He is Risen, Alleluia!

Happy Easter everyone!

After a tiring but always uplifting Holy Week, we finally arrive at Easter, a fantastic celebration of Christ's power over death, and hope for us all.

Our Holy Week followed much the same pattern as it has always done for the past thirty years or so. That's not to say it's been 'boring' though I really don't like using that word in any context, and especially not in terms of Church or liturgy.

I love the way the week unfolds with a gradual building of expectation until we reach the climax of the Triduum at the Easter Vigil.

On Wednesday I was able to attend the Chrism Mass at Arundel Cathedral with our older son. That really is a marker for me; it really feels as if we are getting close by then . . .  It's very moving to see the long line of priests processing into the Cathedral at the beginning of Mass.  It really makes an impression seeing how many men have answered God's call to the sacred priesthood and is a reminder of how much we, the laity, owe to our priests. 

Maundy Thurday back in the parish, a hectic day in the office making sure all is ready; readers and EMOHC allocated, twelve people allocated for the Washing of the Feet etc.   Finally the beautiful Mass of the Lord's Supper itself.  There was a wonderful atmosphere in church, a deep reverent silence permeated the Mass.  The sight of our parish priest on his knees washing the feet of parishioners never fails to impress.

I love to join others watching at the Altar of Repose after Mass.  It's such a special time and a great privilege to be there with Our Lord.

Good Friday morning saw us once  again joining members of other churches locally to walk through the High Street in the Procession  of Witness.  We (I use the term loosely) carry a large wooden cross and pause at 'Stations' along the High Street for a brief mediation. We sing appropriate hymns between Stations.  It always makes me smile to see the description of the 'Stations' in the booklet.  Alongside the description of religious significance, you see things like ' Third Station, outside Marks and Spencer's'.  Try as I might I have never been able to find a booklet giving a meditation for the time Our Lord stopped outside Marks and Spencer's!

A brief break and then we return to church for the Liturgy of the Passion and Veneration of the Cross.  This is always the best attended of the liturgies of the Triduum and it's a great witness to see the seemingly endless procession of parishioners waiting to venerate the Cross.  The Church is far from dead!

We did manage to light the Paschal candle outside at the Easter Vigil despite the bitterly cold weather and the light dusting of snow on top of the cars.  Numbers seem to be reducing each year for the Vigil which is such a shame as it is such a magnificent liturgy and of course the highlight of our Easter celebrations and the Church's year.  I think many of our older parishioners don't like coming out in the evening and perhaps many of our younger ones have other things to do.

After Mass we joined others in the parish hall for the now-traditional glass of wine and simnel cake.  

Finally, I went back to the main morning Mass this morning with our son who was serving.  This Mass, as always, was absolutely packed with the gallery full and people standing at the back of the church - fantastic!

There was the usual scramble after Mass as the little ones rushed to claim their creme egg.  I managed to escape the scrum by doing a bit of tidying up in the church.

So, all in all, a wonderful Holy Week and Easter; beautiful liturgies and a truly joyful celebration.

He is truly Risen, Alleluia!

Ordinariate Chrism Mass . . .

I'm a great fan of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, probably something to do with the fact that I am a convert from the Anglican Church myself, and when I attend an Ordinariate liturgy it resonates with me and takes me back to my childhood.  Our older son also has great admiration for the Ordinariate and we both follow their news with interest.

Yesterdary, our son was fortunate enough to have some leave to use up and chose to take the day off and go up to Warwick Street for the Chrism Mass of the Ordinariate.  As usual, he came back full of enthusiasm and gave me a detailed account of his impressions.  I said to him, 'you should write that down, it's fascinating.'  So he did and here are his impressions of the day, written yesterday evening . . . 

This beautiful photo is 'borrowed' from the Ordinariate Flickr stream. There are lots more here.

"Earlier today, I attended the Chrism Mass of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham at the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Gregory, Warwick Street, London.  I arrived at 10.55, knowing the Mass would start at 11.30, and the church was already almost full.  At least, the downstairs part of it was, excluding the pews at the sides reserved for priests.  Warwick Street has a gallery on three sides: the choir were in the gallery but there were others there too.  I found a place downstairs, on the right-hand side, in the third pew from the back, next to the central aisle.  It is a magnificent church, with a large mosaic of Our Lord crowning Our Lady, flanked by two angels and with a row of saints underneath.  I was pleased to see six large candlesticks on the remains of the high altar.  There were also six smaller candlesticks on the new altar.

