The protestantising of catholics or the catholicising of protestants?

The oldest known icon of Christ Pantocrator at Saint Catherine's Monastery.
The two different facial expressions on either side emphasize Christ's dual nature as both divine and human.

One of the ongoing issues for us as the Ordinariate in Britain seems to be an embarrassment on the part of many Catholics who have been happy to go along with what I call protestant ecumenism. Understandably enough, this ecumenism is based on protestant ecclesiology+. Because protestant ecclesiology does not require a visibly united earthly institution then it tends to aim essentially for a kind of federation of 'churches' which are all for cooperation when possible and are nice to each other. Each 'church' deciding their own doctrine but always remembering to say nice things to the others. This ecumenical movement is not getting us closer to the unity that is the will of Christ - that is, a unity that is visible to the world.

Only with ecumenism based on Catholic ecclesiology can we really fulfill the will of Christ to become One Church (with One Faith and One Baptism). This has to be a unity the world can see and respect. The Ordinariate is an expression of this Catholic ecumenism fully in accord with the teaching of Vatican II documents Lumen Gentium and Unitatis Redintegratio. There is One Christ (with a divine nature and a human nature) who has One Body the Church (which is both a spiritual reality and a earthly institutional reality*). From a Catholic point of view there cannot be anything other than One Church. This seems to embarrass some Catholics.

The Ordinariate by its Apostolic Constitution, and declared by it to be inspired by the Holy Spirit, expresses this Catholic ecclesiology. It expresses also the understanding of the goal of true ecumenism - to be one under the See of Peter without extinguishing our identity or patrimony.

The Ordinariate can sometimes seem to be inconvenient to many.

Fr Ian Hellyer

+ Ecclesiology is the study of the Church in theology.

* This aspect of Catholic ecclesiology is reflecting the doctrine hypostatic union of Christ, that Christ is one in two natures: divine and human. Jesus Christ is both human and divine at the same time. In Catholic ecclesiology the Church is not only One as Christ is One, but also has this divine and human aspect - one spiritual reality and one human/institutional reality. The hypostatic union is visually expressed in one of the oldest ikons of Christ found at St Catherine's monastery in the Sinai (above). The two expressions of Christ on each side of the face express this truth of the hypostatic union of Christ in His two nature.

This composite image of the ikon emphasises the point:

Holy Week and Triduum

The Holy Week Liturgy at the Catholic Church Our Lady of Walsingham and St Cuthbert Mayne (ordinariate juristiction), Chelston, Torbay:

PALM SUNDAY                 10.30 Procession and Mass
                                         18.00 Stations of the Cross followed by Benediction
Monday in Holy Week       18:00  Holy Mass
Tuesday in Holy Week      12:00 Holy Mass
Wednesday in Holy Week 12:00 Holy Mass
                                         18:00 Lent Talk and Compline 

The Sacred Triduum

MAUNDY THURSDAY      19:00 Mass of Last Supper  
                                         followed by The Watch to 00:00 
GOOD FRIDAY                 15:00 The Liturgy  
HOLY SATURDAY             22:00 The Easter Vigil  
EASTER DAY                    10:30 Holy Mass

Holy Week Services at St Mary's Abbey, Buckfast (home of the Buckfast Ordinariate Mission)

Maundy Thursday 13th      6.00pm  Mass 
Good Friday 14th               3.00pm  Liturgy 
                                           7.00pm  Reflections with Music
Holy Saturday 15th             9.00pm  Easter Vigil

Easter Sunday 16th           10.30am Pontifical Mass

There will be no 3pm Ordinariate Mass on Palm Sunday or Easter Day.

Anglican Orders, Catholic Orders and the Ordinariates

The question of validity of Orders is a very sensitive one especially for Anglican clergy considering entering the full communion of the Catholic Church. If one accepts the magisterium of the Catholic Church it can seem that one has to reject the validity of one's ministry as an Anglican. It is both very sensitive and very difficult to talk about this subject objectively and helpfully. However I came across this article today which I think (as a former Anglican clergyman and now Catholic priest) is very helpful by looking a little more deeply at the theology, beyond the usual discussions that one finds on this topic on the internet. I highly recommend it.

http://www.hprweb.com/2013/09/the-invalidity-of-anglican-orders-and-the-ordinariate-of-the-chair-of-st-peter/

The Invalidity of Anglican Orders and the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter

 While Apostolicae Curae holds that Anglican ordination does not confer the fullness of Catholic orders, this by no means implies that Anglican ordination is without its own value and purpose.

Mass for the Election of a New Pope

At exactly 7pm (GMT) the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, abdicated from the ministry of St Peter, and retired from the Papacy to make room for new energy in the ministry of Peter. He did this recognising his accelerating frailty and his desire for the good of the Church. 

