For the nine days of the Called to be Holy Novena, the Ordinariate has made a selection from the many holy men and women who form part of the heritage of English Christianity. We published versions of the short daily office which was provided.

Some of our spiritual writers come from before the divisions of the 16th century, and some from the Church of England after it had been separated from communion with the See of Rome. Our patron Blessed John Henry Newman began his life, like many of us, within the Church of England but by God’s grace was led into the fullness of communion in the worldwide Church. Some of the extracts selected will be very familiar, others less so. The Collects are our own composition, with the exception of that for Blessed John Henry Newman which is his own much-loved ‘O Lord, support us … ’. They are an attempt to use the form of the English Collect which has a particular resonance among Anglicans, and to include words and images from the particular writer.

The daily provision of the Novena booklet which is presented on the Called to be Holy website may be used in many different ways. Some will pray it formally, using the Short Office provided on the inside front and back covers. Others may wish to incorporate the material into their own daily prayers, or at the end of the Divine Office. Some will carry the booklet with them, to read on the bus to work or during their lunch break. We hope that we shall all be inspired by our great tradition of English spiritual writers across the centuries.

Antonia Lynn and Scott Anderson

The nine spiritual writings over the nine days of the Novena are from

  • The Dream of the Rood, one of the earliest works of Old English literature, probably of Eighth Century origin by an unknown author
  • Hilda and Cædmon of Whitby
  • The Cloude of Unknowynge, another anonymous mystic text, written in Middle English around 1370
  • Julian of Norwich, the fourteenth centry anchorite who wrote Revelations of Divine Love
  • Lancelot Andrewes, successively Bishop of Chichester, Ely and Winchester and principal compiler of the Authorised Version of 1611
  • Thomas Ken, a non-juror who refused to compromise for King James II and then William & Mary
  • John Henry Newman, once an Anglican priest, latterly a Cardinal, patron of the Ordinariate and declared Blessed in 2010
  • Evelyn Underhill, who sought to popularise an orthodox Christian approach to the spiritual world
  • Michael Ramsey, 100th Archbishop of Canterbury, a man of deep spirituality and an acclaimed retreat conductor.

We will make available each day a short Office from the Novena booklet which can be prayed from this site — and even on the move, using our new mobile-friendly theme.

Evensong & Benediction

7:30pm on Thursday 14 May at S Agnes’ Church
followed by refreshments

Morning Prayer, Exposition, Video Presentation

from 9:00am on Saturday 23 May at S Agnes’ Church
Refreshments available; please bring lunch

Antonia Lynn is a former Anglican cleric who is now a Catholic lay person, most of whose time is spent giving spiritual direction, retreats, workshops, etc. and offering supervision as well as teaching on Ignatian spirituality. Fr Scott Anderson is a Catholic priest in the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. Both are members of the London (South) Ordinariate Group at the Church of the Most Precious Blood, London Bridge.