I have been remiss. I published here the story of an ordination to the diaconate, but not the crowning glory of this deacon's ordination to the Holy Catholic priesthood. Better late than never!
The Anglo-Catholic remains on hiatus, but I thought that I would share the story of a friend's recent ordination to the diaconate in Orlando. On Saturday, God willing, he will be ordered a priest in the Catholic Church.
The following article is from Anglican Ink, and it presents an issue which has floated around amongst both Ordinariate and non-Ordinariate clergy and laity. Posting this here should not be taken as doubting the assertion that there has been no favoritism shown, but it's probably important for the Ordinariate leadership to continue to take seriously the fact that there are those with this perception, and to address it in "thought, word and deed."
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Ordinariate denies favoritism charges
TEC clergy dominate new U.S. Anglican Ordinariate
By George Conger
The head of the U.S. branch of the Anglican Ordinariate, Msg. Jeffrey Steenson, has denied accusations it has given preference to former Episcopal clergy in its ordination process. However, among its first class of priests, 16 of 19 are former Episcopal clergy, with only 3 receiving their formation and orders from the continuing church.
Questions and concerns about the implementation and interpretation of Anglicanorum coetibus have met the Vatican’s initiative to create a liturgical home for Anglicans with the Roman Catholic Church. In an interview with PBS’s Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, Dr. Ian Markham, Dean of the Virginia Theological Seminary criticized the pastoral provision for Anglicans for sheep stealing.
“There was a perception that this was poaching by the Roman Catholic Church of Anglicans around the world. It was discourteous, it was stealing sheep, it was unecumenical,” he said, adding “It’s viewed as not recognizing the value of and integrity of our traditions.”
Its critics also charge the sheep stealing is directed towards the Church of England and the Episcopal Church. While talks began in 1991 between leaders of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC) and the Vatican on returning Anglican Catholics to Rome, TAC clergy have been noticeably absent from the Ordinariates in the U.S. and U.K. The three TAC bishops who spearheaded the reunion efforts with Rome — David Moyer, John Hepworth and Louis Falk – are absent from the clergy ranks of the Ordinariate.
Some former TAC clergy who have applied for ordination in the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter tell Anglican Ink that they have been treated brusquely. Others report that a year after contacting the Ordinariate’ s Washington office, they are still waiting to hear what the future holds.
One clergyman, who asked not to be named as he had applied for reception, told Anglican Ink he had been discouraged the “Pastoral Provision was so un-pastoral”. A “Fort Worth mafia” was dominating the U.S. Ordinariate – Msg. Steenson is a former Fort Worth rector, while the vicar for clergy, the Rt. Rev. Charles Hough III is the former canon to the ordinary of the Diocese of Fort Worth.
A second aspirant said he had been pressed to explain why he had not come to Rome when he left the Episcopal Church some twenty five years ago. If he accepted papal supremacy and the dogmas of the Catholic Church, why had he delayed a quarter century in making his submission, he was asked, the clergyman told AI.
The question is not an unfair one, however, as the Catholic Church’s self-understanding of its role in the economy of salvation is found in the statements of the Second Vatican Council.
Lumen Gentium 14 states: “Whosoever, therefore, knowing that the Catholic Church was made necessary by Christ, would refuse to enter or to remain in it, could not be saved”, which on its face, would appear to render suspect in Roman eyes those who have held long standing doubts as to the veracity of Anglican truth claims and delayed going over to Rome.
Of the 19 clergy re-ordained for service in the Ordinariate, 7 have come directly from the Episcopal Church, 6 from the Episcopal Church via the Anglican Church in North America, 3 from the Episcopal Church via the Anglican Church in America, 2 from the Anglican Church in America, and 1 from the Charismatic Episcopal Church.
Asked to respond to the assertions of unfair treatement of TAC clergy, Msg. Steenson said:“Not true. The judgment of Apostolicae curae falls on each of us alike. We treat each applicant equally, and apply the objective criteria of discernment that the Catholic Church requires.”
Here's Part Two of "Reluctant Anglicans" by Peregrinus. It appears on his blog, Peregrinations, and has been posted also on Fr Stephen Smuts' blog. Since there was a good discussion resulting from the posting of Part One, I thought our readers would like to continue with the series.
