"England will find her way back to me"

Many years ago, an Anglo-Catholic friend gave me as a birthday present a book which contains all the messages of Our Lady of All Nations. The book has the nihil obstat and imprimatur of the Archdiocese of Westminster. It is known that the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a Dutch woman, Ms. Ida Peerdeman, just as the Second World War was ending in 1945. Her visions of the Virgin lasted until 1959 and from that time on, she had inner locutions and Eucharistic experiences which lasted until 1984. Ms Peerdeman died in 1996 and throughout these years was under the care of a Catholic priest as her spiritual director. The Diocese of Haarlem in the Netherlands declared the visions as worthy of belief

The messages of Our Lady of All Nations focused on forming a human community and brotherhood that we may have peace. It is only in this manifestation that the Holy Virgin Mary specifically mentioned the Anglican Church that she may remain a communion while being drawn into unity by the Pope of Rome. The Virgin did not say that the Anglican communion (in the visions shown as the spires of the churches of England) must be absorbed but that it must be drawn closer to Rome for it to be saved. Ms. Peerdeman had visions showing the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Pope in Westminster Abbey with the Pope extending a blessing to the Anglican bishops. But the Virgin said that much change will befall the Anglican Church and that Rome must be forewarned. She did not say what these changes are.

When I first read the book in the 1990s, these messages did not make sense, but with the disintegration of Anglicanism and  Anglicanorum  coetibus it now does and the prophecy has been fulfilled. In September 2010, Pope Benedict XVI and the Archbishop of Canterbury prayed at Westminster Abbey and the Pope gave his blessing to the clergy of the Church of England. At that moment the Anglican Communion was being drawn closer to Rome, who first sent the missioners to convert the English.

It appears that the Blessed Virgin Mary will restore what was lost at the Reformation through the Anglicans and this has started with Lutherans beginning to follow the Anglicans to communion with Rome.

The prophecies also allude to the non humanist secularism that has engulfed Europe and now is in the Philippines. They also allude to a pontiff that would lead the struggle against it. This is no one but Benedict XVI. And this may be the reason why the Blessed Virgin has specifically challenged England, who by her Christian foundations nurtured and guaranteed liberty which we in the Philippines too enjoy though our inheritance from the United States.

The Lady said referring to the Anglican Church and England " Religion will have a hard struggle and they want to tread it under foot. This will be done so cunningly that scarcely anyone will notice it."  I believe this is a warning of the non secular humanism and relativistic humanism that has engulfed Europe, America and even the Philippines. The visions also refer to the Anglican churches which the Blessed Virgin encloses in an iron hoop and writes above them the words " Brotherly Love", "Justice" and "Truth". The Lady said that this has not yet come about and then points at Rome reminding the See of Rome that the Anglicans should practice these virtues in the fullest sense. In these visions it appears that the Anglicans must be brought nearer to the Roman See if they are to remain a communion.

The Virgin commands in English "England, you must return to the Highest!, the Highest!".

The prophecies are fulfilled for Pope Benedict XVI sounded his battle call at the birthplace of English liberties at Westminster Hall. England must return to its Christian foundations or else we lose our liberties. This is something I have blogged about and some people didn't get what I mean.

[Is Benedict XVI the elderly German archbishop alluded to in this struggle? He as head of the CDF has staunchly resisted moral relativism. It is now beginning to make sense!]

In this whole story, the Anglicans will definitely at the centre. The  Church of England has the obligation to defend the Christian foundation of England from non humanistic secularism which has affected it. The Church of England will have to return to its Biblical foundations. The Anglican Church too must return to the Highest!

The Blessed Virgin is traditionally known as the Queen of Prophets. She in this way has been for us the Prophet of the Anglican Ordinariates.

The prayer for the intercession of Our Lady of All Nations is

Lord Jesus Christ,

Son of the Father,
send now Your Spirit over the earth.
Let the Holy Spirit live
in the heart of all nations,
that they may be preserved from
degeneration,disaster and war.
May the Lady of All Nations,who once was Mary,
be our Advocate.
Amen.

Ordinariate Mass books are now ready, Deacon appointed as Lateran Professor

The Tablet reports that the English Ordinariate's Mass and prayer books are now ready and are awaiting Rome's approval. It is hoped that approval will be had just in time for Pentecost, when most of the former Anglican clergy and now transitional deacons, are ordained priests. The Mass books will have an "Anglican flavour". How Anglican this will be is something we await!

One of these deacons is the Reverend Professor Allen Brent DD who is considered as an authority on early Christianity. He was recently appointed as professare invitato at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. Reverend Professor Brent was formerly with my alma mater, James Cook University, where he was associate professor of history from 1980-1995. He was a priest incardinated with the Anglican Diocese of North Queensland during that time.

For those interested in heraldry, the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham's coat of arms are here together with its heraldic description.

Episcopal Church in the Philippines concludes 2011 Synod

The Episcopal Church in the Philippines recently concluded its 2011 Synod in Sagada, Mt Province. According to our friends in the ECP, the synod passed resolutions on the following

1.Episcopal Diocese of Southern Phil. officially was divided in two, the name of the new diocese is EDD (Episcopal Diocese of Davao)
2. As of today, we have 47 full fledged-parishes all over the Philippines
3. Resolution in support of the Reproductive Health bill was passed
4. The ECP hymnal became final with the removal of the "Trial Use"
5. The retirement age for ECP clergy remains 60 and not 65.
6. The next synod will be held in May, 2014 in Cathedral Heights, Q.C.

The continued growth of the ECP beyond its traditional mission areas in the Cordilleras is most welcomed. This means the church is becoming more present in the whole Philippines. The erection of a Diocese of Davao is notable for it means a stronger missionary presence in Mindanao.

Also last May 9, the ECP marked the centennial of Bishop Benito Cabanban's birth. Bp Cabanban is the first Filipino bishop of the ECP. He passed away in 1990.

More news on the ECP can be found at the Facebook group of Pinoy Episcopalians.

My Pope, your Pope, everyone's Pope

On Labour day 2011, Pope John Paul II will be beatified by his successor and good friend Benedict XVI. John Paul II is the only Pope I truly know. True that I now know who Benedict is, but I still have found it a bit more difficult to digest his encyclicals. I was born during the Papacy of Paul VI, but all I can remember of Paul VI is his shell shocked Hamlet-like expression as a result of Humanae Vitae. John Paul I I remember as a smiling Bishop of Rome but he reigned only for a month or so.

My father read the news of John Paul II's election and he couldn't figure out where this Pope came from. He thought he was Russian. In a sense John Paul II was unexpected and only now we know why God chose him to lead Christ's flock.

John Paul II responded to God's call for him to be a Pontiff whose original meaning is "bridge builder". He was able to bridge distances with his jet setting apostolic journeys. In one of them in 1981, then Protestant me got blessed.  I waved and he blessed me (or what was probably the crowd), but still I was blessed. And I saw him, he was so pink in the tropical heat.

And that was the start of the long walk to learn what Catholicism is. And when I saw this prayerful man, pray at Canterbury with the Primate of All England.

Note that his shoes were old and well trodden. An apt reality of a man tasked to preach the Good News by word and deed! And who says the Pope wore Prada!?!?!

In a gesture that shocked traditionalists, Pope John Paul II in 1986 prayed with representatives of many religions in Assisi in a World Day of Prayer. His address is here. But this is the gist of his address is this

"Peace goes much beyond human efforts, particularly in the present plight of the world, and therefore that its source and realization is to be sought in that Reality beyond all of us"

There can be no Peace without God!

To which Benedict XVI reflected on a letter to the Bishop of Assisi on the 20th anniversary of that prayer gathering

"It is under this profile that the initiative John Paul II promoted 20 years ago has acquired the features of an accurate prophecy. His invitation to the world's religious leaders to bear a unanimous witness to peace serves to explain with no possibility of confusion that religion must be a herald of peace."


It is said that for that moment when all of them prayed in Assisi, no gunshot was fired in anger!


John Paul II is credited by many as the one person who toppled atheistic Communism in Eastern Europe. But he himself said that it was due to people who thirsted for truth, liberty and faith that made it happen.

