Dedication services for new Chancery of US Ordinariate set for February 1-2

We are pleased to share with you the dates and times for the Chancery dedication for the Ordinariate. Please mark your calendars for February 1-2, 2015.The formalities officially begin with Evensong at 4:00pm on Sunday; however, Mass will be celebrated that morning at 11:15 in the presence of His Eminence William Cardinal Levada, who will be the homilist. Please let us know if you plan to be at the Mass and (for clergy) if you plan to concelebrate. We will send out more information in early January with the particulars for Mass and for Evensong.

We hope many of you can attend. Please do not hesitate to let us now in the Ordinariate office me know if you have questions.

from the Ordinariate Observer, Winter 2014-15 edition.

US Ordinariate begins publishing "Ordinariate Observer"

The Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter has completed an important item on its to do checklist with the publication of the initial issue of The Ordinariate Observer.

This initial publication has articles on the move of the congregations of St. Luke's from Bladensburg, MD to Washington, DC and St. Gregory the Great's from Beverly to Stoneham, MA. Monsignor Steenson writes on "The Joys and the Challenges of Growing our Congregations".

Other articles include "News from our Principal Parish: Our Lady of Walsingham"' "Target Date for our New Chancery: Early 2015"; "And there I was in Afghanistant: Special Report by Fr. Jerry Sherbourne"; "Reports from Our Clergy"; "Presbyteral Assembly in October Needs the Help of All of Our Congregations"; "Clergy Retirement Plan Approved"; "A Beautiful Church Plus Beautiful Country: A Perfect Place to Live?" about Holy Nativity in Payson, AZ; "Father Paul Manning to Lead Fall Retreat in Belleville, IL"; "First Combined Ordinariate Mass Celebrated in California"; "From Philadelphia: New Ordinariate Community Begins From Former Anglican Fellowship"; and "St. Gregory's Journey From the Winter of 2012 to Today: A Journey of Joy." 

Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue Releases Joint Statement: “Ecclesiology and Moral Discernment: Seeking a Unified Moral Witness.”

April 22, 2014
WASHINGTON—The Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue in the United States (ARC-USA) has concluded a six-year round of dialogue with the release of “Ecclesiology and Moral Discernment: Seeking a Unified Moral Witness,” approved at the most recent meeting February 24-25, 2014, at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. The meeting was chaired by Bishop John Bauerschmidt of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee; the Roman Catholic co-chairman, Bishop Ronald Herzog of Alexandria, Louisiana, was unable to attend for health reasons.

In 2008 the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs and the Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, asked the ARC-USA to address questions of ethics and the Christian life in the context of ecclesiology, in an effort to achieve greater clarity regarding areas of agreement and disagreement. They were aware that dialogue on these issues was also taking place between the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion at the international level, and also in other bilateral dialogues between churches of various traditions.

The statement reflects on the way the two churches pursue the work of teaching and learning within the Christian moral life. It examines the extent to which their respective church structures influence the way they teach and what they teach on moral questions. Inquiries and discussions about moral formation and the teaching charism of the churches guided them in addressing this topic.

With a focus on two case studies concerning migration/immigration and same sex relations, the dialogue concluded that even if the moral teachings of Anglicans and Catholics diverge on some questions, they also share important common features. The statement delves into these differences and similarities and represents progress toward a more unified Gospel witness capable of addressing contemporary concerns in ways that are useful and attractive to all Christians, as well as larger society. As Bishop Bauerschmidt said, "ARC-USA has produced some important statements in the past. This statement represents the latest landmark in our journey together as churches, and is a valuable contribution to an important topic." The full text is available online here: www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/ecumenical-and-interreligious/ecumenical/anglican/upload/arcusa-2014-statement.pdf...

Read the rest of the releast at: http://www.usccb.org/news/2014/14-066.cfm

Hat tip to Chris Buckley.

Ordinariate Symposium to be Live-Streamed.

Next week's symposium, The Mission of the Ordinariate, will be live-streamed online at www.archgh.org/live, 9:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. CST.

