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Greetings in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord!
As we wind down the month of October, I am very much looking forward to November! My recent trip to the Ordinariate Clergy Assembly gave me much to be excited about that I want to share with you. Here's a brief summary of what happened at the Assembly:
* Lots of great fellowship with Bishop Lopes and my fellow priests and deacons.
* Ordination to the Priesthood of Fr Scott Wooten, assigned to St John Vianney in Cleburne, TX.
* Interesting conferences on business matters, Pastoral Care of the Sick and Dying, Sacramental Registers, how to prepare for the Bishop to visit, and Parish Pastoral Councils.
* And three exciting sessions on the new (as in about to be published!) Divine Office for the Ordinariate! This is our form of the Liturgy of the Hours - the daily public prayer of the whole Church, clergy and laity.
In November, Divine Worship: Daily Office will be available from Newman House Press. You will be able to find it on Amazon.com for purchase at around $30. We will make sure you know through Flocknote when the Office is in stock and ready for ordering.
Bishop Lopes gave a great talk on the theology of the Office. He said the Office is essential for the Sanctification of Time, for our participation in the Priestly Office of Christ, and an ongoing offering of Christ's own prayer: the eternal hymn of the Bridegroom to the Bride. We sanctify the world through our praying the Divine Office, the Song of the Redeemed (from the Book of Revelation). Our Vicar General, Fr Timothy Perkins, reviewed the rubrics of our Office with us, followed by Fr Charles Hough, IV, who gave us some great nuggets of wisdom on how to implement the Office in our parishes. Edmund Murray, Music Director at the Cathedral, led us in a chanting practicum, showing us all how easy it is to chant the Psalms and Canticles in different types of chant: Gregorian, Anglican, and Meinrad. Lastly, Fr Jason Catania spoke about how his parish, St Barnabas in Omaha, NE, has implemented a weekly Sunday Choral Evensong, with great practical tips and lessons learned.
Having tried to absorb all the wisdom from the Clergy Assembly, I am prayerfully considering how and when to start praying the Divine Office here at St Alban's. We have already been doing this on the First Sundays at Evensong. But we should pray together more often. How do we start doing this? First, we will have multiple opportunities for training in how to pray the Office at home and at church. This will be both catechetical and help me gauge interest. Then, we will look at creating daily and weekly routines of prayer. I encourage you to share your thoughts with me.
Keep praying, stay safe and stay well. May God Bless you, and may St Alban pray for you.
In Christ,
Fr. Nathan Davis
Parochial Administrator