I was surprised when a bell was rung at 11.15.  Priests started processing in, venerating the altar, and then filing into the pews that had been left empty for them.  The procession was headed by a cross, covered in a white veil tied with a violet ribbon.  The cross on the altar was likewise covered in a white veil tied with a violet ribbon.  Presumably white for the Chrism Mass but violet to remind us that we are still in Lent.  Then everyone sat down and the procession of the servers, deacons, Ordinary and Apostolic Nuncio began at 11.30.  The Apostolic Nuncio was the principal celebrant.  The Ordinary and the Nuncio were both wearing mitres.  The Nuncio alone carried a pastoral staff.  The Ordinary's mitre was plain white but big enough to reflect the dignity of his office.  It was thus a genuine example of noble simplicity (a phrase sometimes misused to justify opposition to beautiful vestments and liturgical furnishings).  The MC was Father James Bradley.

There were three hymns for the congregation: we began with Praise to the Holiest in the heightand ended with Lift high the cross.  During the distribution of Holy Communion, we sang Just as I am, without one plea.

We had an excellent choir singing Schubert's Mass in G.  We stood for the beginning of the Gloria but, after the first few words, the Nuncio sat down and so did everyone else.  (This is also a common practice at High or Sung Masses in the Extraordinary Form.)

The Ordinary began his homily with a quotation from the Ordinariate's patron, Blessed John Henry Newman, who had said, "... were St Athanasius or St Ambrose in London now, they would go to worship, not at St Paul's Cathedral, but to Warwick Street and Moor Fields."  The congregation enjoyed that, as Warwick Street church has been dedicated to the Ordinariate.  I enjoyed it for that reason and another: St Mary Moorfields is used by, amongst others, the Latin Mass Society, including for the Easter Triduum.

We had Eucharistic Prayer I, mostly read by the Nuncio alone but with some parts spoken by other individual priests and the words of consecration spoken by all the priests.  The blessing of the oil of the sick took place within this prayer, towards the end.

Deacons carried hosts to the concelebrant priests so they could all receive Communion at the same time.  The deacons then carried chalices from pew to pew of the priests' sections of the church.  For the laity, Holy Communion was under one kind only, received kneeling at the rails.  I received from the Nuncio and, as far as I could see, so did all the lay people receiving Communion at the rail on the right.  As far as I could see, all those receiving Communion at the rail on the left did so from the Ordinary.

After the prayer after Communion, we had the blessing of the oil of catechumens and the consecration of the chrism.  After the Nuncio had poured balsam into the oil that was to become the chrism, it appeared to me that the Nuncio was about to pour some into the oil of catechumens (which would have been a mistake) but was stopped by Fr James Bradley.

The Nuncio said how pleased he was to be there and how much he had enjoyed the singing.  He also said he hoped to be there again next year and that, having already hosted one fundraising event at the Nunciature for the Ordinariate, he hoped to do so again.  He also assured people that both Benedict XVI and Pope Francis were supportive of the Ordinariate.

There was only one procession at the end of Mass.  The Nuncio blessed people both during the entrance procession and again on his way out.  Many people genuflected to him.

I had been surprised that the consecration of the chrism and blessing of the other oils had not taken place at the end of the Liturgy of the Word, as that is what I remembered happening at the Chrism Masses of our own diocese that I had attended in previous years at Arundel Cathedral.  When I got home, I checked The CTS New Daily Missal and read, "In accord with traditional practice, the blessing of the Oil of the Sick takes place before the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, but the blessing of the Oil of Catechumens and the consecration of the Chrism take place after Communion.  Nevertheless, for pastoral reasons, it is permitted for the entire rite of blessing to take place after the Liturgy of the Word."  So, the Ordinariate is simply following the traditional practice, which is still permitted and actually mentioned in the Missal before the alternative.  (I wonder what the pastoral reasons are for the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton not following the traditional practice.)

The one disappointment was that, although there was perfect silence before Mass, some people started talking as soon as Mass was over.

In general, I was very impressed with the high standard of the liturgy.  Everything was done with very great care and reverence, exactly as it should be, but in a way that seemed entirely natural.  The rubrics were followed, not for their own sake but for the sake of acting according to the mind of the Church.  I believe the Ordinariate has the potential to be a very positive influence on the Catholic Church in England and Wales if only enough cradle Catholics become aware of how they do things!"