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Reluctant Anglicans (2)
The questions presented here in the first "Reluctant" post have caused quite a flurry of comment on other blogs. I will attempt to summarize some of the constructive comments since our purpose is to seek clarification for those sincerely seeking to respond to our Lord's prayer that we all may be one.
So, here is a partial summary with the caveat that any condensation will be incomplete and since, as repeatedly mentioned, this is a process which is unfolding over years there are no easy, much less permanent, responses apart from those which are made by the CDF and other agents of the Holy See.
With this in mind, here we go with a first attempt at summary.
1. Authority
A number of posts have raised concerns about "private judgement" in relation to questions of authority. Some have pointed out that, amongst others, J.H. Newman held that there was a role for and necessity for the Church to elicit the voice of the laity in the determination of many matters including the reception of doctrine.
As it applies to the Ordinariates there are a number of matters which affect how this role might be defined in the governance of parishes, sodalities and ordinariate structures generally.
Anglicanorum Coetibus outlines clearly that it is expected that the councils and committees which are to be part of the structure being erected will reflect the engagement and contributions of laity in oversight at various levels. This has been a developing part of Anglican patrimony which will continue in the Ordinariates.
For Newman consultation with and participation by the laity is an important aspect of faithful discipleship as it relates to the stewardship which we collectively share for the Church Militant. In no way does consulting the laity detract from the proper role of doctrinal development and definition through the Petrine office or the role of the Magisterium in governing. In fact, the role of laity was seen by Newman as complementary to the Magisterium and as a sign of a vibrant Church with an educated laity – something Newman stove for in his work to establish a Catholic university in Ireland and in other aspects of his ministry.
The role of the laity as an aspect of patrimony is not then to be confused with the issue of "private judgement" in matters of doctrine.
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NOTE TO READERS
Due to time constraints, posts on this topic will continue at irregular intervals. For those interested there is much more discussion on the "The Anglo-Catholic" blog and Fr. Smut's blog amongst others.
Time does not allow a full digest of the constructive comments made there so discussion here will be selective but those who post comments to this blog will receive full consideration and, as stated, constructive comments will be posted here.
More to follow.
Over on his blog, Peregrinations, there is the first of a series of posts by Peregrinus, and in it are some interesting questions which could form the basis for useful discussion. I happened to see it on Fr Stephen Smuts' blog, and thought it worth reprinting here.
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Why are some Anglicans reluctant about the Ordinariates?
by Peregrinus
This begins a series of posts which will seek to address questions that people have about the process of entering into full communion with the Catholic Church through the Personal Ordinariates being erected to receive Anglicans.
Barriers at St. Peter’s, Rome
There are, of course, many reasons for the reluctance of many Anglicans and others to enter a process for reception through the ordinariates. Anglicanorum Coetibus (AC) is the Apostolic Constitution crafted by Pope Benedict XVI to allow Anglicans, the Anglican patrimony and those drawn to the Church through the Anglican ethos to share full communion in response to our Lord’s prayer that we all may be one, ut unum sint.
AC is a thoughtful, realistic and generous ecumenical response to requests made over the past thirty years by Anglican bishops and faithful to enter into full unity with the Catholic Church while retaining those elements of Anglican culture and tradition which conform to the Catholic faith.
This post will list some of these concerns and future posts will seek to address these from a Canadian perspective.
First a few facts and estimates:
- To date there are eight bishops worldwide (by my count which may be out of date) who have been received into full communion and ordained.
- Around a hundred priests (with more in process) have been received and ordained
- Something going on a couple of thousand lay Anglicans have been received or are in a process to be received into the three ordinariates that currently serve the UK, the USA, Canada and Australia.
These numbers, though small, change monthly. Generously, the Holy Father has bestowed the rank of prelate of honour (Monsignor) upon each of the received former Anglican bishops following their ordinations.
Three of these former Anglican bishops have been created “ordinaries” that is leaders with jurisdiction for those who enter the non-territorial personal ordinariates erected:
1. Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham (OOLW) for England, Scotland and Wales
2. Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter (OCSP) to include jurisdiction for those received in North America including Canada and the USA
3. Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross (OOLSC) for Australia and, presumably, contiguous regions
These ordinaries act with authority and jurisdiction like that of bishops of a diocese without the limitation of geography within the respective Episcopal Conferences to which they relate e.g. Msgr Steenson of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter acts in concert with the conferences of bishops in Canada and the USA.
