Conference next week in Houston

The American Ordinariate, which includes Canada, will be holding a conference next week, Saturday, February 2 until Sunday, February 3, in Houston.

It will feature Archbishop Gerhard Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington; and Msgr. Steve Lopes, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Secretary to the Anglicanae Traditiones Commission and will mark the first anniversary of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.

If you are anywhere near Houston, or can get to Houston, attend. Given the speakers, the anniversary and the location in the home state of the American Ordinariate and of Anglican Use,* it promises to be an impressive even foundation event with attendance by many of the key figures of Anglican Use worldwide.

The symposium will be streamed live on Saturday from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Central Time at  www.archgh.org/live

More information can be found at the American Ordinariate's website specifically at http://usordinariate.org/symposium/

*The world's first Anglican Use parish, Our Lady of Atonement, was founded in Texas three decades ago.

The American Ordinariate's teething pains

The US Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter is not even 15 days old and yet it appears that some problems have began to manifest themselves. This involves how the Anglican Use parishes established through Blessed Pope John Paul II's 1980 Pastoral Provision will transition from being under their local diocesan to the Ordinariate. The presence of these Anglican Use parishes and groups makes the US Ordinariate much different from the English one. In England, the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham did not bring whole parishes from the Church of England but "groups of Anglicans" or in Latin Anglicanorum coetibus! Thus the Ordinary, the Rt Rev Monsignor Keith Newton need not worry about translating parishes from one ecclesial jurisdiction to another and getting the approval of the bishops. All the Ordinariate groups start from all at the same starting line. They don't have their own buildings save for one or two groups and most will have to share existing Roman Catholic church buildings with Roman parishes until they are financially capable of having their own. The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams was gracious and generous enough to offer church sharing arrangements with the departing Anglicans but the Anglican and English Roman Catholic hierarchies did not find this acceptable. Perhaps it is for the better. The English Ordinariate will be served well by becoming self financing as early as possible.

Money is the biggest problem of the English Ordinariate. There is a need to find stipends for the priests a majority of them married and with families. Many of the priests are supported by English dioceses since they do extra work for them. Some priests were received having long retired from the Church of England and they lost their pensions and the Ordinariate just like any Catholic diocese will have to provide for them. The English Ordinariate does not have its own cathedral since the Msgr Newton and the Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols believe the Ordinariate does not have the means to maintain one at present.

In contrast the American Ordinariate has a cathedral from day one. This is the Church of Our Lady of Walsingham in Houston TX, which is one of the more successful Anglican Use parishes in the US with a growing congregation. The other successful Anglican Use parish is the Our Lady of  the Atonement Church which has a growing congregation too and is financially viable that it runs its own parochial school. Some of the Anglican Use parishes (around 5 or 6) own their church buildings, some are Anglican Use groups which may have their own priests and some comprising of laypeople and ministered by a Roman Rite priest. One Anglican Use group is a former Episcopal religious order, the All Saints Sisters of the Poor in Maryland. One Anglican Use group is a Cathedral Parish of the Traditional Anglican Communion which is in the process of joining the Ordinariate. Some groups are using existing Catholic parish buildings or are renting or are in the process of building their own.

Whatever the stage of development of these groups or parishes are in, they attract a significant number of cradle Roman Catholics,  with not a few lapsed Catholics who are attracted to Anglican spirituality. And this has become a sticky problem when the groups or parishes transition to the Ordinariate. Anglicanorum coetibus makes it clear that the Apostolic Constitution is meant for those who were or are Anglican and they have to make their desire in writing if they wish to become part of the Ordinariate.

Existing Anglican Use parishes have to apply as a corporate body to join the Ordinariate and the oldest and if not the most successful, the Atonement parish has applied but permission has not been received. This has generated a lot of exchanges in the Anglican Use yahoo group which I believe is an example of impatience on the part of Anglican Use people. People have speculated that there is a difficulty since a majority of the parish are cradle Roman Catholic! This lead its curate the Rev Fr Christopher Phillips to respond with

"Yes, we certainly have a large number of people from non-Anglican backgrounds
who attend OLA; however, when the total number of families is considered, that
number is far from overwhelming. A fact which seems to be forgotten is that our
parish has been in existence for more than a generation. A very large number of
our young families are people who actually grew up in the parish. Are they
"cradle Catholics"? Yes, but they are "cradle Anglican Use Catholics." Also,
there many families in which one of the spouses was Episcopalian, and a
spiritual home has been able to be found in which the former Episcopalian is
very happy, along with the whole family. We have a steady stream of people being
prepared to be received into full communion -- in fact, our inquirers' classes
are offered throughout the year, with a new series beginning as soon as the
previous one is finished, and these classes always have an excellent enrollment.
Many who complete the classes are incoming Anglicans; others are from other
protestant denominations, but who have found a home in the Catholic Church
through our parish. Over these past few weeks I have received four new families
into the Catholic Church, and I have several others who are nearly ready.

