A prayer for the Ordinariates

From the Ordinariateportal.wordpress.com blog.

PRAYER FOR THE ORDINARIATES

Eternal Father, we place before you the project of forming the Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans seeking full communion with the Catholic Church.

We thank you for this initiative of Pope Benedict XVI, and we ask that, through the Holy Spirit, the Ordinariates may become: families of charity, peace and the service of the poor, centres for Christian unity and reconciliation, communities that welcome and evangelize, teaching the Faith in all its fullness, celebrating the liturgy and sacraments with prayerful reverence and maintaining a distinctive patrimony of Christian faith and culture.

Drawing on that heritage we pray:

Go before us, O Lord, in all our doings with thy most gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help;
that in all our works, begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorify thy holy name, and finally by thy mercy obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

V/ Our Lady of Walsingham.
R/ Pray for us as we claim your motherly care.
V/ Saint Therese of the Infant Jesus.
R/ Pray for us as we place this work under your patronage.
V/ Blessed John Henry Newman
R/ Pray that Christ’s Heart may speak unto our hearts.
V/ Saints and Martyrs of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
R/ Pray for us and accompany us on our pilgrim way.

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.

Join us for Evening Prayer

From Wikipedia

Beginning this week, on Friday evening, we will begin to meet privately, quietly, and regularly for Evening Prayer according to Anglican Use and for fellowship. We will probably meet monthly, towards the end of each month, on the UP Diliman campus. This is not a large public event but is rather a time for us to pray together and to get to know each other better.  If you would like to join us, please drop us a note.  You can send us email at AnglicanUsePhilippines@gmail.com  You are more than welcome to join our prayer group.

In the near future, we hope to hold some larger, public Evening Prayer services, and sometime down the line maybe even other services.  We will keep you all informed.

We call them Anglican Roman Catholics

In an earlier blog post, the question was asked "What do we do with the Anglicans?". With the Ordinariate up and running, what then do we call these Anglicans who have taken the papal offer and now are with the Catholic Church?

It is grossly inaccurate to call them former Anglicans. They aren't and Anglicanorum coetibus does not intend them to be such. They are accurately called former members of the Church of England (CoE) or the Anglican Communion. But the word "Anglican" is larger than the CoE or the Anglican Communion itself.

They are definitely cannot be described as Anglo-Catholics anymore. That hyphenated word is now too small to describe them.

These people can be best called Anglican Roman Catholics. They are Anglican in particular tradition, Roman in the essentials that are shared by all and Catholic, in unity as God willed them to be.

The Rorate Caeli blog tags articles about the Ordinariate as Anglicans IN the Church. This is right!

Three momentous years

Here are three important years in the story of Anglicanism

1534 - The King of England in Parliament, Henry VIII passes the following acts 1) Restraints in Appeals, 2) Absolute Restraint in Annates and 3) Supremacy. These are the three legal foundations of the Break from Rome. The Reformation in England begins. The Church of England is born and thus happened the destruction of everything that is "much of beauty" in England, which includes the destruction of the Holy Shrines and chantries. The statue of the Virgin of Walsingham is burned. Henry's heirs Edward VI consolidates the Reformation, Elizabeth I "settles" the Reformation.

2009 - The Pope, Benedict XVI promulgates the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus which paves the way for Anglicans to reconcile with the Catholic Church whilst retaining their Anglican character and traditions as long as this does not counter Catholic doctrine. The constitution establishes a particular church called an Ordinariate which for all practical purposes is a diocese.

2011 - January 15, The First Ordinariate in England in honour of the Virgin of Walsingham is established. The Rev Keith Newton, a former Anglican bishop is named as Ordinary by the Pope. Ordinariates will soon be established in many other countries starting with the USA, Australia and Canada.

The Catholic Church is over 2000 years old. The Reformation in England lasted for 477 years. The Reformation has ended and we are seeing what St Edmund Campion told Elizabeth I about the "enterprise that cannot be withstood". The Virgin of Walsingham is still venerated in her shrine in Norfolk. To all of this we praise God!

Our Lady of Walsingham

Our Lady of Walsingham, Pray for us to God!

The first Anglican Ordinariate in England is named in honour of Our Lady of Walsingham and is under the patronage of Blessed John Henry Newman. But what does the title of Walsingham mean?

Visions are the origin of most shrines to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary has appeared to people who never expected her. In 1061, the Virgin appeared three time to the Lady Richeldis (a noblewoman in the town of Walsingham). Mary showed to Richeldis a vision of her house in Nazareth and requested that Richeldis build a replica of this house. Mary told Richeldis

"Do all this unto my special praise and honor. And all who are in any way distressed or in need, let them seek me here in that little house you have made at Walsingham. To all that seek me there shall be given succor. And there at Walsingham in this little house shall be held in remembrance the great joy of my salutation when Saint Gabriel told me I should through humility become the Mother of God's Son."

