Liturgical Guidelines for the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham

The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsinghma recently released their Guidelines for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

Here are some of the interesting points. First, from the section "Introduction and Norms":

"2. Rite One from the Book of Divine Worship may be used by clergy and faithful of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. Rite Two is not permitted for use by clergy and faithful of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham."

(For the sake of those who do not know, "rite one" is the hieratic English version, and "rite two" is a contemporary English version.)

"3. Liturgical celebrations should always take into account the desire of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus, for the maintenance of the traditions of the Anglican Communion within the Catholic Church (cf. AC III). This should be evident in all aspects of liturgical celebration, whether according to the Book of Divine Worship or the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite, not least in the choice of sacred music and vesture."

"5. Where the dynamic of the building allows it, the ancient practice of ad orientem celebration is commended.

"6. Where versus populum celebration of the sacred liturgy is necessary, the placing of a standing crucifix with the corpus turned towards the celebrant, in the centre of the altar, is commended."

"9. Where it is possible, Sundays, solemnities, and some feasts (e.g. Candlemas, Ash Wednesday, Annunciation, Visitation, Transfiguration, Holy Cross, Blessed John Henry Newman, All Souls) should be celebrated in a more solemn form, with the use of incense and music."

"10. The Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer I) is highly commended for use, not simply on Sundays or solemnities. This prayer is a particular sign of continuity with the Uses in force in the Church in England before the Reformation."

"12. The public and sung celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours according to the proper liturgical texts of the Personal Ordinariate, either before the celebration of Holy Mass or apart from Eucharistic celebrations, is commended."


From the section on "Sacred Music":

"15. The use of sacred music is integral to the celebration of the sacred liturgy. As such priority should be given to the liturgical texts as found in the liturgical books (cf. GIRM §48) and to the use of plainchant (cf. GIRM §41)"

"17. Well chosen hymns have a particular role in Anglican liturgical patrimony and in recent years have almost displaced the singing of the Propers. The Anglican Use Gradual, successor to the English Gradual, is a simple tool for the recovery of the singing of the Propers and is highly commended."