Anglican Catholicism and the Culture Wars

 How can Anglican Catholics fit in a society at war?

The Dog's Truth

Sermon for the second Sunday in Lent

Perhaps you remember 

the tale of Greyfriars Bobby,

the little dog 

who was so devoted to his master

that he refused to leave

his master's grave side.

Perhaps you remember

how the townsfolk

looked after him 

and cared for him

until the little dog himself died

at the age of 16

and was buried not too far

from his master.

Some people think this is a legend,

but the statue that stands 

in Bobby's memory

is there for a reason.

There must be some truth 

in that story for such

a memorial to have been erected.

There is truth in that story.

[PAUSE]

"There must be truth 

in that story,"

thinks the Canaanite woman

as she tends to her dying daughter.

"There must be truth

that He heals."

The Canaanite woman

holds to these two truths,

the truth that her daughter is dying,

and the truth that lies in

the people's tales

about Jesus healing people.

So she goes to the Master.

And she will not leave,

clinging to these two truths

with all her might.

And she cries out

again

and again

and again and again and again,

so much so that 

people get sick of her crying.

"Send her away.

Don't bother the Master!"

But she holds to

the two truths doggedly.

She will see the Master

and He will heal her daughter.

Finally 

she catches the eye of God.

And He speaks truth:

"It is not meet

to take the children's bread

and cast it to the dogs."

A harsh rebuke?

Does she go away

reminded of her status as 

an outcast from 

the Children of Israel?

No. 

She knows another truth:

she is not Jewish and He is

but she is human

and so is He.

If He is the Messiah,

then He is merciful.

If He is the Messiah

then there is a crumb of mercy

that can fall for her.

She still holds doggedly

to the truth 

that He can heal.

He is truly the Master 

and she worships Him.

"Truth, Lord:

and yet the dogs eat

of the crumbs which fall

from their master's table"

For with Lord there is mercy.

And with that mercy

comes Divine admiration. 

"O woman, 

great is thy faith:

be it unto thee

even as thou wilt."

Notice how,

He calls her "woman"

- a term of respect,

a term of recognition of status,

a term of admiration, 

not a term to be used

to address a dog.

How can a master admire a dog?

How can a town 

set up a statue 

to a little dog 

who clung on to the truth 

of his devotion 

to his master?

To see an insult

in comparing this woman

with a dog

is to miss the breakdown

of the barriers 

that separate 

the Children of Israel

from the children of men.

For Jesus Himself

is the Bread of the Children of Israel

and He gives Himself freely

to a woman

whom the Children of Israel

would call a dog.

And He does so

because she has faith -

the knowledge that 

there must be some truth

in the stories she hears 

about Jesus,

even if she doesn't know

the whole truth.

He gives Himself to

this "dog"

willingly, 

in admiration 

with mercy and love.

And, in receiving this bread

she becomes one 

of the first gentile members

of the Church.

[PAUSE]

For us,

this faithful woman disappears into history -

a story, many would say 

- but if a story, then a story 

in which there must be some truth.

Indeed,

a story in which there is The Truth

a true story!

and this Truth 

that even now 

she holds onto 

in a state of Eternal bliss,

we, too, hold onto,

doggedly.

Setting the Anglican Catholic record straight.

 

Yes, we are pro-life. Here's why.

The Devil's blunder

Sermon for the first Sunday in Lent

Why does Our Lord 

tell the Devil to get behind Him

after the third temptation?

Why not tell him to shoo

after the first?

[PAUSE]

We know a few things here.

First,

we know that the Lord 

goes into the desert

for the purpose of being tempted.

We also know

that Our Lord is tempted 

throughout His life.

Remember when 

St Peter tries to stop

Jesus from going 

to Jerusalem and to the Cross.

Jesus uses the same words,

"Get the behind me, Satan!"

So Our Lord is tempted 

all His life,

not just in the wilderness. 

And yet, 

He goes into the wilderness 

to be tempted by the devil.

Why?

[PAUSE]

We face temptations

to sin daily

and it is very easy for us

to fall into sin

because the Devil 

catches us off guard

at a moment of weakness.

The only hope of 

protecting ourselves

is by knowing where we are weak,

where the Devil will try and get his foothold. 

For Our Lord,

the Devil tries to hit him

with natural physical needs,

with a crisis of faith,

and 

with an assault on His relationship 

with the Father. 

If the Devil

can break one of those

and cause Jesus to sin,

then he's beaten the

would-be Saviour.

And Jesus knows it.

So He finds solitude 

in order to confront

the Devil and put a halt to his scheme.

But why not tell him to shoo

at the first?

[PAUSE]

Look at the temptations

and how they grow 

in desperation.

If we had the power

to turn stones to bread

and we're hungry,

many of us would fall at the first hurdle.

This is the most basic temptation:

we want a choccy biccy,

we can get that choccy biccy

so we take that choccy biccy.

And we take that choccy biccy,

regardless of whether 

it's someone else's,

it's not good for our health,

or we're supposed to be fasting. 

