William Oddie on the “reappropriation” of Anglican liturgy

“The patrimony these Anglican converts are bringing with them derives from Catholic sources that we have lost or at least temporarily mislaid.”

Over at the UK’s Catholic Herald, William Oddie has a moving reflection on how, as a result of Anglicanorum Coetibus, the beauty of traditional Anglican spirituality is returning to the Church in which it had its origins – the Church of Rome.

An excerpt:

Catholics sometimes used to say to me (indeed, Cardinal Hume once said it) that when Anglicans become Catholics, they bring their Anglicanism with them. Not on your life, I thought, grinding my teeth; Anglicanism and the whole Anglican mentality is something I want to leave well behind me. Well, I was dead right about a good deal of it, certainly, maybe most particularly the secessionist, anti-Roman, anti-sacramental and anti-Marian bits: all the betrayals of the Mediaeval ecclesia anglicana. But when I left the Church of England, I grimly turned my back also on some priceless treasures. Now I have been given them back without even asking for them. And by whom? Why, by the Pope of Rome himself. It is all strange, passing strange. Truly, God moves in a mysterious and wondrous way: Praise be to God.

Read the whole thing here.


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About Catherine Harmon 578 Articles
Catherine Harmon works in the marketing department for Ignatius Press.