A New Springtime of Christian Unity has arrived in the Church

The Holy Spirit
Photograph by Loci B. Lenar


Anglican Converts Send Easter Message of Hope for New Springtime in the Church - International - Catholic Online

The following excerpt is from Catholic Online:

By Randy Sly

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - Around 900 Anglicans, including 61 clergy, from England and Wales became Catholics this Easter in response to the invitation from Pope Benedict through what is commonly being called the Anglican Ordinariate.

It is a sign of things to come and the flowering of unity that has long been desired by many on both sides of the Anglican-Catholic chasm. Soon we will also receive word of a second wave - the Anglican Ordinariate in North America.

Read more: Anglican Converts Send Easter Message

Anglican Church in Canada says 'Yes' to Catholic Invitation

Anglican Church in Canada says 'Yes' to Catholic Invitation - International - Catholic Online

(The photograph and following excerpt is a wonderful example of various Christian denominations which are now coming into full communion with the Catholic Church.  It is certainly a clear sign of God's unfolding plan to move forward with Christian Unity.      -Loci B. Lenar)

By Randy Sly

St. John the Evangelist to Join the Anglican Ordinariate

"We accept, unreservedly and with humility and gratitude, the invitation of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church through the provisions of Anglicanorum Coetibus in a corporate manner. " (From the motion voted upon by the parish)

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - On November 21, 2010 the members of St. John the Evangelist parish in Calgary, Alberta, Canada voted 90 percent in favor of joining the Roman Catholic Church.

The vote ended a nearly nine-month period of exploration and discernment by the Rector and Vestry authorized at the Annual Parochial Meeting in February.

The preamble to the motion set before the parish stated, "On 16th February 1993 the Rector, Wardens and Vestry of the Parish of St John the Evangelist, Calgary adopted a Mission Statement which committed us to 'faithfulness to Scripture and Holy Tradition . . . based on traditional classical Anglicanism,' the faith of which was to be expressed in 'living traditional Anglo-Catholic Prayer Book worship.'

"While holding firm to these principles ever since, theological, ecclesiological and sacramental developments within the Anglican Communion over nearly forty years have led us, as a Parish, walking, in peace and in love, a different path from that of the Anglican Church of Canada as it now stands."

The motion stated, "We accept, unreservedly and with humility and gratitude, the invitation of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church through the provisions of Anglicanorum Coetibus in a corporate manner.

The Rector, Fr. Lee Kenyon, told the Calgary Herald that this was not a reactionary move. "We didn't vote to leave the Anglican Church of Canada," he stated. "We voted to accept the invitation of the Pope."

Kenyon, who is married and has two children, will be ordained as a Catholic priest through the Ordinariate.

Read More: Catholic Invitation

A Bridge is being Built for Christian Unity

Photograph by Loci B. Lenar

Anglican Ordinariate: 'We Don't Have to Swim the Tiber; A Bridge is being Built' - Living Faith - Home and Family - Catholic Online

The following excerpt is from Catholic Online:

By Deacon Keith Fournier

LONDON, UK (Catholic Online) - I received a response to an article we published on the "Becoming One" gathering of those coming into full communion through the Anglican Ordinariate in the United States. It was from an Anglican priest who identified himself as "Father Luke". He wrote, "I am still in san Antonio. I wait for the plane back to Reno. My EMC (Episcopal Missionary Church) parish has voted to enter the Ordinariate, and I am pleased to have gotten together with my fellow travelers here in San Antonio. We do not have to swim the Tiber; a bridge is being built."

The imagery is apropos. This historic overture toward Anglican Christians is prophetic. A bridge is indeed being built and Pilgrims are crossing over and coming home. The implications have only begun to be realized; not only within the Anglican and Episcopal world, but within the Catholic Church. I am convinced this a part of an unfolding movement of the Holy Spirit which is fostering restored communion between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches as well as the healing of the divisions occasioned by the Protestant reformation in the West. Pope Benedict XVI is the Pope of Christian Unity. We should not underestimate the significance of what is occurring in this pregnant moment in Church history.

I have followed the movement of Anglican Clergy and lay faithful toward the safe harbor that is found in the Bark of Peter and written extensively about it. I have grieved along with many Anglicans as their own Christian community was torn asunder by the rejection of both orthodoxy and orthopraxy. It is my conviction that the influx of these Anglican Christians into the full communion of the Catholic Church through the Anglican Ordinariate is a work of the Holy Spirit, a gift to the Catholic Church and marks the beginning of the coming full communion of the whole Church.

This is the beginning of a new chapter in Church history. Pope Benedict XVI is the "Pope of Christian Unity" and the new chapter has only just begun to be written as the Third Millennium begins.

Read More: Christian Unity

Has God's Timing Arrived for Church Wide Healing and Reconciliation?

Our Lady of Fatima - Blue Army Shrine, Washington, NJ
Photograph by Loci B. Lenar

Commentary by Loci B. Lenar

On October 10, 2010, Orthodox Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Volokolamsk is quoted as saying that "A Christian spring is just about to arrive. The 21st century will see the divisions between Christians healed and a rebirth of the faith, gift of God, just as it was preached by the Apostles and preserved by the Fathers."

(Read the complete news story on Catholic Online: Orthodox Archbishop Hilarion Predicts Christian Springtime, Healing of Divisions)

In reference to Orthodox Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev's statement, I believe God's timing has arrived to move forward with a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit for an upsurge of church wide evangelization. This will not be limited to Catholics and the Orthodox Church, but all Christian denominations as well. My testimony regarding the matter is posted on Christian-Miracles.com.

In the 1990's, I had a spiritual locution which I shared with my spiritual director, Father Richard Tartaglia of St. Mary's Church, (Denville, NJ) regarding God's plan to move forward in our millennium by building a bridge of peace and unity between people and cultures, including reconciliation amongst religious denominations.

I believe the events are beginning to unfold, while Our Lady of Fatima's Message regarding an era of peace will come to fruition.

A sign from heaven with my testimony on the matter can be read by visiting the following link: Tribute to King: Signs from God's Heavenly Kingdom