De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

At Brentwood Cathedral over Lent this year, Fr. Martin Boland, Dean of Brentwood Cathedral, and one of Brentwood's best and brightest is indulging his personal fantasy to be Michael Parkinson by interviewing six priests about books which have influenced them in their spirituality. Fr. Martin (left) & Fr. Kevin. Last night, for his first interview, Fr. Martin spoke to my own Parish priest, Fr. Kevin Hale. I know Fr. Kevin well and feel very privileged to be a parishioner of Leigh-on-Sea for the last four or five years. Privileged largely because through his gentle ministering, I have found an ever deeper love of Christ and His Church. Being a parishioner at Leigh-on-Sea has taught me so much, largely through the example of a man who puts himself at the service of his flock in a way I have not experienced before. Because of Fr. Kevin, I have discovered the importance of time spent in prayer and reflection. I have been given opportunities to discover and understand the tru...

Brentwood Catholic Youth Service oversees Walsingham House , Brentwood Diocese’s Youth Retreat Centre, located on Canvey Island. The ethos of the House is based on the spirituality of Our Lady of Walsingham, whilst also recognising her role as the Star of the New Evangelization, the model disciple, and intercessor for souls like no other. The House is managed on a day-to-day basis by a permanent staff team and the Diocesan Youth Chaplain has oversight of the liturgical life of the House. The staff team invite young people aged between 18 and 25 from our diocese to volunteer to undertake a year of Discipleship and Mission in their on-going conversion to Jesus Christ and their growth in the saving truths of the Catholic faith. In turn they evangelise the young people who come on retreats from our Parishes as part of their Confirmation Programme and Schools as part of their Religious Education Curriculum. Every Tuesday the ‘volunteer disciples’ spend time in prayerful formati...

Sometimes I think I am too easily swayed by other's opinions. I suppose on the internet, people read your thoughts and like to say you are either "x" or "y". People like to pigeon hole people, to put them safely in the right box so they can predict what they'll do next, so they feel safe about what that person thinks on any given issue. I'm sure most of you have pigeon holed me a while back, unless you know me in person. If you do know me, you'll know I am a bit of a contradiction in terms. At least I have often been told that, and still am regularly. Part of this character trait is that my mind is fairly malleable in regard to knowledge. I tend to hold on to good ideas, tried and tested theories, yet always be prepared to test them, in case new information proves superior. I see this as a humble attitude. To use a fighting analogy, experience has taught me that, despite my being big, strong, and well trained, there are lots of people out ther...

This morning, Deacon Nick Donnelly announced on his blog the exciting news that a new Centre of Formation for the New Evangelisation has been established by some of the staff who recently resigned their positions at Maryvale in Birmingham.  Dr Petroc Willey, Dr Andrew Beards, and Dr Caroline Farey have embarked on a new adventure, calling their centre the School of the Annunciation . It is based in the grounds of Buckfast Abbey in Devon, thanks to the generosity and collaboration of the Abbot of Buckfast, the Rt. Rev. David Charlesworth and the monastic community. The School of the Annunciation will begin by offering a Diploma in the New Evangelisation as well as short Summer Schools which it is hoped will provide a unique opportunity to study the Catholic Faith in the beautiful setting of Buckfast Abbey, sharing the monastic community’s life and prayer over long summer weekends in August. I have to say it sounds idyllic! Deacon Nick himself is the Director of For...

From Rome Reports: Fr. Lombardi makes it explicit that no Cardinal supports changing Church doctrine, their concern is with how best to communicate Church teachings to the world:

TWO COWS ~{Matthias Varga} SOCIALISM You have 2 cows. You give one to your neighbour. COMMUNISM You have 2 cows. The State takes both and gives you some milk. FASCISM You have 2 cows. The State takes both and sells you some milk. NAZISM You have 2 cows. The State takes both and shoots you. BUREAUCRATISM You have 2 cows. The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then throws the milk away. TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income. ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND (VENTURE) CAPITALISM You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a...

I have often wondered why quite a lot of people at Mass hold their hands out like the priest during the Our Father. I've never heard anything about why it is done or what it means, so personally, I've never done it, since it is my habit to only do things for a reason and once I understand them. Today I came across this video from Fr. Paul Nicholson which I found really interesting because it is not simply remedial, it also explains where this practice comes from and gives some really useful history and context. Fr. Paul has a really gentle way of explaining things like this and really should be applauded for doing this. I would love to hear what you think of his explanation here. Should You Hold Out Your Hands During The Our Father?