Worship
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‘In the worship and service of Almighty God, which Christ and His Apostles have left to us, we are vouchsafed means, both moral and mystical, of approaching God, and gradually learning to bear the sight of Him… We approach, and in spite of the darkness, our hands, or our head, or our brow, or our lips become, as it were, sensible of the contact of something more than earthly. We know not where we are, but we have been bathing in water, and a voice tells us that it is blood. Or we have a mark signed upon our foreheads, and it spake of Calvary. Or we recollect a hand laid upon our heads, and surely it had the print of nails in it, and resembled His who with a touch gave sight to the blind and raised the dead. Or we have been eating and drinking; and it was not a dream surely, that One fed us from His wounded side, and renewed our nature by the heavenly meat He gave. Thus in many ways He, who is Judge to us, prepares us to be judged,— He, who is to glorify us, prepares us to be glorified, that He may not take us unawares; but that when the voice of the Archangel sounds, and we are called to meet the Bridegroom, we may be ready’. ~ St John Henry Newman, ‘Worship, a Preparation for Christ’s Coming’, Parochial and Plain Sermons, Volume 5, Sermon 1 |
THE WORSHIP OF ALMIGHTY GOD lies at the heart of all that we do at St John Henry’s, Victoria. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered daily to the praise of his majesty, for the edification of the faithful, and the salvation of souls, with all due reverence and solemnity according to the liturgy of the personal ordinariates. Our Ordinariate Form of the Roman Rite, Divine Worship, approved by the Holy See, is rooted in the liturgical and spiritual patrimony of the English and Anglican traditions as found in the Use of Sarum, the various editions of the Book of Common Prayer, and the English and Anglican Missals.
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The heart of our parochial life is centred on the Sunday Mass, a rich and joyous celebration of the Lord’s saving mysteries, and the crown of our life together as a parish family. Sunday’s Solemn Mass is chanted, and is offered ad orientem at the high altar, enriched with incense, with the propers and ordinary of the Mass sung by the congregation and/or choir according to plainsong or polyphony, and concludes with the Angelus (Regina Coeli in Eastertide). We rejoice especially in the inclusion of the great corpus of traditional and theologically rich hymns of the Anglican, Methodist, and Catholic traditions within our Sunday and weekday Solemn Masses, which elevate and beautify our sacrificial offering to God. Mass is offered throughout the week at 9.30 am (10 am on Friday), and on most solemnities there is a Solemn Mass at 6.30 pm. Sunday and weekday Masses are followed by a time of fellowship over tea, coffee, biscuits, and other light refreshments. You are warmly invited to join us!
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Serving at the Altar
The Masses, celebrations of the Divine Office, and the Sacraments are well supported at St John Henry’s thanks to a very dedicated team of male altar servers who make up the Servers’ Guild which, on the Feast of St Stephen in 2021, became an affiliated branch of the Guild of St Stephen, a Catholic organisation of altar servers throughout the British Commonwealth, founded in England in 1904. More information on the Guild can be found here.
The Solemn Mass on Sundays and Solemnities utilises a Crucifer, Thurifer, two Torchbearers, two Acolytes, and a Master of Ceremonies. Servers also assist at weekday Low Masses, at Evensong, and Benediction. We also have two Instituted Acolytes of the Ordinariate, who assist with the administration of the Precious Blood, lead the Divine Office when required, and fulfil the role of Subdeacon at Solemn Masses with a deacon.
Regular training is given, practices are held regularly, and there are also rehearsals before major feasts, and before the celebrations of Christmas, Holy Week, and Easter. The Guild is a valuable fellowship and fraternity for boys and men, and new Servers are always welcome and encouraged to join. If you are interested in our Servers’ Guild, please contact our Master of Ceremonies, and visit our dedicated altar servers’ website here.
The Solemn Mass on Sundays and Solemnities utilises a Crucifer, Thurifer, two Torchbearers, two Acolytes, and a Master of Ceremonies. Servers also assist at weekday Low Masses, at Evensong, and Benediction. We also have two Instituted Acolytes of the Ordinariate, who assist with the administration of the Precious Blood, lead the Divine Office when required, and fulfil the role of Subdeacon at Solemn Masses with a deacon.
Regular training is given, practices are held regularly, and there are also rehearsals before major feasts, and before the celebrations of Christmas, Holy Week, and Easter. The Guild is a valuable fellowship and fraternity for boys and men, and new Servers are always welcome and encouraged to join. If you are interested in our Servers’ Guild, please contact our Master of Ceremonies, and visit our dedicated altar servers’ website here.
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Sacred Liturgy
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On Advent Sunday 2015 the parishes and communities of the ordinariates worldwide began using the newly-approved and promulgated missal, Divine Worship. These texts provide for the celebration of Mass in conformity with the Roman Rite and maintain the sacral register and shape of the prayers, propers, and chants of the Anglican liturgical tradition, now re-integrated into the fulness of Catholic worship. Please see the FAQs on the adjacent image for further information and background on our liturgy. Copies of the missal (altar, study, and Sunday editions) can be purchased from the Catholic Truth Society. Please click on the pictures (links) below.
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The interim Order of Mass was introduced in London on 10 October 2013 at a Votive Mass in honour of Blessed John Henry Newman. The homily preached at that Mass, by Mgr Andrew Burnham, can be found here. Ahead of the publication of Divine Worship: The Missal, Archbishop Augustine Di Noia OP, Assistant Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, addressed the clergy and faithful of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham at an Ordinariate Festival on Saturday 19 September 2015. He spoke on the unique liturgical provision of the Ordinariate, which can be heard by clicking on the picture.
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The ordinariates also possess liturgical provision for the celebration of Holy Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Matrimony, and Funerals. Divine Worship: Occasional Services was the first liturgical book approved for the ordinariates, and uses texts adapted from the Book of Common Prayer. Divine Worship: Pastoral Care of the Sick and Dying, has also recently been authorised, and is available for pre-order. These volumes may be purchased from the Catholic Truth Society by clicking on the pictures (links).
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OrdoThe Order for Mass and Offices in the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter for the 2022-2023 liturgical year can be accessed by clicking on the link to the left, or is available for purchase here. The Ordo contains the liturgical calendar particular to our Ordinariate, and contains the approved derivations for the Canadian deanery.
Holy Days of ObligationFor members of the Ordinariate in Canada, these are, in addition to every Sunday:
Christmas (25 December) Mary, the Holy Mother of God (1 January) Ascension Day Assumption of the BVM (15 August) All Saints Day (1 November) |
Special days in the life of the Ordinariate are: 1 January (Anniversary of the Erection of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter, 1 January 2012), 2 February (Anniversary of the Episcopal Ordination of the Most Revd Steven Lopes, first Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter, 2 February 2016), 14 February (Anniversary of the Dedication of the Cathedral Church of Our Lady of Walsingham, 14 February 2004), 22 February (Chair of St Peter, Apostle, Solemnity of Title of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter), 19 March (St Jospeh, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Patron of Canada), 27 May (St Augustine of Canterbury, Anniversary of the Decree of Promulgation of Divine Worship: The Missal, 27 May 2015), 24 September (Our Lady of Walsingham, Patronal Feast of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter), 4 November (Anniversary of the Promulgation of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus, 4 November 2009).
Divine Office & Prayer
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Divine Worship: Daily Office (North American Edition) is the official office book for the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter. It contains Morning and Evening Prayer, the day offices, psalmody, collects, prayers, and other material to enrich the daily life of prayer for Ordinariate clergy and faithful alike. The book is published by Newman House Press and can be ordered here.
Divine Worship: Daily Office (Commonwealth Edition) is the official office book for the Personal Ordinariates of Our Lady of Walsingham and Our Lady of the Southern Cross. It may also be used in Canada. The book contains the complete Lessons for Morning and Evening Prayer (RSV Second Catholic Edition), following the 1961 Lectionary where Isaiah is read in Advent, Genesis from Septuagesima, and Lamentations in Holy Week. Together with optional office hymns, antiphons, and other texts, the ‘bookends’ of Mattins and Evensong are also enriched by the provision of the Lesser Hours of Prime, Terce, Sext, None, and Compline. The book may ordered from the Catholic Truth Society here. This is the book we use for the Offices at St John Henry’s. St Gregory’s Prayer Book, published jointly by all three Ordinariates, draws on the riches of the Anglican liturgical heritage and the exquisite Cranmerian language of the Book of Common Prayer to further enrich the panoply of Catholic liturgy and devotion. The text includes ancient English collects, introits, and hymns available together for the first time for the whole Church as approved examples of Catholic liturgy. In addition to the liturgical texts, classic translations of traditional prayers and devotions for use in the Church and in the home have been lovingly compiled and edited in St Gregory’s Prayer Book. The book is available for purchase by clicking on the picture to the right (link). |
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The January to June 2023 Ordo for the Offices at St John Henry’s can be found here.