Statement by the Ordinary

Fr. Jeffrey Steenson, the Ordinary of the newly-created Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter (has a nice ring, doesn't it?) released the following statement at a press conference this morning in Houston.  He asks especially for our prayers--both for him and for those who will become part of the Ordinariate:

Statement by the Ordinary: Fr. Jeffrey Steenson

January 2, 2012

On behalf of so many pilgrims of Catholic unity who have looked forward to this day, I wish to thank His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, for this priceless gift, the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter under the patronage of Our Lady of Walsingham. I pray that we who will come into full communion through this Ordinariate will bring the Holy Father much joy through our love and faithful service to the Catholic Church. To His Eminence Donald Cardinal Wuerl and His Excellencies Kevin Vann of Fort Worth and Robert McManus of Worcester: thank you for laying this good foundation for the Ordinariate. To His Eminence Daniel Cardinal DiNardo-thank you for your generous hospitality in providing for our principal church and a place in the University of St. Thomas and St. Mary’s Seminary for the formation of our future clergy. And, personally, to His Excellency, Archbishop Michael Sheehan of Santa Fe, who brought me into the Church and ordained me: my wife and I love you dearly. You all represent so many people who have worked so hard to bring the Holy Father’s vision to reality!

I ask for your prayers for me and for those who will become members of the Ordinariate. There is so much to learn, and it is a steep learning curve. Be patient with us as we embark on this journey. Pray that we may strive to learn the faith, laws, and culture of the Catholic Church with humility and good cheer. But pray too that we do not forget who we are and where we have come from, for we have been formed in the beautiful and noble Anglican tradition. The Holy Father has asked us to bring this patrimony with us: “to maintain the liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions of the Anglican Communion within the Catholic Church, as a precious gift nourishing the members of the Ordinariate and as a treasure to be shared” [Anglicanorum coetibus 3]. Here is one thing I earnestly desire to share with you from the outset: Anglican spirituality has always emphasized the need to be gentlemanly in all of our relationships. May you see in us always the virtue of courtesy!
The parishes and communities of the Ordinariate have been called, not to live in relative isolation, but to be fully engaged in the life of the local diocese; not to be assimilated, but to be integrated into the rich life of the Catholic Church. This Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter must be, above all else, an effective instrument for evangelization. But Jesus taught us that the unity of Christian people is the essential condition for evangelization (John 17:21). So this must be our hallmark:to build bridges, to be an instrument of peace and reconciliation, to be a sign of what Christian unity might look like. And gaudete in Domino semper (Philippians 4:4) to be joyful and happy Catholics!

The establishment of the Personal Ordinariate is an historic moment in the history of the Church. For perhaps the first time since the Reformation in the 16th century, a corporate structure has been given to assist those who in conscience seek to return to the fold of St. Peter and his successors. But I would like to go back a little further, to the end of the 6th century, to see that this is not such a new thing. Pope Gregory the Great writes to St. Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, recently arrived from Rome, to urge him always to be a gracious and patient pastor in the way he gathers his flock. Anglicans love to read these letters, preserved in the Venerable Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, for they are a great witness to how the Church gathers her people from many different cultures and lands. The decree which this day establishes the Ordinariate begins with these words: “The supreme law of the Church is the salvation of souls. As such, throughout its history, the Church has always found the pastoral and juridical means to care for the good of the people.” In what Pope Benedict has given us today, I hear the voice of Pope Gregory the Great: “For things are not to be loved for the sake of places, but places for the sake of good things” (1.27). What a beautiful testimony to all that Catholic Christianity is!


Fr. Jeffrey Steenson
Houston, Texas

Habemus Ordinarium!

The day is finally here!  When I first posted this @7:30 a.m. I hadn't yet seen the story anywhere else, but it has  since appeared all over the place.  A news bulletin posted this morning on the website of the Holy See, the headline of which says something like this (please pardon my amateur Italian translation): "Erection of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter and Appointment of the First Ordinary."  The new U.S. ordinary, who will function as bishop of this non-territorial diocese, is Reverend Jeffrey N. Steenson.  Fr. Steenson resigned episcopal orders in September of 2007 as Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande to become a Catholic.  He was received in December of that year and subsequently ordained a Catholic priest in February of 2009.  Since shortly after his ordination he has taught Patristics at The University of St. Thomas and St. Mary's Seminary in Houston, TX.  In June of 2011 he was appointed by Cardinal Donald Wuerl to oversee the priestly formation program at St. Mary's for former Anglican priests seeking ordination as Catholic priests.  For a more thorough bio (this part is in English), see the news bulletin from the Holy See.

The new ordinariate also has launched an official website.  They also have a "Support" page, where they can accept the funds they will certainly need to move forward.  Please consider a donation.

