Ordinariate priests who began life as Roman Catholics.

I have been interested in the sometimes raised question about people returning to the Roman Catholic Church through the Personal Ordinariates. In the case of parishioners, they are mostly described as being 'reconciled' whilst other members of their parish/community who have joined are described as being 'received' . There are any number of people who left the Catholic Church and became Anglican/Espicopalian either due to 'marrying out', unhappiness with Church doctrine, divorce and remarriage, etc. In some cases, it is more that people left with their parents and did not make any conscious decision to change between one church and an other. Interestingly, Katherine Jefferts-Schori, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopalian Church (TEC)in the USA, is one of the latter.
What I have found interesting is where this is the case for those who were formerly Anglican/Episcopalian priests and have now been ordained into the Catholic Church via the Ordinariate structure. The 'norm' has been that if a person leaves the Roman Catholic Church, joins another denomination and is then ordained within it, a return to the Catholic Church would be as a layman; this is certainly true in the case of those who were ordained within the Roman Catholic Church and then left to become ministers of another church.
The exceptions to this rule would be if a person was baptised within the Catholic Church but then not really raised within it who found their own path of faith within, say, the Church of England. They may fairly easily then be admitted as ordinands within the RC Church. On the whole, this seems to now extend to those who leave the RC Church as teenagers and then return, via the Ordinariate.
Among this group, one would number Monsignor John Broadhurst, former Bishop of Fulham (C of E), now an Assistant to the Ordinary in the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. A founding Chairman of the mainly Anglo-Catholic Forward in Faith (FiF) group, Msgr Broadhurst began life as a Roman Catholic but then was raised as an Anglican whilst still quite young.
Another is Fr Andrew Starkie who leads the Manchester Ordinariate Group (OLW), who appears to have been raised and educated as a Roman Catholic but drifted away in early adulthood, became an C of E priest and is now back in the RC Church as an Ordinariate priest. In his case, from what one gathers, the rest of his family remained Roman Catholics. This suggests that leaving as as adult is not necessarily a bar to Ordination as a Roman Catholic priest as long as it was in early adulthood.
Also in England, we have Fr Ivan Aquilina, baptised a Catholic in Malta, but who appears to have been mainly raised as an Anglican by his mother. Again, now a priest of the OLW.
On the whole, this seems fairly clear, but there is a question when it comes to one or two other cases in the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter (COSP) in the USA and Canada.
Recently, two former Anglican/Episcopalian priests were ordained for the Archdiocese for Military Services as members of COSP. One, Fr Richard Rojas, talks about how being ordained as a Catholic priest was a return to serve in "my Mother Church." I do not know at what age he left the Catholic Church but he appears to be one of several priests of COSP who had started life as Roman Catholics and, either through the decision of parents, later disillusionment or some such, were ordained into TEC or another Anglican jurisdiction. The other of the Military Chaplains ordained recently delights in the name of Fr Joseph Francis Viera which suggests some kind of RC background, but that might be a red herring.
The priests of COSP whom I know to have been, at some stage, members of the Roman Catholic Church, are Fr Patrick Allen, Fr Belen Gonzalez y Perez, Fr Chori Jonathin Seraiah, Fr Richard Rojas and Fr Edward Meeks. Obviously not an exhaustive list, but they have interesting stories.
Fr Allen's family left the Catholic Church to attend a Presbytarian Church when he was a 12 year old boy. Attracted by the Anglo-Catholic tradition, he became an Epicopalian priest in 2001, eventually rejoining the Catholic Church and being ordained as a COSP priest on July 7th, 2013.
Fr Belen Gonzalez y Perez became attracted to Pentecostal-style worship in his teens, was ordained as a Lutheran Pastor in 2002, going on to be licensed in TEC in 2008 and then ordained for COSP on 20th, November 2012.
Fr Seraiah has been baptised in the Catholic Church but his parents had left when he was a small child and he has seen the rest of his life as a journey back to the RC Church.
For me, the most fascinating story is that of Fr Edward Meeks who was a former Seminarian, leaving quite sometime before he would have been considered for ordination. Along with his wife and two children, he was active in the local Catholic parish and, through the Church agencies, adopted a child. At the same time, he and his wife were greatly involved in Charismatic Renewal and, for one reason or another, joined the Assemblies of God. Eventually ordained within the Charismatic Episcopal Church, he founded Christ the King parish, Towson, Maryland, in 1996. The whole story can be found in this account by his wife, Jan, entitled "You can go home again":
http://www.ctktowson.org/prayer-resources?category=Coming Home to the Church
I would never have imagined that Fr Meeks would be ordained, a fear shared by the Meeks, but he was and remains the pastor of Christ the King parish.
We could all probably relate accounts of former Catholics not receiving permission to be ordained through the Ordinariate process, including some remarkable cases of personal sacrifice, and will no doubt have some mixed feelings about the whole situation. Some may see a circumvention of the rules on celibacy, others might see a threat to the tradition of celibacy in the Catholic Church posed by married priests within the Church. I have shared some of the concerns about this and, as a celibate man striving to live by the direction of the church, I value the example of celibate priests and religious. What I cannot ignore is the remarkable example of grace that is being shown to those who are returning to the Church of their childhood, often bringing many others with them.
It may be that these examples will lead to a change in the Church's rule on the ordination of married men to the wider priesthood, some will welcome that, others may not. What is crucial is that the Church explains the reasoning behind the decisions as many people feel that the Church has lost many priests over the years due to the requirement of celibacy and then, as a priest recently said to me, "How is it that someone who went to the same school as me, received the same sacraments as I did and then left the Church, can now return as part of the provisions for Anglicans, even though he was not formed within that church?" He did not ask the question due to malice, just out of sense of what he saw as unfairness.
I am a great supporter of the Ordinariate process and believe it is a great blessing for the Church. I also delight in the return of those who, for whatever reason, left the Church, including those now priests. I do not try to divine the intentions of the Holy Spirit, just accepting them as God's will. I do offer a prayer that, just as the door has been opened generously for these priests, it might continue to do so in other cases of those who are in the Ordinariates, not least for Fr William Patrick Hannigan in Australia.

