Thanks for the prayers...

Many of you contacted me to assure me of your prayers, as I've been trying to get to the bottom of the pain in my jaw and teeth.  Thanks very much, the prayers have really helped.

I went to the dentist this morning and after examining me and taking numerous x-rays, he told me that he found four different sources for the trouble I've been having.  The bottom line is that I'll be having four root canals done - I had the first one today, and already, I'm feeling a bit better.  I'll have a couple more done next week.

By the time I get all this work done, my teeth will probably outlive me.

Quiet, but not by choice...

I'm sorry I haven't posted anything for a while.  During the ten-day pilgrimage in the Holy Land, internet service was a bit slow and sporadic.  In addition to being almost completely absorbed by the spiritual experience, God gave me my own little "thorn in the flesh" in the form of some rather severe pain in my jaw and in several teeth, which got worse after my return.  Additionally, I had to make a quick trip to Houston on the second day after my return from the pilgrimage, all of which has kept me from sharing some of our experiences in Jerusalem, Galilee, and Samaria.  I have a medical appointment to determine the cause of this maddening pain -- I'll be starting with my dentist, and see what he has to say.

This whole business with my jaw and teeth has been combined with an almost complete loss of my voice, which meant that I celebrated only one Sunday Mass.  I am so grateful to Fr. Moore and our two terrific deacons for making sure everything went smoothly while I was back at the rectory, nursing my pain!

I hope to be back to normal in a few days.  Meanwhile, I'm on some heavy-duty pain medication, and your prayers would be most appreciated...

Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity

Our Lady of the Atonement

Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity

Antiphon: That they all may be one, as Thou, Father, in me and I in Thee; that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent me.

V. I say unto thee, thou art Peter;
R. And upon this rock I will build my Church.

[Here is brought to mind the intention for the day's prayer.]

January 18: For the return of the "other sheep" to the One Fold of our Lord Jesus Christ.
January 19: For the return of the Eastern Orthodox Christians to communion with the Apostolic See.
January 20: For the return of the Anglicans to the authority of the Vicar of Christ.
January 21: For the return of all Protestants throughout the world to the unity of the Catholic Church.
January 22: That Christians in this nation may be one, in union with the Chair of Saint Peter.
January 23: That lapsed Catholics will return to the Sacraments of the Church.
January 24: That the Jewish people will find the fulfillment of God’s Covenant in the Catholic Faith.
January 25: That missionary zeal will conquer the world for Christ.

The following prayer is said each day:

Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, who saidst unto Thine Apostles: Peace I leave you, My peace I give to you; regard not our sins, but the faith of Thy Church, and grant unto her that peace and unity which are agreeable to Thy Will; Who livest and reignest ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

On pilgrimage...

I'll be in the Holy Land from January 17th until January 27th.  Deacon Orr and I are leading a pilgrimage to the holy places, as we have done a number of times in the past.  I never tire of visiting the Holy Land, praying where our Lord prayed and walking where the apostles walked with Him.  I'll be offering Mass (according to the Anglican Use, of course!) in most of the important shrines and churches -- Annunciation, Holy Nativity, Mount of the Beatitudes, Transfiguration, Gethsemane, Holy Sepulchre, and several other places.  We'll be visiting the Latin Patriarch since we have members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre who will be receiving their Pilgrim Shell from him.

Please pray for our safe travel.  Many of you have asked for prayers, and your intentions will travel with me in my heart.

Epiphany II

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that thy people, illumined by thy Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Pictures of today's ordinations...

For some wonderful pictures of the Mass of Ordination at Westminster Cathedral in London, go here.

Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham

From the Vatican Information Service:

VATICAN CITY, 15 JAN 2011 (VIS) - "In accordance with the provisions of the Apostolic Constitution 'Anglicanorum coetibus' of Pope Benedict XVI (4 November 2009) and after careful consultation with the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has today erected a Personal Ordinariate within the territory of England and Wales for those groups of Anglican clergy and faithful who have expressed their desire to enter into full visible communion with the Catholic Church", reads an English-language communique released today. "The Decree of Erection specifies that the Ordinariate will be known as the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham and will be placed under the patronage of Blessed John Henry Newman.

"A Personal Ordinariate is a canonical structure that provides for corporate reunion in such a way that allows former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of their distinctive Anglican patrimony. With this structure, the Apostolic Constitution 'Anglicanorum coetibus' seeks to balance on the one hand the concern to preserve the worthy Anglican liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions and, on the other hand, the concern that these groups and their clergy will be fully integrated into the Catholic Church.

"For doctrinal reasons the Church does not, in any circumstances, allow the ordination of married men as bishops. However, the Apostolic Constitution does provide, under certain conditions, for the ordination as Catholic priests of former Anglican married clergy. Today at Westminster Cathedral in London, Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster, ordained to the Catholic priesthood three former Anglican bishops: Reverend Andrew Burnham, Reverend Keith Newton, and Reverend John Broadhurst.