This is very good news, indeed.  Having met Fr. Steenson on a couple of occasions and knowing him by reputation, I am confident we couldn't ask for a more able shepherd of the new U.S. ordinariate.  My husband and I first met him when he spoke at the annual Anglican Use Conference in San Antonio, TX in July of 2008, a few months after he had been received into the Catholic Church.  He was a layman at the time.  The text of his talk can be found here.  At the time he was preparing to go to Rome for priestly formation in preparation for his later ordination.  We had followed his career up to then with great interest, at least since the day he announced he would be resigning holy orders.  We were in Rome on pilgrimage with the Anglican Use Society when we received word that he had resigned the episcopacy and intended to seek reception into the Church.  It was the last night of our trip (still daytime in the US), and we were at dinner in a restaurant on the Piazza Navona.  Someone in our group called then-Bishop Steenson on a cell phone and passed the phone around to several Catholic priests, bishops and a cardinal seated at our table, who knew him and wanted to welcome him home to the Catholic Church.  It was amusing to meet him later and to hear the story from the other end of the conversation!  I gathered he was rather overwhelmed at the time.

Fr. Steenson, Christopher M. and me (R to L) at reception following Mass at
St. Luke's, Bladensburg Oct. 16, 2011

Related links:
The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter (HT to Wolfsbane)
Official press release of the Personal Ordinariate
Anglicanorum coetibus (in English)
Complementary norms (also in English)
The Anglo-Catholic ("The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter")
Catholic Online ("It's Official and Historic - The Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter Erected in America")
The Ordinariate Portal ("Ordinary Welcomes Appointment of U.S. Counterpart")
Atonement Online ("New Ordinary for the United States")
The Anglican Use of the Roman Rite: several good links
Fr. Z's blog - What Does the Prayer Really Say? ("A New Personal Ordinariate")
Whispers in the Loggia ("Upon this 'Rock' an Ordinariate is Born")

Deo gratias!

Happy Feast Day of St. Thomas of Canterbury

In honor of St. Thomas of Canterbury (a.k.a., St. Thomas Becket), Bishop and Martyr, whose feast day is today, here is a clip from the 1964 movie, Becket, starring the late Sir Richard Burton as Becket and Peter O'Toole as King Henry II.  The entire movie, though lengthy, is well worth watching, especially for Burton's excellent portrayal of the martyred archbishop, whose struggle to defend the Church in the face of Henry's attempt to force it to submit to the state prefigures the later struggle of his namesake, St. Thomas More, against another tyrannical King Henry some 360 years later.  The last 5 1/2 minutes or so of this scene are particularly worth watching, when St. Thomas prays that the Lord will make him worthy of the holy office entrusted to him.

Novena to St. Thomas of Canterbury

In anticipation of the impending announcement on January 1 of the establishment of a personal ordinariate for the U.S., the St. Thomas of Canterbury Anglican Use Society of Washington, DC and Northern Virginia (STCS) is inviting it's members and friends to pray a novena to St. Thomas, beginning on Friday, Dec. 23 and winding up on Saturday, Dec. 31.  The Feast of St. Thomas (a.k.a., St. Thomas Becket) falls on Dec. 29, just three days before the announcement.

The text is posted on the STCS website.  For those of you unfamiliar with the practice of praying novenas, check out this link to an explanation on the "Fish Eaters" site, including historical background and instructions.  I would say that this particular novena falls into the second category listed, a novena of preparation or "anticipation."  I would be pleased to hear from you if you do decide to participate.

St. Thomas of Canterbury... pray for us!

First Anglican Use Mass in Northern Virginia

The St. Thomas of Canterbury Anglican Use Society of Washington, DC and Northern Virginia will hold a Requiem Mass on Sept. 11, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Annandale, VA. To my knowledge, this will be the first time an Anglican Use Mass has ever been celebrated in the state of Virginia--publicly, at least.

Our celebrant, Fr. Eric Bergman of the St. Thomas More Society, will also speak at St. James' Catholic Church in nearby Falls Church, VA on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 10-11, at 7:30 p.m., at the invitation of the Institute of Catholic Culture (ICC).  The talks, entitled "Roots of Immorality," will focus on the fallout from the 1930 Lambeth Conference.  The ICC flyer is posted here.

Admission is free.  Please join us if you can.  The text of our invitation/flyer is posted below.

The St. Thomas of Canterbury Anglican Use Society

of

Washington, DC and Northern Virginia

invites you to a 

Requiem Mass according to the Anglican Use of the Roman Rite

For the Repose of the Souls of those who died on September 11, 2001

on Sunday, September 11, 2011

at five o’clock

Holy Spirit Catholic Church 

8800 Braddock Rd.

Annandale, VA  22003-4150

and afterwards for 

a Reception at Holy Spirit School opposite the church

For More Information

Contact: Heide Seward                                                   

E-mail: hwseward@verizon.net

The St. Thomas of Canterbury Anglican Use Society of Washington, DC and Northern Virginia invites you to join with them in building an Anglican Use Catholic parish to become part of the future US Ordinariate under the terms of the Apostolic Constitution, Anglicanorum coetibus. Regular services of Evening Prayer according to the Book of Divine Worship will be held this fall on first Sundays at 5:00 p.m. at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Annandale and on third Saturdays at 4:45 p.m. at St. Anselm’s Abbey in Washington.