Former TAC clergy now in the Roman Catholic Church. This is a work in progress - assistance gratefully accepted.

Following my post on Parishes, I have decided to have a posting of the names of Traditional Anglican Communion clergy who are now members of the Ordinariates, whether lay or clerical. Please excuse the lack of titles, it is not meant in an offensive way, they are all Reverends to me.

Canada

Carl Reid              (former Bishop of the ACCC) of the Annunciation of the BVM, Ottawa
Gerard Trinque     Christ the King, Tyendinaga
Peter Wilkinson    (former Presiding Bishop of the ACCC) formerly of St John the Evangelist, Victoria, now of Fellowship of Blessed John Henry Newman, Victoria, British Columbia
Michael Trolly      of the Annunciation of the BVM, Ottawa
James Tilly              of Good Shepherd, Oshawa
B. Kipling Cooper  of Holy Trinity, Barrhaven
Doug Hayman        of St Barnabas, Spencerville
David Garrett         of Good Shepherd, Oshawa
Colin O'Rourke   formerly of Christ the King parish, Calgary, Alberta
Tony Ward         formerly of Christ the King parish, Calgary, Alberta
Ernest Skulblics   formerly of Christ the King parish, Calgary, Alberta
Michael Shier      formerly of St Peter and St Paul parish, Vancouver.
David Skelton     formerly of Our Lady and St Michael parish, Edmonton, now Fellowship of                  Blessed John Henry Newman, Edmonton.
Michael Birch     formerly of St John the Evangelist, Victoria, now of Fellowship of Blessed John Henry Newman, Victoria, British Columbia
Don Malins         formerly of St John the Evangelist, Victoria, now of Fellowship of Blessed John Henry Newman, Victoria, British Columbia
Sean Henry         formerly of St John the Evangelist, Victoria, now of Fellowship of Blessed John Henry Newman, Victoria, British Columbia
Ralph Braunstien  formerly of St John the Evangelist, Victoria, now of Fellowship of Blessed John Henry Newman, Victoria, British Columbia
Peter Switzer      formerly of St John the Evangelist, Victoria, now of Fellowship of Blessed John Henry Newman, Victoria, British Columbia
Edward Gale      formerly of Our Lady and St Martin, Mayne Island
Raymond Ball    formerly of St Edmund Parish, Waterloo, Ontario
Dr Charles Warner formerly of Holy Cross Parish, Sydney Forks, Nova Scotia
Chris LePage     formerly of St Thomas More, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Richard Harris   formerly of St Michael's, Fredericton, New Brunswick (joined with 11 others on June 24th, 2013)
I know that the list of Priests and Deacons in the final ACCC newsletter authored by Bishop Reid included other names but I am yet to discover if they have joined the Roman Catholic Church whilst en route to the Ordinariate.

UK

Robert Mercer  former Bishop of Matabeleland and Presiding Bishop of the ACCC
John Maunder   of St Agatha's, Landport
Brian Gill          former Vicar General of the TTAC
Philip Penfold   of St Agatha's, Landport

Australia

Harry Entwistle  (former Bishop in the ACCA) Ordinary. St Ninian and St Chad, Maylands, West Australia
Tony Iball         Patmos House Community, Brisbane, Queensland
Stephen Hill

Reception in process:

Gordon Barnier   (Vicar General of the Diocese of the Torres Strait) Parish of St Clare, Cairns, Queensland
Andrew Kinmont chapel of St Stephen, Protomartyr, Upper Coomera, Queensland.
Warren Wade     parish of St Mary the Virgin, North Turramura, Sydney, NSW
Owen Buckton   (former Administrator of the ACCA) Parish of Our Lady of Walsingham, Rockhampton, Queensland.
William P Hannigan, North Brisbane, Queensland

USA

Louis Campese        former Bishop of the Diocese of the Eastern United States in the ACA
William Holiday        of the Church (Cathedral) of the Incarnation, Florida
Scott Whitmore         of the Church (Cathedral) of the Incarnation, Florida
Lewis Berry formerly of the ACA in Houston, Texas.
Dennis Hewitt           of the Sacred Heart Mission, Mt Airy, Maryland
Dean Steward           of the Holy Cross Mission, Ocala, Florida
Lawrence Reinholt    of Christ the King Parish, Towson, Maryland.
Ray Strawser            of Christ the King Parish, Towson, Maryland.
Mark Bradley           of Christ the King Parish, Towson, Maryland.
Edward Meeks           of Christ the King Parish, Towson, Maryland.
Andrew Bartus            of Blessed John Henry Newman Mission Parish, Orange County, California
Luke Reese                 of St Joseph of Arimathea Anglican Use Society, Indiana, Indianapolis.
George Ortiz-Guzman  of St Augustine of Canterbury Parish, Oceania, California
William Ledbetter        of St Augustine of Canterbury Parish, Oceania, California
Dennie Eisele              of St Augustine of Canterbury Parish, Oceania, California
David Ousley               of St Michael the Archangel Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Melvin (Bud) Reick     of Christ the King Parish, Towson, Maryland.
Jonathin Chori Seraiah  formerly of St Aiden's Parish, Des Moines, Iowa
Nicholas Marziani       of St James, St Augustine, Florida
Lowell Andrews         of Holy Trinity, Payson, Arizona
William Waun             of Our Lady of Good Counsel Mission, Jacksonville, North Carolina. I believe he was previously in the Charismatic Episcopal Church (CEC).
John Worgul               Dean of Holy Trinity Seminary, Towson, Maryland.
Canon Tom Cairns       (former Canon to the Ordinary to Archbishop Falk) - not sure if he is joining the Ordinariate or not although he has been received.

Which Traditional Anglican Communion parishes have joined the Personal Ordinariates?

There have been several questions asked about which  former Traditional Anglican Communion Parishes, Missions and groups have joined the Catholic Church through the provisions of the Apostolic Constitution Apostolicorum Coetibus so I have endeavoured to list them in as up to date a fashion as I am able.

I am aware that some named (specifically in Canada) are not yet formal parishes or missions of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter, but they are due to be. Please feel free to point out any mistakes and send any updates and omissions.

USA - formerly the Anglican Church in America (ACA-TAC)

Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter

Church of the Incarnation, Orlando, Florida (formerly the Cathedral of the Incarnation for the Diocese of the Eastern United States of the Anglican Church in America (ACA-TAC) and then the Pro-Diocese of the Holy Family for those en-route for the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter).

Mission of Holy Cross, Ocala, Florida (received with the Church of the Incarnation)

Parish of Christ the King, Towson, Maryland.

Mission Parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Mount Airy, Maryland, subsequently added as a mission attached to Christ the King, Towson.

St Augustine of Canterbury, Oceanside, California (formerly the Church of the Resurrection Mission Parish in Oceanside).

Blessed John Henry Newman Mission Parish, Orange County, California (made up of former members of the ACA-TAC, TEC and others. Their Priest-in-Charge, Father Bartus, was formerly a priest of the ACA-TAC)

St Joseph of Arimathea Anglican Use Society, Indiana, Indianapolis.

St Michael the Archangel Church, Philidelphia, Pennsylvania.