"Also today Pope Benedict XVI has nominated Reverend Keith Newton as the first Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. Together with Reverend Burnham and Reverend Broadhurst, Reverend Newton will oversee the catechetical preparation of the first groups of Anglicans in England and Wales who will be received into the Catholic Church together with their pastors at Easter, and will accompany the clergy preparing for ordination to the Catholic priesthood around Pentecost.

"The provision of this new structure is consistent with the commitment to ecumenical dialogue, which continues to be a priority for the Catholic Church. The initiative leading to the publication of the Apostolic Constitution and the erection of this Personal Ordinariate came from a number of different groups of Anglicans who have declared that they share the common Catholic faith as it is expressed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and accept the Petrine ministry as something Christ willed for the Church. For them, the time has now come to express this implicit unity in the visible form of full communion".

Ven. JPII to be beatified

Pope Benedict XVI promulgated a decree recognising a miracle which took place at the intercession of the Ven. John Paul II. The Holy Father himself will preside at the beatification ceremony of his predecessor, which will take place on May 1st in Rome.  That date this year will be Divine Mercy Sunday, which is a Feast Day instituted by Pope John Paul II, and it was the Feast on which he died (April 2, 2005).

Three newly-ordained Catholic clerics

Chapel at Allen Hall (the Seminary of the Archdiocese of Westminster),

where the diaconal ordinations took place.

Three former Anglican bishops -- John Broadhurst, Andrew Burnham and Keith Newton -- were ordained as Catholic deacons today, thus becoming the first clergy of the first Ordinariate.  Here's a wonderful eye-witness account of today's event.  They will receive priestly ordination this Saturday at the Westminster Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood.

The Ordinariate in England and Wales

The General Secretary of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of England and Wales has issued a very clear and helpful statement about the Ordinariate, which will be established there in a matter of days.  The statement has an excellent section for "frequently asked questions," and I would urge you to read the whole thing. This is to serve as the model for the Ordinariates which will be established in the United States, Canada, Australia, and in many other places throughout the world.

Here's the link.

The Baptism of Christ

Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan didst proclaim him thy beloved Son and anoint him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with thee and the same Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Photographs from Christmastide

The Atonement Academy students at Mass

The Rood Screen and High Altar

The High Altar

The Lady Chapel

The Lady Chapel with the Christmas Creche

The St. Joseph Shrine

The Chapel of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Tabernacle and Statue of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

The Gallery Organ and Choir Loft, with the Nave Organ in the forefront

Photos by Phil Sevilla.

The English Ordinariate

William Oddie writes in the Catholic Herald:

The English ordinariate, it seems, will be well on its way by the middle of this month. Three former Anglican bishops were received into full communion with the Catholic Church during a Mass at Westminster Cathedral on January 1. One of the comments following the Herald online report, noting that they were received in secular clothing, opines that “For Bishops to wear ties is simply saintly and to lose all that prestige they once held is stunning to the mind of a Catholic Bishop”.

Well, indeed. But I think that their former prestige is the least important aspect of what they are giving up: they are abandoning certainty and recognition within an established institution, for uncertainty within an institution – the ordinariate – that doesn’t even exist yet. What this shows is an absolute faith in the Catholic Church of which it will be a part, especially as it is embodied by the present Holy Father.

I last saw the most senior of the three, John Broadhurst, formerly Bishop of Fulham, splendidly caparisoned in full episcopal fig (I have known him, on and off, for over 30 years, and have never seen him except in clericals: I can hardly imagine him in a secular collar and tie) at the 150th anniversary of that great Anglo-Catholic institution, Pusey House, Oxford, just after the publication of Anglicanorum coetibus. I asked him for his reaction to the document (it was pretty clear that most of those present were elated by it): his reply had to do, not with the visionary excitements of the proposed ordinariate, but with its practicability: “it’s doable”, he simply replied.

Now, it’s being done (by him and others), and at a dizzying speed. After their ordination on January 1, the three former “flying bishops” will be ordained to the Catholic diaconate on January 13, and to the priesthood two days later. This, I am pretty sure, is unprecedented: Anglican clergy have previously had to undergo a period of seminary training before they are accepted for ordination in the Catholic mainstream.

What this new development demonstrates, apart from anything else, is the degree of knowledge, gained by the former Cardinal Ratzinger after a decade and a half of discussions with these men, of their already existing understanding of and belief in Roman Catholic doctrine and practice (entirely based, since its publication, on the Catechism of the Catholic Church and on other essential Catholic texts). The Pope is well aware that the Anglo-Catholic clergy who will inaugurate the world’s first ordinariate already have a degree of authentically Catholic priestly formation which some of our seminaries are today far from achieving or even attempting.

Read the whole article here.

An historic beginning...

