Decades ago, a Catholic who had grown up in the pre-Vatican II Church and wandered away for whatever reason might have found the liturgy of the typical Catholic parish a barrier to his later return. An old-style Anglo-Catholic parish might have seemed more familiar and welcoming. But no one under 80 is in that situation now. So why would the DW liturgy be a means for “evangelising” the lapsed?My correspondent's reference to the former fitness club brought to mind the only North American group that claims to be growing, Holy Martyrs Murrieta, CA. But in the context of those remarks, I think that group may be exploiting loopholes. The groujp received several dozen confirmands this last Pentecost. I don't want to copy photos from the Holy Martyrs website, since they mostly show minor children, but you can go here to get an idea.Those eligible to join an Ordinariate—-those who while baptised in a Catholic church did not proceed to First Communion and/or Confirmation—-probably stopped attending mass as children. Liturgical issues played no part in their departure, and it is hard to imagine that they are crucial to their return. Certainly no aspect of DW language or a celebration per Ritual Notes is nostalgic for them—-presumably the source of the supposed draw for former Anglicans.
As you have often mentioned, reverent OF liturgy and good music can be found in every local diocese with a little effort. Or one can seek out a TLM. No need to gather in a school cafetorium or a former fitness club to participate in a Catholic pastiche of a BCP Holy Communion service if you are looking for worthy liturgy.
In fact the implication that this is your best option is probably one of the reasons many diocesan bishops are hostile to or dismissive of the OCSP. In the UK, of course, most Ordinariate groups use the OF so the OOLW tends to keep quiet about the evangelising power of DW.
It seems to me that the confirmands in Murrieta are the children of Catholic families who are being confirmed at precisely the age for confirmation of children who haven't lapsed, about 12. And if their parents were lapsed, why didn't we see an equivalent large-scale reception for them? So what's up?
Article 5 §2 of the Complementry Norms for Anglicanorum coetibus reads,
§2. A person who has been baptized in the Catholic Church but who has not completed the Sacraments of Initiation, and subsequently returns to the faith and practice of the Church as a result of the mission of the Ordinariate, may be admitted to membership in the Ordinariate and receive the Sacrament of Confirmation or the Sacrament of the Eucharist or both.Fr Lewis in last week's letter to the Atonement parish refers implicitly to this provision:
All of this is to say that we in the Ordinariates around the world have a specific mandate: to evangelize our separated brethren and lapsed Catholics, and bring them home to Holy Mother Church.I think what’s happening in Murrieta is millennial parents from diocesan parishes who don't like their bishop or don't like their pewmates are bringing their children, who aren’t confirmed yet, and getting them confirmed at the ordinariate group. Thus they become anchor babies for the whole family, which presumably doesn’t like a diocese with lots of Hispanics and Filipinos -- or at least, that's a possible explanation. I wonder if they've taken those kids out of diocesan schools and are putting them in the Murrieta co-op, for that matter.
If those folks are lapsed, they've beern lapsed for a natter of days or weeks. And it's worth noting that Houston has no schools department, nor any program to form and lincense catechists. I would guess that Bp Barnes for the time beinng has better things to do than try to rescue those sheep who don't want him as shepherd anyhow, but this does raise the issue that those sheep are being lured away, by the same johnny-come-lately outfit that's brought us the "Gilbertgines".
Someone, almost certainly not Bp Lopes, will eventually want to look into this.
