New Blog

I will not be posting to this blog any longer. My new blog is Omnibus Sanctis.

Last Remnants

I think it is appropriate that I write this last post on "Remnant Anglican" on the feast day of St. Augustine of Canterbury (in the Roman Calender).

I am leaving the Episcopal church for the Roman Catholic Church.

After not going into Seminary as I planned last year, I was thankfully given more time to study and pray about my vocation in the Episcopal church. Part of my application to the Diocese of Quincy for postulancy included answering questions that really made me face who I am, what is my faith, what is "Church", and what am I called to be/do.

Who defines what being Anglican means? Presently everybody in the Church does... so in it we can find the Pagan and Atheist to the Reformed and Catholic. Having such opposing views continue in the Anglican Communion is untenable. The Anglican Communion is trying to work out these questions by writing a "Covenant" which they hope will more clearly define what "Anglican" means.

In my discernment for postulancy I realized that I would be willing to vow obedience to only 3 Bishops out of 110. This made me question the reasons why I chose to stay in the Episcopal Church. I didn't have any defensible answer.

Why the Roman Catholic Church? The Pope. (check out my new blog in a couple weeks.) Now I'm off to Chicago to find an apartment....

"[T]here are many other things which most properly can keep me in [the Catholic Church’s] bosom. The unanimity of peoples and nations keeps me here. Her authority, inaugurated in miracles, nourished by hope, augmented by love, and confirmed by her age, keeps me here. The succession of priests, from the very see of the apostle Peter, to whom the Lord, after his resurrection, gave the charge of feeding his sheep [John 21:15–17], up to the present episcopate, keeps me here. And last, the very name Catholic, which, not without reason, belongs to this Church alone, in the face of so many heretics, so much so that, although all heretics want to be called ‘Catholic,’ when a stranger inquires where the Catholic Church meets, none of the heretics would dare to point out his own basilica or house" (St. Augustine of Hippo: Against the Letter of Mani Called "The Foundation" 4:5 [A.D. 397]).

In my mind's loins

"Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ". [I Peter 1:13]

I expect there will be radio silence for a while.... I'm girding.

pax vobiscum

Interview with Bishop Ackerman

The Diocese of Quincy

Choice quotes:

"If I do something and it is not popular with the House of Bishops than its disobedient. If they [revisionists] do something and they think its a rather good thing, even if its inconsistent with the Canons and the Lambeth conference then its prophetic."

"We are successfully [reversing] the creation story rather well; we are creating God in our own image and we are bringing chaos out of order."

biretta tip AnglicanTV

Reading List

A couple of months ago I asked Fr. Chad Jones to recommend some of his favorite books on Theology and Church History. In the interest of the common good I make this list avalable to everyone.

The Catholic Religion by Vernon Staley
The Christian Faith by CB Moss
An Introduction to the 39 Articles of the Church of England by EJ Bicknell
Anglicanism edited by More and Cross
The Apostolic Ministry edited by KE Kirk
The King’s Highway by George D Carleton
A History of the Church in England by JRH Moorman
The Shape of the Liturgy by Dom Gregory Dix
Eucharist by Louis Bouyer
The Early Liturgy by Joseph Jungmann
The Elements of the Spiritual Life by FP Harton
Theological Outlines by Francis J Hall
Dogmatic Theology (in 10 volumes) by Francis J Hall
The Gospel and the Catholic Church by Michael Ramsey
Faith and Practice by Frank E Wilson
Ye Are The Body by Bonnell Spencer, OHC
The Vision Glorious by Geoffrey Rowell
The Faith of the Early Fathers (in 3 volumes) edited by William A Jurgens
Merrily on High by Colin Stephenson
The Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary by Massey H Shepherd
The Christian Priest Today by Michael Ramsey
Ministerial Priesthood by RC Moberly
Liturgy and Worship edited by WK Lowther Clarke and Charles Harris
Corpus Christi by EL Mascall
Christ, the Christian, and the Church by EL Mascall
Anglicanism by Stephen Neill
Answer Me This by CB Moss
Doctrines of the Creed by Oliver C Quick
Christian Proficiency by Martin Thornton
English Spirituality by Marin Thornton
A History of the American Episcopal Church by William Wilson Manross
The Early Church by Henry Chadwick
The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition by Jaroslav Pelikan
Early Christian Doctrines by JND Kelly
Early Christian Creeds by JND Kelly
Anglican Catholic Faith and Practice by Mark Haverland
The First Seven Ecumenical Councils by Leo Donald Davis
The Study of Liturgy edited by C Jones, G Wainwright, and E Yarnold
The Anglican Spiritual Tradition by JRH Moorman
The Reformation by Owen Chadwick
The Stripping of the Altars by Eamon Duffy

Regression

When i was little before going to bed (especially after a fight in the house) to prevent nightmares i would try to focus on thoughts that were super schmaltzy and happy to counterbalance the all the bad. The best i could come up with at the time were Care Bears and My Little Ponies. Its not that i was a fan, i just knew they where cheesy and would hopefully do the trick. Later when i put my little bother to bed when he was upset i used to say "just think of Care Bears and My little ponies" ....i'm sure he thought i was nuts.... For some reason i thought about Care Bears tonight. So, it turns out i'm Tenderheart.

	Tenderheart Bear You are thinker, organizer, peacekeeper, and leader all in one. You have a power to command attention and people listen to you. However, you are often so concerned about not hurting others' feelings that you don't tell them what they need to hear and this gets you both into trouble. But you always have loyal friends to help you out.
Take the Which Care Bear Are You? Quiz!

Episcopal Church embraces death

Jeremiah 8:

1At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves:
2And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.
3And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.
4Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return?
5Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.
6I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.
7Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.
8How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.
9The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?
10Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
11For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
12Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
13I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.
14Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.
15We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!
16The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein.
17For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD.
18When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.
19Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the LORD in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?
20The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.
21For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.
22Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

[see here]

Discernment Update

I was recently reminded how impersonal my entries have been of late, so I thought I should give you an update of my discernment.

Last month I finally finished the application for Postulancy in the Diocese of Quincy, Illinois (including psychological exam, physical exam, and a paper on my faith journey and biography.) The most difficult part of the paper was writing about my faith journey (including significant events, persons, and things that have influenced how I see myself as a person of faith), under 2000 words. I find it easier to write with pen and paper than with a computer (yes, I’m that old fashion), so when I typed up what I had written I realized I had exceeded the 2000 word limit. After a couple rewrites I was able to edit it down within the limit. I have to admit that writing about where I have been and where I am going in my faith was very enlightening although at times excruciating. I really dislike writing about myself. I can only hope I was successful. I tried to be as concise and honest as possible. And I had Greg reread and edit any of my incoherent blabbering. The best part of the application was answering the question “What are the major differences between a lay person and an ordained person?” Since this was more of a theological question it was much more enjoyable researching and answering this question.

I recently talked to the Diocese, they want me to reapply to Nashotah House and make sure I will be able to get in before I continue the process of Postulancy. This will require money. The main reason I was unable to attend last year was because I didn’t have the money or support to pay for it.

As a “refugee” aspirant from a heterodox diocese (Maryland) to an orthodox one (Quincy) I lose some of the support I may have gotten from my home diocese. Nashotah House will cost $81,000 for 3 years of study required to get a Masters of Divinity. An unattainable amount if I was left to my own devices.

So, this is what I’ll be working on next. I will need at least $17,000 to start the first year of seminary. I’m going to be writing as many people/churches that I think will be willing to give me support. If it is God’s will for me to get that support I’ll start seminary in this fall.

Catholic Quiz

You scored as Traditional Catholic. You look at the great piety and holiness of the Church before the Second Vatican Council and the decay of belief and practice since then, and see that much of the decline is due to failed reforms based on the "Spirit of the Council". You regret the loss of vast numbers of Religious and Ordained clergy and the widely diverging celebrations of the Mass of Pope Paul VI, which often don't even seem to be Catholic anymore. You are helping to rebuild this past culture in one of the many new Traditional Latin Mass communities or attend Eastern Catholic Divine Liturgy [if you only knew, I'm an Anglican]. You seek refuge from the world of pornography, recreational drugs, violence, and materialism. You are an articulate, confident, committed, and intelligent Catholic. [gee thanks]

But do you support legitimate reform of the Church, and are you willing to submit to the directives of the Second Vatican Council? [Uhm, No] Will you cooperate responsibly with others who are not part of the Traditional community? [Maybe... if they convert]

Traditional Catholic		95%
Radical Catholic		88%
New Catholic		79%
Evangelical Catholic		62%
Neo-Conservative Catholic		43%
Liberal Catholic		12%
Lukewarm Catholic		0%

What is your style of American Catholicism?

[biretta tip: All too Common]

Novena to the Holy Spirit

Please pray for the Primates meeting in Tanzania Feb. 12-19.

On The Care And Feeding Of Seminarians

Read about it here.

(St. Lawrence patron of Seminarians)