Speakers include Archbishop Gerhard Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (making his first visit to the U.S.as prefect); Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington; and Msgr. Steven Lopes, an American priest on the staff of the CDF and Secretary to the Anglicanae Traditiones Commission. Bishop Kevin Vann and Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson will speak as part of the afternoon panel. The full schedule and other details are online at http://usordinariate.org/symposium. 

Vatican, U.S. Officials to Headline Symposium on the Ordinariate

November 9, 2012

Archbishop Gerhard Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington; and Msgr. Steve Lopes, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Secretary to the Anglicanae Traditiones Commission, will be featured speakers at a symposium to mark first anniversary of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.

The symposium, which will be sponsored by the ordinariate, will be held Feb. 2, 2013 at St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston. Topics will include the ecclesiology of Anglicanorum Coetibus, and the evangelization and liturgical missions of the ordinariate.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, will greet participants. Additional speakers include Bishop Kevin Vann of Orange (CA), who also is the ecclesiastical delegate for the Pastoral Provision; and Monsignor Jeffrey N. Steenson, ordinary of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.

The Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter was established by Pope Benedict XVI on Jan. 1, 2012 for former Anglican groups and clergy seeking to become Catholic while retaining elements of the Anglican traditions and heritage. The ordinariate, which is based in Houston, Texas, is equivalent to a diocese, but national in scope. Its clergy and communities are located across the United States and Canada. Other ordinariates are located in the United Kingdom and Australia.

Details on the symposium will be posted online soon at www.usordinariate.org.

-------------

November 12, 2012 UPDATE: While not yet confirmed by the Ordinariate, word has reached me that it has been decided that the Symposium will be held at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart (rather than at the seminary) in Houston because of the anticipated large attendance.

Revised Book of Divine Worship Soon to Arrive

In remarks at the annual Conference of the Anglican Use Society on Friday, November 9th, Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson, Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter said that work was nearing completion on a revision of the Book of Divine Worship. Following guidance from the Congregation of Divine Worship in Rome, this revision will include only the Rite I services; congregations wishing to use contemporary language are directed to use the Roman Missal, third edition, in the translation released in 2011.

Commenting on the new version of the BDW, Msgr. Steenson said that this was not the final version of the liturgy being prepared by the Anglicane Traditiones interdicasterial commission, but an update with three purposes:

1) The correction of errors in the first printed edition of the BDW.

2) The updating of texts that taken from the Roman Missal, such as the Prayer over the gifts at the Offertory.

3) The restoration of certain prayers, such as the Prayer of Humble Access, to their original versions.

The new text is expected to be in the hands of parishes of the Ordinariate and the Pastoral Provision in time for Advent. Once made available, this version will be mandatory for use in all the parishes using the Anglican Use liturgy.

===========

November 12, 2012 UPDATE: In the comments, you'll see I've clarified that this revision to the BDW is only to the liturgy of the Mass, and it is by way of corrections and bringing certain texts into conformity with the new translation of the Roman Missal. It will not at this time include the Daily Office or other services.

I've been informed by a member of the ad hoc committee that has worked on this that it will not, at this time, include the older text of the Prayer of Humble Access or other prayers; that is apparently being considered for the definitive liturgy that will be promulgated by the interdicasterial commission.

Msgr. Steenson publishes update on the Personal Ordinariate in North America

From the US Ordinariate web site:

An Update from the Ordinary
The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter is now nine months old. Much has happened in that time, and we give God the glory for all of it, the challenges as well as the successes. One of the most significant moments came in mid-September when the Cardinal Archbishop of Galveston-Houston transferred to the Ordinariate the title to our principal church, Our Lady of Walsingham. In a similar way, the Diocese of Fort Worth is in the process of transferring St. Mary the Virgin, Arlington, to the Ordinariate. We have seen some twenty-two priests ordained and incardinated in the Ordinariate, with additional ordinations to come soon. Also, we will launch a new formation program for the second group of prospective candidates in Advent...

Who and What We Are: A Primer for Catholics
The Ordinariate is unique in the Roman Catholic Church; however, it comprises many elements similar to other Catholic structures, recognizable to all Catholics. Consequently, these familiar elements can help to define and explain the Ordinariate, our purpose, and our vision for the future.