The Pope in his later years showed the deterioration associated with Parkinson's disease. His journey then to the gates of Eternal Life was a witness that all life is valuable from conception to its natural end. His concern for the environment sets the stage for an authentic theology of the environment in the 1990 World Day of Peace Message which his successor has further elaborated


And this is so prophetic for the world 21 years later

"When the ecological crisis is set within the broader context of the search for peace within society, we can understand better the importance of giving attention to what the earth and its atmosphere are telling us: namely, that there is an order in the universe which must be respected, and that the human person, endowed with the capability of choosing freely, has a grave responsibility to preserve this order for the well-being of future generations. I wish to repeat that the ecological crisis is a moral issue."

On his death, the Pope was not just a Pope for the Catholics but a Pope for all who have faith. The Bishop of Rome has always been a sign, he is a sign of hope, a sign of contradiction and a sign of unity. During his funeral, it became the largest gathering of world leaders ever. It became the largest gathering of religious leaders. Jews, Orthodox Christians, Protestants, Anglicans, Buddhists, Hindus etc prayed for the departed Pope.

The Bishop of Rome continues to witness that in the darkest days of our history as a human society, when we are perilously close to destroying ourselves, there is always another way, the way out!

John Paul II has indeed followed the call of his Master to build bridges and to let walls fall.

Blessed Pope John Paul II, pray for us. Pray that we may build bridges on the road to Peace.

Hip, hip hooray to the newly weds!

Now that Kate and Wills have tied the knot, we wish them all the best and may they live and love happily ever after! Now I could not help but remark about these by Damian Thompson

This is what the Church of England is for

and

that cartwheeling verger!

Damian Thompson is right that the wedding liturgy shows what the CoE is best at doing. The Anglican choral tradition is best. Compare this with what is dished out at Papal ceremonials at St Peter's!

But there is something about weddings that lift up the jaded still. Perhaps because it celebrates life. The Anglican wedding liturgy is replete with traditional Catholic teaching on marriage. Protestant restraint is wedded with Catholic pagentry This is what the CoE is best at. The sermon of the Bishop of London is magnificent and this smudges out ill will on his statement about the Ordinariate Catholics sharing Anglican churches.

And Rowan cannot be questioned about his authority as Archbishop of Canterbury. It shoots down wags' prediction that he would do a Rowan Atkinson!

As for the verger, I think he can be forgiven. Is being happy that the whole shebang happened with nary a  hitch a sin?

Now the CoE will have to deal with female bishops now! If no provisions  are given for traditional bishops to care for Anglicans who oppose female bishops, expect these Anglicans to cartwheel out of the CoE and into evangelical and Anglo-Catholic continuing jurisdictions or to the Ordinariate.

And while the old question was for Catholics "Whom do you wish were all Catholic?" Answer: All Anglicans/Episcopalians!

For once we have the question in reverse: Whom do you wish were all Anglicans? Answer: All Roman Catholics!

The Ordinariate in England grows and grows!

The Ordinariate of our Lady of Walsingham last January 1 just started out with 3 former Anglican bishops and 2 religious sisters which makes five. They were all received in the Catholic Church in that month. A fortnight later, the former bishops were ordained Catholic priests with one, Fr Keith Newton appointed as the first Ordinary. Later on the  Pope bestowed the honor of being monsignori to the three priests.

This Easter season we read that many groups of Anglicans are now being received in the Church, many with their pastors. It is expected that their pastors will be ordained within the latter half of the year.


The Ordinariate may be likened to a tree with just five small branches at the start. However as the year progresses, we see many more branches grafted to the tree. In order for the graft to prosper, the branch must be of like constitution to the trunk.

The Ordinariate is the logical conclusion of Anglicanism's branch theory. The theory is partially correct as the Catholic Church acknowledges, but if the branch is separated from the trunk, it will wither and die. Here is an Orthodox priest's view of the theory. The One Holy Catholic Church may have branches true, but it can only be one if one realizes that the branches are attached to the trunk! If the branch is separated from the trunk, the branch may develop on its own and may fall into theological innovations.

But as the Ordinariates will show and I believe it will, it doesn't mean that if you have a branch, it is within the trunk! Similarly the Eastern Catholic Churches have shown this throughout the centuries.