On a personal level, for example, an individual person received into the Ordinariate in Toronto comes under the same “ordinary” jurisdiction as someone in Houston,TX i.e. Msgr Steenson and does not come within the jurisdiction of the Cardinal Archbishop of Toronto though, naturally, the ordinary and the cardinal co-operate in every way possible to promote the unified witness of the Catholic Church.
Anglican Use Mass celebrated on Sundays at Sacré-Coeur Parish in Toronto
All of this should indicate that there is a warm and generous welcome for Anglican clergy and people. Some Anglicans and others, however, demur, delay or have additional questions about the process for a variety of reasons and from varying circumstances. A few have decisively (for now anyway) decided to continue as Anglicans or Anglican Catholics or Anglo-Catholics as they variously describe themselves.
This article will begin to explore some of the concerns that people have in a non-partisan manner by listing questions that have been raised. Together we seek some answers or responses to the many details that an unfolding process presents.
Clarification has been the purpose of all of the postings on this blog and so your responses and other questions and constructive comments are invited. These will be vetted and presented to advance the discussion and illuminate what, as we have said, has been and will continue to be a developing process with many twists and winds along the “narrow way” that we are called to by the Gospel.
To record some of the concerns of people, I have been compiling a list over the summer of 2012. Here it is for your consideration.
1. Authority
Is there still a place for the voice of the laity in the Ordinariate?
Will the Ordinary have real control over the administration and assets of the Ordinariate which, in the case of Canada and the USA, is spread over a continent.
What role will the local bishops have and can Anglican patrimony be restricted by an unsympathetic bishop?
Is there any way that conservative Anglicans (those who have evangelical sympathies and others) might be persuaded to enter into full communion?
2. Liturgy
Will the liturgy be familiar to Anglicans or will there be such changes that worship feels foreign? Will the great Anglican musical tradition be nurtured and developed within the Ordinariates?
Will the RSV and King James (A.V.) bibles be used? Is it a “deal breaker” as some have said if the KJV is not used at Mass? Can the KJV be used for other services, the Offices, group and private devotions, etc., even if the RSV is the authorized text for lections at Mass?
Will priests be required to use the approved Anglican Use of the Roman Rite or will they increasingly move to the Ordinary or Extraordinary forms of the Roman Rite? Who decides?
3. Economics
What assets will groups be able to bring with them and what say will they have in the use of these assets. With whom will the deeds for property reside?
Will small communities be able to afford to pay priests a living wage? Will priests have to work for the local RC diocese dividing time between Anglican Ordinariate congregations and other parish or chaplaincy work?
Will there be support from local dioceses and conferences of bishops in terms of health care, pensions and retirement care for priests and other employees of the Ordinariate?
4. Culture and Sharing
Pope Benedict has expressed his concern that Anglicans bring their patrimony with them to share with other Catholics. How will this happen? What form will this sharing take or will Anglicans be absorbed into the larger Western Rite Catholic community eventually?
Will young men who marry continue to be approved for ordination? Will the seminaries make allowance and provision for married candidates for ordination?
How will formation for the clergy of the Anglican ordinariates take place? Will everything be centred in Houston?
Will the Anglican Use parishes such as Our Lady of the Atonement in San Antonio, TX be included ultimately in the ordinariate? What will relations between AU and Ordinariate parishes and groups be in the meantime?
So, we welcome your thoughts on these matters and your further questions as we seek to follow our Lord in the way of unity under the guidance of the Holy Father and of those entrusted with the implementation of AC.
In light of the many ups and downs of any movement to unity within the Body of Christ we would do well to keep in mind the words of a young Ordinariate member: “An Apostolic Constitution is for the ages. It will be here for any remaining Anglicans in 200 years.”
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Your responses are most welcome in the comments here, but since Peregrinus is asking the questions, you might like to go to his blog and post some comments there, too.
It is my great honour and privilege to be able to announce, on behalf of the parish, that the Church of the Incarnation (formerly Cathedral of the Diocese of the Eastern United States, ACA/TAC; located in Orlando, FL) is to be received into the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter on 16 September 2012.
This announcement is especially poignant for me as I served as Rector's Warden of the parish at the time of the publication of the Apostolic Constitution and I led the process by which the Chapter and full membership of the Cathedral parish accepted the Holy Father's most generous offer of full communion by means of Anglicanorum coetibus.
