/articles/australia-pope

Speaking of the Ordinariate: Part 2 - Digestives

Image
David Low (1928) Chesterton More Ordinariate Speak (accompanied by an unnecessary pronunciation guide). Issue: ISS-syoo Mystery: MISS-tree Temptation: tem(p)-TAYS-see-on or tem(p)-TEH-see-on Digestives for High Tea Slices of Englishness for Casual Conversation Byrd : BURD William Byrd (c.1539/40 or 1543 – 1623), was an English composer of the Renaissance. He wrote in many of the forms current in England at the time, including various types of sacred and secular polyphony, keyboard (the so-called Virginalist school), and consort music. Although he produced sacred music for Anglican services, sometime during the 1570s he became a Roman Catholic and wrote Catholic sacred music later in his life. Chesterton : CHESS-ter-ton Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874 – 1936) is a writer like none other. As a journalist, he wrote thousands of essays for the London newspapers. But he also wrote a hundred books: novels, poetry, plays, literary criticism, history, economic theory, philo
The opinions expressed herein are largely those of the blog author. Every effort is made to conform to Church teaching. Comments are welcome.