Richeldis fulfilled Mary's request and this became the Shrine of our Lady of Walsingham. Soon thousands of pilgrims went to Walsingham, Many of them were healed. Medieval Walsingham became one of Europe's major pilgrimage sites together with Rome, Santiago de Compostela and Jerusalem. The English people had a strong devotion to the Virgin Mary and for that the country was known as the "Dowry of Mary"

When Henry VIII separated the English Church from Rome in 1534 by assuming the title Supreme Head of the Church in England, he initiated the Dissolution of the Monasteries, which transferred the monastery properties to the Crown. The Walsingham shrine was dissolved, the Holy House burned, the treasures confiscated and the statue of the Virgin burned in London.  For more than 300 years, a Protestant England forgot what the Shrine was all about. Of the places of worship associated with the medieval shrine, only the Slipper Chapel survived and that was used as a cowshed, until an English lady named Charlotte Boyd who converted to Catholicism bought it in 1896. She donated the property to the Downside Fathers. The chapel was restored and in 1897 Pope Leo XIII refounded the shrine and the first Catholic Mass was celebrated there. The image of the Virgin was copied from a depiction on a pilgrim's badge. The pilgrimage was then revived

Inside the Holy House at Walsingham

Anglicans were also drawn to Walsingham and in 1922 revived the Procession of the Virgin. Thereafter the Church of England revived the Shrine in 1931.  Today Walsingham has two Shrines. The Anglican one and the Catholic Slipper chapel. There is a strong ecumenical dimension to Walsingham. Pilgrims begin their pilgrimage at the Catholic shrine and end it at the Anglican shrine. Thousands still make the journey.

 Very few Filipinos know of Our Lady the Annunciation of Walsingham. Her appearance to the Lady Richeldis is one of the first recorded apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Walsingham commemorates the Fiat of Mary. If she had said "No", then we wouldn't have been ransomed.

Our Lady of Walsingham has healed many in the physical sense and many more in the spiritual sense. Many have been reconciled with their families and with God, through her intercession. I hope that this  short blog post will introduce Filipinos to Our Lady under in this title.

A prayer for rain

The Anglican Church has always prayed for the seasons of nature for these are vital to our physical existence and well being. This prayer from the American 1928 Book of Common Prayer is most apt for these days.


A Prayer for Rain

"O God, heavenly Father, who by thy Son Jesus Christ hast promised to all those who seek thy kingdom and the righteousness thereof, all things necessary to their bodily sustenance; Send us, we beseech thee, in our necessity such moderate rain and showers, that we may receive the fruits of the earth to our comfort, and to thy honour; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen"

Feast of the Santo Niño

The Santo Niño of Cebu, the oldest Christian icon in the Philippines

The Feast of the Santo Niño is celebrated in the Philippine Church on the 3rd Sunday of January.  The Philippine Church got a papal indult to celebrate the feast on this day. On this day, even overseas parishes with a significant Filipino membership celebrate the Mass of the Santo Niño .

For many Filipinos Christmas really "ends" on this day. It is not only the Catholics who have a devotion to the Holy Child. The Iglesia Filipina Independiente which traces its roots from Roman Catholicism has a strong devotion to the Santo Niño. The IFI national cathedral is dedicated to the Holy Child. The IFI's charism is to identify the Holy Child in the struggle for national liberation and dignity of the Filipino people.

The Holy Child devotion dates back to the earliest introduction of Christianity in the Philippines. The evangelization of the Philippines began when Magellan presented the statue of the Santo Niño to Queen Juana of Cebu in 1521. After Magellan was killed by Lapulapu and the Spanish left, the image was kept by the natives. When the conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi landed in Cebu in 1565, he found the image in a native hut where it was venerated. The natives seem to have lost memory of its origin and claimed it was of ancient provenance. Thus the image survives to this very day and venerated in the Basilica of Santo Niño in Cebu where it have been enshrined since 1565. The Basilica stands on the exact spot where the image was rediscovered.

The Feast of Santo Niño is memorable to me. On this day I was confirmed as a Catholic in the Church. The Military Bishop, the Most Rev Severino Pelayo DD asked my confirmation sponsor if I had a Protestant background. When the bishop learned that I had an Anglican/Episcopal background. He immediately told my sponsor that "he is not a convert" and he need not undergo an RCIA program. The bishop just required me to study the catechism he gave, spend the night in prayer, have confession early in the morning and be confirmed during the 09:00 AM Mass of the Santo Niño. And so I was confirmed. The Gospel reading on the Finding of Jesus in the Temple, remains memorable for me. The Gospel's "I must be in my Father's house" is etched in my heart.

