Sunday Mass & Anniversary of the Ordinariate

The Buckfast Ordinariate Group gathered for Sunday mass yesterday, and also celebrated a significant moment in the life of the Ordinariate - its first anniversary.  We heard our ordinary's pastoral letter during mass and gladly received his greeting, encouragement, prayers and blessing. Father Keith has laboured extremely hard during this first year - and he gladly volunteered to the clergy last week that he had never worked so hard in his life, even as a Anglican flying bishop. He encouraged us to proceed in hope as we continue to establish the life of the Ordinariate in the Catholic Church. These are words we need to take to heart. Hope is not a little thing. Often the word is used in everyday speech as a kind of casual optimism. In Christianity hope is powerful and entirely transforms the present moment, for it bathes the present in the glorious future gained for us by Christ's victory on the cross. So we engage with all the challenges of forming the ordinariate groups from the perspective of this hope in Christ. This hope is no superficial thing. In Christianity hope is a solid and powerful reality. Hope enabled the martyrs to endure terrible suffering and even death, rather than give up their faith in Christ. The martyrs show us what hope is and how powerful it is. Holy Tradition tells us that the martyrs are the seed of the church. Wherever the church is persecuted and there are martyrs, the church grows in strength and numbers. During the various ages of persecution in the early church, the followers of Christ increased in number as well as in faith. So let us as members of the Ordinariate look to the challenges we are presented in this coming year as opportunities for us to grow in hope. We face various uncertainties not least to do with money and church buildings. We face them knowing that our true security is found in Christ not elsewhere. With time our financial challenges will be solved as is most expedient for us according to God's will. With time appropriate places of worship for the ordinariate will be found, again, as is expedient for us according to God's will. In the mean time, we are where our Lord wants us, let us rejoice that that is so.

Every blessing to you all,
Fr Ian