Why Anglicanorum coetibus is not a big deal

*Lay people don't care about retaining an Anglican-style liturgy. They are either liberals, who would gladly have gone over after Summorum Pontificum but for their views on women and/or gays, or the rare remaining ultramontanists whose motives for not doing so are mysterious. But in either group Anglican rubrics are typically seen as constraints, rather than a "patrimony" preservation whereof is desirable. (The Book of Divine Worship is not safe for those who suffer from requiem-onset allergies to the A-word, and the English use the Pauline Missal anyway). The best reconciliation of North American Anglo-Catholic practice with the authorized provincial texts is the Anglican Gradual and Sacramentary linked at the sidebar. The archetypal Anglo-Catholic parish, S. Clement's, Philadelphia, is known for its faithful execution of the Pre-Pian liturgical tradition. And it is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, under Her Grace's metropolitical primacy.

*The bull is soft on the provision for married priests. They won't be allowed in the same way as in most Catholic rites apart from the Latin. So the clerical draw won't be as big. And of course, no women need apply. (Recall that there are women in diaconal orders who are card-carrying members in good standing of Forward in Faith. I would speculate that even the All Saints Sisters of the Poor, whose departure I lament, would have countenanced a hierodeacon among their number. But then I'm a shameless optimist. I'm already musing about Massachusetts-resident clergy ministering in Canada).

I predict that Western Rite Orthodoxy, which offers an ancient Western liturgical tradition, a married priesthood, and unquestionably authentic apostolic pedigree, will be far more successful. Meanwhile, the "liberal" Catholic wing of the Canterbury-affiliated churches in North America will acquire greater visibility.

The catholic voter

What to do? Every so often we see directives, and so often they seem veiled invitations to vote Conservative (not the now-tiny party of Sir John A. Macdonald nor the remaining senators but the latest rebranding of the Reform Party/Alliance). But voting with a truly consistent life ethic is a trade-off. You're not going to have a candidate who opposes abortion (buggering up the beginning of life), and the death penalty (the end), and capitalism (the middle bit). So you decide. In the United States, many American Catholics decided for Obama's health care reform. In Canada, the Liberals have always enjoyed broad Catholic support. (The Conservatives aren't a sure bet either: they're likely to be okay with letting gay people rent apartments). And at least one Roman Catholic priest has stood for the NDP.

Late-breaking Toronto alert!

The Church of St Mary Magdalene will offer a Sung Votive Mass of Our Lady in plainsong on the feast of her Presentation, Saturday 10am. Morning Prayer is read at 9.30.

Also, a Pontifical Tridentine Mass at the Chapel of Our Lady of the Annunciation at 9am.

A suggested order for Morning Prayer and Holy Communion

Although the rubrics of the 1962 BCP envision such a service, they are cagey about the execution. What follows is my proposal for an orderly celebration of this liturgy. This service may be used when it is desired both to sing the service of Morning Prayer and to offer the Liturgy of the Sacrifice. It may be adapted for use in the evening.

*Begin the service of Morning Prayer with the Preces and Venite.
*Follow with the psalm appointed by the Revised Common Lectionary.
*Use the readings from the RCL, placing the Gospel after the Benedictus
*Continue the celebration of the Eucharist from the Nicene Creed
*Commemorate the Collect in the biddings to the Intercession.
*Sing the Gloria before the final blessing as prescribed.

This system seems to solve the problems inherent in trying to follow the rubric to the letter, complete with changing lectionaries, and the apparent disappearance of the collect of the day.

A collect after Communion or before the Blessed Sacrament

Rite I
O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst seat thy blessed mother next to thy throne in heaven: vouchsafe to deliver us whom thou hast sanctified in baptism and who now receive (behold) thee veiled from sight, and bring us together with all thou hast made, into the thine eternal kingdom of righteousness and charity, where with the Father and the Holy Ghost thou livest and reignest, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Rite II
Lord Jesus Christ, you seated your mother next to your throne in heaven. May we who have been baptised into your death and resurrection and now receive (behold) you veiled from sight be brought with all creation into your eternal kingdom of justice and love, where you live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

(Another indulgence for the first one to guess which I wrote first)

Underappreciated liturgical destinations in Toronto

I’m not the New Liturgical Movement. I try to report on the Anglican beat in Toronto with occasional ventures into Niagara and Montréal. It’s a niche market, but affirming (or more aptly traditional-egalitarian) Catholicism is coming into vogue now. With that in mind…

*St Simon-the-Apostle. Tempted to check out Morning Prayer in spectacular St Paul’s, Bloor Street? If you’re looking for the BCP service with Anglican chant and choral music from your childhood, you’ll be disappointed. Walk two or so blocks east and you’ll be at St Simon's, where you can bellow Battishill’s Jubilate Deo to your heart’s content. (On the other hand, if you are someone who wants an old-fashioned preaching service in one of the most breathtaking churches in Canada, then I cannot recommend St Paul’s to you heartily enough).



*The Chapel of St James-the-Less. There’s only one opportunity each year to assist at Mass here: the cathedral’s Choral Requiem on the Saturday nearest All Souls’ Day. It’s worth going to, although it’s not a Fauré affair in black, the A-word appears, you'll be censed (or incensed!), and you’ll grit your teeth during the Agnus Dei. But it’s ad orientem and at least it’s not done in white (you all know who you are…).

*St Matthias, Bellwoods. I go here to sing my old Catholic Book of Worship favourites. But the spirit of devotion runs deep. You’ll witness generous Asperges, May Crownings, and Benediction on Corpus Christi (complete with “One bread, one body” of course). And on festal occasions, the food never disappoints.

*St Bartholomew’s, Regent Park. I can’t do it justice here. I’ll offer my comments on the Use of Regent Park in a future post.

Postscript: Regrets

I used to vow every year that I would make to 10 o'clock Benediction at the cathedral on Maundy Thursday night, and then they stopped doing it. My bad.

Last year, Trinity College did a Solemn Requiem according to the English Missal on All Souls. To my ongoing amazement, this didn't filter through the grapevine to me. As if I would knowingly have deprived you, dear readers, of a photo of the Dean of Divinity in a biretta!

(An indulgence the next time I injure myself to the first one to identify the especially strategic Oxford comma in this post. -ed.).

A Modern Profession of Catholic Faith for Private Devotion

complementary to the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed

[NB: I offer the following for comment and theological proofreading, as it were. -ed.]



I believe in one triune, coeternal God, who is both immanent and transcendent.

I believe that God has delivered God's people from fear and sin throughout history, by creating all that is out of nothing in an act of perfect sovereignty and love, by showing mercy when we rejected God, by delivering us from bondage, and ultimately by becoming one of us, and by dying and rising to defeat death. I believe that my own life reflects this pattern of ongoing deliverance. God is now present with us in the sending of the Holy Spirit, the proclamation of the Gospel, the Tradition of the Church, and the sacraments, especially and uniquely in the most holy sacrament of the altar. Eventually, God will return to establish a reign of perfect justice, love, and mercy.

I believe that all living are united with the communion of saints in the collective offering of prayer and praise to God. I trust that in the fulness of time I along with many, if not indeed all, shall be purged of my sin to dwell in the eternal repose of God's presence. At that time, all manner of thing shall be well.