Yes, there are Catholics in the parish who have no Anglican or protestant
background in either spouse, and who are here only because they were searching
for a more formal and dignified celebration of the Mass -- and they are all
welcome. I am happy to have them in our parish family. But they are not the
overwhelming majority, by any means."

The Atonement parish I believe is a preview of the future Roman Catholic Church with the Anglican Communion restored in and with her. This future is being created in our own seeing! Of course the Ordinariate will attract cradle Catholics. Will the Ordinariate refuse them complete association? I hope not for that will be a pastoral disaster! Also there will be non Catholics and even non believers who will ask to be baptized in the Ordinariate and so their children will be cradle Anglican Roman Catholics.

The pastoral situation on the ground is that there are a number of cradle Roman Catholics who have an Anglican parent or even grandparents and they received the Catholic faith through their prayer life and witness. Are they not cradle Anglicans too?

This is so true in the Philippines on both the Episcopal Church and Roman Catholic Church sides. There are Episcopalians who worship in Roman Catholic parishes and there are Catholics who worship in Episcopal parishes. None of them would wish to formally convert and this is a pastoral issue that has to be approached with good sense, charity and sensitivity. The Episcopal National Cathedral of St Mary and St John reports that many Roman Catholics support the cathedral's ministry especially to the poor. Many Episcopalians support Catholic ministries to the poor and especially on environmental issues.

And exactly here we find the Anglican Use Society of the Philippines. We will be linked in some ways with the American Ordinariate for historical reasons but we will be within our Roman Catholic dioceses.

As the Catholic Bishop of Cubao, the Most Rev Honesto Ongtioco told the Anglican Use Society of the Philippines "We cannot stop the Holy Spirit in these matters!"

The American Ordinary, Fr Jeffrey Steenson has huge task ahead of him. Also we have to pray also for the Rt Rev Msgr Keith Newton of the English Ordinariate. The two ordinaries are the few men in the vineyard whose crop is ready for the harvest.

Our Lady of Walsingham, pray for the ordinaries and us. Amen.

Rev Dr Jeffrey Steenson, ex TEC bishop tipped to be first US Ordinary

Virtueonline reports that former TEC bishop of the Rio Grande, Rev Dr Jeffrey Steenson will be named as the first Ordinary of the US Ordinariate once it is erected on New Year's Day 2012.

Dr Steenson served the Episcopal diocese for just two years from 2005-2007 after which  he resigned his Anglican orders and joined the Roman Catholic Church. He was ordained as a Catholic priest on Feb 21, 2008. He teaches at St Thomas University. Upon the promulgation of Anglicanorum coetibus in 2009, Dr Steenson has been heavily involved with Cardinals Wuerl and DiNardo in how the apostolic constitution and its seminary formation program will be implemented in the United States.

Dr Steenson is married with three adult children. As such he cannot be raised to the Catholic episcopate but will have most of the jurisdiction, rights and privileges of a Catholic bishop except that of ordaining men to the priesthood. It is expected that he will be named as a Monsignor.

At present several TEC parishes have decided to join the soon to established Ordinariate. Around 67 priests and 2 Anglican bishops are expected to join as well as the Anglican Use parishes the largest of which are in Texas. These parishes are under the Latin Rite ordinary where they are located.

The Ordinariate as a new way being a church, problems and opportunities.

The Anglican Ordinariate is like a baby. In England it is an 11 month old baby and like a child entering its ones and twos, it will have to learn how to stand and to toddle and walk. Thus as the Catholic Herald observed, the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham is in its most crucial time in its history. We have to give laud to the Ordinary, the Rt Rev Msgr Keith Newton for being a good shepherd of the Ordinariate.  Many Ordinariate groups have been received with their pastors and they are sharing Roman Catholic churches in England but they have no buildings of their own. While the Archbishop of Canterbury was supportive of church sharing arrangements with Anglican congregations, other Anglican bishops were not supportive and Msgr Newton has made sure that conflicts with the Anglican church were avoided.