Since my confirmation into the Anglican Use of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, I have necessarily been out of full communion with my parish family. I am overjoyed that this separation is soon to come to an end.
I also thank God for the visionary leadership of Bishop Campese and Fr. William "Doc" Holiday (also a Contributor here on The Anglo-Catholic). Without their devotion and sacrificial ministries to the parish, this great goal could not have been achieved.
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31 July 2012
Commemoration of St. Ignatius of Loyola
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Laudetur Iesus Christus!
As I have always told you, when I had some information concerning our reception into the Catholic Church, I would share it with you all straightaway. Finally, after nearly three years of prayer and preparation in the parish – with the seemingly interminable waiting, sometimes with anxiety and even anguish – I have some very important news to share with you all. Please indulge me as I make several observations as a preface to the joyous news to follow.
Firstly, I would like to thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart. Through these months turned to years, you have been faithful in your prayer and your commitment to the vision of a fully Catholic Church of the Incarnation. No doubt, at times, many of you have felt as the Israelites wandering the desert wilderness.
Many of us also recognize that our journeying caravan has been continuously harried and harassed by the Devil and his unrelenting hosts. Navigating our way out of the shambles of the Continuing Church and gathering up the crumbs with the Pro-Diocese of the Holy Family, we have paid a heavy price. The Evil One has pitted brother against brother, demoralized both clergy and laity alike, and caused many to fall away from our mission – that same mission given to us by Our Lord Jesus Christ himself and recounted in the Seventeenth Chapter of the Gospel of St. John.
Now for the news! The congregation of the Church of the Incarnation is to be received into the full communion of the Catholic Church on the Sixteenth Day of September, a Sunday. There will be only one Mass at Ten Fifteen o’ clock that morning. As this reception entails both corporate and individual aspects, it is imperative that you keep this date. The Mass will be the setting for your entrance into communion with the Holy See and your enrollment into the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. We must have you there on this occasion of what will surely be profound joy!
As we are still working out the specifics, I have few details to share as this time, but I can say that Monsignor Jeffrey Steenson, Ordinary, will preside over the Celebration. His Excellency John Noonan, Bishop of Orlando, and a tremendous and invaluable resource and advocate for our cause, will also be in attendance. I have also invited the membership of some of our smaller missions to join us as well.
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Now an update on the circumstances of our individual clerics:
Bishop Campese:
As you all know, my goal from the very beginning has been to lead the people under my care to a safe harbor in the Catholic Church. Above all, this is what matters to me. I am still discussing future options with my counterparts in the Catholic Church. At the moment, neither the Personal Ordinariate nor I have made any decision with respect to my personal future. Anyway, this is not about me. As many of you are aware, I recently turned 78 years of age. So far, the Good Lord has provided me with good health, but I have a number of considerations about which to think. Regardless of what clerical role I may play in the future of the Church of the Incarnation, I will remain here until I die. This is my parish, and I will serve it and Holy Church in whatever way God calls me to do, just as I have striven to do from the very beginning of my ministry in His Church.
Fr. William “Doc” Holiday:
Fr. Doc has received a nulla osta from Rome. This letter means that there is no canonical bar to his ordination in the Catholic Church. We do not yet know when he will be ordained deacon and priest; we are working out the details presently.
Fr. Scott Whitmore:
Fr. Scott has attached a personal letter with regard to his life decisions at this time. But do not worry, Fr. Scott is not going anywhere; he will remain in our parish family.
Fr. Jason McCrimmon:
We have been greatly blessed to have Father McCrimmon and his beautiful family as a vital part of our parish life for many years now. Father Jason is pursuing his ministry as a Military Chaplain and it has been an arduous journey for him, especially hard as he has also given sacrificially, ministering to our church family.
I am sorry to have to report that Father Jason will be leaving us soon, to continue the ministry to which he believes he has been called. He will preach his last sermon on the Fifth Day of August, and I hope that you will be in attendance to support him. The United States Navy will be getting an excellent chaplain.
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Finally, I wish to entrust this last leg of our race toward Catholic Unity in a most special way to the Great Mother of God, Mary most Holy. I know that she has guided our way closer to Her Divine Son thus far; she will not abandon us now. May all the Angels and Saints of heaven watch over us these next several weeks.