In some ways, the Ordinariate is similar to a religious order. In the same way that the Franciscans and the Dominicans have distinct charisms or missions within the Church, we have a distinct, two-fold charism or mission granted to us by the Holy Father. This charism must be taken into account in all decisions as we discern our way forward. We are (1) to minister to the pastoral and spiritual needs of all former Anglicans coming to the Catholic Church and (2) to maintain “the liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions of the Anglican communion within the Catholic Church, as a precious gift nourishing the faith of the members of the Ordinariate and as a treasure to be shared” (AC 3). The decisions we make to plot a course for the Ordinariate must be always with an eye toward both caring for the people specifically entrusted to our care and bringing the fullness of the Anglican patrimony to the Catholic Church. This is our commission, the commission the Holy Father gave us in Anglicanorum coetibus.

We sometimes receive questions about the relationship between the Ordinariate and certain traditionalist liturgical groups in the Catholic Church. In answer to these questions, I think the comparison between the Franciscans and the Dominicans is apt. Saints Francis and Dominic once met to see whether they might combine their efforts and form one religious order. Although they left their meeting with great respect for each other and for their individual missions, they realized that it was important for the Church that they keep their efforts distinct. We in the Ordinariate must recognize that our commission to care for former Anglicans and to introduce our distinctive patrimony to the Church is a full-time, life-long calling, similar to but separate from the recovery of the Extraordinary Form within Catholic life. While our goals might be similar, and while we might support each other’s charism, the charisms are not identical. To merge the two might divert the Ordinariate from its primary tasks. We must seek to be faithful to our own distinct charism and patrimony.

We are blessed to be a part of the Catholic Church and all of its liturgical riches. Sometimes it seems that coming into the Catholic Church is like dining at a smorgasbord – there are so many beautiful choices on the table that we are tempted to sample them all! I understand this desire, and I have encouraged my clergy to become involved in their local dioceses so that they are able to sample the riches that belong to the Church. They are welcome to assist at other local parishes, and to celebrate both the Ordinary and Extraordinary forms of the Latin liturgies in the traditions of those diocesan parishes for their parishioners. In this spirit, we even have had one priest of the Ordinariate supply in a local Eastern Catholic parish. I want our priests to share in the activities of the presbyterate of their local dioceses...

Moving Forward
...The first principle of the Ordinariate is communion – to be in communion with St. Peter and his successors, to be in communion with those bishops in communion with the Bishop of Rome, to be in communion with the Catholic people, to seek communion with those separated from the Church – “that they may be one.” Some of us have come to the Ordinariate from situations full of conflict, much of it painful, some even scandalous. As a consequence, we have behaviors to be unlearned, obedience to be given, peace to be discovered. We do not want to replicate this disorder in our new ecclesial home...

Read the whole update here.

BISHOP ORDAINS FR. CHORI SERAIAH

Bishop Richard Pates lays hands on
Father Chori Seraiah invoking the presence
and action of the Holy Spirit during
Fr. Seraiah's priestly ordination.

Anne Marie Cox reported on July 8th on the diocesan blog of the Diocese of Des Moines, Iowa:

Bishop Richard Pates ordained Father Chori Seraiah on Sunday, July 8, to the priesthood for the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, which is the equivalent of a diocese. The ordinariate was created on Jan. 1 and is composed of parishes, groups, religious communities and invidiuals of the Anglican heritage. The members of the ordinariate include "those faithful, of every category or state of life, who, originally have belonged to the Anglican Communion, are now in full communion with the Catholic Church, or who have received the sacraments of intitiation within the jurisdiction of the ordinariate itself, or who are received into it because they are part of a family belonging to the ordinariate" (Decree of Establishment, 1). Joning the new pilgrims may also be the clergy and people of the Anglican use parishes, who have been the pioneers in the noble work of living out the Anglican heritage within the Catholic Church.

Congratulations to Fr. Seraiah and many blessings on him and his family as he undertakes his mission in Iowa!

