The people of the parish of St. Mary of the Angels in Hollywood, under the leadership of their rector Fr. Jack Barker, were among the first “Groups of Anglicans” to petition for return to full communion. Three decades ago, in the summer of 1981, they found themselves, as their successor congregants do again today, on the cusp of reunion with Rome. They, along with a second Anglican congregation in Los Angeles, had requested and were anticipating their imminent reception into the Archdiocese of Los Angles as personal parishes of the Pastoral Provision.
Had this occurred as expected, then today we might acknowledge the parish of St. Mary of the Angels, rather than the parish of Our Lady of the Atonement (San Antonio, 1983) as the first Anglican Use congregation.
As Fr. Barker relates in a copyright tract which should be required reading for all who are interested in these matters, the reception of the two Los Angeles groups was unexpectedly denied, owing to the influence of “ecumenical” forces within the Roman Catholic Church. The Archbishop of Los Angeles, Cardinal Manning, ruled that these two parishes would not be received into the Church, and that no personal parish of the Pastoral Provision would be allowed in the Archdiocese. Individuals were free to seek reception individually.
Fr. Barker was received, and serves to this day as a priest in a neighboring diocese. Many faithful of the parish were received individually into mainstream Novus Ordo parishes, while others found other church homes including Orthodoxy. Perhaps a few remain members of St. Mary to this day; I don’t know.
I have no acquaintance, even slight, with anyone associated with the parish. I have never set foot in the parish church and, until very recently, never expected that I would. And yet I feel a close personal bond to this church of Our Lady, because it was a means by which I, a cradle Catholic married to an Anglican convert, ended up at Our Lady of the Atonement.
Seven or eight years ago, and having absolutely no knowledge of the Pastoral Provision, I was doing some unrelated internet reading and came across a reference to the ill-fated reconciliation of St. Mary of the Angels. Surprised to learn that such a thing as corporate reunion was even possible, I read on, and it was a short leap to a fuller appreciation of the Pastoral Provision and, eventually, to my family’s move to San Antonio.
Today, through the extraordinary generosity of the Holy Father in Anglicanorum Coetibus, a second opportunity is presented for the accession of this parish to the fullness of the Church. There is to this day not a single parish of the Pastoral Provision in the City of the Angels, and yet we may soon see a parish of the Ordinariate in Los Angeles; a city, by the way, whose archbishop-designate is a demonstrated friend of the Anglican Use.
What are we to make of these concidences? Probably nothing. Coincidences happen — or are perceived — all the time, and often without any supernatural implications. I am ordinarily the last person to attribute earthly events to Divine intervention in the mundane.
On the other hand, is this parish of St. Mary of the Angels merely a mundane thing? Or is it an institution of Christ’s Church that, owing to the faithful prayers of generations of its clergy and people, is urgently desired in reunion by its patroness?
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Ralph Johnston's testimony about Saint Mary's inspires me to deliver my own.
I was visiting Los Angeles over the Labor Day weekend of 2003, to see my younger son, who was then a senior at Pepperdine University, and his fiancee. On the Sunday morning, I went to an early Mass at a nearby RC church, where the liturgical style was, how shall we say, very progressive. The Blessed Sacrament was hidden in a "chapel" which looked more like a coat closet, at one of the side doors, the fat lady was the cantor, the congregation (except for a few die hards like me) stood for the consecrtaion, the homily seemed to be about obsessive-compulsive disorder or something.
In a rather down mood, I then went off to the High Mass at Saint Mary's. There the liturgy was very reverent, in fact much like our own AU Rite I Mass, the clergy and all male servers were practiced, there were five vigil lights, and Fr. Gregory Dickson preached an outstanding homily on confession, freely quoting Saint Thomas Aquinas. It was really superb and very edifying. You can imagine that I very much regretted not being in full communion with these fine folks. Afterwards I browsed the tract rack, picking up some great tracts and prayers in attractive folder format (most are available online at the Saint Mary's website), and talked briefly with Fr. Gregory.
Later I spoke by phone with the late Fr. Beau Davis, who gave me some of his own story surrounding the original Saint Mary's incident. He was a fine man, and prayers for his soul would be appreciated.
If they can make into the Ordinariate, Saint Mary's will be a mainstay congregation, I am convinced, so they are in my prayers.