In Dno,
Bishop Campese
UPDATE (10:15 AM EDT): Rorate Cæli, the highly esteemed web site for Traditional Catholics, are also covering these developments in the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, and I have been conferring with their top moderators making sure that we get the most accurate information possible to the faithful.
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In an recent statement from Monsignor Jeffrey Steenson (my emphasis):
"We have therefore asked that the congregations of the Ordinariate follow this direction. Some of our clergy want to learn also how to celebrate according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. They are certainly encouraged to do so, under the provisions of Summorum Pontificum and under the supervision of the local bishop, to assist in those stable communities that use the Extraordinary Form. But as the Extrordinary Form is not integral to the Anglican patrimony, it is not properly used in our communities. The Ordinariate will remain focused on bringing Christians in the Anglican tradition into full communion with the Catholic Church. We also are pleased that the Church has provided for the continuing use of the Extraordinary Form, particularly as a pastoral response to traditional Catholics, and regard all of this as a well-ordered symphony of praise to the Blessed Trinity."
I have it on unimpeachable authority that there is on ongoing crackdown on those AU/Ordinariate priests who would dare to learn or celebrate the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite on the part of Steenson, Hurd, and Chalmers. The affected priests are naturally frightened, and unwilling to go on record, but make no mistake, the leadership of the U.S. Ordinariate at present has set itself against both Summorum Pontificum and Anglicanorum coetibus. I also have it on good authority that this intimidation, an abuse of power, is being reported directly to the Roman Authorities. And the contention that the traditional Latin Mass has no bearing on the Anglican Patrimony — this simply has me flabbergasted. Is there just a shortsightedness on the part of the Ordinary, or is he ignorant of the history of English Catholicism?
Even though I've been accused of being a bit negative lately by the "shoot the messenger" crowd, I did want to share the fact that tomorrow or Tuesday at the latest, The Anglo-Catholic will be able to report on joyous news concerning the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter and one of the most faithful of Anglican Catholic communities.
I'd also like to take a moment, as Moderator, to moderate. Our readers need to understand that not every post is a matter of life and death, nor is every criticism un-Cathollc, disloyal, or simply a carrying over of Anglican fractiousness into the Catholic Church. Everyone take a deep breath and slowly exhale. Sometimes we have good news; sometimes we have bad or concerning news. The Ordinariates and the Catholic Church, just like life itself, have their ups and downs. What you can count on here at The Anglo-Catholic is honest reporting in our posts, and in the combox, at the very least, informed speculation from our distinguished Contributors. Not everything is going to make you happy, but neither are we here to make you feel bad. This blog has hung in there for nearly three years now and has always had the best of intentions toward the Ordinariates (before they even existed) and the Anglican communities which have chosen to avail themselves of the Holy Father's most generous invitation to Catholic Unity. If you can not appreciate this, you are in the wrong place.
This statement has been approved by the Personal Ordinariate and posted on the St. Thomas More Parish web site.
It's a pity — a solid, private boys' school with spirituality rooted in the Traditional Latin Mass, but with an appreciation of the Anglican Patrimony. This seems like it would have been a marriage made in heaven.
When I met him in Orlando some months ago, Monsignor Steenson held nothing back in the expression of his enmity towards Catholic Traditionalism and the so-called Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. He said the Ordinariate should have nothing to do with those people (a paraphrase, but an accurate assessment of his attitude which was made quite clear). He even suggested that, simply because I had an affinity for the TLM that I should consider myself "out of communion" with the local Ordinary, Bishop Noonan of Orlando. Quite taken aback, I assured the Anglican Ordinary that I was quite Catholic, despite my intense dislike (and often horror) of the institutionalized liturgical abuses found in Latin Rite parishes almost everywhere (and unfortunately in my home diocese) and my attachment to Catholic Tradition.
The Ordinary should at least be reminded that, according to Anglicanorum coetibus and Summorum Pontificum, his priests have the unrestricted right to celebrate the Sacraments according to the liturgical books in force in 1962. And it is my fervent belief that both the Anglican Catholic and Catholic Traditionalist communities would both greatly benefit by their collaboration — if only we had a visionary leadership.