The Ordinariate of the Southwest of England marked his last hour as Pope with a Holy Hour of largely silent prayer before the exposed Blessed Sacrament, and then at 7pm with a Mass for the Election of a New Pope. Local Catholics joined members of the Ordinariate for both the Holy Hour and the Mass, at the Church of the Holy Angels, Chelston, Torquay. Fr David Lashbrooke was principle celebrant and spoke of how this day was an emotional day for many of us. Fr Simon Chinery led the Prayers of the People praying for His Holiness Benedict XVI, and for the Church, the Cardinals, the Bishops and Priests and all God's people.

Lections:

First lesson:  Hebrews 5:1-10

Psalm 89

Gospel: John 17: 11b, 17-23

Fr Ian Hellyer preached the following sermon:  

Mass for the Election of a New Pope (Feb 28^th 2013)

We offer this Mass for the election of a new pope, praying that the Cardinals will give themselves over to the Holy Spirit and be guided and directed by Him. However we do so mindful of the great pontificate of His Holiness Benedict XVI. We in the Ordinariate have much, of course, to be thankful for because it is with the encouragement and vision of Benedict that the Ordinariate came into being.

As we learnt last summer, with Prof Tracey Rowland, Benedict's vision comes partly from the writing of Blessed John Henry Newman, and it is largely because of him that Benedict has a love and a care for the welcoming of Anglicans back into full communion.

Who can forget the wonderful days of Benedict's Apostolic Visit to England and Scotland? They were days full of joy. Every word he said seemed packed full of apposite meaning and light. My family and I made the pilgrimage to Birmingham for the Beatification Mass. For me it cemented my resolve to accept the offer of Anglicanorum Coetibus, and to work within the vision implicit in that document. But more than that, I was a convinced that I could be in a Church that was led by a man like Benedict XVI. Here was everything one needed in a Church leader, and everything I could not see in the leader(s) of the communion I was then in!

Jesus prayed to the Father, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”

Jesus prayed those words for the Church, for you and I, and in our time we have had a great Pope who has been teaching us the centrality of truth. Joseph Ratzinger grew up amongst the rise of the nihilism of Nazism and witnessed its evil destructiveness. But he also then, a little later, witnessed the opposite though equally dangerous desire to fall into idealistic anarchy, and especially with the German Student Movement riots in the 1960s. What both Nazism and the left wing anarchists both rejected was the priority of truth. For Joseph Ratzinger truth was central, but truth was not an abstract thing that we hold in our head. Despite his truly immense intellect, Ratzinger did not elevate the power of reason alone; he was a pious Catholic and had studied Catholic theology, and he knew that ultimately truth was not a thing, truth was a Person, and truth had become a man, Jesus Christ.

And now Western civilisation is rejecting truth, preferring instead that we all have our own 'truths' – it is called relativism, but it is not truth at all of course. In relativism truth is replaced with opinion. And our holy father Benedict has been the foremost critic of this new way of attenuating the truth – and he has recognised it as a dictatorship. Which is a strong word, but accurate. Relativists are only tolerant of other relativists – everyone else is a fundamentalist. By their definition all people who believe in the source of truth outside themselves is a fundamentalist and is very dangerous.

Benedict as our pope, time and time again, in his homilies, in his writings, has brought us back to the truth who is a Person in the perfect communion of Love, the Holy Trinity. We cannot change the truth to suit fashion, mood or feelings; truth is given to us – it is divine gift – its source is in the being of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

So where does that leave us? As our beloved Benedict retires to a life of prayer, do we fear that all may be lost? Of course if we listen to the heralds of relativism, the media, then a new pope could change everything! But that is not the case. The reason it is not the case is that the truth does not have its origin in the Pope; the origin of truth is the Blessed and Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Benedict based all his teaching not upon his own opinion but the revelation of Jesus Christ. We Catholics therefore, alone of all people, have nothing to fear, for our faith is based not in opinion but the revealed truth of Jesus Christ, true God and true man. The Cardinals that His Holiness has chosen have been people rooted in this truth, so we can expect someone who is as consecrated to the truth as Benedict was.

What is our future in the Ordinariate? We must continue to work under the vision in Anglicanorum Coetibus which is a vision for unity. It is the prayer of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, that the Church be one; as we heard in the gospel tonight: “That they may be one, even as we are one.”

This is no loose federation of Christians being nice to one another, but the unity that is the Holy Trinity. That is what our Lord prays for. And that is what the Ordinariate is called to work for – we serve the Church by working for this profound unity. And this is crucial work for our time; in the words of Christ, “...so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” While we are disunited we undermine the effectiveness of the witness of the Church.