The seeds for the English Ordinariate are beginning to sprout...

This from America magazine:

The discreet beginnings of the Ordinariate

Posted at: Saturday, January 01, 2011 09:55:23 AM
Author: Austen Ivereigh

The 1230 Mass today at London's Westminster Cathedral looked like any other. But for the hint in the booklet for the feast of Mary, Mother of God, that after the homily would be a "Rite of reception and confirmation", there was nothing at all to indicate the significance of what was to happen. The celebrant, an auxiliary bishop of Westminster, Alan Hopes, said nothing at the start of Mass, and it wasn't until the end of a lengthy homily on Mary as Theotokos, or God-bearer, and the controversies of the fourth-century Council of Nicea which led to this Feast, that Bishop Hopes mentioned that they would be receiving some former members of the Church of England into full communion.

They included, he said, three former bishops and their relatives, as well as three Anglican nuns.

It would have been hard, if you had just dropped into the Cathedral for Mass, to understand the significance of what was happening.There was nobody around to explain that these are the founding members of the world's first Ordinariate, the scheme created by Pope Benedict to allow for the corporate reception of Anglicans (see my previous post).

The Ordinariate will be created in the next week or so, with Rome's legislative act expected to be announced on 11 January. The jurisdiction will be headed by an Ordinary -- inevitably one of the ex-bishops received into the Church today. The ordination to the diaconate and priesthood of the three ex-bishops will take place in a couple of weeks. They will be followed at Easter, according to Ruth Gledhill of The Times -- who seemed to be the only one who knew that today's Mass was happening -- by about 20 parish groups, perhaps 40-50 clergy, and a further three former bishops.... Read the whole article here.

"...the darkness comprehended it not."

“While all things were in quiet silence, and the night was in the midst of her swift course, thine almighty Word, O Lord, leaped down from heaven out of thy royal throne.”

- Wisdom 18

Frequently, throughout the mysterious unfolding of the dramatic events of the redemption of mankind, God has used the gentleness of the night as the setting of His great and mighty acts. It’s as though God, in His kindness and love for us, doesn’t want to startle us with the intensity of His glory, and so He covers His activity with the night.

When the children of Israel were released from bondage in Egypt, the angel of death passed over them during the night; while they were on their journey to the Promised Land, the Lord sent life-giving manna during the night; Jesus instituted the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and imparted the priesthood after the sun had set and the shadows of evening had come upon Him and His apostles; the Crucifixion itself, even though it took place in the midst of the day, brought a cover of darkness at its moment of climax; the resurrection of the Lord, breaking the bonds of Satan, took place while it was yet dark. And the momentous event of this holy season, when Almighty God was born as Man of the Virgin Mary, took place, not in the glare of sunshine, but in the midst of the silence of night.

How different these events would have been if we could have planned them. We would think they call for parades, for loud announcements, for a blazing sun and for great activity! In a world which has been shrunk by the media, where the desire is to be noticed, where the very idea of self-effacement brings discomfort, God comes among us in a way which seems strange—a way which is difficult for many to accept. We’ve grown accustomed to thinking that humility must have ulterior motives, and that silence is simply an absence of sound. But how like God it is, to enter the world when so few were looking, to send His Word down from heaven when so few had ears to hear. He works this way today, too, for He touches us when we least expect it, giving hope and comfort and love when those things seem not to be within reach.

Perhaps it’s not so strange, after all, that God should come in darkness, for it tells us most eloquently that God is Light—the Light that drives darkness from our path. In the midst of the darkness of this world, our Holy Mother the Church takes us by the hand and leads us towards the Light which was born in Bethlehem, towards the Light which could not be forever extinguished on Calvary, towards the Light which burst forth from the tomb on the third day. It is darkness which makes us see the glow of a candle, just as it is our own realization of the darkness of our sinfulness that makes us reach out towards the Light which is Christ.

Could it be that the confusion which we see around us, whether it is confusion in the world or confusion within our own household of faith, is to serve the same purpose? Perhaps, in the midst of it all, God is urging us on by His own example, to quietly, but faithfully, bring the Light of His word to illuminate the darkness. Rather than turning on the glare of indignation and self-righteousness, which only makes the shadows more harsh, perhaps God would have us hold up the simple light of His truth, as it is manifested in our blessed Lord Jesus.

When God was born in Bethlehem, He made a poor stable to be His glorious tabernacle. As He carried out His earthly ministry, the world was hallowed anew as His dwelling-place, and as He lives within each of us, so we are His temples. Just as a candle burns before the tabernacle in every Catholic Church, indicating that Jesus the Light is truly there, so our faith, which we express by words and deeds, serves as a spiritual candle burning before the eyes of the world, proclaiming to all that Jesus our Lord is here! He is the God who came at night to drive the darkness away forever. May we, by faithfully reflecting the Light of Christ, banish darkness from our own lives, and from the night which surrounds us.