"I wish I had known it would be like this!" That's what I wrote last April to someone who also made this similarly arduous journey into the Catholic Church as part of the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada. I wish I had known how it was going to be when we were actually received into the Catholic Church because this might have spared me such disappointment and anguish over the previous year. As most of you know from my complaints and dismay expressed publicly from time to time, I sure felt as if Cardinal Kasper's words regarding the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC) — "the train has already left the station" — applied to us, that we were the chopped liver of Ordinariate applicants, treated like second class citizens, that really only those from the Canterbury Communion need apply and so on.
Yes, I hoped for a much more corporate approach to our reception than the parish by parish model that in effect disintegrated the ecclesial bonds we had enjoyed in the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada and forced us to walk away from considerable assets for a poor group like ourselves in terms of wills and trusts. I still think that Rome could have handled this aspect better and maybe we would not have lost so many people.
But it is what it is. And while we are so much smaller, a remnant of the 700 Canadian communicants there were when we first reported our numbers to the Catholic Church, but those who remain are more united, more bonded. As my grandfather always used to say, "Everything always works out for the best." Who knows? Maybe some of the people we lost will come back eventually. I hope so.
So what I am I trying to say here?
I really want to avoid anything that is going to look preachy in smugly telling people to be patient and not fret. I used to get annoyed from time to time back in the day at pep talk posts that seemed to be saying my attitude was the problem when all I saw was alarming and hurtful and it felt like I was being admonished to close my eyes to injustice.
Okay.
Things did not work out the way I expected them to and adjusting my expectations and accepting the disappointment was difficult. Experiencing the disintegration of the Traditional Anglican Communion was awful. Watching Archbishop John Hepworth's trials, I found agonizing.
I reached a point where I was really wondering if I could become Catholic. All I could see were the Church's flaws. I wanted to flee to a simpler, more direct personal relationship with Jesus Christ like I'd experienced as an evangelical.
But once our bishops and clergy decided to join the Catholic Church with no conditions, without a nulla osta in sight, things suddenly changed for us. The welcome and generosity we have experienced has been amazing. The sense of constant spiritual attack also lifted. It's been a honeymoon of grace since last January when the request was made to come in in April.
The generosity comes not only from our local bishops but also from the Ordinariate.
We in Canada have had a good experience of our Ordinary Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson and have found him accessible and attentive to our concerns.
I wonder, though, whether in the United States there is a disappointment concerning the Anglican Use parishes, particularly Our Lady of the Atonement (OLA), and their apparent lack of a role in the new Ordinariate.
I don't think I'm the only one who envisioned the Anglican Use parishes being the spine of the U.S. Ordinariate, providing it with an initial stability and income that no other country would have. So, I can understand there might be some dismay that OLA, the first and most successful Anglican Use parish, is not part of it, even if we do not know all the reasons behind its withdrawal.
This morning, I saw a comment on another blog that indicated some Traditional Anglican Communion parishes in the United States feel like they and their clergy are being left on the platform as the Ordinariate train rolls by.
One thing that wise correspondent told me in response to my "I wish I had known that it would be like this" was something to the effect that maybe, in some mysterious way, the suffering and anguish contributed to the good result we are experiencing now.
"It changed you, no?"
Well, it did force me to pray. Suffering is like that. But it was risky because I was so tempted to bitterness, which is not my usual besetting sin. It was like getting hit with a craving for gambling, which I am so not interested in!
Given how bleak things looked even a year ago for us, I wonder what things will look like two years from now for those in the United States who are feeling left out or who have concerns now about how things are taking shape. Maybe Our Lady of the Atonement, will be safely and happily part of the Ordinariate and those communities that feel left behind at the station will have been gathered in. We can pray for that result.
I ask, too, that if you comment about disappointments or concerns, that you take a measured tone. There is much going on in the Ordinariate that is behind the scenes but progress is being made. Maybe not on our timetable or unfolding as we expected, but it will, we can all hope and pray, work out for the best.
Meanwhile, we can expect that there will be lots of turbulence and spiritual warfare attacking any moves towards greater Christian unity. It used to help me when I recognized that some of what I was feeling was spiritual attack. The other thing that helped was to know that everything that was happening was still under God's watchful eye and Providence. Jesus was allowing this to happen and was I going to kick against Him?
So, I hope those who are outside and wondering why things are not going faster or more smoothly will know that I am with you in your suffering. This kind of travailing is compared to labor pains for a reason. But there are many reasons for hope and thanksgiving, too.
I hope someday you too will be saying like I am now, "I wish I had known it would be like this!"