The Devil wants us to suspend 

our thinking

so that we might fall from God

through foolish ignorance 

and, once we stumble

he can find ways of making us fall further. 

But Our Lord has faith jn His Father

to provide and sees through

this first, crude attempt 

to make Him fall through

unthinking. 

[PAUSE]

So the Devil moves on

to attack that faith

and expose either Jesus' pride

if He decides to jump,

or His lack of faith

if He refuses.

But Jesus counters

by reminding the Devil,

and reminding us,

that faith is not a toy

to be played with and abused

but our lifeline to the Father,

worthy of respect

and cultivation through 

living a life working in love.

[PAUSE]

So how can the Devil break this faith?

He knows he can't break 

that sort of faith.

He has one option left:

get Jesus to transfer His faith

away from the Father

and onto him.

If the Devil can show Jesus 

all the delights he has to offer

all of creation under his influence

and so get Jesus

to worship him 

in his power over all things,

then the Devil has won.

But it's a desperate ploy.

 

It's the last thing the Devil has to offer.

Once he plays this card,

he is exposed,

win or lose. 

And Jesus sees straight through it.

How could He not?

The greatest commandment

is that we love God

and that means we accept Him

as the Creator and Ruler of this universe,

All-good,

All-powerful,

All-knowing ,

and worthy of all worship.

It's a monumental howler by the Devil,

but the only hand he has left

against the Son of God.

[PAUSE]

In our Lent,

we examine the areas

in which we are tempted most.

In our pride,

we see our need to matter.

In our gluttony,  envy and avarice,

we see our hunger for something good.

In our lust,

we see our need to be loved.

In our wrath,

we see our need for justice.

In our sloth, 

we see our need for motivation. 

All of these temptations

are met in God.

All of our weaknesses are

covered by God.

And this is why He goes into the wilderness, 

so He can be tempted as we are

only without sin.

And, as the the waters of Baptism justify us

by being consecrated by Christ's Baptism,

as marriage is made a sacrament

by being  consecrated 

in Christ's miracle at Cana,

as the grave becomes the door to life,

by being consecrated 

in the death of God,

so are our temptations consecrated by His.

They become, 

not fodder for our destruction by the Devil,

but means by which 

we see our need for God in our lives.

This is the Devil's big blunder

because,

in the hands of one

who seeks a closer walk with God,

temptation shows 

how we need Him.

The Devil has lost temptation 

for the Christian. 

So tell him to shoo,

and seek God in your weakness

and the love of God will make you strong

unto the age of ages.

Taint necessarily so

"Not Equal Yet" is the latest promotion within the CofE lobby group WATCH (Women And The CHurch).

This is the latest on the "Not Equal Yet" ticket written by WATCH trustee Georgia Ashwell.

I'm not going to address it fully as I have argued my case and the argument has not been debunked largely because the problem is political.

The first think I note is that I agree fully with Dr Ashwell in that the theology of the CofE is a mess and that mess means that a coherent understanding of the sacraments is impossible. If all theologies are tolerated within the CofE, why not a theology that holds to the traditional understanding of ordination and the concomitant view that significant deviation from that tradition is invalid? 

The Catholic Church in its branches (Orthodox, Roman and Anglican Catholic) intends to do what the Church has always done. In ordaining women, the Church of England cannot intend to do what the Church has always done. But some bishops in the CofE do intend to do what the Church has always done and thus have possibly preserved that intention and possibly preserved the sacrament, though the fact that they remain in a Church which, as part of its doctrine, does not intend to do what the Church has always done injects doubt into their orders. Were they to seek priesthood in the Anglican Catholic Church,  they would receive ordination sub conditione. There is therefore a theological reason why The Society will only permit consecration by bishops from The Society. It is not misogyny.

This brings me to my next point. Dr Ashwell states that she believes The Society's position to be misogyny and not theology but she does not say how. I certainly sympathise wholeheartedly with those female CofE priests who have suffered abuse from members of the Society - that is not on! I condemn fiercely any spitting, insulting or aggression to any women on the grounds that they are a woman, especially a female priest. I respect the learning and devotion that these women have to answering some call to bring the Gospel to the people who need to hear it, and I know that God smiles on their efforts. But those efforts are limited by the truth that they are ministers and not priests in the eyes of the Catholic Church and that there is necessary some falsehood being disseminated. A declaration of misogyny, however, is a socio-political statement and not a theological one. If Catholics are misogynist to believe in a male-only priesthood, then perhaps God Himself is misogynist for calling only men to the priesthood or for not making His will clearer. Is that what WATCH are saying?

Third, what do WATCH want? In the CofE, women are ordained to all three orders. The third most senior bishop is Dame Sarah Mullally of London. Women bishops are, for the sake of promoting equality, leapfrogging men to enter the House of Lords. Women are eligible to enter every position in the CofE, any at all - except those places inhabited by traditional Catholics and headship Evangelicals. Indeed, at every ordination by the Society, there is always a female bishop (usually Dame Sarah) standing there in chimere and rochet as if to assert their validity among those who cannot (and they truly cannot, Dr Ashwell) believe it for the sake of "mutual flourishing" and the incoherent 5 GPs (Guiding Principles).