New/Old Window; UPDATED

We're adding to our stained glass windows by re-working some old glass we obtained from closed churches in the Diocese of Cleveland.  This window depicts the Flight into Egypt, and was installed today in the nave of the church.  Even as I write this, another window is being installed, depicting the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  I'll post a picture of that as soon as they're finished.

*************************************

UPDATE: Here's a picture of the second window installed today, depicting the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.



O Magnum Mysterium

Quite simply, one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written, to carry some of the most profound words ever spoken...

O magnum mysterium,

et admirabile sacramentum,

ut animalia viderent Dominum natum,

jacentem in praesepio!

Beata Virgo, cujus viscera

meruerunt portare

Dominum Christum.

Alleluia.

O great mystery,

and wonderful sacrament,

that animals should see the new-born Lord,

lying in a manger!

Blessed is the Virgin whose womb

was worthy to bear

Christ the Lord.

Alleluia!

The Anglican Use continues to spread...

Here's good news about the establishment of the Anglican Use Society of St. Bede the Venerable.

What a great story!

Here's a wonderful story for you which I read on Catholic Culture, and I just couldn't resist sharing:

Edna Costello was one of those irreplaceable women who seem to appear in every healthy parish. She was the most active member of the altar guild, the Rosary circle, the parish council, the Bible study, marriage preparation classes, the pro-life league, and the ladies' sodality. You could find her in church every morning, a half-hour before the early Mass. She would still be there for another hour after the Mass was over: making her thanksgiving, tidying up the pews, saying her Rosary, arranging flowers, making the Stations of the Cross.

During the day Edna did good deeds. If anyone in the parish was seriously ill, she would know within a matter of hours, and send flowers or visit the hospital room. She would bring meals to shut-ins and place phone calls to lonely widows. On a few occasions she even tactfully asked some of the wealthier members of the parish whether they could spare a few dollars for a family that that fallen behind on the mortgage payments.

Then in the evenings, more often than not she would be back at church--in the basement, this time--for a meeting of one of the many parish organizations that she dominated.

Now if this description makes you think that Edna was a saint, you should realize that many--even most--of the parishioners found her insufferable. And she certainly did have her faults. She could be a bit of a busybody. She was better at talking than listening. She was definitely pushy. But no one would ever deny that Edna Costello tried her best to be a good Catholic. And because she was such a serious, active Catholic, many people followed her lead.

Take little Tommy Brown, for example. The Brown family lived just a few doors down from the little house where Edna lived after her husband's death. When he was just 12 years old, Tommy became intrigued by the sight of the little woman who marched past his front window every morning at 6:15, in rain or shine. "If she can go to Mass every day," he asked himself, "why can't I?" Soon he too was a fixture at the morning Mass. And Tommy was not alone. For every jaded neighbor who laughed up his sleeve when Edna began passing out holy cards, there was another more sensitive soul who would take the card, and begin to develop a habit of prayer.

Years passed, age took its toll, and Edna moved to a smaller home in another town. Within a matter of months she had become the backbone of a different parish. For years she carried out all the same functions in a new location.

Then at last, just before she reached the age of 90, Edna was diagnosed with cancer. She learned of the illness during Holy Week, and thought that was appropriate. She continued her usual activities for as long as she could, doing her best to ignore the mounting fatigue and pain. But on the day after Christmas she collapsed in church, and was rushed to the hospital.

The doctors were able to revive her, and for two days her condition steadily improved. But on the third morning she took a sudden turn for the worse, and the doctors realized that she had only a matter of hours to live. At Edna's insistence, the nurses began to look for a priest.

But there was a complication. A huge blizzard had hit the town that morning, and traffic was paralyzed. The local pastor had rushed out early in the morning, hoping to get a few last-minute errands down before the snow arrived; he had miscalculated, and was now stuck in a snowbank several miles away, unlikely to return before nightfall. No other priest lived close enough to the hospital to make it through the snow on time.

Edna was drifting in an out of consciousness, but when she was awake she was lucid. She was hounding the staff: "Have you found a priest for me yet?"

Fortunately, someone remembered hearing that a young priest was spending his vacation at his sister's home just a few blocks from the hospital. The nurses tracked him down, and the young priest quickly agreed to come bring the sacraments to a dying woman.

When he entered the room, the priest saw a wizened little grey-haired woman asleep in her bed. He thought he would awaken her gently by whispering her name. But when he saw the name listed on the chart on the foot of her bed, he blurted it out aloud: "Edna Costello!"

Edna opened her eyes. "Oh, Father," she wheezed, "thank God you're here!"

"Thank God you're here," said Father Tom Brown. "You're the reason I'm a priest!"

The Incarnation

ALMIGHTY God, who hast given us thy only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin; Grant that we being regenerate, and made thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit; through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen.