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

Saturday, May 4, 2013

7 PM Mass to be Launched Pentecost, May 19th at St. Thomas More Church, Scranton

from the May newsletter of St. Thomas More parish in Scranton, Pennsylvania:

On the Solemnity of Pentecost, Sunday, May 19, for the first time ever we will add a second Mass to our weekend schedule, which will be on Sunday evenings at 7 p.m. ... a kind of “last chance Mass” for those who have yet to fulfill their Sunday obligation, and of course for anyone else who wants to attend. As a Low Mass there will less musicthan on Sunday mornings, though there will still be hymns and a Mass setting led by cantor and organ. While keeping our Sunday morning traditions intact, this additional Mass time will also allow us to learn the Ordinary of the Mass (Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, & Agnus Dei) in Latin to Healey Willan’s St. Theresa Mass, which we will introduce gradually, mastering one movement for a month or so before introducing the next. If you have non-Catholic (or lapsed Catholic) family and friends who might be a bit overwhelmed by our Sunday morning experience, but whom you would still like to expose to the beauty of the Anglican Use, this Mass may provide a great opportunity for evangelization!

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