His Holiness Benedict XVI established the Ordinariate to be an instrument for unity, let us dedicate ourselves afresh today, as we pray for a new Pope, that we are called to work according to the very prayer of our Saviour, which He prayed on the night He was betrayed. That is an awesome calling, but it is one we can confidently pursue because it is not based in some person's latest project or idea, but in the stated desire of God Himself, Jesus Christ. (“If God is for us, who can be against us?...”) Yes we might tremble, but deep down we have nothing to fear. In answering the call to be in full communion and to work for full communion amongst all Christians, we in the Ordinariate are empowered by the prayer of Jesus Christ Himself!

“That they may be one, even as we are one.”

May God continue to bless His Holiness Benedict XVI, Pope Emeritus, in his life of prayer, of praying the truth, that the whole Church may recover its confidence in the truth, and by the unity of faith, hope and love, we become effective witnesses to the world, that the world might believe.

HISTORIC COMMUNITY OF ANGLICAN NUNS TO JOIN ORDINARIATE

 

A group of Anglican nuns from the Community of St Mary the Virgin (CSMV) in Wantage, Oxfordshire, are to be received into the full communion of the Catholic Church in January 2013. Eleven sisters from the historic Anglican community will join the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, the structure established by Pope Benedict XVI to enable groups of Anglicans to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church whilst retaining elements of their liturgical, spiritual, and pastoral heritage. The group includes the Superior of the community, Mother Winsome CSMV. The eleven CSMV sisters, will be joined by Sister Carolyne Joseph, formerly of the Society of St Margaret in Walsingham, who joined the Ordinariate in January 2011. These twelve sisters will initially be established as a Public Association of the Faithful within the Personal Ordinariate. They will be known as the Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary and will continue in their work of prayer and contemplation, whilst retaining certain of their Anglican traditions and practices. Foremost amongst these is the tradition of English plainchant for which these sisters are well known.

After consultation with Church of England authorities it has been decided that the sisters will move from their convent in Wantage and, after reception into the Catholic Church, will spend a period of time with an established Catholic community. Following this, the newly established Ordinariate community will seek to find a suitable new home.

Monsignor Keith Newton, the Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, said,

“The Community of St Mary the Virgin in Wantage has been at the heart of the Church of England’s Religious Life since the mid-nineteenth century. The contribution of the community to the life of the Anglican Communion has been significant, not least through the community’s care for those marginalised by society in Britain, and also in India and South Africa”. 

Speaking of the decision of the sisters to enter the Personal Ordinariate, Mgr Newton continued, “Those formed in the tradition of the Oxford Movement cannot help but be moved to respond to Pope Benedict’s generous invitation to Anglicans. The sisters have always prayed for the unity of Christians with the See of Peter, now this is to become a reality for them by means of the Ordinariate. We are truly grateful for their faith, courage, and resolve”.

The community has been in discernment about the way forward since the publication of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus in 2009. Mother Winsome CSMV, the Superior of the Community, said,

“We believe that the Holy Father’s offer is a prophetic gesture which brings to a happy conclusion the prayers of generations of Anglicans and Catholics who have sought a way forward for Christian unity. The future of our community is a fulfilment of its origins, and as part of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham we will continue with many of our customs and traditions, whilst also seeking to grow in Christ through our relationship with the wider Church”. 

One sister, who was ordained in the Church of England and is now to be received as a Catholic, said,

“The call to Christian unity must always be the primary motivating factor in the decision of Anglicans to enter the Catholic Church. Anything which impedes that process cannot be of God, and so must be set aside to achieve this aim, which is the will of Christ”. 

 Those members of the community who will remain in the Church of England have expressed their admiration and respect for those who have taken this decision. In a short statement they said, 

“Whilst remaining committed to their Religious vows in the Church of England the sisters of the Community of St Mary the Virgin wish the sisters joining the Ordinariate every blessing on their new life in the Catholic Church, and respect the integrity of their sense of call”. 

The Community of St Mary the Virgin was founded by the Reverend William John Butler and Mother Harriet CSMV as one of the first communities of nuns in the Church of England since the Reformation. Under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary the community has engaged in charitable work throughout the Anglican Communion, whilst maintaining a balance with the life of prayer.

_____________________

On behalf of Buckfast Ordinariate Group we offer thanksgiving to God for your courage and pray that suitable premises will be found. We are sure you will be joyful in entering the full communion of the Catholic Church, and be a wonderful praying heart in the Ordinariate. Deo gratias.

Rekindling Our Faith with Torbay Ordinariate Group

 

For more details click here.

An interview with Prof Rowland

This interview with Professor Rowland was conducted by Fr Bradley at Buckfast Abbey Conference centre on the Ordinariate's conference day at the end of June.



