Tied up in Notts

A flying visit to the Ordinariate Group in Nottingham at the end of last week.

Fr Simon worried at what I might say

Fr Simon Ellis had cunningly invited me about six months ago to speak to his people on 'the Year of Faith', and it is hard to plead a prior engagement at such notice. So on Friday the Cross-Country train took me up to Stapleford, where Simon and Kate's long-suffering daughter Anastasia turned out of her bedroom for me.

On Saturday morning we were off bright and early to go into the centre of the city, to the Cathedral. What a wonderful pile it is, one of Pugin's great works for the Catholic Church, with a very convincing attempt at Early English Gothic Architecture. It is no mere pastiche, though, but a lovely building in its own right. There is a house for the Cathedral Staff next door, and a good new building providing conference facilities.

We met first in the Conference Centre to begin to get to know one another. We were a marvellously diverse bunch, with a few of the
regular Cathedral congregation who joined us for the day. There were people with  roots in Port Talbot and Liverpool, Hong Kong, Hertfordshire and Derby. Indeed, there are some who live in Derby but worship regularly with the Ordinariate Group. Unfortunately the Group is not able to have a Mass every Sunday, but besides the weekday Mass there is worship together on one Sunday each month. I do hope a way is found for them to have Mass together Sunday by Sunday - certainly in our Bournemouth Group I think we could not have survived and kept together without this.

After a time of prayer in the lovely Blessed Sacrament Chapel we went to our meeting room to share our picnic lunches. Good to find other old friends there, not least Fr Peter Peterken who has been such a support for Fr Simon - despite being somewhat older than the Holy Father.

In the afternoon I did my spiel, speaking about the opportunities which the Ordinariate has - provided it is genuinely humble in its approach. We thought about the way our background shapes us - my own schooldays in Plymouth asserted that Francis Drake was a great hero; to those brought up as Catholics his reputation is rather less sunny. We looked at small ways in which the Ordinariate can encourage Catholics to move out of a ghetto mentality into Mission mode. All the participants were very kind, and though I was not home until after 10pm (and the following morning, today, was preaching in Bournemouth at 9.30am) it was well worthwhile - for me if not for them.



 

Some of the day's participants

This afternoon our Bournemouth Mission celebrated Evensong and Benediction, conducted very splendidly by Fr Brian Copus and our teams of servers and musicians. On Tuesday Bishop Philip Egan has invited some of us from the Ordinariate to join his priests in a day on "The Clergy and the Curial Review" - a review shich is taking place in Portsmouth Diocese now that the Bishop has been here long enough to have his priorities clear. It is good to be seen as relating to the Diocese, even if we have to be a little tangetial to it.

A Day in the Unity Octave

 

 

Ray had been the first lay member of the Bournemouth Ordinariate Group: and today he was laid to rest, in our first Ordinariate funeral. He had been head server at St Francis' Bournemouth for many years before entering the Catholic Church, and he had trained generations of servers. Many of them were there today, in the congregation or serving at the Mass.

 

Fr Brian Copus had been given many anecdotes by the former Vicar of St Francis, now himself a priest of the Ordinariate near Oxford. One story that Fr Paul Berrett had not relayed, though, was told to me in the Church Hall after the Mass. It seems a bishop had come to St Francis' with the intention of celebrating and preaching wearing brown shoes. Ray produced for him a pair of black sanctuary slippers and instructed the prelate that if he was to appear in the sanctuary he had better be properly shod.

 

In recent years he has been in a nursing home, where we were able to take him the Blessed Sacrament week by week. He will be sorely missed by us all, especially by his daughter Teresa who is a mainstay of our music. She brought together a number of her friends to sing today - a lovely albeit sad occasion, which was a real time of reconciliation for many. Anglicans, Catholics and many others joined to pay tribute to a lovely man. May be rest in peace.

And what will the Robin do then, poor thing?

Couln't resist posting this picture of robin looking in at our window this morning. I should have gone to the Dominican Sisters at Sway, but they very kindly excused me - for the chances were my poor old Skoda would not have made it out of Lymington, let alone down the lane to their Priory and back again.

