Catholic parish’s Anglican roots illuminate Candlemas

Father Jonathan Erdman celebrated the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord at Our Lady and St. John Church on Feb. 2. (Record Photo by Olivia Castlen)

During Sunday Mass on Feb. 2, parishioners of Our Lady and St. John Church carried blessed candles that flickered as they walked in procession. The choral music from the choir loft, fragrant incense and the twinkling of still-lit Christmas trees enveloped the senses. 

For Our Lady and St. John, a Catholic community primarily composed of former Anglicans, the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, commonly known as Candlemas, has a rich liturgical tradition.

Falling 40 days after Christmas, Candlemas marks “the last of the infancy stories of Christ,” and is traditionally viewed as the end of the Christmas season, said Father Jonathan Erdman, pastor of Our Lady and St. John and St. Francis of Assisi Church, where Our Lady and St. John worships.

Altar servers held candles and assisted with the thurible during the Candlemas Mass at Our Lady and St. John on Feb. 2. (Record Photo by Olivia Castlen)

“God comes to us in the ways we experience the world — through sight, through touch. The liturgy engages us — body and soul,” he said in an interview following the Candlemas liturgy.

Our Lady and St. John is a Roman Catholic Church belonging to the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter — a diocese-like structure created by the Vatican for those from the English-Anglican tradition. The church follows the Ordinariate Form of the Roman Rite and uses Divine Worship: the Missal, promulgated by Pope Francis, said Father Erdman.

The Ordinariate was a “wonderfully gracious gift offered to the church through Pope Benedict XVI” in 2012, said Father Erdman. 

“It takes all the good of what is experienced in our previous (Anglican) tradition, that drew us to the church, and brings it with us as we come into the fullness of the church,” he said. 

In the Ordinariate liturgy for Candlemas, the congregation held lit candles at three different times during Mass — before the procession, before the Gospel and for the Eucharistic prayer. 

Several other parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville celebrated Candlemas this year, though they likely only lit candles for the procession if their celebration included one.

The candles are meant to remind the faithful of the “moment where Christ, the light, was brought into the temple,” Father Erdman explained in an interview. 

The Duvall family — Rebecca Duvall, right, Alexander Duvall, left, and their child — held candles during the Candlemas liturgy at Our Lady and St. John Church on Feb. 2. (Record Photo by Olivia Castlen)

The candles were lit again for the Gospel and the Eucharistic prayer to “signify Christ spoken (in the Word) and Christ in (the) sacrament,” he said. 

Mass at Our Lady and St. John differs from a typical Sunday Mass in other ways, too. Mass pamphlets are provided for each liturgy to help visitors know “when to sit, when to stand and what to say,” said Father Erdman. 

First-time attendees “would notice the language is going to be a bit different — there are a few more ‘thees’ and ‘thy’s,’ ” he said. “Our Mass is in ‘sacral English,’ an older style of English.”

“They would probably notice a few extra prayers: one at the beginning, before communion and in thanksgiving after communion,” said Father Erdman.

Mitch Smith, center, held a candle during Mass at Our Lady and St. John Church on Feb. 2. (Record Photo by Olivia Castlen)

“They might notice our music is from a specific tradition,” he added. “It draws on the Catholic life of England and the best of Anglican hymns. … We also do Anglican chant, a way of singing unmetered psalm or canticle in four-part harmony. It’s not unlikely that sometimes people from the congregation will sing the hymns in parts, not just the melody.”

Our Lady and St. John, which had 22 parishioners when it was established in 2017, has grown to 68 active families.

Among parishioners is Jack Spurlock, whose time in England led him to Our Lady and St. John. 

Baptized Catholic, Spurlock grew up going to various Protestant churches, he said in an interview Feb. 2. While living in England for a time, he enjoyed singing evensong — a sung service in the Anglican tradition.

Back in the U.S., he was brought back to Mass by a friend. Shortly after, he “fell in love with the community,” at Our Lady and St. John, he said. 

Father Jonathan Erdman, right, blessed candles during the Mass of the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord — also known as “Candlemas’ — at Our Lady and St. John Church on Feb. 2. (Record Photo by Olivia Castlen)

It was “the most familiar with me being associated with the Church of England,” he said. He has since received First Eucharist, reconciliation and confirmation through Our Lady and St. John and is involved in the liturgy as a singer and lector.

Father Erdman said, “Many of our people have come into full communion in the church from other Christian traditions, or have received the sacraments of initiation at our parish.” 

The wide variety of Protestant backgrounds allows “us to do evangelization in a specific way,” he said. “We have people who ‘speak the language’ and can talk about how they’ve come to the Catholic faith through that specific understanding of theology.” 

There’s a running joke in the community that “we have people that ‘speak Baptist,’ we have people that ‘speak Anglican,’ ” he said. “There is a place for all of us in the Catholic Church.”

But, the “rich community life” and “our way of ‘being church’ ” also plays a part, he said. “After every Mass, we have time for people to gather. Once a month, we have a potluck. The smaller size of the community makes it able to make friendships easily.”

Olivia Castlen
Written By
Olivia Castlen
More from Olivia Castlen
NET missionaries minister to youth in archdiocese
The power of the Holy Spirit is apparent in the life and...
Read More
Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *