Advent IV: Reflecting in the darkness

The Advent Wreath                                                     Source: Church of England

"Advent marks the beginning of the church year. It is a time for reflection in darkness, for renewal of hope and for a movement towards a beginning." - Church of England Advent and Christmas

For many Anglicans the 'renewal of hope' has taken an unexpected turn. It truly is a time for 'reflection in darkness'. 

They have not lost their faith but they have lost their Church, abandoned by bishops who claim to be moved by the Holy Spirit but follow the spirit of the age, the Zeitgeist.

The clearest possible signal of the direction of the Church of England, as in the Church in Wales and other liberal Provinces,  has come from the Archbishop of York designate who believes that the Church should look to society rather than to scripture and tradition for guidance.

Consequently thousands of Anglicans have been left by their Church to reflect in darkness. Some have made the journey across the Tiber. For others that journey presents its own difficulties, particularly for disaffected Roman Catholics who found their spiritual home in the catholic and reformed Anglican Church.

Pray that the truth will be revealed. Pray for Gavin Ashenden who will be received into the Roman Catholic Church today, for those led astray by errant bishops and particularly for all those left reflecting in the darkness. 

Mixed messages

Bishop of Bangor Andy John prepares to deliver.                               Source: Twitter @BishopBangor

It is the time of year when bishops feel the need to send their personal messages to the declining flock that is the Church in Wales, their Christmas messages.

Hot out of the blocks was +Andy of Bangor who tweeted about his Christmas message preparations which he was building around thoughts of a White Christmas.

In his videod message +Andy speaks of Generosity, something conspicuously lacking in the bench of bishops unless you are in their club.

Next out was ♀ June of Llandaff praising the Emergency Services. They began their carol service in Llandaff Cathedral with "the familiar phrase, that the ‘people who walked in darkness have seen a great light’. " True but they have seen the light as shed by the bench and left in droves.

Following on ♀ Joanna of St Davids portrays the Son of God as an asylum seeker who 'began his life as a refugee', something she has been experimenting with by attempting to displace retired male clergy in her diocese.

Swansea and Brecon's ++ John picks up on the refugee theme (brownie point there for Joanna) when considering hush time, a period to recall "the vital importance of things like justice and truth, generosity and compassion, love and forgiveness" as taught by Jesus Christ but completely forgotten by the bishops of the the Church in Wales unless directed at their favoured minorities.

St Asaph's + Gregory opens his Christmas message with a reference to 'Aunty Maud' as he wonders "what messages you’re hoping to hear this Christmas....whether you need reassurance, comfort or hope." - see above!

Mixed messages have been coming out of the diocese of Monmouth for months. There is no Christmas message, just the Waiting.

Prepare the way before the people of the Lord.

The Church as the body of Christ.

Reflection in this season of Advent has led to hope, trust and despair. Despair that the Anglican church many of us have known and loved is departing from the Universal Church, trust in the unity offered through the Ordinariate, and hope that if that journey is made, it is steered in accordance with Christ's example alone.

I came across the above icon in a Blog while reflecting on the 'One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church'. At first I was encouraged by what I found in the opening statement:

  "Our Lord Jesus Christ, before his crucifixion, prayed to His heavenly Father asking that His disciples be one, just as He and His Father are one (John 17:20-23). This is the prayer of all true Christians. It is for this reason that we confess in our Creed that we believe “in One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church” in which we are saved."

Reading on led to despair. What followed was another story of division, the same division that disgraces the rest of the Universal Church furthering the cause of secularism by giving ammunition to detractors. 

In the past week I have found myself in discussions with people of various persuasions; atheist, Catholic and Anglican. In response to an atheist's question about the Holy Grail, a Catholic present explained about transubstantiation and appeared surprised by my agreement as if transubstantiation meant nothing to an Anglican. Then a traditionalist Anglo Catholic told me how he had been sidelined by the new wave of Anglicans in his church, showing no understanding of the catholic faith or reverence for the Sacrament. All this came in the wake of the controversy started by the Bishop of London about the new Roman Missal, commented on in the Catholic Herald by Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith and followed up by him with "Catholics are being deceived into attending non-Catholic services" when he wrote:

"If a Roman Catholic from France or Italy visits this unidentified church and sees that the Roman rite is seemingly in progress, they would not unnaturally assume that the church was a Roman Catholic Church, in communion with the Holy Father, wouldn’t they? But they would be mistaken. Such a church uses the Roman Missal, but is not a Roman Catholic church, and is not authorised to use the Roman Missal by the Bishop of the diocese (the Catholic bishop, I mean; the Anglican bishop has also forbidden it). Moreover the persons attempting to celebrate Mass are not recognised as priests by the Roman Catholic Church. In short, the visitor from France or Italy may see what looks like the Mass, but what is in fact not the Mass."

"Moreover the persons attempting to celebrate Mass are not recognised as priests by the Roman Catholic Church". Really? So what are non-Roman Catholics doing at the altar? 'Catholic' is not a trade mark belonging exclusively to the Roman Catholic Church. Like it or not, members of the Anglican church profess the same belief in one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. Also, the Orthodox Church claims to be the true church so who is to say that we are not partakers of the one bread? Priests who converted to Roman Catholicism have been know to comment that their former Anglican congregations often had more knowledge and understanding of the faith than many of the cradle Catholics in their new congregations who simply pop in to Mass and out again as quickly as possible, often on a Saturday evening thus avoiding any lengthy period of worship. I know many 'Catholics' who think nothing of going to an Anglican church to receive* the sacrament and I have seen Roman Catholic priests who, although they do not receive, cross themselves at the elevation.

As Christians united in baptism we all 'look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come'. Here and now in our own way, 'the people of the Lord' do as Jesus bade us unconstrained by earthly dogmas. Anglo Catholics do not kneel at the altar in vain. None of us knows the day or the hour but when the hour comes we can all say in good conscience, we received the Body and Blood of Christ by faith with thanksgiving. 


* Read an Anglican priest's experience on Fr Mervyn's Blog here.