Former Pro-Diocese of the Holy Family..parishes/missions:
Notre Dame du Mt. Carmel..Margate, Florida

Rye de Gloria Mission..Pinecrest, Florida

Our Lady of the Angels..New Smyrna Beach, Florida

St. Luke's Mission...The Villages, Florida

Our Lady of Good Counsel...Jacksonville, North Carolina

St. Edmund of Canterbury...Fredricksburg, Virginia

Holy Trinity, Payson, Arizona.

Canada - Formerly of the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada  (ACCC-TAC) 

Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter

Sodality of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Ottowa, Ontario.

Holy Nativity Sodality, Barrhaven, Ontario (a Mission of the Sodality of the Annunciation of the BVM )

St Barnabas Sodality, Spencerville, Ontario (a Mission of the Sodality of the Annunciation of the BVM)

Sodality of the Good Shepherd, Oshawa, Ontario.

Fellowship of Blessed John Henry Newman, Victoria, British Columbia.

Sodality of St Edmund, King and Martyr, Cambridge, Ontario.

The Apostolate of the Holy Cross, Sydney, Nova Scotia

Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory's Christ the King Parish, Ontario

St Michael's, Fredericton, New Brunswick.

I am aware other communities in Canada may have joined but can't get any details at the moment.

Australia - formerly  Anglican Catholic Church in Australia (ACCA-TAC)

Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross

St Ninian and St Chad, Maylands, West Australia

Melbourne Ordinariate Group, Victoria (some members formerly from St Mary the Virgin Parish (ACCA-TAC), South Caulfield)


Five ACCA-TAC priests are named as contacts on the website so I assume they will be coming with parish communities (though this could be wrong) but will wait for a formal announcement. Interestingly, Bishop Robarts, initially named as a contact for Tasmania, is no longer listed but it was probably considered 'bad politics' to be on the site whilst still in post in the ACCA.

United Kingdom - formerly The Traditional Anglican Church (TTAC-TAC)

Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham

St Agatha's Church, Landport, Portsmouth, Hampshire

Presteigne Ordinariate Group, Powys, Wales, formerly the TTAC parish community led by Fr Gill.

I want to be equal to you but not, God forbid, the same (my sister, 25 years ago).

Whatever you think about the ongoing debate in the Church of England about the proposed Ordination of women as Bishops, whatever side you take theologically, you have to agree that Melanie McDonagh has a point in this comment:

http://www.standard.co.uk/comment/thats-enough-flannel-about-women-bishops-7932087.html

I cannot really see what the argument is about: once you have ordained a woman to the diaconate the road to the episcopacy is open, at this point the theological argument is done.

As it happens, I remain unconvinced about the ordination of women, not least given the arguments are often made from a particular view of equality which seems to equate the word with 'sameness', which is a bizarrely lazy philosophical proposition. I know I could give a much better case for the Ordination of women than some I have heard, and in that sense I am open to being convinced.  However, I back away whenever I hear the argument that suggests that Jesus did not choose women at the time due to the 'culture' - you see everybody, Jesus who sat at the well talking to the Samaritan woman, who spent time with Zacchaeus the tax-collector and saving a woman from being stoned. Jesus the one who was tortured and died for us was, apparently, scared of upsetting social norms.

Such tosh undermines our Saviour and leaves me cold and ever further from the 'greasy pole climbers pushing for episcopal ordination'. Not my words, but those of an Anglican priest friend of mine despairing of the present debate, and she is no knee-jerk Conservative.

Fr John Hunwicke

For those interested in such things, I am delighted to read on the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham website that Rev John Hunwicke will be Ordained to the Priesthood at 7pm on Wednesday, 27th June. It will take place at the Oxford Oratory.

He has shown great patience in trying times and he is an example to us all. I wish him all the very best and Ad Multos Annos.

Ignoring my Dad's advice: "Never talk about politics, religion or sport."

Dear All,

sorry I haven't posted for a while but events are running ahead of me and I wanted to enter Holy Week in a good frame of mind.
So much has happened in the world of politics, religion and sport recently and I will be commenting on all three - I have particular interest in the Local Elections coming up, the (with a few hiccoughs here and there) approaching Premiership Champion's mantle remaining on the shoulders of Man United and the ongoing situation with reference to the Personal Ordinariates set up by Pope Benedict for Anglicans wishing to enter communion with the Holy See whilst retaqining elements of Anglican Patrimony.
In the meantime - I am off to a wedding in East Anglia tomorrow so, much fun will be had there.

Coming to a Church near you: the not so subtle threats against religious freedom.

In the midst of all the controversy and debate concerning the coalition government's intention (with the support of the Labour Party leader) to introduce a new law on marriage, we seem to have become lost in a mess of discussion on 'equality' and 'diversity' as if diversity somehow means we all must have the same (which suggests the opposite of diversity to me).
When Lynne Featherstone, the Liberal Democrat Equalities Minister, charged that the Church doesn't "own" marriage she was quite correct, the rituals of the Church came in response to the facts that exist and which had/have always been. The government now claims it has the right to change those facts which suggests that the legislators believe that they do own marriage. This is historically incorrect as the legislation on marriage (which, it is worth mentioning, was based on Canon Law) was introduced to reflect what marriage is; it didn't invent it.
Now, whether you believe that marriage can be changed or not, we can agree that the way in which much of the debate is taking place is rather worrying. Whilst there is clumsy language and scare-mongering on both sides of this debate, it is from the 'liberal' side of politics that some of the more alarming responses appear to be coming. The deputy leader of the Labour Party, Harriet Harman, describes opposition to gay marriage as if it is a piece with homophobia - a quite scandalous and unacceptable claim which could be described as a sort of 'newspeak', forcing change by the subtlety of a threat that, somehow, all those who disagree with the prevailing wisdom of the day are thuggish and unreasonable.
Actually, it seems to be the opposite as far as this particular author is concerned, because threats of protests and disruption (alongside the real threat of legal sanction in the future) are coming from some of those who are arguing in favour of same-sex marriage.
Take the case at the weekend where an activist decided to disrupt a Mass where the Letter on Marriage from the Archbishops of Westminster and Southwark was about to be read. The protester filming the priest made it clear that he would be posting the reading of the Pastoral Letter on Youtube. To avoid disruption, the Priest decided not to read the letter and, after a few more moments of the protester trying to encourage people to walk out of the Church with him (none did, I believe), the protester left. You can watch it yourself here: http://www.youtube.co/watch?v=6em7Yy-MjEc
Now, think this through - a priest is about to read a letter expressing the traditional view on marriage of the Catholic Church and encouraging the faithful to uphold it in the present discussion and he is, by the direct action of the protester, prevented from doing so. Is this religious freedom?
It is made clear that the encounter will be put on Youtube - this stinks of the activities of the secret police who film the Catholic and Anglican priests in Zimbabwe in case they preach against the official line. Is this  freedom of speech?
The priest, who has not given his permission to be filmed, is now on Youtube so he could be open to verbal and physical threat. You only have to look at some of the comments to see the abuse against this blameless priest. Is this freedom from threat to personal safety?
Bear in mind that nobody has been given a chance to express an opinion through the ballot box on an issue fundamental to our society, yet it is being pushed in the hope of enactment before the next General Election, not least by the liberal-minded Conservative Prime Minister, David Cameron.
This is all food for thought and really unpleasant.

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.

I see that the Catholic Herald is reporting that the Traditional Anglican Communion has rejected Rome's offer to join the Ordinariates for former Anglican (http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2012/03/07/breakaway-anglicans-reject-popes-offer/ ). The problem is that this is only true as far as it goes. As it happens, the majority of the TAC in Canada, a large section of the TAC in the USA, a large group in Australia and parts of the TAC here in the UK have already begun preparing to join the Ordinariates in their areas (the Ordinariate of the Southern Cross for Australia is in the pipeline).
The meeting reported as taking place in South Africa met without a number of bishops (particularly those known to be standing by their original decision to join with Rome) and some members of the TAC question its validity. Archbishop Prakash of the Indian section of the TAC has been unanimously elected acting Primate after the unanimous vote (of those attending and with the right to vote - interesting to see how that was decided) to remove Archbishop Hepworth of Australia as Primate. Archbishop Hepworth, who wasn't in South Africa, was resigning soon anyway.
The rest of the TAC not at the South African meeting, but not yet on the way to Rome (or maybe not joining but unhappy with the behaviour of those who met in South Africa) are planning to meet soon according to a statement by Archbishop Hepworth.
What has most depressed me about this whole situation has been the utter predictability of the whole business and the often unkind ways in which fellow Christians have treated each other. I know I will be attacked for this but let me make my opinion clear: personal animus has been allowed to replace civility and the rush to expel reminds me of my early days in politics when some would lay claim to being 'true' socialists and the rest were traitors. Oh, don't get me wrong, there will be lots of remarks about 'more in sorrow than anger' and some will mean it.
So, best of luck to the Traditional Anglican Communion (Prakash), Traditional Anglican Communion (Hepworth) and the warmest of welcomes to those who are joining in union with Rome through the Ordinariates.

