Our St Gilbert of Sempringham Ordinariate Prayer Group finally had our first Ordinariate Mass here in Dover in Tasmania. On Saturday night, Father John Joseph LEB celebrated his first solo Ordinariate Mass for the feast of Our Lady of the Southern Cross.
It was wondrous for me as a member of the Ordinariate and during the prayer of humble access I was overwhelmed with emotion and wept. It was the first time in many years I was able to attend an Ordinariate Mass.
Father John Joseph only became a priest a year ago and when he was last in Perth Monsignor Harry very kindly showed him the ropes of the Ordinariate Mass which he concelebrated with him.
The Mass was celebrated in a small chapel or prayer room here at the Beit Achim at St Joseph's Hidden Place the home of the Little Eucharistic Brothers of Divine Will. Father John Joseph also gave a insightful homily about Our Lady of the Southern Cross. He was assisted at the Mass by a visitor staying with us who had experience with the Ordinariate Mass. Another young man staying with us, who had never experienced it before, was very impressed with the reverence, language and holiness of the liturgy.
I am hoping that we will have another one on September 24 for the feast of Our Lady of Walsingham which is also the anniversary of my mother's death and strangely enough my mother's paternal ancestor came from northern Norfolk near Walsingham to Australia in 1843. My father who was named Gilbert died on the feast of St Gilbert of Sempringham and I originally was hoping to have earlier this year an Ordinariate Mass for his feast day but that didn't work out so hopefully that will happen next February in 2025.
During the Mass I lifted up my parents and all my deceased and living members of my family who were or are Anglican, which made the Mass very emotional for me. I needed that strength as the next morning, on the feast of Our Lady of the Southern Cross, news came that my sister Tamara (who is a devout Anglican) had a heart attack that morning and was waiting to be flown to Perth by the Royal Flying Doctor. It has been a very anxious time for all my family but I felt that Our Lady prepared me with the grace of having our first Ordinariate Mass.
Sadly I as usual, forgot to get anyone to take any photos but hopefully next time we will so I have shared above a photo from Father John Joseph's ordination to the priesthood last year in Hobart. Let us hope and pray that this small seed will grow in Tasmania in the near future.