As of this writing, the Ordinariate doesn't still have a "principal church" which is essentially a cathedral. Several op ed writes like Damian Thompson have written about it. As the Herald notes, the principal church is needed in establishing the Ordinariate's identity as a church.  The Herald suggests that the Ordinariate has to do something and not wait for the Catholic bishops of England and Wales to act.

One major problem of the Ordinariate is financial. Just like with any Roman Catholic diocese, it is responsible for supporting its clergy. The main difference is that all of the Ordinariate's clergy were former Anglican priests many of which are married and have families (like Msgr Newton himself) or are retired and in need of pensions.  Many of the clergy have to be housed and have to be given dispensations to find secular jobs to support themselves after they have lost their Church of England entitlements. This should be an eye opener for Roman Catholics who want Rome to dispense with the vow of celibacy for all Latin Catholic priests.  If the Ordinariate whose laity are small are having problems, the wider Roman Church whose parish laity numbers in the thousands will have more problems on this matter. It is very likely that more Anglicans and Anglican oriented Roman Catholics will join and worship with the Ordinariate and thus the Ordinary will have to address the financial problem soon. The Ordinariate is not short of supporters who have contributed some "seed money" but they cannot be expected to contribute for the long run. The Ordinariate must be self financing.

We are just awaiting the erection of the American Ordinariate and this will be much of interest for Anglican Use Catholics, Roman Catholics and Episcopalians in the Philippines. However like in England, the American Ordinariate will face similar problems that what the English Ordinariate now faces. But there is a major difference. The Pastoral Provision allowed the establishment of Anglican Use personal parishes in the last 30 years with their married clergy. Some parishes have grown well like the Atonement parish in Texas. Thus there has been experience in making sure that the Anglican patrimony is conserved in the Roman Catholic Church.

In England as in the US unless the Anglican congregations own their church buildings by title, they are are unlikely to bring their church buildings with them when they leave the Episcopal Church since under that church's canons, the buildings and real estate are held in trust for the Episcopal diocese. Like the Atonement congregration, they will have to build their own churches. In one case the Episcopal diocese and the departing Episcopal congregation have reached an agreement on leasing their church building with an option to purchase. But this likely to be an exception rather than the rule.

The Ordinariate is thus a new way of being an old church. We say new since Anglicanorum coetibus is really a radical way of uniting a separated church. But those separated are returning to Tradition which while old is forever new. The Ordinariates need our prayers!

The Ordinariate preserves the Latin liturgy but it isn't traddie

Unbeknownst to many Roman Catholics especially those of the Latin traditional persuasion, Anglicanism has preserved  Latin in the Western Church and now hands it back to the 21st century  Church. Professor Diarmaid McCullough credits the Anglicans for preserving what he calls things of beauty the post Vatican II Roman Church threw out.

The Book of Common Prayer has a beautiful psalmody and it is likely that this would be included in the liturgical books of the Ordinariates. The psalms are still introduced by their first Latin verse. Example Psalm 137 is still introduced by its first Latin verse as "Super flumina". Now which Roman Catholic prayerbook still has that?

In three minutes we can see the Mass of St Theresa of Avila in the Anglican Use celebrated by the Rt Rev Msgr Andrew Burnham in St Mary Magdalene, Brighton. No one can confuse this Mass as a Novus Ordo or the Tridentine Mass. It is the Mass of the Anglican Use of the Roman Rite. This Mass does not claim to be the "Mass of the Ages". All Masses are, irrespective of rite or use.

But we do not detect a defiant traddie attitude in this Mass. It is a Mass celebrated in the 21st century but preserves the Catholic ethos of Anglicanism. It is Catholic in an Anglican expression.

The Ordinariate is not a particular church separated and exclusive from the rest of the Catholic Church. It is living a tradition that has restored and preserves  a spirituality that has animated the faithful over the centuries.

How are the Anglican prayer expressions being preserved in the Catholic Church?

The Rt Rev Msgr Andrew Burnham of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham gives readers an update here.

We doff our hats to the AngloCatholic!

The American Ordinariate is almost upon us

The American Ordinariate which is supposed to be erected by the fall of this year seems to be almost upon us, The Ordinariate which is expected to be named in honor of the Blessed Virgin's title of Our Lady of the Atonement will probably include all of the Pastoral Provision Anglican Use parishes. For those unfamiliar with the Pastoral Provision, this is an ecclesial structure that allowed former lay and clergy of the Episcopal Church in the USA to join the Catholic Church as groups and retain aspects of their Anglican/Episcopal liturgical expressions. These expressions were deemed "proper" to the Anglican tradition and gave these groups a distinct Anglican identity within the wider Latin Rite church in the USA. Pope John Paul II gave his approval to the provision in 1980.

The Provision became a sensation in the early 1980s for it made possible for former Episcopal priests who are married to be ordained as Catholic priests and be dispensed from the obligation of remaining celibate. In short the Provision took advantage of a dispensation from clerical celibacy that really wasn't new. The Popes have allowed married ministers of Protestant churches to be ordained and remain married. While a majority of former Episcopal clergy who were ordained were married, a minority were unmarried and they had to take the obligation of remaining celibate.  A distinct liturgy and a Mass book called the Book of Divine Worship was authorized very soon after in 1983. The BDW incorporated and retained much from the Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer (1979 and 1928) while including the Eucharistic canon of the Roman Missal. Most noticeably, the BDW removed Archbishop Thomas Cranmer's Eucharistic canon which denied the Catholic belief on Transubstantiation and the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The BDW was not free from criticisms from the Anglican and Roman Catholic sides.

The Pastoral Provision scheme resembles and differs from the Ordinariate in major ways. First like in the Ordinariate, the Pastoral Provisions parishes are "personal" parishes. However unlike in the Ordinariate, these parishes are under the jurisdiction of their Latin Rite ordinary and not under the Ordinariate's ordinary. If a new parish is to be erected, the Latin Rite bishop must give his assent. In the USA some bishops did not give their assent for Anglican Use parishes while some did. Most of the 7 Anglican Use parishes are in Texas. These parishes are one of the most vibrant in the American Catholic Church.

The Pastoral Provision really is centered on how Episcopal priests can be made Catholic priests. There was really no structure in place whether new ordinands to the priesthood from Anglican Use communities (all will be expected to be celibate) will continue to celebrate the sacraments in the Anglican Use. Lately even Lutheran ministers have taken advantage of the provision.

When the American Ordinariate is erected, if the Anglican Use parishes do join, they will be transferred from the jurisdiction of their Latin Rite bishops to the Ordinary. So far after Anglicanorum coetibus was promulgated, other US Episcopal/Anglican groups have made known their intention to join the Ordinariate. Since there is no Ordinariate yet, they are undergoing their catechetical formation under their respective Latin rite bishops.

Unlike in England, American Anglo-Catholics have a wider spectrum and diversity of acceptance of Catholic doctrine as stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Also there is no Established Anglican Church in the USA. Aside from the Episcopal Church, there are a lot continuing Anglican Churches some of which have a Catholic orientation and some are more Evangelical.  This has made the establishment of the American Ordinariate require a lot of time. And because of this diversity, it is expected that fewer groups will join the American Ordinariate than the case in England.

Widely tipped to be the first American Ordinary is one of the first priests ordained under the Pastoral Provision, Father Christopher Phillips. Fr Phillips has had wide experience in advancing and conserving the Anglican tradition in Catholicism and dealing with the Vatican bureaucracy. His efforts have been lauded by by the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in England and its senior clergy led by the Ordinary, the Rt Rev. Msgr Keith Newton.

The establishment of the American Ordinariate will demonstrate that Anglicanism in the Catholic Church is really Catholic and not just limited to one country, like England. This Ordinariate will also likely have an ecumenical charism. Also Anglican Use in the Philippines  will be connected to this Ordinariate. It is foreseen that we in the Philippines by reasons of history will draw prayer support and affection from this Ordinariate, while we remain obedient to our Filipino diocesan bishops until a Filipino Ordinariate is erected when God at last wills it.

As a side note, if the American Ordinariate is named after Our Lady of Atonement, it then becomes linked under this title to the Catholic Diocese of Baguio in the Cordilleras whose patron and Cathedral is named under that title. This is significant for the Anglo Catholic presence in the Philippines was first planted by the Episcopal Church in this region 100 years ago. Is this a sign of things to come?

