THE
P RTAL
January 2018
Page 9
Looking Back and Living
Forwards: An Invitation
Antonia Lynn seeks help from Ordinariate members
J anuary is
a time for looking to both the past and the future: as Kierkegaard said, life is lived
forwards but understood backwards. Those of us in the Ordinariate cannot look back without recalling in
gratitude Pope Benedict’s generous invitation in Anglicanorum Cœtibus, and how our response to it changed
our lives.
For some, the journey into the Catholic Church felt
like the Exodus: people travelling together, deepening
and sharing their experience of God’s love sustaining
them through the desert. If we go on from Exodus to
read Deuteronomy, we might be struck by the fact that
we’re reading part of the same account over again as
Moses keeps the people going by re-telling them their
story: “The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb… Has
anything so great as this ever happened?… You shall
also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the
land of Egypt.” Notice how the retelling of the story
leads first to deeper reverence and then to an ethical
imperative: looking back and living forwards!
Here, then, is the invitation: would you like to help
form a small group of Ordinariate members willing to
reflect on the process of becoming Catholic and share
their stories? The 2015 report Growing Up, Growing
Out tells us that “the laity had some wonderful stories
to tell about their faith” and “many wanted more
time to ‘just be’” in a safe space with others to explore
what being a Catholic really means now. This is an
opportunity for exactly that. The General Directory
for Catechesis speaks of “mystagogia”: the process by
which we are helped after our reception to “interiorise
[the] sacraments and incorporate [our]selves into the
community” - a lifelong process of transformation. I
am studying the notion of mystagogia as part of my
doctoral research, but I don’t want this to remain a
theoretical project: it is now time to learn alongside
others who have made a similar journey what this
actually means in terms of everyday Catholic life.
The group will meet nine times, probably at monthly
intervals (timing will be agreed by those involved, so
no firm decisions yet). We will all be co-researchers.
Part of each meeting will be a time of guided prayer and
reflection; the rest will be a time for open discussion
on what it is like to be an Ordinariate Catholic, and
what we need to help us grow in discipleship. The
record of this will, of course, be kept and the results
disseminated anonymously. This is not an exercise
in navel-gazing: the sharing of our own experiences
will enable us to help those who follow us into the
Church through the Ordinariate. Indeed, I hope we
might come up with some “treasure to share” with the
whole Church: resources for ongoing mystagogical
formation are scarce, although the RCIA repeatedly
states its importance. Monsignor Newton has given
this project his blessing, and is very keen to see how
it bears fruit.
Interested? Contact me - without any obligation - on
[email protected], and once a few people have
done so I shall arrange some introductory meetings
at times to suit you where I can explain more about
the process and you can help me plan the details. No
commitment will be asked of you at this stage. We
will meet in the London area, but if you are interested
and live further afield do please still get in touch: we
shall find ways of including you in the research. I look
forward to hearing from you.
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