The Glory of These Days

Newly priested Fr. Timothy Perkins writes in July's Portal Magazine:

Letter from America
The Glory of These Days
by the Revd Timothy Perkins

News concerning the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter here in the United States has been coming at a rapid pace of late. Indeed, reflecting on the six-month history of this new Ordinariate, the developments have been breathtaking.
Within this short time, an ordinary has been installed; the first offering of clergy formation was not only begun, but completed; first deacons were ordained, a first priest was incardinated, and a pastor for the principal church was named; and before another month will have passed, some thirty men will be priests. “My heart is indicting of a good matter...”

Not Slow as Some Count Slowness

Swept along by all these things, I have tried to find moments of recollection, not wanting to become so involved in these matters that I miss the experience of wonder over the marvellous works of God being accomplished in our time. So doing, I have called to remembrance that the months leading up to these quickly passing days often felt excruciatingly slow.
The release of Anglicanorum coetibus in November of 2009 was followed by a year of uncertain efforts to convince others to embrace the Spirit-inspired offering contained therein. After my resignation from ministry in the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth the following October, a community of people came together and continued formation in the faith.
At that time, we entered what felt like a very long period of waiting, a time of walking “by faith, not by sight” as we prayed with longing for the work of an Ordinariate in this country to commence. A little over a year later, that holy desire was realised, and the hurried pace began.

Taken Up by a Whirlwind

Just over two weeks ago, I and five close friends and colleagues were ordained deacons by Bishop Kevin Vann of Fort Worth for the Ordinariate. On the evening of the Liturgy it felt as if we had arrived at our destination. Beginning the next morning, life has been in the fast lane.
The days have passed in a glorious swirl of ministerial activity; and I may have caught a glimpse of the experience of Elijah when the LORD rushed him up to heaven! Opportunities to serve at Masses have combined with extra occasions of preaching and necessary preparation, not only for the upcoming ordination to priesthood on June 30, but also for the liturgical life of my community starting the very next day, to put me into a time-bending swirl. It is an exhilarating experience of rejoicing in the Lord.

Rush of Mighty Wind

Perhaps one of the additional graces that will be conferred along with priesthood will be a calming, a relaxing of this frenetic stirring, but I suspect not. The sound of the coming Holy Spirit at Pentecost was powerful and enkindled flame in those chosen to minister and lead.
My expectation is that all of the newly ordained will rush into their sacred ministries, carried on their way on the wings of a holy Wind. I pray that I and they will be driven along the paths of righteousness, sweeping up all whom we serve, lead, and encounter in our ministries into the glory of the Catholic faith.

Reception Mass for Towson congregation of Christ the King

from the Facebook page of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter:

Mass to receive 120 parishioners at Christ the King in Towson, MD [earlier today] with Msgr. Steenson, Fr. Hurd & Fr. Ed Meeks, pastor. This is the 3rd Maryland parish & largest Anglican community to join the Ordinariate nationally.

The Harvest is Ready...

Rocco Palma writes on ordinations for the Ordinariates in the US and Canada:

Much as Pentecost marks the "birthday" of the church, it's rare that this 50th Day of Easter actually lends itself to seeing a community of the faithful take shape and grow in real-time. This year, though, that just so happens to be the case in our midst.

Along those lines, while an early-month briefing on the global Anglican Ordinariate effort said that the first priestly ordination for the venture's North American branch would take place on June 3rd in South Carolina, to use a Roman term, the report has been superseded by a fresh development.

According to a Friday announcement from the Houston-based Chair of St Peter and the archdiocese of Mobile, the first priesting for the key papal project will instead take place a day earlier, as a 31 year-old former Episcopal cleric is ordained next Saturday alongside the Alabama church's own quintet of candidates.

His clearance for orders received from Rome just prior to the weekend, Matthew Alan Venuti will be ordained a transitional deacon tonight by Mobile's Archbishop Thomas Rodi in the chapel of a parish there, which doubles as the worship-space for the local Anglican Use community he leads.

The married father of one became an Episcopal priest in 2010 and was received into the Catholic church last September...

Read the rest at Whispers in the Loggia.

Scranton priest and parish join new Catholic jurisdiction for former Anglicans

BY LAURA LEGERE
May 10, 2012

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/scranton-priest-and-parish-join-new-catholic-jurisdiction-for-former-anglicans-1.1313136#ixzz1uVdZsPpt

A Scranton Roman Catholic priest who was previously an ordained Episcopalian has been named the first priest in a new national Catholic jurisdiction that incorporates elements of the Anglican faith.