Seems we are having as much snow here as most of the Southwest; very picturesque, but frustrating if you need to get out. A cousin of ours in Canada though simply laughs at the way we are paralysed by a few inches of snow.  So we will just get on with feeding the birds, and stop complaining. For all that, I trust we will make it to Bournemouth on Sunday to worship with the rest of our Group - we are all getting excited at the prospect of the arrival of our new (to us) Church Organ in a couple of weeks time - of which more later..

The Patrimony of Preaching

Now this was a very welcome Christmas present; a volume of thoughts and meditations by the leader of the Ordinariate Group in Shrewsbury. I have known Fr David Mawson for many years, and this is a revised version of a companion to the three-year lectionary which he first produced as an Anglican. Long pastoral experience in parishes, prisons and hospitals ensures a welcome common touch to Fr David's writings. He is also experienced in spiritual direction and accompaniment as a Benedictine Oblate. The version of the Bible on which it is based is the Revised Standard Version (Catholic Edition) which the English  Ordinariatec uses in much of its worship.

I don't generally use this blog for Book Reviews, but I do commend this very warmly. It is published by Jaquedaw*, and no doubt obtaineable from all good Booksellers (and even from the bad ones which do not pay their Corporation Tax) by quoting the ISBN number 078-0-9565118-5-0

* Jaquedaw 17 Steepside, SHREWSBURY, SY3 6DS

Advent with a bang

So we are underway; for the first time our little Group in Southbourne hosted an event for the whole Pastoral Area of Avon/Stour. The parishes responded splendidly. Our own parish priest, Fr Gerry, joined in the procession and gave the Blessing. There were singers, servers and readers from all over the area - including some friends who are still in the Church of England. Best of all, it was a really holy occasion, a good beginning for the keeping of Advent.

 

Everyone had woked very hard to prepare the Church. The central altar was removed, and a frontal found for the High Altar. There were candles everywhere, and every bit of brass had been polished within an inch of its life.

Our organist had worked hard with a handful of singers, some from our Group, others friends from neighbouring churches. The result was far better than we had dared expect. Afterwards visiting Catholics from other Churches expressed their appreciation; but some said that they had known none of the hymns. I fancy we have a good deal of gentle teaching to do - "Come, thou long-expected Jesus", "O Come, O Come Emmanuel","On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry"... these are surely part of the Patrimony which we must be eager to share.

Indeed, the whole format of readings and hymnody came as a surprise to many - but we hope a pleasant one. Others said it took them back to their former days in the Church of England. For me it was an example of the Ordinariate seeking to bring out of its treasures "things new and old" for the benefit of the whole Catholic Church. We had printed a hundred service sheets - they ran out and our sidesmen were dashing about getting people to share... altogether a happy and holy occasion, a little contribution to the Year of Faith - with maybe an element of evangelisation within it.

 

To see ourselves as others see us...

The beautiful church of St Patrick, Soho Square, gave hospitality to the Ordinariate this week.  It provided the venue for a conference looking at how we might engage with the new evangelization.

The Communications director giving directions

We had hoped to have Fr Allan Hawkins from Arlington, Texas, with us - alas, he had a nasty accident on a Metro escalator in Paris and was unable to be present; but at very short notice Fr Aidan Nichols OP spoke to us - as our Ordinary called him, 'the silver lining in the cloud of Fr Allan's indisposition'.

                                                                Eighty participants begin to settle down

He spoke about the current situation of Christians, and specifically the Catholic Church, in England. He perceived a gap, and reckoned that this was a gap which the Ordinariate was well equipped to fill. Although numbers attending Mass had held up, this was largely thanks  to immigration. The numbers of native born Catholics  had been declining, and former Anglo-Catholics continued to embody the 'natural form' of English Spirituality.

Fr Nicholls attends to a questioner

The Lineamenta of the recent Synod of Bishops had pointed to the need for the Spiritual  Care of worshipping Catholics,  for mission activity towards non Catholics,  and a New Evangelization towards post-Christians.
The Ordinariate, unlike any other Catholics, were equipped because of their history to fill the gap in the "long narrative of Albion". We came from that 'sporadic resurgence of catholicism' which was apparent throughout the history of the Church of England since the Reformation.  We had the advantage of not having experienced the disagreements in the Catholic Church which followed Vatican II. We were capable of being both entirely Orthodox in Faith, but ready to look at new methods of evangelizing. We should seek modern means communication to counter the assumptions of modernity in our day - as, in his time, T.S. Eliot had done. Fr Aidan perceived that we had a head-start over many Catholics in regard to Catechesis; our people had had to learn the faith to defend it against others in the Church of England

Attending to the inner man (and woman)

After a  lively question session, St Patrick's laid on a substantial lunch for us, then we were back in our seats for Part II,  

Washing up?

Fr Paul Richardson gave us four models of today's church. The first took account of secularisation to  explain where we were; and from this perspective the outlook was grim (despite the success of some Evangelicals in reaching the young.  The second model looked at New Forms of Spirituality; Christianity was not dying, but changing - so  the widespread interest in life after death &c the paranormal  - and a diminishing trust in science. But, asked Fr Paul, did this really stand up? Certainly  it had to do with the individualism and therapeutic mindset of today; but could a person be called 'spiritual' simply becaus he favoured alternative medicine?

Fr Richardson amends his text

The third picture was of believing without belonging - a notion favoured by Grace Davey of Exeter University. That was to treat the Church like a Public Unitlity, there when you wanted it. But we have to pay our Utility bills; and increasingly many see no need to support any Church.

Finally, there was the element of Church Growth; immigration had a great deal to do with this, and there are half a million people who belong to Black Majority Churches in this country. Holy Trinity Brompton had reached out to the affluent young in London. Catholics are doing well among ethnic communities; though insisted Fr Paul, there are other growth areas within the Catholic Church.
He listed too such innovations asCafe Church, Messy Church and so on; and commented on the numbers who vist Cathedrals, not just as tourists but certainly as pilgrims.

He told us we must teach the basics of the faith, which are non-negotiable; but we must deal with and use the importance of experience; and here he saw links between some modern evangelical spirituality, and Ignatian spirituality.  The Church of England, despite its apparent diversity of worship, had never been able to include men like Wesley or Newman. They didnot fit the Anglican mould. The Catholic Church was far more genuinely diverse, with its different rites, its different styles of worship, it various Religous Orders: and now the Ordinariate was herfe to add to the mix.

Fr Elliott Smith contributing to the Patrimony of Music

After another Q&A session, a lovely Mass celebrated (from the Book of Divine Worship) by our Ordinary. The Preacher was the Parish Priest of St Patrick's, Fr Alexander Sherbrooke, who gave us great encouragement. As Mgr Keith said, it is only Catholics who are NOT in the Ordinariate who can tell us what is our Patrimony; try  to do  it  ouurselves, and it sounds like boasting. The three who addressed us today all gave us great encouragement to work away as leaven or salt, and to do so with  patience.

 

 

 

Getting to know you....

Today Bishop Philip Egan began his tour of the Pastoral Areas of Portsmouth diocese. He started in the far west, with Bournemouth and Avon/Stour. Very kindly, he is including priests of the Ordinariate, so today Fr Brian Copus and I were invited because our Group meets in Southbourne.

Bishop Philip with our Host Fr Bruce Barnes

We began with half an hour before the Blessed Sacrament, in the Church of the Sacred Heart, Bournemouth. Then into the palatial Presbytery, where Fr Bruce had laid on tea and coffee and cake.

Fr Brian Copus coffee cup in hand, among the brethren.

Bishop Philip started by removing some of the more extravagant press accounts of what he is like; he is not intent on putting the clock back to 1952. Rather he is intending the be like the householder commended in the Gospel for bringing out of his treasures "things new and old". He went on the say that his first concern was with his clergy, priests and deacons. This is why between now and Christmas he is intent on getting round the whole of the pastoral areas (and they stretch North as far as cis-Isis Oxford and as far South as the Channel Islands). Besides this he is making time for individual meetings with each of the clergy.

And it really was tea or coffee...

Then he gave us a parable, which certainly spoke to me. He had seen salmon leaping to clear great obstacles in a river, making their way up to the place where they originally came from. All of us know where we belong; our home is in heaven, and our life is a matter of making our way there - our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Him. But swimming against the current is not an easy matter, and increasingly the Church finds herself having to be counter-cultural.

Answering a tricky question

That picture I think will inform the prayers and thoughts of many who heard him, during this Year of Faith. After a time for questions and comments we said the Angelus together. On the way home in the car four of us were agreed that he had made a great beginning, and we look forward to being his co-workers in the years to come.

Our Lady of Sorrows

Mgr Keith Newton, our Ordinary, preached very movingly and simply on the Sorrows of Mary on the Ordinariate's pilgrimage day in Walsingham (r. the Slipper Chapel, part of the Catholic Shrine). For all that, the keynote seemed to be one of joy. Such a brilliant sunny day (compensation for last year's deluge); a great turnout of the faithful (some had to stand throughout the Mass for lack of room); some forty concelebrating ordinariate priests. We had a great deal to be thankful for.

Jane (rt) with Daloni and Michael Peel

So after our 450 mile two-day round trip, I thought I should post at least a few pictures for those of you unable to be present. It was only through the kindness of our old friends Dr Michael Peel and his wife Daloni (formerly i/c the College of St Barnabas) that we were able to break the journey with an overnight stop at their home in Suffolk.

Mgr Keith greeting members of the congregation after Mass.

Fr Aquilina from Sevenoaks with Mgr Broadhurst
Settling down for a picnic - some of our Bournemouth Group in the forefront

A merry post-prandial trio of priests

a South London seminar sur l'herbe.







and a pair of Ellises comparing notes

Bishop Lindsay Urwin welcomes us to the Anglican Shrine where he is the Administrator

Croydon & the Ordinariate

Few landmarks are left of old Croydon, the town I remember from my youth - my grandmother lived just one stop along the line, in South Norwood, hard by Selhurst Park, home of Crystal Palace football. One thing that is left, though, is St Michael's
Church. Left it certainly has been for many of those in the congregation today in St Mary's Catholic Church (just a stone's throw from St Michael's, though no one was throwing stones today). There were servers who had been at St Michael's, and some of the ladies from that parish were introducing one more element of Anglican Patrimony, the Mantilla, into Catholic worship. Fr Donald Minchew, its former Vicar, was among those ordained to the Catholic priesthood this afternoon.
Once you might still discern the little country town on the chalk hill (the meaning of Craie-dune or Croydon) among more modern buildings. Now it is distinctly part of the metropolis, and none the better for it. But today was lovely; the ordination of three priests, former Anglicans, by the Archbishop of Southwark in the presence of our Ordinary, Mgr Keith Newton.

There are few opportunities for concelebrants to take pictures in church; but before the event a number of distinguished figures hove into view. Fr Lindlar from Deal (right) was composing himself with holy thoughts. In another corner of Kent, and another corner of the room, the former Vicar of St Peter's Folkestone was on his mobile - at a guess, to his bookmaker, though I might be mistaken. He could very well have been checking up on the builders, who seem to have taken up residence in the house where he and Tricia and struggling to create a home.

Then also from Kent were two familiar bloggers, Frs Tomlinson and Aquilina, keeping each other up to date with their parts of the Ordinariate vineyard.

Most of those present were from London and surrounds; so it was good to have a fellow resident of Portsmouth Diocese, Mgr Robert Mercer CR, concelebrating.

Here he is being interviewed - or possibly engaged in conversation - by our intrepid communications officer, Fr James Bradley, who will no doubt by now have a sheaf of pictures on Flickr (whatever that is).

There were a few monsignori in evidence. Above on the left is Mgr Broadhurst, leading our Ordinary, Mgr Keith Newton, and the Archbishop into church. I did manage to get one shot in Church of the three Candidates, still in their diaconal stoles, as the Mass was about to begin.

From left to right are the Ordinary, then Frs Kenneth Berry, Paul Gibbons and Donal Minchew.

It was a great occasion, with a first-rate bunfight; it made our journeying from the South Coast (setting off at 8.15 and arriving home at 19.45) well worthwhile - quite apart from sitting on a table being regaled by Joanna Bogle with tales of Croydon Airport. Altogether a great day for the Ordinariate and for the Church at large.

You say Tomayto, I say Tomahto

In the 'Catholic World Report' recently Anthony Esolen wrote about 'Paint by numbers' hymns. He compared some of the modern efforts as nothing better than the paintings which are sold as printed sheets with numbered spaces; just fit the colour to the number.

"We do have a rich treasury of hymn-poems to read, to sing, and to keep close to the heart. Some of them are almost as old as Christianity itself. They come from Latin and Greek, from our own English, from French and German and all the languages of Europe. Some were written by saintly divines with a fine ear for poetry: John Henry Newman (“Praise to the Holiest in the Height”), Charles Wesley (“Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”). Many were written by the great Dr. Isaac Watts, who set the psalms to English meter and rhyme. Some rose up from an anonymous lyricist among the folk: “What Wondrous Love Is This.” Some entered our language by the skill of great translators, like John Mason Neale and Catherine Winkworth. Some were the work of pious laymen who meditated upon Scripture all their lives: so the blind Fanny Crosby gives us “Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross.” Just as many of our most beautiful melodies were written by the finest composers who ever lived—Bach, Handel, Haydn—so too many of our hymn lyrics were written by poets of some renown: George Herbert, Robert Bridges, Gerard Manley Hopkins, John Milton.
So why, then, why do we have verse-by-numbers lyrics posing as real poems in our hymnals? Why, when we have such a trove of the great, the profound, the beautiful, the memorable, the poignant, the splendid, do we have to endure what is banal, clunky, clumsy, dull, vague, and silly? "

That's a view I very much share; but his very first word, "We", set me thinking. It is used so often and so lightly; in the comment on a blog it was asserted that "We" do not want certain usages which the writer thought were specifically Anglican. Blogging as mediaMouse she(he?) wrote for the edification of members of the Ordinariate; "we don’t speak ‘of ‘priestings’ and ‘deaconings’ in the Catholic Church. That kind of language only alienates you more. We don’t want that and you certainly don’t!!"

Happily another cradle Catholic put him/her right, asserting that the verb "to priest" was pre-Reformation and had continued in use among Recusant Catholics. But it is hard to know just which words and phrases perfectly natural to some create problems for others. There is just such a usage earlier in this very paragraph... I suppose many people writing today would have said "another cradle Catholic put them right" since "them" and "they" has become the politically proper way to avoid using a gender-inclusive pronoun ('he') or the cumbersome 'he/she'.

Those of us who learned English Grammar before it became unfashionable find it hard to use a plural pronoun where the original subject was in the singular. We have other difficulties - even with the new Translation of the Missal, which is generally so much better than the former version. In particular, in the Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer I) I have to swallow hard before saying "which we offer you firstly". The adverb, I was taught, was "first", and "firstly" was a barbarism. Then, in my prejudiced way, I supposed this innovation must come from across the Atlantic. Not so. How helpful are Google and Wikipedia! It seems that "firstly" is not much heard in America - it is a genuinely English grammatical error, now in common usage - very common, my old English teacher would have said.

It is supposed to be G.B.Shaw who said England and America were two countries divided by a common language. Perhaps something similar could be asserted of long-standing Catholics and us more recent imports. We knew we had a great deal to learn; the instruction on receiving the dignity of Monsignor spoke of mantelletas and farraiolos (not happily for those of us of low degree) - but I would not recognise a ferraiolo if one bit me. Other Anglicans, both former and present, are more learned in such things. Even the word "Ordinariate" does not trip easily off the tongue - and that word has different pronunciations. Some of us would say it like "airy" while in Tunbridge Wells it is an 'ordinahriate".



We are learning so much - shall we also have to unlearn even more? Never again to distinguish between the Making of Deacons, the Ordination of Priests and the Consecration of Bishops? Where did that come from originally - is it pre-Reformation, like "priesting" and "deaconing" or is it something fondly invented by dear Doctor Cranmer? Are we genuinely bringing something of the Patrimony of the Church of England into the Catholic Church, or are we spoiling it with our funny ways? We can only find out as time goes by - and as we let each other know what things we find charming, and which just irritate us.

Camera obscura

That is to say, I have lost it - my camera, that is. Either at Allen Hall or on the train home. So until it returns, or I get an old one working again, this blog will only have documents or drawings to offer.

Yesterday deserved some pictures. We were at Allen Hall for the meeting of all the ordinariate priests and those soon to be ordained. So many of us that the student body was nowhere to be seen; I think their vacation has already begun. It was especially good meeting old friends in the "second wave". Those in the archdiocese of Southwark are still awaiting a date for their deaconing - the Archbishop was away at a crucial moment so documents did not get to Rome in time. It will be good though to be able to attend the Ordinations of Paul Gibbons and Donald Minchew Before then there are still a few outstanding Priestings: Fr John Hunwicke's in Oxford (which alas I cannot attend) and Fr David Boundy's in Salisbury at the end of July when I hope to concelebrate. (Incidentally I fancy "Deaconing" and "Priesting" are not words commonly used among Catholics - maybe part of our Anglican Patrimony?)


The train was late yesterday, the buses even worse, so I crept into the Library - we were too many for the usual lecture room - to find our Ordinary in full flow. He seemed in particularly good form, and we had helpful contributions from Mgr Broadhurst and Mgr Burnham. It seems the book now in production (our temporary "Ordinariate Use" for the Offices, Calendar &c) is a little delayed and will not be available until September.


After lunch, a Group Photograph (already on the Ordinariate site), then another of the second wave of former Anglican clergy, and after that single mug-shots so that "celebrets" can be produced - documents to enable us to be accepted as Priests anywhere in the world. Then a major contribution from Fr Kristian Paver, the Chancellor for the Ordinariate. He was hugely helpful in answering all the questions thrown at him, many of which concerned Marriage - marriage breakdown, divorce, annulments &c. Perhaps the most important part of his message was simply this: "Care for the divorced and remarried is a pressing and central part of the Church's ministry today". All of us in local Groups have our part to play in exercising that care, and seeking to help regularise the situation after remarrige, if that is at all possible.


The oddest thing about arriving late was to discover Mgr Keith speaking about me - he was waving a document (reproduced above) with the news that the three of us who had been Anglican Bishops but were now retired were to be made Monsignori. It will be good to catch up (as I hope) with Mgr David Silk at Buckfast next week : and Mgr Robert Mercer's elevation will be a great encouragement to many especially those in the TAC or who have been in his care in time past. As for me, members of our Group and other friends have been inundating me with congratulations, and I was also warmly greeted when I said Mass this morning (of SS John Fisher and Thomas More) in Lymington. Mgr Mercer was typically self-deprecatory: 'it doesn't mean a lot', he said. Certainly the accompanying letter mostly told us what we could no longer wear... the purple cassock, the ankle-length sleeveless purple mantle, the sash with tassels, the buckled shoes - all were abolished in 1969. Rather a mercy - I always found purple a very unflattering colour! And since I rarely wear a cassock the one remaining piece of finery will not often be on view (black cassock with purple trimmings, and a purple cincture). But it was very kind of our Ordinary to commend us to the Holy Father for this honour, and I have to admit to being rather happy about it.

The Intemperate Zone

A packed three days in London, just as the temperatures passed 80 Fahrenheit. It was a little unkind of Allen Hall to give Fr John Saward the graveyard slot on Thursday - two hours after a very filling lunch. By the end of his lecture even he was clutching a bottle of water.



So far as I can tell it was a masterly account of St Thomas Aquinas on the Incarnation and the Sacraments - fortunately his talk was recorded and will be available on line from Allen Hall, so we shall be able to fill in the bits when Morpheus overtook us.



Perhaps though I was the only one whose eyes became a little heavy at times - certainly in the shot above we are all very alert and bushy tailed.
So that was Thursday in Chelsea.