Tracey Rowland and the Ordinariates from UKOrdinariate on Vimeo.


And something from your's truly on the same day.

New Evangelisation at a Local Level from UKOrdinariate on Vimeo.

Mgr Burnham talks about the new Ordinariate rites for Marriage and Funerals

In these videos Fr Bradley, Communications Officer, interviews Mgr Burnham regarding the new rites promulgated for the use of Personal Ordinariates for the Solemnisation of Holy Matrimony and for Funerals.



Order for Marriage from UKOrdinariate on Vimeo.


Order for Funerals from UKOrdinariate on Vimeo.


Marriage rites here  and  Funeral rites here .

The Ordinariate in Exeter

Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Exeter, Heavitree

Beginning in July there will be new Ordinariate meetings at Blessed Sacrament Church on Fore Street in Heavitree.  Mass in the church will be followed by refreshments and an opportunity for discussion.

Meetings are on the first Saturday of the month at 11:00 am and the fourth Wednesday of the month at 7pm and are open to all - including members of the Ordinariate, other Catholics and interested members of other churches.

Fr Simon Chinery 0117 230 9987



The dates are:
Sat                       Wed
7th July                25th July
4th August          22nd Aug
1st Sept.              26th Sept.
6th October        24th October
3rd November    21st November (Third Wednesday)
1st December

Fifth Sunday of the year

We gathered yesterday for mass knowing that quite a few of the group would be absent due to illness, but were glad to see them replaced by a number of visitors. We were able to give them copies of the "Angelus" magazine which is proving very helpful in informing enquirers what we are about. There is much ignorance about the Ordinariate but there are many keen to know more - we hope the Angelus magazine will be just one way we are able to plug that gap. (To members of local groups - please send me articles soon for the next issue.) If you should like us to send you one please let me know.

We are very encouraged by the enquirers who have been making serious enquiries about entering the full communion of the Catholic Church via the Ordinariate. Currently we have five people who want to be catechised and prepared at Buckfast, so classes will be starting soon. Other enquirers who live further away are following the RCIA programme in their local Catholic parish and will enter the Ordinariate later. It is not too late for others to join. Please contact me for further details ( buckfast@ordinariate.org.uk  01752 266523).

Every blessing to you and yours,
Fr Ian

Flame of faith can diminish ; even go out

Pope Benedict addressed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) yesterday.  Amongst many other important matters, the CDF oversees the Ordinariates.  Any decisions that cannot be made by the Ordinariate's governing council or Ordinary  are passed on to the CDF.  For example, recently they confirmed that the Ordinariate is to have its own Chrism Mass and also that we pray for "Keith our Ordinary" in the Eucharistic Prayer instead of naming the local bishop.

The CDF is an immensely important organ of the Church and its purpose is to ensure the Church is teaching the Faith divinely inspired by guarding against aberration and error. It began life in 1542 and was known then as The Congregation for Universal Inquisition. In 1908 it changed its name to a more general title, to the Congregation of the Holy Office. Now, since 1965, it has the more meaningful title we know now: Congegation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Pope Benedict's insight into the malady of European culture is extremely keen and his announcements on this subject should be meditated on and heeded. In addressing his concerns regarding the diminishing flame of faith to the CDF, we in the ordinariate should take heed.

Pope Benedict has proposed a Year of Faith that will begin in October this year. It is intended to be a year we study all aspects of our faith in greater detail and depth than perhaps we have done before. The Holy Father reminds us that our faith can flicker out if we do not do something about it. Growing in faith does not happen automatically. Yes it grows by grace, but amongst other things we must be prepared to study our faith discovering new depths and new aspects to the truth we had not previously known.

Fr Ian

In The Guardian!

The Hellyer family is in the papers again! Don't worry - nothing controversial. Unless of course nine children are thought to be controversial, or indeed being a Catholic priest and married with nine children is controversial.

The piece was very sympathetic which is of course a relief to us all. Of course one or two facts in the piece were inaccurate e.g. that married priests were allowed into the Latin rite Catholic Church only two years ago, when in fact it started in the nineties - but it will take time for people to realise this. She didn't say too much about the Ordinariate and who my boss actually is, the Ordinary (not the Bishop of Plymouth); nor is it just to enable married priests to enter! On the whole I am happy with what the journalist, Joanna Moorhead, has written, showing both a love of big families and also life in the Catholic Church. She also writes for "Faith Today", a Catholic monthly.

Here is the article on The Guardian website in case you are interested!


father-hellyer-catholic-priest-nine-children

What I didn't mention before was that the photographer did a sterling job with the children - he spent 1 1/2 hours trying to get a picture without someone looking away or not complaining or something.