The Rev. Eric Bergman was incardinated on Tuesday into the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, a jurisdiction of U.S. Catholics established by the Pope at the start of the year that welcomes Anglicans and some of their traditions into the Catholic Church.

The U.S. ordinariate is just the second such group established by the pope. The first, for England and Wales, was created in 2011.

"This is a significant moment in the young history of the ordinariate," Monsignor Jeffrey N. Steenson, the Houston, Texas-based ordinary of the jurisdiction, said in a statement Wednesday.

Father Bergman became the first priest of 60 preparing to join the ordinariate, about 30 of whom are expected to be ordained in the next few months. Unlike most of those current or former Anglican priests, Father Bergman was already ordained a Catholic priest in 2007...

Read the whole story in the Scranton Times Tribune

Hat tip to Mary Ann Mueller

American Ordinariate Gets Its First Priest

Fr. Eric Bergman of Scranton Joins Ordinariate; Church Purchased for New Parish

The new U.S. ordinariate for Anglican groups entering the Catholic Church achieved a milestone on May 8, 2012 when Reverend Eric Bergman of Scranton, PA became its first priest. The Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter was established by Pope Benedict XVI on January 1 in response to repeated requests by Anglican groups and clergy who were seeking to become Catholic. The ordinariate is similar to a diocese, though national in scope.

Fr. Bergman, 41, is a former Episcopal priest who was ordained a Catholic priest five years ago for the Diocese of Scranton. Since that time, he has been chaplain to the 150-member St. Thomas More Anglican Use Society.

The group will become St. Thomas More Parish at St. Joseph Church and will be located at the former St. Joseph property in Scranton's Providence neighborhood starting in late August. The ordinariate purchased the property from the Diocese of Scranton for $254,000, with $200,000 of that amount raised by the St. Thomas More community during a three-week period this spring.

"This is a significant moment in the young history of the ordinariate. I am grateful to Bishop Joseph Bambera and to the Diocese of Scranton for their support," said Monsignor Jeffrey N. Steenson, the Ordinary. "The incardination of Fr. Bergman, and the reception of several Anglican communities across the United States and Canada over the past few months, are tangible signs of Christ at work in this new undertaking."

Approximately 60 current or former Anglican priests are preparing to be ordained Catholic priests for the ordinariate, with 30 ordinations expected in the next few months. Ordinariate parishes will be fully Catholic while retaining elements of their Anglican heritage and traditions, including liturgical traditions.

Fr. Bergman noted, "I am particularly grateful to Bishop Bambera, and to Msgr. William Feldcamp, pastor of St. Paul's Parish and St. Clare's Church, who has been instrumental in the maintenance of our ministry over the years. St. Thomas More has thrived, and we look forward to our future as an ordinariate parish."

Underscoring the historic nature of this announcement, Bishop Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, commented, "I was pleased to be able to cooperate with Monsignor Steenson in order to help facilitate Father Bergman's incardination process. For the past five years, Father Bergman has faithfully supported the Diocese of Scranton. We are grateful for his service and wish him continued blessings in his ministry."

Fr. Bergman, a native of Bethlehem, PA, graduated from James Madison University before obtaining a Master of Divinity degree from Yale. He was ordained an Episcopal priest in 1997, and served in Scranton as curate at St. Luke's Episcopal Church and as rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd. He became Catholic in 2005 and was ordained a Catholic priest in 2007. In addition to serving as chaplain to the Anglican Use Society, he has been chaplain at Holy Cross High School in Dunmore, PA and at Mercy Hospital in Scranton. He and his wife, Kristina, have seven children ages 6 months to 10 years.

St. Joseph was established as a Lithuanian-language parish in 1895 and is a former home of Venerable Maria Kaupas, foundress of the Sisters of St. Casimir, who was a housekeeper at the parish in the late 19th century. A miracle attributed to her intercession is before the Congregation for the Causes of Saints that, if approved, will lead to her beatification. The parish property includes a church, parish hall, rectory, convent, school, parking lot and four garages.

from the web site of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter

Msgr Steenson addresses the "Anglican Ordinariate Fellowship" in Beverly, Mass.