 So what do WATCH want? I've asked that before. To force everyone to recognise their ministry? But they wouldn't force any other theology on anyone else. They wouldn't insist that everyone stopped believing in Hell, would they? While I appreciate in my ignorance in the matter, It looks to me that WATCH want to be let into those parishes which hold traditional views. That smacks to me, not of equality, but of dominion. Whatever they claim,  WATCH  is a political lobby, NOT a theological lobby, and that they confuse the two. This is why they cannot see as theology traditional Catholic doctrine that they despise.

They call for people to join them but they don't say their purpose. That's because their purpose is very clear: they want The Society and the Evangelical groups out of the CofE. They want them defunded, deplatformed, demoted and despised. Let's be clear on that.

My own advice to the Society and to the Evangelical groups is: let them have their way. They are not going to rest and will use every means at their disposal, especially their well-rehearsed political rhetoric in a politically correct society to destroy the Catholic Faith.

The Anglican Catholic Church is here for the Catholics. There are good Evangelical groups such as the Church of England (Continuing) that can be joined. There is no such thing as mutual flourishing when WATCH have politicised the term and continue to play the victim rather than see the good that can be done with the 5GPs.

The cost is great but we need to start rebuilding the Catholic Church in this country. This is a challenge and involves great and radical sacrifice. It requires faith, conviction and prayer. We in the ACC are ready to talk whenever people want to talk.

Anglican Catholic Silence

 

How St Aelred of Rievaulx and St Benedict use silence in affirmation of free speech.

Making hard harder

Sermon for Quinquagesima preached at the Cathedral Church of St Augustine of Canterbury, Painters Forstal

Life is hard,

so why make it harder?

Each one of us

has had battles in life.

Indeed 

each one of us 

still has battles in life.

And then Lent comes around

and we make life harder

for ourselves

by giving something up.

Why?

[PAUSE]

We know that it isn't

what we do for Lent

that is important,

but rather that we do something 

for Lent.

 But often 

we give something up for Lent

in order to appear virtuous

in order to appear Holy.

And, because we know

that to parade our fasting

before others is foolish,

we try to keep our virtue

and our holiness 

to ourselves

and just try to feel better about 

being us.

Sometimes

we give things up for Lent

just to appear virtuous

and holy

not to anyone else 

but ourselves.

And then we wonder 

why we bother

when the day-to-day grind of living

hits us harder,

when we have given up

something we enjoy

that makes life 

that bit sweeter,

that takes the edge off 

of hard living.

Often,

when we get grumpier,

or more ready to complain,

that's a sure sign 

that we're not keeping Lent well.

Maybe we're doing 

the wrong thing for Lent.

[PAUSE]

We see Our Lord 

preparing to go into Jerusalem 

for the last time.

He tells us 

of the suffering,

degradation, 

and agony He must face

in order to accomplish

the work of salvation.

And then He hears blind Bartimaeus

crying out,

Bartimaeus who,

in the midst of his troubles

and sorrow

and sightlessness,

makes his life harder

by exposing himself to rebuke

and ridicule,

all because he has faith

in the One to Whom he calls.

And,

having come to Jesus

presenting his hardship,

presenting his misery,

fighting to walk that one last step

Bartimaeus is given something 

more precious than just his sight.

He sees for the first time, yes,

but he gazes straight 

into the face of God Himself.

That final effort

in his hardship

has given Bartimaeus 

the gift 

that every single human being craves:

sight of the Divine Smile.

This is how Bartimaeus is made holy 

by Christ setting him apart for healing 

and wholeness.

[PAUSE]

If we are using Lent to 

become more holy

then that is good.

But,

as St Benedict says,

we should not seek to be called holy

but rather to become holy

in order for us to be rightly so called.

And that holiness

can only come 

through pushing through life's hardship 

so that Our Lord can make us holy.

The Lenten Fast 

rather than being a hardship 

becomes a liberation from

the rebuke and cruelty

of the world around us.

This is why 

St Benedict suggests that 

a monk should tell his abbot

what he is doing for Lent

and why.

As we have seen 

Gesimatide is about 

that preparation for Lent

to ensure that whatever we do,

we do it to become closer to God.

While discipline is tough,

we do need to do it

with a closet walk with God

being the sole reason.

And in that closer walk,

we bring our hardships,

aches, pains,

doubts, fears,

furies, tears

and sadness

for Him to heal.

[PAUSE]

In our Lenten discipline,

it is our faith that gets stronger 

and our desire to be with Christ deeper,

because we know by faith

that He not only hears us

that He not only desires our healing

but that He also wants

our first sight

to be of Him

and His love for us.

An Anglican Catholic Cathedral

 

What is our Cathedral in Painters Forstal like?

Hoe down for salvation

Sermon for Sexagesima 

We've not long

been listening to 

Our Lord's words

on the wheat and the tares,

so we know that 

there is a relation between 

these parables.