I should have added that the reason I went to Saint Mary's to start with was because our beloved founding pastor at Walsingham had told me about the Saint Mary's incident, with some very interesting background commentary, thus piquing my interest, which was later confirmed when Charles Coulombe wrote a piece about his visit there. I am planning to make a comeback appearance out there this Summer some time.
From Dr. Tighe's link, I recall that yes, it was Fr. Gegory Wilcox with whom I spoke, and who preached such a great homily.
This tells the story:
http://www.losangelesmission.com/ed/articles/1999/1299cc.htm
Charles tells it the way I heard it, too.
Whatever has happened in the past, this can be the time of healing. I enjoyed visiting there this past December, and keep the clergy and people of St. Mary's in my daily prayers.
J.M.J.
Father Phillips offers sage advise. Not only should we view this as a time of healing, but also as a time of renewal in our hearts and minds of the supreme maxim of The Church, "Salus animarum suprema lex," as enshrined in canon 1752 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, which reminds us that the saving of souls is the first rule.
This, of course flies in the face of what the "other side" wants to see happen, and is the reason for so much of the "interference and noise" that many of us are facing these days.
I can't personally recommend in terms strong enough for everyone who supports Anglicanorum Coetibus to persevere or increase their participation in the Divine Office, and for the priests, in the saying of an extra Mass, and keeping the success of the Ordinariate in their Office and Mass intentions.
Father Quigley in his amazing work on the Breviary teaches us that there are four ends for which we recite the Divine Office:
(a) To glorify God, (b) to help holy Church, and (c) to sanctify ourselves.
In his explanation of item (b) he includes a quotation for St. Alphonsus Ligouri that is worthy of all of our attention, and just as applicable to the laity:
"(b) "To help holy Church." The Church militant has many and great needs. It is her mission to extend the Kingdom of Christ, and to do this great work she needs freedom from hostile laws, strength and courage to withstand tyrants and persecution, unity and peace amongst her children and pastors, zeal in her ministers and recruits for her militant forces. To obtain these results the Church relies very much on the devout recitation of the Office. Doubtless, it is for these purposes that the Church has confided to the care of her chosen ministers this public official prayer and has laid no such obligation on the laity. St. Alphonsus did not hesitate to say that if priests and religious said the Office as they should say it, the Church should not be in the deplorable state that it then was in. This Doctor of the Church adds "that by devout saying of the Office many sinners could be drawn from the slavery of the devil and many souls would love God with more fervour." The wants of the Church are greater now than they were ever before. Each devoutly-said Hour draws down God's blessing on His Church. What a vast number of blessings come from a life of daily recitation offered worthily, attentively and devoutly (digne, attente, ac devote)."
If we remain mindful of the great benefits which come from a pious recitation of the Divine Office, there seems little reason we can't all re-double our efforts to insure we recite the Office with "attention and devotion" with intention for the advancement of the Catholic Faith in general and the success of the Ordinariates throughout the world, in particular. A small investment of time can yield profound benefits!
SWR
Spell check got me – make that sage "advice."
What was the fourth end, Sean?
There are only three – I had just finished an article on the four ends for which Mass was offered, and that must have still been in my thoughts.
SWR
St. Mary's is very close to my heart. I was there during all the time Frs. Barker, St. John Brown and Canon Du Bois were approaching Rome for a Pastoral Provsion. Although not privy to exactly why we were denied, I always knew or felt that it was an ecumenical decision and whether my opinions are fact, I also think that two priests, one Catholic and one from TEC who were on the Ecumenical Committee in LA were in part responsible for our parishes being denied.
Except for Canon Du Bois, who became Catholic and passed away before the establishment of the Pastoral Provision, the others became Catholic priests.
One of our assistant priests decided to become Orthodox and took some of the parishioners with him and the parish he established is still functioning, although he too has passed away.
From a very informed member of the vestry at that time I was told that before they were denied a parish, the vote to become Catholic was lacking one vote by the vestry.
Some stayed on and others, myself and my family included, became Catholic. My daughters were received into the Church by Fr. Tea of Las Vegas into the Anglican Use. I was received by Fr. Barker.
Our Lord has given a second opportunity to the members of St. Mary's to come in through the Ordinariate and hopefully this will be a reality. Although a small building it is a jewel.
All my loving memories are there. I was married there, my children were baptized there and I recall the beautiful liturgy and wonderful homilies we heard. I also have fond memories of Fr. Beau Davis and was looking forward to seeing him again at the meeting at St. Mary's and was saddened by his death.