Rev. Juren Liias serves as MC as Msgr Jeffrey N. Steenson, leader of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, addresses a crowd of about 100 people in St. Margaret's Church in Beverly, Massachusetts. Following his address which you can view below, there was a question and answer period in which Msgr Steenson addressed queries from how could Catholics support this initiative to what the status of the divorced & remarried would be in the Ordinariate.
Following the talk and Q & A, a Mass was celebrated, in which three people from the Fellowship were received into the communion of the Catholic Church.

Msgr. Steenson delivers benediction at National Catholic Prayer Breakfast

Monsignor Jeffrey N. Steenson, Ordinary of the Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, was invited to deliver the benediction at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC today. Joining him at the event were Very Reverend Scott Hurd, vicar general, and eight seminarians from the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan region who are in the Ordinariate's formation program.

Nearly 800 people attended the breakfast, which featured remarks by Supreme Knight Carl Anderson; a keynote by Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations; and a spiritual reflection by Mother Agnes Mary Donovan, S.V., superior general of the Sisters of Life.

from the US Ordinariate web site.

Monsignor Jeffrey Steenson, the newly appointed Ordinary for the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter concluded the breakfast with some remarks and a benediction. The words he chose, which came from Book I of St. Augustine's City of God clearly put the call to action heard throughout the morning in context.

From Augustine's writings, part of what Msgr. Steenson quoted said, "But let this city bear in mind, that among her enemies lie hidden those who are destined to be fellow citizens, that she may not think it a fruitless labor to bear what they inflict as enemies until they become confessors of the faith.

"These men you may today see thronging the churches with us, tomorrow crowding the theatres with the godless. But we have the less reason to despair of the reclamation even of such persons, if among our most declared enemies there are now some, unknown to themselves, who are destined to become our friends."

from a Catholic Online story by Randy Sly.

US Ordinariate Web site sums up Holy Week and Easter Week Activity

First Ordinariate-Bound Canadian Group Received into Catholic Church, April 15, 2012

Forty Anglicans are being received into the Catholic Church in Ottawa on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 15, with the intent of joining the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. The Houston-based Ordinariate, under the guidance of Msgr. Jeffrey N. Steenson, will have oversight of Canada as well as the United States.

The 40 are members of the Cathedral of the Annunciation parish, part of the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada. They are being received by Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, S.J. at St. Patrick’s Basilica in Ottawa.

Earlier this month, communities in Philadelphia and Indianapolis came into full communion with the Catholic Church and Jon Chalmers became the first of the candidates preparing for priestly ordination in the Ordinariate to be ordained a transitional deacon.

from the web site of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.

Calendar and Sanctorale for Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter published

The web site of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter has published its particular calendar and sanctorale. Like the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in England and Wales, this calendar has the following differences from the Roman Calendar:

• The term "Ordinary Time" is not used of the Sundays. Sundays following the Christmas season are named "Sundays After Epiphany", while the three Sundays before Ash Wednesday regaining their historic names of Septuagesima, Sexagesima and Quinquagesima.
  
• The Sundays following the Easter season and the feast of the Most Holy Trinity are named "Sundays After Trinity", according the practice of northern Catholicism in general and the Church of England in particular.
  
• The Rogation Days before the feast of the Ascension are restored.
  
• Observance of the Octave of Pentecost is restored (in vestments and propers, but using the weekday readings from the Roman Lectionary).
  
• The Ember Days, at their traditional times, are restored.
  
• The first Sunday of October is permitted to be used for a parish's dedication festival, if the date of the dedication is unknown
  

The Calendar specifies that the Sundays After Epiphany will use the Roman Lectionary, and so Second Sunday after Epiphany would use the readings for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time; and the Sundays After Trinity will use the Lectionary readings from the weeks of Ordinary Time.

In the Sanctorale, several feast days are added to the US calendar, and some feasts of the US calendar are raised in rank: The Chair of St. Peter on February 22 becomes a Solemnity. Our Lady of Walsingham on September 24th is added to the calendar as a Feast, and Our Lady of the Atonement is added to the calendar on its traditional day of July 9th as an optional memorial.