Anglican Use in the Philippines is on Facebook

Anglican Use in the Philippines | Promote Your Page Too


Anglican Use in the Philippines is now on Facebook. We have both a Group and a Page. The Group is for open, wide-ranging discussions and will most likely be the most active, even enjoyable, of the two.  The Page allows us to do a few things, such as add a stream to this blog and make official announcements in the Anglican Use in the Philippines' name, that Facebook Groups do not allow us to do.

So, "join" the Group and "like" the Page, and tell your friends about it.

The Anglican Use in the Philippines Group can be found here:

http://www.facebook.com/groups/157877007620826/

The Anglian Use in the Philippines Page can be found here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anglican-Use-in-the-Philippines/190662911000795

2011 Anglican Use Conference held in July

Back in July the Anglican Use Society held its annual conference.  This annual conference is always well attended by many of the key leaders in "the Anglican Use movement", if you will, and this year was no exception. Many of the key movers and shakers were there.  These are the leaders that will shape the future of Anglican Use, the Anglican Ordinariate, and even the Catholic Church as a whole.

Videos of many of the talks and services are online at Anglicanorum Channel on UStream.  Included there are videos of the Mass and Evening Prayer according to Anglican Use and of the address by Msgr. Keith Newton, the ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, the Anglican Ordinariate of England and Wales.

For a schedule of the conference go to the Anglican Use Society's website.

The conference was hosted by Saint Mary the Virgin, an Anglican Use parish in Arlington, Texas.

Our Lady of Walsingham, an AU parish in Houston, Texas, has posted photos.

The Anglican Use Society was founded in 2003.  From its website:

On February 23, 2003 a group of people met at St. Luke’s Church in Whitestone, New York, under the leadership of Father Joseph Wilson, a Catholic priest who is a long-time devotee of the Anglican Use.  The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the formation of an Anglican Use Congregation in New York City.  Out of those discussions came the sense that there might be many people in various other parts of the country wishing to do the same thing, and that they needed a vehicle by which to do it.  Father Joseph Wilson celebrated Mass, and the participants signed a document forming the Anglican Use Confraternity.  Joseph Blake was elected President pro tempore.  Since that time the name has been changed to Anglican Use Society, and has been incorporated in the State of Pennsylvania. 

I have had the pleasure of only attending one conference, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was a memorable experience, simply one of the best conferences that I have ever attended.  I urge you to go and watch the videos.

We're on the map, the Emerging Anglican Catholic Ordinariates Worldwide Google Map that is

View Emerging Anglican Catholic Ordinariates Worldwide in a larger map
 

Where is the closest Anglican Use or Anglican Ordinariate-bound group?  How do I contact them?  How many groups are there or will there be? Google Maps has the answer at the Emerging Anglican Catholic Ordinariates Worldwide Google Map run by Shane Schaetzel.  And we are on it!  Thanks Mr Schaetzel.  He also writes at the Anglican Catholics Blog.

"...the only group between the English Channel and Hawaii..."

At the moment, we are the only group between the English Channel and Hawaii to be plotted, but they are looking to rectify that situation and are seeking collaborators: "Currently we are seeking collaborators for the Australian and Pacific ordinariates. Interested persons should contact: shane.schaetzel@gmail.com"

Any group can be placed on the map, just email Mr. Schaetzel and provide "1. Name of your group, 2. Address where your group primarily meets, 3. phone number for your group, (and) 4. email and webpage for your group if applicable."

So, go and check it out if you want to visit a local group.  If you attend any service, remember that some of these groups are now in formal full communion with the Vatican while others have not completed the process and are still formally outside the Roman Catholic Church.


Some bloggers have taken the information provided by the map and did some number crunching.  Back in February 2011, Br. Stephen Treat, O.Cist. wrote on The AngloCatholic blog that, based on the then-current numbers, "an American Ordinariate—in a worst case scenario—(would be) larger than 21 of the domestic dioceses of The Episcopal Church (of the United States)" and that, "If an American Ordinariate were to grow to an (Average Sunday Attendance) of 5000, it would be either larger than or roughly the same size as 59 of the domestic dioceses of The Episcopal Church."  He concluded saying "These are still very small numbers in Catholic terms, but, in Anglican terms, I would say that an American Ordinariate looks quite credible."

