The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham exists, not as a museum for the Anglican patrimony, but as an expression of how our vibrant and living tradition flourishes in, and because of, communion with the See of Peter. We are not a ‘structural solution’ to Anglican problems, but a vehicle of evangelisation and mission for the whole Church, contributing the gifts and treasures of our Anglican heritage alongside those of other Catholics, with whom we are now united.
Those who share the faith of the Catholic Church, but not the beauty of communion with her, must see in us the deep impression that our new relationship with Christ makes, so that they might find the strength to answer his call to fullness of unity in the Church with the successor of Peter, and enjoy the fullness of communion and peace in which we now share.
Thus we have been commissioned by the Holy Father to be those members of the Catholic Church who give her a special awareness of Anglican life and tradition from the inside, as she reaches out to the Anglican Communion to build the ecumenical work of common cause and proclamation in the world, towards the complete reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion that must come, because our Lord has prayed for it.
For many of us, this past year has seen relationships strained as we have moved into the Catholic Church, whilst close friends and colleagues remain in a position where communion with the Catholic Church is for the moment partial. As we journey deeper into communion with Christ, though, we move into a more profound relationship – not just with him, but with all those with whom we share the sacrament of baptism.
So let this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity be a time of intensified prayer for the unity of all Christ’s faithful, and let it be for us a time for renewed vigour for the work of Christian unity, of which the Ordinariate is a humble fruit.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Msgr. Newton on prayers for Christian unity
Here's an excerpt of his reflection on the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity that begins today:
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