Download the Calendar and Sanctorale at this link.

Letter from America: “Glory Be”

by Timothy Perkins
“Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, in full accord and of one mind.”
Philippians 2:2

THiS YEAR has already been filled with celebration. The erection of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter on the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, on January 1st, was an occasion of joy, not only for us in the United States, but for all who, having been nurtured in faith within Anglicanism, are now coming into the fullness of the Catholic Church.
This time of rejoicing transcends the present moment. It draws to mind the blessings of times past, is experienced in the here and now, inspires confidence for the future, and awakens hope that knows no end. It awakens the perception of a complete joy of the sort that St Paul recognised could be experienced only through unity.

A particular occasion of the past in which we rejoiced last month was the establishment of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham on January 15th last year. The remembrance marks a momentous first step in the fulfilment of the Holy Father’s vision of incorporating our Anglican patrimony into the life of the Catholic Church.

In his remarks on the occasion, Monsignor Newton expressed what I believe all of us feel, “The sentiments of joy and thanksgiving, two great Christian words, are ones which should characterise our first anniversary celebration.”

Similar “sentiments of joy and thanksgiving” were apparent at the Epiphany gathering of the small community of St Peter the Rock with whom I serve in Arlington, Texas. The following day was the anniversary of our first offering of worship at the Chapel of the Catholic Centre in Fort Worth...

Read the rest of Mr. Perkins' column in the February issue of The Portal Magazine (page 14)

Bulletin of St. Mary's Catholic Church, Greenville, SC on the Ordinariate and Local Ties

Second Sunday of the Year
15 January 2012

Dear Friends in Christ,

In November 2009, Pope Benedict XVI promulgated an Apostolic Constitution entitled Anglicanorum coeitbus, meaning “Groups of Anglicans”. This document was given by the pope in response to numerous requests he had received over the years from Anglicans for a pastoral structure to be created that would allow them to be received into full communion with the Catholic Church as groups rather than as individuals, and in responding to their requests, Pope Benedict also provided a new pastoral structure in the Church called a “Personal Ordinariate” which is a bit like a non-territorial diocese. To provide pastoral care for the laity who will be organized into parishes in these Ordinariates, former Anglican bishops and priests can be ordained to the priesthood in the Catholic Church, with a dispensation from the norm of priestly celibacy, and much of the Anglican patrimony will be preserved in each Ordinariate, including their liturgy through an Anglican Use of the Roman Rite.

Since Pope Benedict published Anglicanorum coetibus, two Personal Ordinariates have been established. In January 2011, the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham was created for England and Wales, and earlier this month, the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter was created for the United States. The priest who leads this new structure, Father Jeffrey Steenson, is a former bishop of the Episcopal Church who became a Catholic in 2007 and was ordained under the Pastoral Provision (like Father Longenecker) in 2009. Father Steenson has already received requests to join the Ordinariate from around 100 Anglican clergy and over 1,400 lay persons from around the United States. Two former parishes of the Episcopal Church have already been received into the Catholic Church as groups — one in Maryland and the other in Texas, and as this new structure expands, this will happen more often. In many cases, though, the first step is for an Anglican priest to become Catholic, and this we will witness here at St. Mary’s next week.

Father Jon Chalmers is a priest of the Episcopal Church (the main American branch of the Anglican Communion), and for the past two years he has been on the staff at Christ Church here in Greenville. On Sunday 22 January 2012 during the 11 am Mass, Jon Chalmers will be received into full communion with the Catholic Church and confirmed by Bishop Guglielmone, and the following week he will begin his formation for priestly ordination in the Catholic Church in Houston, Texas — the seat of the new Ordinariate. In the coming months, if sufficient numbers of Anglicans desire to be joined to the Ordinariate here in Greenville, Jon will be responsible for their pastoral care, and after his ordination as a Catholic priest, he will celebrate the Anglican Use liturgy as well as be available to assist local Roman Rite parishes.

To learn more about all of this, visit the website www.usordinariate.org.

Father Newman

Read theoriginal post on the parish home page.

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?

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