Regarding appeal of mainstream diocesan vs. Ordinariate parishes, SMV Arlington is four minutes by car (and Uber) from the much larger (and older, as a Catholic parish, or younger, given SMV's previous history as an Episcopal parish), Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. Both are thriving. I remember Fr. Hawkins of SMV being quoted in the newspaper one time as saying that they at SMV must have some unique appeal in the Diocese of Ft. Worth (when SMV was still a diocesan parish, having been erected corporately under the Pastoral Provision), because the nearest mainstream parish was only blocks away. Here are both parish's bulletins for Sunday, Apr 23:The neighboring Catholic parish in Hollywood to St Mary of the Angels is, unfortunately, not as successful as Most Blessed Sacrament appears to be. The archdiocese seems to be aware of this, at least to the point of forcing budget cuts, but the Augustinians who run the parish probably need to wake up more than they have -- shortage of priests is an issue. My visitor is suggesting, though, that there can even be synergy between nearby successful Ordinariate and diocesan parishes.I think a look at these bulletins gives a good impression of the different "feel" between the two. If you were a Catholic visiting in town, maybe to go to Six Flags or a Texas Rangers baseball game or a Dallas Cowboys game, and web-surfed to find a mass to fulfill your obligation, which would you choose? SMV historically has eschewed a Saturday vigil but always had a Sunday 6p mass. I imagine neighborhood Catholics who are running long from a busy weekend wind up at that SMV Sunday evening mass, which when I've been there was a nice experience, dispensing with incense and some other ceremonial but is a very solemn and worshipful mass. I realize that the attitudinal impacts of the bishops and pastors involved in the SMV saga were very important in this apparently happy co-existence, but it does show the two diocesan arrangements can function, regardless of distance.
Saturday, April 22, 2017
Ordinariate And Diocesan Parishes Located Nearby And Coexisting
A visitor picks up on a half-formed thought I raised the other day:
