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

Monday, January 16, 2012

Entering the Ordinariate

January 14, 2012

Cardinal Newman

As this is being read, I will have joined others in one of the first groups of US Anglicans being received into the nascent Personal Ordinariates of the Catholic Church.
Why would anyone in his right mind want to leave a parish where he has invested over a third of a century, served in key leadership positions, and has many friends? Good golly, my parish has some of the best clergy, liturgy, outreach ethic and sacramental and pastoral care and some of the nicest people in Christendom, and it adheres to Catholic faith and practice while respecting that each of us is at a different point in our earthly pilgrimage. It’s getting it right, as some would say.
And why would any Anglican want to trade this for an ecclesial culture with oft-different values and experiences on a variety of fronts? Plus, given that the Personal Ordinariate is only in the formation stage in this country, does it really make sense to jump into the unknown?


Read the rest at Forward in Christ Magazine
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