Numbers are always tricky and the success or failure of any spiritual endeavor should not be measured in statistics, but I find it interesting to think about nonetheless. Some say that the Ordinariates will be too small to matter or to be sustainable.  Clearly even back in February neither was the case.

Update
I did a quick calculation.  As of today, August 22, 2011, 63 groups are listed in the United States. When Br. Treat did his calculations above there were 36 groups plotted on the map.

"...(L)ike those hushed moments before the dawn."

"...(L)ike those hushed moments before the dawn," is the way that Father Christopher G. Phillips describes the current state of affairs in the United States.  Over at The Anglo-Catholic blog, he writes:

Things have been pretty quiet on the blog of late. It’s not because nothing is happening. In fact, quite the opposite – at least here in the United States, where it appears that an Ordinariate will be established next. 

Things are fairly calm because everything seems to be falling in place. Cardinal Wuerl has delivered his final report to the Bishops’ Conference. The priestly formation program is ready to go. The dossiers are being examined. The Curial officials will be returning soon from their summer break.* Liturgical considerations are in hand. Things are stirring. 

We might consider this time to be rather like those hushed moments before the dawn....

Read the whole post, "To Those Preparing".

Fr. Phillips is in the position to know what is happening.  He is the founding pastor of Our Lady of Atonement parish in San Antonio, Texas, the United States, the world's first Anglican Use parish, founded in 1983, and one of the largest.  As an intelligent and experienced Anglican Use preist, and a former Episcopal priest himself, he has been among the most active of clerics in the last few years when it comes to implementing Anglicanorum Coetibus, and has been consulted by nearly everyone that matters, including Cardinal Wuerl who was appointed to lead its implementation in the U.S.


*July and August is the height of summer in the United States and Europe.  This is when nearly everyone tries to go on vacation, trying to squeeze in a few more days with the family before school starts at about the beginning of September. Nothing much happens then (unless you want to catch people unawares, in which case you might start a war). Traditionally in the United States, the unofficial end of summer is Labor Day, the first Monday in September, creating a long, three-day weekend.

Miles Coverdale's translation of the Roman Canon of the Mass

Note: Miles Coverdale, Anglican Bishop of Exeter who had Protestant leanings translated the Bible into English for the first time. His translation of the Roman Canon is noted for its accuracy and majesty and is authorized for use by the Roman Catholic Church for the Anglican Use. 

The Roman Canon

Most merciful Father, we humbly pray thee, through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord.

[He joins his hands and, making the sign of the cross once over both bread and chalice, says]:

and we ask, that thou accept and bless + these gifts, these presents, these holy and unspoiled sacrifices.

[With hands extended, he continues]

We offer them unto thee, first, for thy holy Catholic Church: that thou vouchsafe to keep it in peace, to guard, unite, and govern it throughout the whole world; together with thy servant N., our Pope and N., our Bishop and all the faithful guardians of the Catholic and apostolic faith.

Commemoration of the Living

Remember, O Lord, thy servants and handmaids [N. and N.]

[He prays for them briefly with hands joined. Then, with hands extended, he continues]

and all who here around us stand, whose faith is known unto thee and their steadfastness manifest, on whose behalf we offer unto thee, or who themselves offer unto thee, this sacrifice of praise; for themselves, and for all who are theirs; for the redemption of their souls, for the hope of their salvation and safety; and who offer their prayers unto thee, the eternal God, the living and the true.

United in one communion, we venerate the memory, first of the glorious ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of our God and Lord Jesus Christ; of Joseph her spouse; as also of the blessed Apostles and Martyrs, Peter and Paul, Andrew, James, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon and Thaddaeus; Linus, Cletus, Clement, Xystus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Lawrence, Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian and of all thy Saints: grant that by their merits and prayers we may in all things be defended with the help of thy protection.

[Through Christ Our Lord. Amen]

[With hands extended, he continues]

We beseech thee then, O Lord, graciously to accept this oblation from us thy servants, and from thy whole family: order thou our days in thy peace, and bid us to be delivered from eternal damnation, and to be numbered in the fold of thine elect. [Through Christ our Lord.]

Vouchsafe, O God, we beseech thee, in all things to make this oblation blessed, approved and accepted, a perfect and worthy offering: that it may become for us the Body and Blood of thy dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

[He joins his hands].

Who the day before he suffered, [On Maundy Thursday he says:

Who the day before he suffered to save us and all men, that is today],

[He takes the bread and, raising it a little above the altar, continues]:

took bread into his holy and venerable hands,

[He looks upward]

and with eyes lifted up to heaven, unto thee, God, his almighty Father, giving thanks to thee, he blessed, broke and gave it to his disciples, saying:

[He bows slightly.]

Take this, all of you, and eat it: this is my body which will be given up for you.

[He genuflects, shows the consecrated Host to the People, places it on the paten, and again genuflects in adoration. Then he continues]:

Likewise, after supper,

[He takes the chalice, and, raising it a little above the altar, continues]:

taking also this goodly chalice into his holy and venerable hands, again giving thanks to thee, he blessed, and gave it to his disciples, saying:

[He bows slightly.]

Take this, all of you, and drink from it: this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of me.

[He genuflects, shows the Chalice to the People, places it on the corporal, and again genuflects in adoration].

[Then with hands extended, the Priest says]:

Wherefore, O Lord, we thy servants, and thy holy people also, remembering the blessed passion of the same Christ thy Son our Lord, as also his resurrection from the dead, and his glorious ascension into heaven; do offer unto thine excellent majesty of thine own gifts and bounty, the pure victim, the holy victim, the immaculate victim, the holy Bread of eternal life, and the Chalice of everlasting salvation.

Vouchsafe to look upon them with a merciful and pleasant countenance; and to accept them, even as thou didst vouchsafe to accept the gifts of thy servant Abel the Righteous, and the sacrifice of our Patriarch Abraham; and the holy sacrifice, the immaculate victim, which thy high priest Melchisedech offered unto thee.

[Bowing, with hands joined, he continues]

We humbly beseech thee, almighty God, command these offerings to be brought by the hands of thy holy Angel to thine altar on high, in sight of thy divine majesty; that all we who at this partaking of the altar shall receive the most sacred Body and Blood of thy Son,

[He stands up straight and makes the sign of the cross, saying]

may be fulfilled with all heavenly benediction and grace. [Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.]

Commemoration of the Dead

[With hands extended, he says]

Remember also, O Lord, thy servants and handmaids, [N. and N.], who have gone before us sealed with the seal of faith, and who sleep the sleep of peace.

[The Priest prays for them briefly with joined hands. Then, with hands extended, he continues]

To them, O Lord, and to all that rest in Christ, we beseech thee to grant the abode of refreshing, of light, and of peace.

[Through the same Christ our Lord.]

[The Priest strikes his breast with the right hand, saying]

To us sinners also, thy servants, who hope in the multitude of thy mercies,

[With hands extended, he continues]

vouchsafe to grant some part and fellowship with thy holy Apostles and Martyrs; with John, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicitas, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia and with all thy Saints, within whose fellowship, we beseech thee, admit us, not weighing our merit, but granting us forgiveness;

[He joins his hands and continues]

through Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom, O Lord, thou dost ever create all these good things; dost sanctify, quicken, bless, and bestow them upon us;

[He takes the Chalice and the paten with the Host and, lifting them up, sings or says]

By whom, and with whom, and in whom, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honour and glory be unto thee, O Father Almighty, world without end.

The People respond: Amen.

Talks on Anglicans and the Catholic Church at UP

Please keep posted on a series of talks on the ecumenical developments between Anglicans and Roman Catholics at the University of the Philippines. Coming soon!

And at the end of each talk will be a service of Evensong!

A collect for Blessed Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II and Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Robert Runcie bless the congregation at Canterbury Cathedral in 1982

From Father Zulhsdorf's blog the Latin collect for John Paul II

Deus, dives in misericordia,
qui beatum Ioannem Paulum, papam,
universae Ecclesiae tuae praeesse voluisti,
praesta, quaesumus, ut, eius institutis edocti,
corda nostra salutiferae gratiae Christi,
unius redemptoris hominis, fidenter aperiamus.

Which he translated into English as

O God, who are rich in mercy
and who willed that the Blessed John Paul II
should preside as Pope over your universal Church,
grant, we pray, that instructed by his teaching,
we may open our hearts to the saving grace of Christ,
the sole Redeemer of mankind.
Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit.....