Not to take away from other AU parishes or those groups of Anglicans entering the Ordinariate, however, I feel that the Pastoral Provision and Anglican Use was the gateway for what we see now in the offering of an Ordinariate. The Holy Spirit works in His timing, not in ours.
My prayers are always with St. Mary's.
In the providence of God, St. Mary's now has a capable priest in Fr. Christopher Kelley, who himself has suffered many things for many decades for the sake of the catholic Faith. Under his gentle leadership, the parish is being shepherded toward the unity with the Catholic Church that they once were so bitterly denied.
Fr. Kelley's wife, Mary Alice is a prayer warrior who supplies the spiritual rear guard that doesn't meet the eye, but that shall be rewarded quite conspicuously in heaven. Fr. Andrew Bartus, newly priested in the midst of the current consternation, is being tested in the fires of conflict and is emerging a strong defender of the Faith.
Dcn. Yeager and his wife, Jackie are full of the Spirit and stalwart in their assistance. Dcn. Routh, ever manly, has recently lost Barbara, his wife and the mother of their five children, to a long bout with cancer. May she rest in peace and may her family be comforted in their grief.
There are numerous laymen and -women of this particular parish who have faithfully offered their support through past and present storms. May the late Fr. Beau Davis' prayers, and the prayers and efforts of so many others be answered when St. Mary's goes marching into the Ordinariate!
My most heartfelt condolences to Dcn Routh and his beautiful family on the loss of Barbara, wife and mother. They will be in my prayers for sure.
Having experienced the loss of the son whom I visited during the time mentioned in my previous message in this thread, and although I am not a member of Opus Dei, I have found this passage from the life of St. Josemaria Escriva to be helpful:
"Whenever one of his children died, the Father could not hide his sorrow. He would go the tabernacle and speak with Jesus, making a filial complaint. Later, he would think, 'Well, God does know best. He is not like a hunter in search of prey. He is like a gardener, who cares for the flowers and waters them, and protects them. And he only cuts them when they are at the peak of their beauty and richness. God takes souls when they are ripe.' But still he was upset when God took his children, because they could have accomplished so much in this life." A. Vasquez de Prada, "The Founder of Opus Dei: The Life of Josemaria Escriva" (vol. III, p.295).
Just wondering……
this post mentions there were 2 parishes in L.A. wishing to enter into communion with the Catholic Church, which was the second and what happened to it?
Matthew M., you may want to read Father Barker's account:
http://www.atonementonline.com/tracts/resource002.html
and from a different point of view:
http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2883
The parish was Fr. Brown's, St. Matthias church, which was lost to TEC. His members than joined our group who met at a Catholic Church, where Fr. Tea would travel from Las Vegas and celebrate the Mass. The children and adults were prepared for being received into the Church. Fr. Brown was received into the Church and was ordained a Catholic priest for Diocese of Corpus Christi. He was named Vice-Rector of the Seminary, Spiritual Director of the seminarians and personal theologian to the bishop of the diocese. He served for five years and retired.
I look with hope to St. Marys entering the ordinariate. I will come on pilgrimage with my family when it is in communion with the Church. It will be good to put human faces on this beautiful and difficult journey which has eternal value.
I read the comments with considerable nostalgia. I was a member of S Mary of the Angels from the late 60s thru the early 80s. I remember Fr Jim Jordan and Fr Jack Barker very well.
Is someone writing the story of S Mary's? I have old Sunday bulletins, parish newsletters and similar items. It's time for me to get rid of them.
Dear Off2 – Could you please send me an email and we can get in touch about this? My email is: fatherbartus [at] stmaryoftheangels [dot] org
God bless you,
Fr Bartus+
Dear Off2, we are eager to receive any & all archival materials you have on St Mary's. Being the place it is, with Hollywood connections, some archival books, photos, &c., have "wandered off" in the hands of avid collectors of memorabilia.
Is there *any* chance you have, or had seen, Forrest Wood's biography of Father Neal Dodd, called "A Candle Among the Stars"?
My e-mail address is on our website.
Thank you for your posting.
An additional bit of information about St. Mary's, Harry Townes who was an actor in many different television series and a parishioner of St. Mary's, became a priest in the Episcopal church. He also was the Godfather of one of my daughters. I believe there is information on the web about his life.