Jane had come up to town with me, and we went to Croydon for two nights staying with a cousin of mine. We returned on Friday to do our cultural bit - the Zoffany exhibition at the Royal Academy.



A revelation - I had thought of him as a court painter to George III, which he was, but he also travelled widely, even as far as India, and produced some wonderful images there. Then too he was enchanted by the theatre, and gave us images of Garrick and all the great thespians of his time. If you are able to get there soon, do: and the catalogue is greatly reduced and a wondefful bargain. We also went to the Queen's Gallery to see the Leonardo anatomical drawings - which produced in me a degree of visual overload.



Today it was London for the third day running, this time Westminster where seventeen former Anglican clergy were admitted to the Diaconate of the Catholic Church. Bishop Alan Hopes ordained, our Ordinary, Mgr Keith Newton, was a benign presence throughout, and Mgr Andrew Burnham preached splendidly on the Diaconate. Above is a picture from the moments before the Mass began. Frs Page and Elliott-Smith were no doubt glad that today, unlike Thursday, the tube did not let them down. They had struggled to get to Allen Hall and missed much of the morning session.

Many of those being ordained are old friends of mine, and it was particularly good to have Brian Copus from our Bournemouth Ordinariate Group once more properly dressed in clericals. Good too to have two other residents of Portsmouth Diocese among the candidates - John Maunder from St Agatha's Portsea and John Hunwicke (for he lives in Oxford on the Portsmouth side of the Thames). After Mass, members of the Bournemouth Ordinariate repaired to the Victoria Pub, to drink the new deacons' health.



Here on the right of the picture are Fr Brian and his wife Bärbel. On this occasion the new deacons' wives were welcomed to the sanctuary and given a special blessing just before Mass ended. What a great day! Now we eagerly await news of when Fr Brian is to be ordained priest - some of those deaconed today will be priested in their home parishes or local cathedrals as early as next week.

Busy, Busy

Quite a week after the Pilgrimage to Rome. The priests in Bournemouth and in the Avon/Stour Pastoral areas had asked me to help them with a quiet day. When eventually I found them in a retreat house in Westbourne I gave them a couple of reflections on the Ordinariate Pilgrimage; taking them first to Subiaco and the beginnings of Western Monasticism, then to St Gregory's to remind them about the Missions of Augustine and his companions. We had an interesting discussion on how far the Catholic Church should be triumphalist (the gospel for the day was about not hiding light under a bushel) and how far it must be modest and ready to give way to the Established Church. I had suggested we need to be ready to claim our rights as the natural Church of this land.

The same evening I went back to Bournemouth to celebrate Mass for the local Catenian Circle. They had come, I think, expecting a different liturgy; instead they found the new translation of Mass celebrated not quite as they are accustomed. "How good not to have any guitars" said one; "Liked the singing" said another; "We don't often have incense said a third" - and I think he approved that we do.

After Mass in St Agatha's

Today was a trip East, forty miles to Portsmouth. Fr Jonathan Redvers-Harris is currently engaged on a course in Canon Law, and is in the midst of a residential fortnight in Leeuven (Brussels). We are so short of Ordinariate priests in this area that he was coming back on the Eurostar tonight in order to say Mass for the Isle of Wight Group tomorrow - then off in the afternoon to Belgium again. They will certainly be glad when (Bishop)Robert Mercer C.R. is ordained into the Catholic priesthood - which I understand is to be in Portsmouth Cathedral on Monday March 26th (the Annunciation, transferred from Sunday).

Annunciation Tympanum in St Agatha's

(Fr)John Maunder and some of his people have begun preparation for reception (and in his case, I hope, Ordination) so the Portsmouth Group is looking increasingly healthy. As always, the preparations John had made for me to say Mass were immaculate, and his welcome most warm and generous.


The present shortage of priests, though, gave me the opportunity of celebrating at mid-day according to the Use of the Book of Common Worship, in that wonderful church of St Agatha, Portsea.

Picture (left) Wendy Redvers-Harris who in her husband's absence ensured things went smoothly - despite delays with the ferry. The hovercraft was full and some coming from the Island were delayed