"When you fast, do not put on a gloomy look.." I'll try Lord, I'll really try.

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Season of Lent; for those of us who take these Seasons seriously, it is a time to take a look at how we live our lives as Christians and how much we have allowed ourselves to become enslaved by our habits, our greed and our self-involvement. We are encouraged to give something up and pray more deeply.

The Gospel reading for Ash Wednesday always seems to stand in contradiction to what we, especially as Catholics, receive - the priest places ashes on our foreheads too remind us that we live a passing life in this world ("Remember man that thou are dust and to dust thou shall return") and to live it wisely ("Turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel") and encourages us not to wipe them off.

Now, as I have heard mentioned many times, surely Jesus urges us not to be like the hypocrites who stand on street corners, looking gloomy and pulling long faces so people know we are fasting. Indeed, He tells us:"...when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that no-one will know that you are fasting except your Father who sees all that is done in secret." So, why do we keep the ashes on our head?

The answer lies in the response of those who see us; in the time of Christ, the 'outwardly' religious would make a big show of their prayers and their fasting, knowing that it would invite compliments and sympathy. The word hypocrite here takes us back to its original meaning of 'actor': those acting in such a way were playing a role or a part and, like actors throughout time, seeking approbation and applause. It has now come to mean someone who is a liar

If we wear ashes on our heads in public, it draws comment of misunderstanding -"you've got something on your head, mate", "have you hurt yourself?" or abuse. Wearing ashes is a sign of contradiction to the world, as much a contradiction as in the times of Christ was that of praying and fasting privately.

More than that, it is an encouragement to others in their own faith - in a world where wearing a crucifix in a care home is considered a 'health and safety issue' or offering a prayer for someone is a reason for being disciplined, a quiet public witness is not a bad thing.

As for the fasting and (on Ash Wednesday and Fridays) abstaining from meat, that should be done in good humour and without drawing attention to ourselves - as far as possible, that is. I will be honest, I am a terrible faster: from the moment I wake up in the morning until I go to bed at night, I am starving - it is ridiculous I know. I can go all day without eating normally but once it is required, it really bothers me. Weird hey? Why do we fast? That brings me back to the beginning of this post: it is a time to take a look at how we live our lives as Christians and how much we have allowed ourselves to become enslaved by our habits, our greed and our self-involvement.


We follow the example of our Saviour who, before He began His mission, fasted for 40 days and nights to face all that the devil could throw at Him in His weakened state, and was thus strengthened. We fast and sacrifice so that we may be strengthened to face the trials and temptations of life.

However, we don't only 'give something up', we also use the time to strengthen our prayer lives and to, as Jesus reminds us in the Gospel, "go into your private room and, when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is in that secret place..." We need a period of time to refuel, to spiritually reconnect with the deepest parts of our being where only we know ourselves and God knows who we truly are. This is what some call the 'inner tabernacle' which we need to spend time reflecting upon so we might assess our lives and turn to God for His Grace.

So - fasting and prayer are part of Lent. So is undertaking charitable acts - be it by donating what is saved by our fasting to a good cause or by giving of the time we have saved by not watching the telly as much or whatever. We do it quietly, as the gospel reminds us "when you give alms, your left hand must not know what your right is doing" - or, put as my grandma would have said, "giving has no bells."

Lent can seem very tough and without much light, but it needn't be...it has  the joy of Spring flowers growing, one using time more creatively, losing weight (depending on what we may have given up) and, most wonderfully of all, the knowledge that if we do it well, "your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you."

Now, that's worth ash on the head.

Dawkins's Darwinistic dumb moment.

Amazing, I have just heard Richard Dawkins stumbling to answer Giles Fraser when he was asked for the full title of Charles Darwin's Origin of the Species. It wouldn't matter if Professor Dawkins hadn't just said "of course I do" to the question and, far more importantly, is claiming that the fact that a large number of self-identifying Christians in an Opinion Poll commissioned by the "Richard Dawkins Foundation" couldn't name the first book of the New Testament was one of the proofs they weren't really Christian. I suppose that means Professor Dawkins isn't really a Darwinist.
Such pompous nonsense.

Second Wave.

I thought those who have been wondering what is happening with the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham might be interested in this blogpost:http://www.tunbridgewells-ordinariate.com/blog/?p=2195#comments