When speaking of

wheat and tares, 

Our Lord tells us

that we cannot root out

the sin within the Church

because the Enemy

has sown sin there,

right at the beginning.

Sin gets dealt with

fully and completely

at the End.

We know that 

it is the Church

into which the seed is sown

and grows.

The Church is the soil

in which the fruit of

the Kingdom of Heaven grows,

and that soil 

needs tending.

God sows His word,

the Good News

of the life and work

of Our Lord Jesus Christ

the truth of salvation,

the glory of His Kingdom.

And wherever the Church is,

that Good News spreads

and grows. 

[PAUSE]

We have also been

hearing Our Lord's words

about the labourers in the Vineyard.

We know that we have to labour

at tending and dressing

the Church in order

for her to produce good fruit.

Here, 

in discussing the Sower

and the seed of His word,

we see what we have to do,

each one of us

to allow the fruit of Church to grow.

The path,

the rocky ground

and the thistles,

all stop the word of Salvation 

from growing.

All must be dealt with.

[PAUSE]

The path,

where there is no soil

for the seed to grow,

where the Church is not present.

It is here that the Church 

must be made present,

through 

just one small, praying community

- even an individual -

committed to growing in holiness first 

and then in number.

The rocky ground,

where the Church is present

but in a way so shallow,

so superficial, that the word of Salvation 

cannot take root.

It is here,

that the hard work,

of breaking up the rocks 

through active Christian practice,

works of mercy,

compassion and kindness, 

can bring the true Church

in which the word can grow.

The thorns and thistles

of distraction from the work

and cares of the world

which seek to crush our spirit

with a million irrelevances.

These must be grabbed up

in our lives 

like the weeds they are.

We cannot grub up the tares in the Church

- tares which look like wheat 

but are not -

but we can grub up 

the weeds 

- thorns, briars and thistles -

which we recognise in ourselves, 

and prevent them from 

growing in the Church.

We focus on what is good, 

not the squabbles and sniping 

that we hear all around us

but by careful self-examination

of anything 

- anything at all -

that is hindering our prayer

or stopping us

from working out our Salvation

through faith working in love.

[PAUSE]

As we prepare for Lent,

we look to ourselves 

to see how we are dealing

with the path where Satan prowls,

the rocky ground which prevents growth,

and the weeds in our own minds 

which seek to distract us

from our work.

Lent is a time 

for tilling the soil

as a Church 

and as individuals.

Lent is a time for a hoe-down.

What is the Gospel?

 

Why it matters what we think the Gospel is.

Vintage labourers

Sermon for Septuagesima

What is the Kingdom of Heaven like?

Our Lord gives us

the parable of the

Workers in the Vineyard

to describe the 

Kingdom of Heaven.

But does this mean 

that we work ourselves 

into Heaven?

If we are the labourers 

waiting around for work

to receive our wages,

then perhaps Pelagius is right:

we can earn our place

in the Kingdom of Heaven.

[PAUSE]

it's worth trying to

see what prompts

Our Lord to speak this parables.

First, we see that he is

surrounded by people

giving Him their children to bless.

We see a rich young man

ask Him about the 

Kingdom of Heaven

only to be told that 

he must give up all that he has.

And St Peter reminds Our Lord

that the disciples have given up

so much to be with Him.

The Lord tells him

that whatever he gives up

in order to walk with Him

will be given back 

many times over

in the Kingdom of Heaven.

And this is where we come in.

[PAUSE]

Our Lord shows us

that our life with Him

will be hard work.

Labouring in a vineyard

is painful and tiring,

with lots of digging,

pruning

and harvesting.

And yet it is work

that is worth doing:

people are willing to wait

even to the eleventh hour -

the last hour -

to work for God,

especially when the wages

are a Roman Soldier's 

daily wage -

very generous.

This wage is given

regardless of when

we begin the hard work

of being a Christian.

It is not something that we earn

but rather something that 

we are offered, 

right at the beginning

when Our Lord says, 

"follow me."

It is an expression 

of the generosity of God

in recognising our situation.

[PAUSE]

Our salvation,

Our ability even to enter

the Kingdom of Heaven

can only be entered

through the cross of Christ.

But once inside

then we are given so much.

Our judgement is 

not just a judgement of our sins

but also a judgement of 

what we have given up

to be with Christ.

What we have lost 

will be restored plenteously.

Those who look at what 

others get and complain

miss the whole point.

Their hearts are not set on Christ

 but see their worth as being

superior to others

because they have worked longer.

It's not how long you have laboured,

it's that you have laboured.

It's because you come to Christ

in your own circumstances,

working out your faith 

with the Holy Ghost working

with you and in you.

We go through labours

because we love Christ

and the world does not.

We struggle within

our own selves

to love the Lord our God

with all our heart and soul

and mind and strength,

and our neighbours 

as ourselves.

And God meets our struggles

and matches them

with both justice and generosity

as individuals

regardless of what others

may think of that generosity. 

[PAUSE]

We have so much work to do

and the Lord is clear

that this is hard labour

to walk the Christian life

but He promises us that

it will be more than worth it.

We should not despair

of the mercy of God.

Neither should we despair 

of his generosity. 

He loves us

and that is so much more

than we can desire or deserve.

Conflicted with Scholastica

 

How a fraternal disagreement shows us how to love.

Taring the Church apart

Sermon for the fifth Sunday after Epiphany

Our Lord speaks two parables

in succession.

First He tells us

that the Kingdom of God

is like the sower

sowing seed 

which falls on different types

of soil.

Then He tells us

that the Kingdom of God

is like a man sowing seed

whose field is corrupted

by his enemy sowing tares.

The same question occurs

in both parables:

Where are we?

[PAUSE]

If we are the seed,

then we have no choice

as to which soil we fall in,

nor have we any choice

as to whether

we are wheat or tare.

It doesn't matter

how much we reach out to God,

if we were sown a tare,

then a tare we will always be,

destined for the fire. 

But Our Lord came to us

with a human will and a divine will,

which means our ability

to choose 

and to shape our paths in this world,

is something 

that is part of what it is 

to be human.

We are not sown as wheat or tares.

We are sown as we are,

created by God from the dust of the earth

lovable even in our sinfulness

redeemable by His grace

and sanctifiable by the image of Him

Who creates us

and who gives us a hand 

in our own creation

to become who we are meant to be

in Him,

or,

if we choose, 

apart from Him.

[PAUSE]

The Kingdom of God 

is within us.

Jesus doesn't say

that the Kingdom of God

is within each one of us

as individuals, 

but rather among us 

as His Church.

The ground in which

the Sower sows the seed

of His Gospel 

is His Church.

We, collectively,

as a Church

are the soil.

Even soil 

from the rocky ground

can be transplanted 

into the good soil.

Even the soil

choked by thorns and thistles 

can be weeded

and made good.

Even the hardness of paths

can be broken

to release the good soil underneath

to receive the seed.

[PAUSE]

And, into the Church,

the enemy sows his weeds.

And we only know that they are weeds 

when they come to fruition. 

This is how we have spotted

the great heresies. 

Our Lord tells us

that we shall know

those who distort His message

by the fruit of their words:

words which cause division,

words which cause sin,

words which condone sin,

words which mask

the image of God in other people

which spread hatred,

resentment,

grudgebearing,

greed, gluttony and lust. 

But we will not be able

to root them out,

not without harming 

the good work of the Church. 

And it is God that will root out

the wheat and the tares.

His angels will cut out

all that is sown in hatred

leaving that which is truly Good.

We can be sure of that, 

especially when scandals rock the Church. 

[PAUSE]

We have to remember 

that the Church cannot be

deflected from 

the right teaching of God,

nor the preaching of His true Gospel. 

That's the good seed

sown from the beginning.

When we are rocked

by the failures 

of bishops, priests and deacons 

or the deliberate leading astray

by charismatic individuals,

of failures of pastoral care 

or even,

Lord preserve us,

of the abuse of innocents

by the clergy,

we must cling to the teaching

of Christ

that He has sown good seed

in His Church

and it is growing.

This can be very difficult to see, 

but thes these are the words of Christ

and Christ is always true.

When we commit ourselves 

to a Church that contains tares

we commit ourselves to a Church 

that contains Christ nonetheless. 

He says that,

if we endure to the end, 

then we shall be saved. 

[PAUSE]

When we see nothing 

but tares around us,

perhaps it is we who are being called

to grow the good seed

no matter how daunting the task.

Even in our smallness

our faith can grow

the greatest of all trees.

My tuppence on Fr Calvin Robinson

I have tried to hold my peace on this latest media circus given that my own life is very turbulent at the moment and that everything that needs to be said has been said.

So where do I stand?

Well, to be frank, I don't stand anywhere because it's none of my business. However high a profile this whole affair possesses, it is still a Diocesan affair between a priest and his ordinary.  Were this the Diocese of the United Kingdom, I might have been consulted in my role as secretary to the Board of Ministry and Education. But it isn't.  This is the Diocese of the Midwest who is receiving the pastoral oversight of Bishop Patrick Fodor as Episcopal Visitor. As I am not privy to the details of the situation, I do not have the right to question the actions of Bishop Fodor or Archbishop Haverland. Yes, they might have made a mistake and yes, they might not have made a mistake. My default position as a member of the ACC is to assume that they, as my superiors, have made the correct decision and to question no further: it has nothing to do with me. 

Of course, some might accuse me of being a coward and a wimp for not standing up for what is right. If I have no knowledge of the facts then I can have no knowledge of the truth: that stands to reason. I applaud Fr Robinson's courage in asking the difficult questions that do require an answer. As one who believes firmly in the sanctity of human life and the sanctity of the family, I am glad for loud voices thar will identify the need for the preservation of that sanctity. But, as a Benedictine, the virtue of obedience to one's superiors is necessary in maintaining the good order and strength of the Church.

But, as I say, I have no real opinion about this.

What I do have an opinion about is the furore this has caused with a lot of unpleasant and hateful comments being made from the same position of ignorance as my own - though I have to say I do know the difference between defrocking (which Fr Robinson has not reveived) and the revocation of a licence (which he has). It is possible that he may receive his licence back again and my hope is that conversations with the relevant bodies will prove fruitful and godly for everyone.

However, my Diocese has been on the receiving end of many unpleasant comments even though we have had absolutely no irons in this fire. The venom, sneering, sarcasm, and the hopes for our demise in flames and anguish have been very draining. While he was in this country, Fr Robinson chose not to approach us, nor to contact us, nor visit us. One can speculate on why our little Diocese did not appeal to him. He left the Nordic Catholic Church for the ACC in the Diocese of the Midwest. Why we in the Diocese of the United Kingdom are being punished for the revocation of a priest's licence who has never engaged with us seems hardly fair.

We are under no illusion that we are a small presence in this country. Our work is small-scale to reflect our size but we do our best to serve our parishes and to bring the love of Christ to our communities, preaching the Gospel in word and sacrament. We know the divisive nature of politics and, while there are different political views among the clergy, we know that unity is far more important and preserving the good order of our church. We are all non-stipendiary and our work lives impact on what we can offer. Our focus must be on our parishes, on pastoral support and Christian education.

I will not be publishing comments about Fr Robinson on our website, either affirmative or critical. This is not because we have something to hide, but to reflect the fact that this is not an issue of this Diocese but that we are merely reporting official statements. I hope that people will be more considerate in their comments in future. We Benedictines are often reminded that "in much speaking, thou canst not avoid sin." It is better to keep silence about matters in which one has no involvement. I should take my own advice.

Healthcare and St Blaisius

 

Why Christians should invest in medical science.

Patient Purity

Sermon for the feast of the Purification of Our Lady

What good is she doing

lurking around the temple

all that time.

For eighty-four years

since she lost 

her husband of seven years,

Anna has spent her life

just serving the temple.

Why did she not marry again?

Why did she not have kids?

Why has she not been 

more productive 

serving the community

rather than shutting herself away

for eighty-four years

waiting for the Messiah?

[PAUSE]

This is a criticism

often levelled against

the enclosed monastic orders

who shut themselves from the world.

Surely,

a life dedicated

to helping the poor,

the infirm and elderly,

teaching children in the Faith,

surely these are better

than pottering around 

a monastery,

praying all the time

and clearing up spent candles.

Eighty-four years wasted!

[PAUSE]

And then Our Lady 

enters the temple

with St Joseph and,

in her arms,

a little boy.

A little boy

to be presented to the Lord

as holy

in accordance with the Jewish law.

And a mother 

to be purified

from the hardship 

of labour

and ready to return

to Society.

But it's all the wrong way round!

It's all backwards.

[PAUSE]

What is purer

than a virgin mother?

What is holier

than God Incarnate?

The world around 

doesn't see this.

They do not recognise the child.

They do not recognise the mother.

But Anna and Simeon do.

All their lives,

they have waited for God.

They have immersed themselves completely 

in the presence and worship 

of God.

It is they who have spend decades

purifying themselves

by being in the presence 

of the Most High 

in acts of service

and dedication 

and in their purity

they see God.

And that Holy Child,

God Incarnate,

honours their service

and holds them up 

as examples when He preaches,

"Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they shall see God."

To the world 

Anna seems to have wasted her life.

But she sees God.

To the world,

the hermits

and the enclosed monks and nuns

have performed nothing useful 

for this world.

But they strive to see God.

And in striving to see God,

they shine with His light

into the dark world.

Their example and prayer

encourages those

whose calling is to go out

into the world,

feeding the poor,

clothing the naked

and liberating the captive.

And when those who go out

are wearied by the hardship 

of toiling in the world,

they seek those who see God

and from whom the light of God shines,

so that they may return to their calling

bearing that light again

and being purified themselves.

[PAUSE]

The holiness of the Child

consecrates the old priest.

The purity of the Virgin

purifies the temple.

It's all backwards,

but in Christ

the Law is fulfilled

and the Temple sanctified

so that Salvation 

can be seen by all who desire it.

[PAUSE]

Purity requires patience

even in the face of a world

that seeks to destroy that purity

with the business of day-to-day demands,

requirements,

duties and directives.

As long as we are willing

to immerse ourselves 

in the prayer life of the Church 

and support our monastic orders,

we will find that purity 

is the fruit of our patience,

and that waiting for God

is time well spent indeed.

Anglican Catholic Branch Theory

 

What is Branch theory? Is it true?

The Vanishing Centurion

Sermon for the third Sunday after Epiphany

We say the words

of the Centurion

at every Mass.

"Lord, I am not worthy

that thou shouldst enter 

under my roof

but only say the word

and I shall be healed."

Of course,

the Centurion was

appealing that

his servant should be healed.

But did the Centurion 

actually meet Jesus?

It would seen that

St Matthew says, "yes"

but St Luke says, "no".

From what St Matthew tells us

it sounds like 

the Centurion is physically present

and talking with Jesus.

But St Luke tells us

that the Centurion sent friends

to communicate with Jesus

and stayed at home.

So was the Centurion there 

or not?

[PAUSE]

St Augustine explains

that while the Centurion 

Isn't physically present

he is still actually communicating

with Jesus

through his Jewish friends

and those whom

he has helped.

Because this Centurion 

respects the Jews,

he accepts that he should

maintain a polite distance

for political reasons.

What is clear, though,

is that this Centurion 

believes that Jesus

is exactly who He says He is

and can heal his servant

whether Jesus is present

or not.

And it is this faith

that Our Lord praises highly:

faith that Jesus can heal,

faith that Jesus wants to heal,

faith that Jesus is exactly Who

He says He is.

It is this faith 

that the Centurion shows

by working with it,

using it to make his decisions,

and by taking a chance on it.

[PAUSE]

This is what Faith is:

trusting that Jesus is

Who He says He Is.

It is Faith that gives strength

to our will

so that we can do 

what pleases God.

But Faith can't be alone:

it must be accompanied 

with our will to do good,

with our will to seek

the joy of other people.

And the will for the joy

of others

is the heart of what it means

to love.

[PAUSE]

St Luke tells us

that the Centurion

has sought the good

of the Jewish people.

It is this Centurion

who has built their synagogue!

Already, the Centurion 

is showing Love,

even for his servant.

And now He is showing Faith,

and the two together

bring healing of

the Centurion's servant.

In Jesus,

Faith and Love

bring healing.

And the Centurion

is justified by his faith

working with love..

[PAUSE]

This is true of us, too.

We are not justified 

by faith alone,

but by faith working in love.

Faith comes as a gift

at the beginning,

but we have to feed it

with Love 

so that it can grow and,

in growing,

bring us closer to the One

in Whom our Faith is placed.

It is result of this 

faith working in love

that the Centurion

does not vanish into history

whether he meets Jesus

or not.

And in our lively faith,

we to will not vanish into history

but transcend it 

into the arms of the One

Whose Word we believe.

Anglican Catholicism and Church Unity

 

How can the Church be one?

Waiting for wine

Sermon for the second Sunday after the Epiphany

""What lovely wine!" 

says the steward,

"most people

give the good wine first 

and then give out

lesser quality wine

when everyone has 

had enough.

You've saved the best wine

for later."

Why does Jesus

go to the effort

of making a better wine

when most of the guests 

have drunk enough?

In fact,

why perform the miracle at all

if everyone has had enough

or has had too much

that they are dancing

to the Birdie Song.

Surely, 

His miracle 

isn't going to be 

appreciated?

[PAUSE]

Our Lord produces good wine.

We don't know the vintage.

We don't know 

which side of the vineyard

it comes from.

We don't know 

whether it has a nutty bouquet 

or a smoky aftertaste.

If Our Lord

Is trying to influence

a wine connoisseur,

we would know.

It's not the type of wine

that matters.

All we know 

is that it is good wine.

Wine that will

cause those

who have had enough

to be pleasantly surprised.

Wine that

gladdens the heart of men.

We know that

Our Lord does not perform miracles

for Himself.

Miracles are not for

showing off

or trying to convince 

the World of His identity

through acts of power.

Our Lord performs miracles privately 

and out of compassion

for the circumstances of others

and to show people

the goodness of His Kingdom.

He wants people

to rejoice at the wedding.

He wants to show 

God's approval for the marriage

by giving good things

that will enhance the wedding

and not be an ego-trip for Himself.

All the guests know

is that there is good wine

and the happiness grows, 

and the Bride and Groom

rejoice in a successful wedding

with a divine blessing 

upon their union

secretly bestowed.

[PAUSE]

Ultimately

we see God giving His children 

good things to enjoy.

There is nothing wrong

with rejoicing

as long as we make it possible

for everyone to share our joy.

God wants our happiness

and this is central

to what it means 

to love someone. 

We respond to God

by being grateful 

and by seeking 

the happiness of others.

Love always multiplies 

and never divides.

Anglican Catholicism and Orthodoxy

 

Why aren't Anglican Catholics Orthodox?

Finding yourself in the Mall

Sermon for the Sunday in the octave of Epiphany

Your relief is visible

when you hear the tannoy say:

"Please come to the reception desk;

your child has been found."

The panic of the last hour

frantically searching

for your child is over,

and all you need to do

is come to the reception desk

and pick them up.

Oh the relief!

But not every parent

in this situation 

finds this relief:

all too often,

there is bad news

and grief.

It's because of this 

distinct possibility that

your child is lost

that causes the panic,

the fear,

the cascade of 

a million unpleasant scenarios.

Having hope

almost makes the pain worse.

[PAUSE]

Even after twelve years,

Herod's wicked murder

of all those babies

rings in the memories

of Mary and Joseph

hunting frantically for Jesus.

He is not among

the crowds of unfamiliar faces

leaving Jerusalem for Nazareth.

He is not among the crowds

milling about in the streets of Jerusalem

nor the dark alleys,

nor in the places of buying and selling.

But then they hear the tannoy.

Voices declaring amazement

at some occurrence

in the midst of the temple.

Can He be where they left Him?

Indeed,

that's where Mary and Joseph

find Him.

Their relief is visible.

[PAUSE]

Children do this to you.

Even the Son of God

worries the life out of those

who are blessed by caring for Him.

To them

He is the most precious thing in the world.

To Him,

He is trying to become Himself.

This is the great challenge 

of parenting:

your precious child

isn't really yours.

They are their own people

and the greatest wrench

for the parent

is that their precious child

is not theirs to possess

but rather to get them to the place

where they can go

and live their own lives

away from their parents.

Jesus makes it clear that,

although He loves His Mother,

although He loves St Joseph,

He also loves His Father 

and must become 

the human being that He is

independently of those

who take care of Him.

Mary and Joseph 

must be prepared 

to let Him go.

Just as the Father 

has let us go.

[PAUSE]

Love never insists

on its own way.

It always respects the choices 

of the beloved.

In a few years' time

the precocious twelve year old

teaching the teachers

asking awkward questions 

while learning the Law

will speak of the Prodigal Son.

Just as the father

of the Prodigal Son

lets Him go and live his own life

independently from his family

so does God let us go

to live our own lives

independently of Him

in the hope 

that we may learn for ourselves

who we are and how God fits in with that.

He lets us go,

to His pain as the Cross proves.

But that Cross calls us,

like the tannoy,

back to God.

[PAUSE]

Good parents

are willing to bear the great pain

of letting their child go

despite the pain it causes.

But they work

to make sure that

their children are in the best position

to become who they are meant to be.

The loss of a child 

is perhaps one of the greatest pains

that a human being can endure

and it is a pain that God bears for us,

that God bears with us,

so that joy may come at

 Eternity's sunrise

when Heaven's morning breaks

upon us.

It is this loss that parents fear the most

and will do anything to prevent,

yet it is God's love to us

that gives us strength

to endure what we must endure

so that our children grow in love

as themselves,

and so that we grow in God's love

as ourselves.

The Ikon of Epiphany

 

What lies behind the Epiphany?

Bedazzled?

Sermon for the Vigil of the Epiphany 

When was the last time

you stayed up all night?

Did you see the sun rise?

There comes a point

when you look out 

across the night sky

that there is a definite 

change of colour.

The first glimmers of light

that come across the Horizon 

bring with them

a real sense that the night 

is nearly over.

These days,

because of the number

of street lights

there is always 

a perpetual glow 

on the Horizon. 

Near the cities,

we lose that gradual 

change from darkness

to light.

We also get a false sense 

of the dawn that's about

to rise upon our day.

Light pollution

is deceptive 

and robs us

of our awareness 

of the beauty of firstlight.

[PAUSE]

Here we are,

awaiting the Epiphany 

ready to see the dawn 

of the awareness

that God is made man

so that we can become

like Him.

But the world around us

is aglow with all kinds of light

making it difficult 

for us to see 

the dayspring from on high

dawning upon us.

Just as the world around us

fills our ears with chatter

and the Internet produces 

so much noise of competing ideas,

and vitriolic disagreement, 

so are the eyes of our souls

dazzled with the world's claim

on our attention

with false light.

Indeed,

it is the light that dazzles

precisely so that we 

are prevented from seeing the truth.

A dazzling light

is useless

because it stops us from seeing,

and that defeats its purpose.

As we gaze at a dawn

surrounded by the light

of streetlights

which focus us on the street below, 

we miss the emergence

of the greater day.

If we truly want to see the dawn

then we have to find somewhere remote

away from dazzling lights.

It means that 

we have to switch off

the light of the world.

But if we do that 

we find ourselves plunged into darkness.

And darkness makes us uncomfortable. 

But,

once our eyes have 

got used to the darkness,

then we can watch the true dawn arise.

[PAUSE]

This is why

the Church often makes

the day before major festivals

days of fasting.

This is why we fast before Mass. 

This is why Lent and Advent

are days of fasting and silence.

If we truly want to see

the Light of Christ 

dawn in our lives,

then we must darken

our lives and souls

from all that dazzles us,

distracts us

distorts us,

discombobulates us.

We can turn off the television 

unplug the router,

close the curtains, 

and pray in silence. 

[PAUSE]

And there in the silence

of our prayer

we see the dawn

as the Magi approach Bethlehem

as St John Baptist prepares

for a day baptising

and as a bride and groom

start to prepare for their wedding.

In the silence of our prayer

we watch the glow of God's revelation

of Himself 

to each one of us,

showing us

that He lives

that He loves us

and that He wants us

to know Him

and enter His Kingdom

where there is no darkness

nor dazzling but one equal light.