The first principle of the Ordinariate is then about Christian unity. St. Basil the Great, the Church’s greatest ecumenist, literally expended his life on the work of building bridges between orthodox brethren who shared a common faith, but who had become separated from one another in a Church badly fragmented by heresy and controversy. He taught that the work of Christian unity requires deliberate and ceaseless effort...St. Basil often talked with yearning about the archaia agape, the ancient love of the apostolic community, so rarely seen in the Church of his day. This love, he taught, is a visible sign that the Holy Spirit is indeed present and active, and it is absolutely essential for the health of the Church.

- Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson, Homily on the Occasion of his Formal Institution as Ordinary

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Three sisters from priory at Walsingham discerning entry to Ordinariate

There is now what seems to be an official statement from the three sisters who until recently lived as part of the community of the sisters of St Margaret in Walsingham. One of them was the Mother Superior and the two others familiar to all those who go on pilgrimage to Walsingham.
The official statement says that Sr Wendy Renate, Sr Jane Louise and Sr (until very recently Mother) Carolyne Joseph left the Priory of Our Lady in Walsingham for a period of discernment with the intention of joining the Ordinariate when established. They ask for our prayers.
It goes without saying that we offer our prayers and our support to these three brave sisters. I say brave as I am hearing that as soon as they signalled their intention to join the Ordinariate they were asked to leave the priory within a few days days, to return habits, rings and crosses in a matter of two/three weeks and are now living as guests of a Catholic religious community. After a lifetime of dedication and service, they were asked to leave with next to nothing. Left in the priory there are now four nuns the youngest of which is 75...
Read the rest at the blog Seven Oaks, St. John the Baptist.

Hat tip to Mary Ann Mueller

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