THE
P RTAL
November 2012
Page 18
The Customary of
Our Lady of Walsingham
Daily Prayer for the Ordinariate
Will Burton looks at the new Customary
As an
Anglican I, along with many others, rarely used Anglican devotional
material. The Church I attended was a “Roman Rite” Parish. We spurned Anglican
material for fear of liberal or Calvinist contamination. However, now we are
members of the Ordinariate the position is totally different.
As Anglicans we obeyed the rules from choice,
because the rules we obeyed were Catholic rules. We
chose to obey them. Now we are in full communion
with the Catholic Church, we obey the rules because
good Catholics obey the teaching of the Church.
Rebels no longer, we are Catholics, and we obey the
rules of the Catholic Church.
to us. The offer is to join the Ordinariate - united yet
not absorbed. If we spurn the Holy Father’s generosity
and, in effect, become Diocesan Catholics, we shall
have failed Benedict XVI and his prophetic vision.
The Customary bridges that most difficult of gulfs
between the Anglican and the Catholic. It unites these
two traditions, yet makes important distinctions. The
It was with great interest then, that I opened my copy Divine Office is the Prayer Book one of Morning and
of the new Customary of Our Lady of Walsingham , with Evening Prayer shape, augmented by Prayer through
the sub-title Daily Prayer for the Ordinariate. It arrived the Day and a beautifully traditional Compline. The
last month. It is the Prayer Book of the Ordinariate.
Litany will be familiar to users of the 1662 Prayer
Book, and the Calendar is specific to the Ordinariate,
Published under the Imprimatur of the Ordinary, with many particularly British Saints.
Mgr Keith Newton, the book contains the Calendar,
the Divine Office with traditional Office hymns,
In the future there will be a Eucharistic Rite for the
Litany, together with material for times and seasons Ordinariate, also in traditional language. For the time
including saints and holy days, with an Introduction being we have this book. It is good, although there
by Mgr Andrew Burnham
are one or two glaring mistakes.
and Dr Aidan Nichols OP. The
Nevertheless, the compilers
language is traditional (thee and
are to be congratulated on its
thou) the feel is in accordance
production. The mistakes may
with our Anglican patrimony
be corrected if it is re-printed
and the psalms are in the beloved
or if there is a second edition. I
Coverdale translation. But the
have used it every day since its
gem of the book is the series of
publication and see no reason why
hagiographical readings for the
this should not continue. It fulfils
saints and holy days.
the Holy Father’s wish - truly
Catholic and also distinctively
There will be those who prefer
Anglican. After all this project of
the Roman Divine Office, but
the Ordinariate is an Ecumenical
as members of the Ordinariate,
one. We must never forget that.
we have a loyalty to uphold.
Finally you may purchase the
This is our book. It is true that
Customary on-line through
most of us would never have
Amazon for £39.93 - click on
thought of using it when we were
BOOKS on T he P ortal website -
Anglicans. However, now we are
www.portalmag.co.uk/books.html
Catholics and the Holy Father
has made this wonderful offer