After a full day of events and meetings on Wednesday, Pope Francis made his way to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for the canonization Mass of Junipero Serra, which he celebrated with 275 bishops, almost 1,000 priests, 200 deacons and over 27,000 lay faithful and religious.
One of the priests in attendance was Rev. Albert Scharbach, an Ordinariate priest in the Archdiocese of Baltimore who is married with eight children. He was ordained in 2013 and now serves as pastor of Mount Calvary Church in the heart of the city.
The Ordinariate was established by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 to enable groups of Anglicans to enter the Catholic Church while retaining aspects of their patrimony that can in turn be shared with the broader Catholic world.
Fr. Scharbach, you concelebrated the Mass with the Holy Father; what was the highlight for you?
Simply being there. In a profound way, I saw myself as the pope’s priest — connected to the Holy Father. As an Anglican priest, when I would go to the hospital and someone would say, ‘Are you a Catholic priest?’ and I had to say ‘no,’ it became painfully apparent that something was lacking there. When, by conscience, I had to become Catholic, I had to lay down my priesthood not knowing if I’d ever be able to pick it up again; I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to make that visceral desire a reality again. After 5 years of being laicized, it was gratifying beyond words to be able to say Mass with my local bishop after I was ordained a Catholic priest, knowing he is connected to the Holy Father. But now to say Mass with the pope himself, really confirms that reality for me — that I am his priest, connected to the center of the Church, to that authority in an organic way...
(Read on)
Archbishop Di Noia on the Liturgy and Mission of the Ordinariates. (UPDATED)
On Saturday, 19 September, Archbishop Augustine Di Noia OP, Adjunct Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Chairman of the Interdicasterial Working Group, Anglicanae Traditiones, spoke at the annual Ordinariate Festival in London. The title of his paper was "Divine Worship and the Liturgical Vitality of the Church". Listen to his address, and to pray that his encouraging words may become a true roadmap for the growth and development of this important project in the Church.
UPDATE: Commentary from Fr. James Bradley:
As Archbishop Di Noia points out, “The institutional importance ofDivine Worship for the ordinariates is considerable. More than simply giving the ordinariates an outward distinctiveness that creates a profile for their parishes in a sea of Catholic parochial life, Divine Worship gives voice to the faith and tradition of prayer that has nourished the Catholic identity of the Anglican tradition”. In other words, whilst other elements of the Anglican tradition are by no means insignificant, it is only possible to make sense of these if first we have attended to the liturgical life given us. If the liturgical life of an ecclesial structure “uniquely expresses its inner life”, how can it make sense, on the one hand, to downplay the proper liturgical rites attributed to the personal ordinariates whilst, on the other hand, seek to promote other elements of the Anglican patrimony? The liturgical rites and texts are a priority. Divine Worship is an essential element. (Read on)
Why is the Pope here?
In his own words...
Where's the Pope!?
Here is the schedule for Pope Francis' September 2015 Apostolic Journey to the United States of America as released by the Vatican on June 30, 2015. All times listed are Eastern Daylight Time. And from the USCCB, "Ten Ways to Participate in Pope Francis' U.S. Visit"
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 (WASHINGTON, DC)
- 4:00 p.m. Arrival from Cuba at Joint Base Andrews
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 (WASHINGTON, DC)
- 9:15a.m. Welcome ceremony and meeting with President Obama at the White House
- 11:00 a.m. Papal Parade along the Ellipse and the National Mall (time approximate)
- 11:30 a.m. Midday Prayer with the bishops of the United States, St. Matthew's Cathedral
- 4:15p.m. Mass of Canonization of Junipero Serra, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 (WASHINGTON, DC, NEW YORK CITY)
- 9:20a.m. Address to Joint Meeting of the United States Congress
- 11:15 a.m. Visit to St. Patrick in the City and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington
- 4:00 p.m. Depart from Joint Base Andrews
- 5:00 p.m. Arrival at John F. Kennedy International Airport
- 6:45 p.m. Evening Prayer (Vespers) at St. Patrick's Cathedral
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 (NEW YORK CITY)
- 8:30a.m. Visit to the United Nations and Address to the United Nations General Assembly
- 11:30 a.m. Multi-religious service at 9/11 Memorial and Museum, World Trade Center
- 4:00p.m. Visit to Our Lady Queen of Angels School, East Harlem
- 5:00p.m. Procession through Central Park (time approximate)
- 6:00p.m. Mass at Madison Square Garden
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 (NEW YORK CITY, PHILADELPHIA)
- 8:40a.m. Departure from John F. Kennedy International Airport
- 9:30a.m. Arrival at Atlantic Aviation, Philadelphia
- 10:30 a.m. Mass at Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, Philadelphia
- 4:45p.m. Visit to Independence Mall
- 7:30p.m. Visit to the Festival of Families Benjamin Franklin Parkway
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 (PHILADELPHIA)
- 9:15 a.m. Meeting with bishops at St. Martin's Chapel, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary
- 11:00a.m. Visit to Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility
- 4:00p.m. Mass for the conclusion of the World Meeting of Families, Benjamin Franklin Parkway
- 7:00 p.m. Visit with organizers, volunteers and benefactors of the World Meeting of Families, Atlantic Aviation
- 8:00 p.m. Departure for Rome
A New Season for Corpus Christi!
Dear friends,
As you know by now, we will begin celebrating Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Sunday, 4 October, at 9AM. Please join me this coming Wednesday evening, 16 September, at 6.30PM, at Sacred Heart for an opportunity to get to know our beautiful new home and hear a little from me about the opportunities and challenges before us. We will also pray Compline together before dismissing.
Sacred Heart is located at 888 King Street, on the corner of King and Huger. There is parking available along Benson Street behind the church, and at the International Longshoreman's Association (727 King) and at Trojan Labor (735 King) across King Street from the church. There is additional parking on Sundays, which I will detail for you on Wednesday evening.
This transition in our common life marks a new stage in our "growing up" into a self-sustaining Catholic community. And to that end, it is time for us to acquire some more of those things necessary to the life of a Eucharistic community, especially sacred vessels and vestments. Our community, like the entirety of the Ordinariate, was founded in apostolic poverty, and I hope that we will always understand ourselves, in the words of Pope Francis, as "a church that is poor and for the poor." At the same time, it would be a mistake to pit the beauty proper to the liturgy and Christian humility against one another. The beauty of the liturgy and its ornaments lifts up all the poor in spirit to contemplate and participate in the transcendent mystery of Divine Love. In this way, no less than in the corporal works of mercy, we may be a Church that is "for the poor." So, if you are able to make a gift beyond your usual giving to Corpus Christi towards the purchase of these items, please prayerfully consider doing so and be in touch with me.
Additionally, the actual Missal for the the Ordinariate's form of the Mass (called "Divine Worship") is soon to be available and is to go in to use on the first Sunday of Advent. It is a beautifully produced volume, and built to last, but expensive. Purchase of the Missal will cost about $450.00. Again, if you would like to make a gift of the Missal to Corpus Christi, let me know!
Finally (for now!), we have a need for labor. One of the many blessings of our time at St. Mary's is that they have taken care of our bookkeeping needs. With this move we will begin complying with a mandate from the Ordinariate to track our offerings and keep our financial books and sacramental records using the software required by the Ordinariate. Scarlett Crawford has graciously agreed to take on bookkeeping duties, but we need some volunteers to count and record the offerings after each Sunday Mass - this will require a little time learning to enter the data in the software. Again, if you are willing and able to help, please let me know.
This is an exciting time for us! Please keep me in your prayers as we move forward together.
Faithfully,
Fr. Allen