Archive for February, 2014

Choosing life after not choosing death

Filed in Ethics by on February 28, 2014 1 Comment
Choosing life after not choosing death

There is a good article on Albert Camus over at the First Things website. Camus famously said that the fundamental question of our age was suicide. He thought that to live honestly, one had to […]

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Forming intentional disciples

Filed in Catholic by on February 28, 2014 17 Comments
Forming intentional disciples

I’m re-reading Forming Intentional Disciples, people… Yes, in fact, I think I could read it three or four times. You might want to revisit with me some of the key points, because often we can […]

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The radical call to love without limits

Filed in Relationships by on February 26, 2014 1 Comment
The radical call to love without limits

Most of our relationships have some kind of calculation involved: with colleagues, with friends, even within a family. There is a give and take; an agreement – implicit or explicit – that I will be […]

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The Wellspring Community is seeking new members for its Formation and Mission house from this coming summer

Filed in News by on February 26, 2014 0 Comments
The Wellspring Community is seeking new members for its Formation and Mission house from this coming summer

Seeking a gap year experience? Interested in living with other young Catholics in community? Wanting to grow in your faith? Keen to discover and deepen prayer? Seeking opportunities for service and mission? The Wellspring Community […]

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Can you love someone with words alone? From Walt Disney to God’s touch in the sacraments

Filed in Arts by on February 26, 2014 3 Comments
Can you love someone with words alone? From Walt Disney to God’s touch in the sacraments

I have just seen two great films in twenty four hours: Her, a dystopian sci-fi vision of a very near future, and Disney’s Frozen, which goes into my top three films of the year. Very […]

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Brentwood Cathedral Lenten Lectures 2014

Filed in News by on February 24, 2014 0 Comments
Brentwood Cathedral Lenten Lectures 2014

Continuing the highly successful series of Lenten Lectures instituted in 2011, the theme this year will be The Cost of Discipleship – Four reflections on the nature, joys and challenges of Christian discipleship Wednesday 12 March Paying a Price […]

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Desert Island Priests at Brentwood Cathedral

Filed in Spirituality by on February 24, 2014 0 Comments
Desert Island Priests at Brentwood Cathedral

In this series of interviews Fr Martin Boland will be speaking to six priests of the Brentwood Diocese about books which have influenced them in their spiritual journey. Thursday 6 March Fr Kevin Hale (Leigh-on-Sea) .. Journal […]

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In biggest reform yet, Pope Francis names Cardinal Pell to new ‘Economy Secretariat’

Filed in News by on February 24, 2014 1 Comment
In biggest reform yet, Pope Francis names Cardinal Pell to new ‘Economy Secretariat’

Pope Francis has announced the biggest shake-up in Vatican administration for years by creating a new Secretariat for the Economy which will have oversight of all economic and administrative activities within the Holy See and the […]

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Archbishop Vincent Nichols becomes a cardinal

Filed in News by on February 22, 2014 3 Comments
Archbishop Vincent Nichols becomes a cardinal

In his first ordinary public Consistory, Pope Francis elevated 19 of the Church’s prelates to the rank of Cardinal – including Cardinal Vincent Nichols, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. At […]

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The vocation to love, part 2: the baptismal call to be priests, prophets and kings

Filed in Work by on February 21, 2014 0 Comments
The vocation to love, part 2: the baptismal call to be priests, prophets and kings

From time to time you hear a Christian of another denomination say, ‘He’s going into the Church’. That means, ‘He is training to become a priest.’ It wouldn’t fit very well as a Catholic turn […]

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‘A Tale of Two Sausages’ – a talk by Simone Lia

Filed in Arts by on February 18, 2014 0 Comments
‘A Tale of Two Sausages’ – a talk by Simone Lia

‘A Tale of Two Sausages’ – 7pm Thursday 20th February A talk by Catholic comic book artist and illustrator Simone Lia – author of “Please God, Find Me a Husband!”  Be inspired, feel motivated and have […]

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‘Please God, find me a husband!’ A graphic novel about life, love and faith (and searching for a husband!) by Simone Lia

Filed in Relationships by on February 18, 2014 1 Comment
‘Please God, find me a husband!’ A graphic novel about life, love and faith (and searching for a husband!) by Simone Lia

I can’t say I have read many graphic novels, but this is an extraordinary book. It tells the tale, as you would expect from the title, of Simone Lia’s search for a husband, and her […]

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What if the person you love doesn’t have a body?

Filed in Science by on February 18, 2014 1 Comment
What if the person you love doesn’t have a body?

Her, the new film by Spike Jonze, is a beautiful meditation on love, friendship, artificial intelligence, regret, virtual reality, surrogacy, time, gaming, grief, embodiment, self-creation, community, and the only half-acknowledged weirdness of falling in love […]

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The vocation to love, part 1: an invitation

Filed in Spirituality by on February 17, 2014 6 Comments
The vocation to love, part 1: an invitation

What is the best-kept secret of the Second Vatican Council? Many of the Council’s radical ideas are now so integrated into our lives that we forget how new they were. But some of its riches […]

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The role of the media in constructing distorted views of ‘ideal’ beauty

Filed in Media by on February 17, 2014 0 Comments
The role of the media in constructing distorted views of ‘ideal’ beauty

Following on from yesterday’s post about beauty, a reader recommended this ‘Killing Us Softly’ video featuring Jean Kilbourne, about the way the media manipulates images of women and presents a distorted and actually destructive picture […]

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Are you beautiful? How do you know? Who makes the rules? Who tells the truth?

Filed in Media by on February 16, 2014 5 Comments
Are you beautiful? How do you know? Who makes the rules? Who tells the truth?

I heard a talk on Saturday about the biblical idea of beauty, and how distorted our own ideas of beauty have become within the prevailing culture. As an introduction, the speaker showed this ‘Onslaught’ video […]

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How to discover your vocation

Filed in Work by on February 14, 2014 2 Comments
How to discover your vocation

Practical thoughts about how to discover your vocation, how to be open to God’s call in your life, and what you can do in your prayer life to help you on the journey. A homily […]

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St Valentine: true love always requires sacrifice

Filed in Relationships by on February 14, 2014 0 Comments
St Valentine: true love always requires sacrifice

History has it that Valentine was a priest in Rome around the time of the third Century. Along with his friend St Marius and his family he assisted the martyrs who were being persecuted under […]

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The difficulty of communicating the inner experience of faith

Filed in Spirituality by on February 13, 2014 2 Comments
The difficulty of communicating the inner experience of faith

Is it possible to communicate the inner experience of faith? Take a look at this article by David Brook’s of the New York Times. There is a strong vein of hostility against orthodox religious believers […]

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How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk

Filed in Family by on February 12, 2014 1 Comment
How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk

[Guest post by Rosemary Boyle] I have read various ‘parenting’ books, most of which didn’t really help.  Now that the youngest of my 4 children is 17 and my oldest 26, I have discovered the […]

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