Check our website for directions & further details: http://www.stthomascanterbury.org/

O Make Us Love Thee More & More...

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (the Feast of Corpus Christi), which we celebrate today, has come to be one of my favorite feast days on the liturgical calendar.  Growing up in the Episcopal Church I found the idea of the Eucharist as a merely "spiritual" reality rather confusing.  Depending on who you asked, Christ was either truly present on the altar at the consecration, or we were merely sharing a meal at "the Lord's Table."  When I was preparing for Confirmation at the age of 12, I can even remember someone offering the explanation that, in effect, if I chose to believe in the Real Presence, then Christ would be truly present for me, though not necessarily for the person next to me in the same pew!  I couldn't quite get my head around that, and I always assumed that the problem was my own intellectual and spiritual deficiencies.

Now I realize that the real reason I couldn't grasp this concept was that it was pure nonsense.  It has to be either one or the other in reality; otherwise it is meaningless.  Considering the series of rather broad hints our Lord gave us about what he intended it to be--especially in today's Gospel reading from the 6th Chapter of John--I am inclined to trust the consistent teaching of the Catholic Church on this one.  Our Lord's teaching just doesn't make sense unless he meant that He is really there.  And O, how wonderful it is to know that He really did mean it when He said he would be with us always....

My thanks to Father Christopher Phillips at Our Lady of the Atonement in San Antonio, who posted this lovely video on his blog for Corpus Christi last year. The hymn, "Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All," was written by Fr. Frederick William Faber, one of the Oxford Movement converts who followed Blessed John Henry Newman into the Catholic Church. He wrote a number of beautiful hymns, including the well-known "Faith of Our Fathers," and one of my particular favorites, "There's a Wideness in God's Mercy."

The words in the YouTube video vary slightly from the text below--the actual words of Faber's original, as far as I can tell.  Still, it's a lovely video.  Enjoy.

Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All

Jesus, my Lord, my God, my all,

How can I love Thee as I ought?

And how revere this wond'rous gift,

So far surpassing hope or thought.

Sweet Sacrament, we Thee adore.

O make us love Thee more and more!

O make us love Thee more and more!

Had I but Mary's sinless heart,

To love Thee as my dearest King;

O with what bursts of fervent praise,

Thy goodness, Jesus, would I sing!

Sweet Sacrament, we Thee adore.

O make us love Thee more and more!

O make us love Thee more and more!

O, see, within a creature's hand,

The vast Creator deigns to be,

Reposing infant-like, as though

On Joseph's arm, on Mary's knee.

Sweet Sacrament, we Thee adore.

O make us love Thee more and more!

O make us love Thee more and more!

Thy body, soul, and Godhead, all--

O mystery of love divine!

I cannot compass all I have,

For all Thou hast and art are mine.

Sweet Sacrament, we Thee adore.

O make us love Thee more and more!

O make us love Thee more and more!

Sound, sound His praises higher still,

And come ye Angels to our aid;

'Tis God, 'tis God, the very God,

Whose power both man and angels made.

Sweet Sacrament, we Thee adore.

O make us love Thee more and more!

O make us love Thee more and more!

My Patronal Feast

Today, June 22, is the Feast of St. Thomas More, my patron saint, and St. John Fisher, the only English bishop martyred under Henry VIII, and there is much more to celebrate now than there was when I wrote my first blog entry on the subject in 2008.  That was more than a year before Anglicanorum coetibus.  The fault lines in the Anglican Communion were especially apparent at the time, and the evangelical response, the first GAFCON meeting, seemed to me well-intentioned but ultimately unworkable.

Speaking of the proposals floating among GAFCON participants, I concluded the article as follows:

There is another way, and I don't mean forming a separate Anglican entity. I mean returning home--to the Church that was and still is the one established by Christ and entrusted to his Apostles. And by  "the Church," I mean the Church that St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher gave their lives for. It will continue to happen, but not primarily, I think, on an institutional level--with the possible exception of parishes that might seek reconciliation with the Catholic Church through the Pastoral Provision. It will continue, I hope and pray, at the individual level.

How much has changed since then!  Now the Holy Father has, essentially, expanded the Pastoral Provision so that this reconciliation can also happen at an institutional as well as an individual level, and it is happening already in England and Wales, where the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham has been established and a whole new crop of priests were ordained recently.

As we await the establishment of our own American Ordinariate--in the fall, according to Cardinal Wuerl's announcement at the USCCB Spring General Assembly last week--let's ask the continued prayers of these two great English saints.

St. Thomas More & St. John Fisher,
Pray for us.