Ordinariate Holy Hours on February 22nd

The newly established Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham is encouraging participation in a Holy Hour on February 22nd, the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle, to reflect on the role of the Pope within the Church.

The Chair of St Peter
This chair is thought to have been given to the Popes in 875 by Charles the Bald
There is an article about the feast and the actual Chair from the Catholic Encyclopedia here.

Fr Keith Newton, the Ordinary, made this invitation in his column published by The Portal, an independent review of the ordinariate. He encouraged the organization of Holy Hours in parishes on February 22nd to pray about the Pontiff's role and to give thanks for the vision of Pope Benedict XVI "which has brought us to this point." He suggested that those groups planning to become members of the ordinariate "join with their Catholic brothers and sisters" on this day "to ask God's blessing on what lies ahead." He underlined the "tremendous privilege and responsibility" of setting up this first ordinariate as stipulated in "Anglicanorum Coetibus" and added "No doubt we will experience setbacks and difficulties over the next few weeks and months but we can be sure that many people are praying for us and that you will receive a warm welcome in the Catholic Church wherever you are."

This would seem to be a very good day on which to pray with and for the Ordinariate. Last year we had a very moving Holy Hour at the Oxford Oratory on the Feast of the Chair of Peter, and it helped establish those vital points of contact between the two communities. I hope that this year we can pray for the success of this initiative and help support the Ordinariate on its journey in Faith. I hope that reflection on the real and positive possibilities the Ordinariate offers will allay the misgivings I hear from some cradle Catholics, or long-standing converts about the scheme. I appreciate some of the points they make, but think that as they meet the individuals involved and learn more of their reasons they will be reassured.

Fr Tim Finigan has a related post about the impact of the Ordinariate on the Church which is well worth reading here.

Adapted, with my own comments added, from Zenit.