Easter Monday: On the road to Emmaus

Rembrant's The Supper at Emmaus

Art thou a stranger in Jerusalem, and has not known the things which are come to pass in these days?

Easter Monday is a holiday in England and the countries of the Commonwealth. In England, the custom of egg rolling happens on this day. Originally a pagan custom, it took on a Gospel reality, that is it symbolizes the rolling of the stone in Jesus' tomb when he rose from the dead. The Eastern Church considers this as  Bright Monday of Bright Week.


However this Monday commemorates the Jesus while eating supper with two men in Emmaus. The Book of Common Prayer and the Old Roman Missal have the same Gospel reading for this day, St Luke 24, 13-35

The Collect in the 1928 BCP goes

O God, whose blessed Son did manifest himself to his disciples in the breaking of bread; Open, we pray thee, the eyes of our faith, that we may behold thee in all thy works; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

On the road to Emmaus, two men reflected on the events of the last few days, when Jesus caught up with them. Jesus explained what the Scriptures told about those days. And since night was upon them, the three went to a house and had supper. Jesus took bread, blessed it  and gave it to them. And once they realized who the one who broke the bread,  Jesus disappeared from their sight.

They remarked "Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and when he opened to us the Scriptures?"

But the truth is the two men knew the Risen Jesus by the breaking of the bread. The Supper at Emmaus may be considered as the First Supper of the Risen Christ.

Do we recognize Jesus, truly present, in his Risen Humanity and Divinity at every Mass in the breaking of the bread?

The Harrowing of Hell

The Resurrection of Jesus and the Harrowing of Hell

The title of this post is not to scare the your wits but to recall an ancient understanding on what Easter really means. This was conserved by the English Church from its very foundation by Saint Augustine of Canterbury and is now part of the Anglican understanding of the Faith. However in the recent decades especially after the Second Vatican Council, this understanding has been downplayed in the Latin Church and too in the Anglican Church. Fortunately it still is central to Eastern Christianity's belief about Easter as seen most clearly in its icons.   The term "harrowing of hell" comes from the Old English word "hergian" which means to despoil or to snatch. Thus before Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, he descended into hell ("the dead" in modern usage). I am old enough to recall the use of "Hell" in the Creed and I always asked why did Jesus have to go to Hell. He didn't commit any sin, did he?

The English Abbot Aelfric of Eynsham (955-1010) used the term "harrowing of hell"in his homilies. Since then a rich tradition has developed about the concept even as it was taught by the early Church fathers. The Eastern Church believes that Jesus snatched Adam and Eve, now forgiven and brought them to Paradise once more. The icon above shows risen Jesus Christ snatching Adam and Eve from the tomb.  This is what the Eastern Church understands about the Resurrection. It is the real snatching of us sinners from Death! The Roman Catholic Church understands this in a slightly different way as said in the Catechism. Christ released the just who preceded him from death and perpetual exclusion from heaven. Many Protestants believe that in Jesus descending to Hell, he broke Satan's power forever.

As for my earlier question about what "hell" means, the meaning has changed in the last 1000 years. The word came from the Norse "hel" which means underneath. Now it means a place for the damned. But whatever the meaning is, Jesus Christ the Risen Lord has triumphed over hell and death.

The pre-Reformation English Church celebrated the "harrowing of hell" in many mystery plays and in the iconography of parish churches. Even the Rood Screen may have a picture of what this means and that is very close to the understanding of the Eastern Church. Sadly the Reformation almost did away with these and in the resulting Calvinist inspired iconoclasm, many representations were lost.

Nonetheless, the 1928 Book of Common Prayer collect for Easter Even or Holy Saturday echoes what the ancient tradition from the East means. In the collect it is prayed that in order to be saved we have to be buried with Him, pass through the grave and the gate of death and rise in our glorious ressurrection, because Jesus rose from the dead!

This understanding is now largely lost to us. We live in a secular world where hell is no longer real since we have lost the meaning of what sin is. And the hells we have made by our works (wars, environmental destruction, injustice, corruption, abortion, disrespect for human life and dignity etc have numbed us. Now will the Risen Jesus snatch as from all of these? How can our Christian faith harrow these hells and release us? The Anglican tradition is a gentle reminder of what is really at stake for our souls. The English Church before and after the Reformation and through the Catholic revival has nurtured many mystics who have dwelt on this reality. The Ordinariates in one sense will restore this understanding to the Roman Catholic Church, as the Eastern Church restores it to the West.

The message of Easter is that Jesus has risen from the dead, destroyed sin and death and shows us the way to eternal life. So death where is thy sting?

A blessed Easter to our readers!

Easter Even

The Collect (1928 American Book of Common Prayer)

Grant, O Lord, that as we are baptized in to the death of thy blessed Son, oir saviour Jesus Christ, so by continual mortifying our corrupt affections we may be buried with him; and that through the grace, and gate of death, we may pass to our joyful resurrection; for his merits, who died, and was buried, and rose again for us, the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Collect (Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines and the  Book of Divine Worship, Anglican Use of the Roman Rite)

O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 The Collect from the Old Roman Missal

O God, Who dost illumine this most holy night by the glory of the Lord's Resurrection, preserve in the new children of Thy family the spirit of adoption which Thou has given; that. renewed in body and mind, they may render to Thee a pure service. Through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Exsultet

Rejoice now, heavenly hosts and choirs of angels,
and let your trumpets shout Salvation
for the victory of our mighty King.

Rejoice and sing now, all the round earth,
bright with a glorious splendor,
for darkness has been vanquished by our eternal King.

Rejoice and be glad now, Mother Church,
and let your holy courts, in radiant light,
resound with the praises of thy people.

[All you who stand near this marvelous and holy flame,
pray with me to God the Almighty
for the grace to sing the worthy praise of this great light;
through Jesus Christ his Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with him,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.] Amen.

Deacon: The Lord be with you.
People: And with thy spirit.
Deacon: Let us give thanks unto our Lord God.
People: It is right to give him thanks and praise.
The Deacon continues:
It is truly right and good, always and everywhere, with our
whole heart and mind and voice, to praise you, the invisible,
almighty, and eternal God, and your only-begotten Son, Jesus
Christ our Lord; for he is the true Paschal Lamb, who at the
feast of the Passover paid for us the debt of Adam’s sin, and by
his blood delivered thy faithful people.
This is the night, when you brought our fathers, the children of
Israel, out of bondage in Egypt, and led them through the Red
Sea on dry land.

This is the night, when all who believe in Christ are delivered
from the gloom of sin, and are restored to grace and holiness of
life.

This is the night, when Christ broke the bonds of death and
hell, and rose victorious from the grave.
[How wonderful and beyond our knowing, O God, is your
mercy and loving-kindness to us, that to redeem a slave, you
gave a Son.

How holy is this night, when wickedness is put to flight, and sin
is washed away. It restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to
those who mourn. It casts out pride and hatred, and brings
peace and concord.

How blessed is this night, when earth and heaven are joined and
man is reconciled to God.]

Holy Father, accept our evening sacrifice, the offering of this
candle in your honor. May it shine continually to drive away all
darkness. May Christ, the Morning Star who knoweth no
setting, find it ever burning—he that giveth his light to all
creation, and who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

Good Friday, It is finished!

James Tissot's "Consummatum Est!" Image courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum, NYC

It is finished! Christ hath known

All the life of men wayfaring; 

Human joys and sorrows sharing.

Making human needs his own

Lord in us thy life renewing,

Lead us where thy feet have trod,

Till, the way of truth pursuing,

Human souls find rest in God.

It is finished! Christ is slain,

On the altar of creation,

Offering for a world's salvation

Sacrifice of love and pain,

Lord thy love through pain revealing,

Purge our passions, scourge our vice,

Till, upon the tree of healing,

Self is slain in sacrifice!

-Reverend Gabriel Gillett

The Rev Gabriel Gillett (1799-1871) is one of the largely forgotten vicars of the Church of England in the 19th century. Rev Gillett after receiving an MA from Oriel College, Oxford, became rector of Waltham on the Woods, was in charge of a dilapidated church, which he renovated at his expense. Today the rectory he built is a nursing home. Many people remember him for the hymn "It is finished!" which is still sung in Anglican/Episcopal churches on Good Friday. The hymn is number 380 in the Church of England Hymnal