Which we could "Cranmerize" as

O God, thou art rich in mercy
and who hast willed that the Blessed  Pope John Paul II
should preside as Pope over thy universal Church.
grant and we beseech thee, that edified by his teaching
we may open our hearts to the saving grace of Christ,
the only Redeemer of men
Who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and fore ever more, Amen.

Talks on the Anglican Use and the Ordinariate

The Anglican Use in the Philippines is currently hosted by the University of the Philippines Parish of the Holy Sacrifice through the kindness and generosity of the curate Fr Raymond Arre, the assisting clergy and the parish council. As such we have the obligation to contribute to the parish and student ministry's spiritual activities and formation.

We are considering holding talks on Anglicanism, the Anglican Use, Anglicanorum coetibus and the Ordinariate. The talks will give students a wider appreciation of the diversity in liturgical expressions in the Catholic Church, why there is a need for an Ordinariate and the current ecumenical environment and pastoral approaches of the Holy Father, Benedict XVI.

The talks will be in the first semester of next academic year, most likely in July. Please keep posted for details on this blog.

Anglican Use begins!

Those who prayed from left to right, Mr Bruce Hall, Mr Noel Lumbre, Mrs Chie Lumbre, Mr Ren Aguila and Fr Joe Frary

In what may be considered as an important ecumenical milestone in the history of the Church in the Philippines, the first Anglican Use liturgy was prayed in a Philippine Catholic church. The Anglican Use may be said like the English Ordinariate slipped unnoticed into the water, but this like Christ's command to "put into deep water" begins an important mission. The Anglican Use Society Philippines recently said the Evening Prayer according to the Anglican Use of the Catholic Church at the pastoral center of the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City. Participating at the prayer are Ren Aguila, Bruce Hall, Fr Joe Frary of the Central Diocese of the Episcopal Church of the Philippines and St Andrews Theological Seminary, Mr Noel and Chie Lumbre of the parish ministry for families and yours truly. While we were a bit late, we came from the office to say the Office. Thanks be to God!

For the prayers, the intention was about the Octave of Christian Unity which is most apt. We brought the image of Our Lady of Walsingham to the church. Mr Ren Aguila officiated the prayer splendidly. We prayed for our country, Our Holy Father Benedict XVI and all pastors, for missions and for the University of the Philippines so that the university receives the grace to seek the truth in learning. We thank the intercession of Our Lady of Walsingham for making this event a success. After the prayer we reflected on what Evening Prayer is and discussed the ecumenical importance of Our Lady of Walsingham, who is honored in the first Anglican Ordinariate in England and has worked miracles and continues to do so. We also thank the Parish priest Father Raymond Arre for graciously hosting us and the parish community for being supportive.

That we were able to say this prayer is a miracle in itself! It isn't the big miracle that most people expect but a miracle nonetheless. The intercession of Our Lady of Walsingham is indeed powerful. Despite the difficulties, she has helped us in bearing them. And when we said the Magnificat, this was on our minds.

The Evening Prayer we hope will be regularly said on the last Friday of each month at 7:30 PM. Later on we hope to have a more public liturgical celebration of the Prayer. Please keep logging into this blog for announcements.

Looking forward into 2011

Anglican Use in the Philippines wishes readers a blessed and prosperous New Year ahead. This year promises to be a historical milestone in Church history and changes western Catholicism forever. The first Anglican ordinariates will set up in England, Australia and the United States. In England, the senior clergy and Bishops from the Anglican Church will be received first in January, ordained as Catholic priests and are expected to head the English ordinariate. The rest of the clergy and laity will be received before Pentecost. A similar schedule is expected for the Australian and American ordinariates.

In the Philippines, we expect to celebrate the first public Anglican Use liturgy (Evening Prayer)  in time for the Annunciation. We expect to get the local Catholic ordinary's formal nod this month. Our host parish, the Holy Sacrifice at the University of the Philippines will likely be the venue. Our Anglican Use group will start saying the prayers as a group before then. Updates and information will be posted on this blog.

The Annunciation is the most appropriate time, we believe since Our Lady of Walsingham is known under this title and she is the patron of Anglo-Catholics and her importance has taken on an ecumenical dimension. Also we would take this as an opportunity to make known Our Lady of Walsingham to Filipinos.

Because Anglicanism in the Philippines has historical connections with the American church, it is very likely that Anglican Use Philippines will be in close touch with the American Ordinariate.