And that is where the Santo Niño comes into my Anglican story. I have always believed Anglicans never convert to become Catholics. They just go back to their old rooms at the big house after a time of being away. My father once told me that when I am away, I will always have a room in the old house. In the same way Anglicans will always have a room at the Catholic house. Pope Paul VI told the Archbishop of Canterbury in Rome that by coming to "our house, you enter your own house". Anglicans are always welcome and they have a place to stay.

The Ordinariate now up in England can be likened to a newly refurbished room in the old house. The Father has taken care to make everything good in this room. It is now up to Anglicans to enter and they are doing so.

And what could we call these "ex"-Anglicans. They are Anglicans still but now they can be called best as Anglican Roman Catholics. Anglican in their particular heritage, Roman in their essentials and Catholic as the Lord has willed them to be.

This is no longer the "separate branch" of yore, but a living branch united with the life giving source.

A important date in Church history: The first Ordinariate is erected

The Rev Keith Newton, First Ordinary of the English Ordinariate

Today, at the Mass of ordination of three former senior Anglican bishops as Catholic priests, the English Personal Ordinariate also known as the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham was erected. The worship service was held at London's Westminster Cathedral.  The three new Catholic priests are the former Anglican Bishops of Richborough Rev Keith Newton,  formerly of Ebbsfleet Rev Andrew Burnham and formerly of Fulham John Broadhurst.  The Archbishop of Westminster the Most Rev Vincent Nichols read the Papal bull erecting the Ordinariate before the Mass.  Abp Nichols homily drew on the Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman's faith journey and thanked the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Church of England for the ministry of the three men. Abp Nichols' homily can be read here.

The Pope appointed the Rev Keith Newton as the first Ordinary of the English Ordinariate. Rev Newton's message upon being appointed is here. Rev Newton thanked the Church of England for his previous ministry and the Archbishop of Canterbury for being gracious.

It is expected that 50 Church of England priests and at least 35 lay congregations will join the Ordinariate. Their reception is expected by Pentecost Sunday. Two retired Church of England bishops, Edwin Barnes and David Silk are expected to be priested before then.

This momentous event marks a significant date in Church history. For the first time a part of the Anglican Communion has been reattached back to the Rock from which it was split almost 500 years ago. And for the first time Anglicans will be united but not absorbed into the Roman Church. In the past Anglicans had to leave their treasures when they went home to Rome. I have known Anglicans who have become Catholic to have left everything except the Prayerbook which they used privately as Catholics. However the Prayerbook was no longer authorized for them . But with the Ordinariate, the Prayerbook will become truly a treasure restored to the Catholic Church.

The establishment of the first Ordinariate is expected to herald the erection of Ordinariates in other countries. The American and Australian Ordinariates are expected to be organized soon. This will be followed by Ordinariates in Canada, Oceania, Asia and Africa.

Also as significantly, the Ordinariate is expected to provide a similar model for other Protestant communities to return to the Catholic Church. A group of Lutherans have asked Rome in the wake of Anglicanorum Coetibus. Since the other Protestant communities have a far more differing view of church polity and governance than Anglicans from the Catholics, it is more likely that a different scheme may be devised by Rome and this will take longer. But the Ordinariates do provide a precedent on how to proceed.

The Orthodox churches are looking with great interest on how the Ordinariates will work. While Rome has guaranteed the Orthodox that their different way of being church will be respected and preserved once they reconcile with Rome, the Orthodox like many Anglicans are suspicious of how this can be practically implemented. The Ordinariates provide a new way of bridging the separation of almost a thousand years.

We are seeing start the End of the Reformation. And the end of the Great Schism of 1054 is now on the horizon. Who would think this would happen as recently as five years ago?

Our Lady of Walsingham, we thank thee for thy intercession to thy Son, Jesus the Christ!
All ye Holy Men and Women, Martyrs of England and Wales, pray for us to God!
Saints Thomas More and John Fisher, pray for us!
Blessed John Henry Newman, pray for us!
Blessed Pope John XXIII, pray for us! 


Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Formal announcement of the English Ordinariate

Readers can find the formal announcement on the English Ordinariate from the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales here. The announcement has a lot of information on what and what not to expect from the Ordinariate.  It is a sort of FAQ. But one thing is really notable.

The English and Welsh bishops do not use the phrase "Anglican Ordinariate" to describe the new ecclesial structure. The bishops use "Personal Ordinariate" and in the future it will be simply just referred to as "The Ordinariate".

Perhaps this is to take into consideration Anglican sensibilities and to avoid confusion. And this is what is called in American English "the 64 thousand dollar question"

Will members of the Ordinariate still be Anglicans?

The bishops conference answers with a "No". Members of the Ordinariate are Catholics.

The English Ordinariate will be the trial balloon. Other Ordinariates will be established in other countries. In these countries where there is no religious establishment, the Ordinariates may be known as the Anglican Ordinariate (Roman Catholic).