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Clergy Events

Pastoral Practice Today [clergy webinars]

Pastoral Practice Today
[clergy webinars]

Thursdays @4pm GMT

Pastoral Practice Today is a series of webinars aimed at clergy. The series offers input on different themes relevant to today’s ministry in the Catholic Church and beyond, aiming to offer clergy professional, ongoing support for their ministry.

Webinars take place at 4pm GMT on the advertised Thursdays. Please register at the bottom of this page.

Legislation and Liturgy: Church- State relationships in the light of the pandemic
Thursday 18th March

Bishop John Keenan, of Paisley Diocese, Scotland, will offer an introduction to this webinar.

Lawyers from Alliance Defending Freedom International will then examine the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the government’s relationship with the Church. In particular, the issue of corporate worship and the administration of the sacraments stands at the heart of debate over religious rights and the government’s mandate to protect public health.

ADFI is a faith-based legal advocacy organization that protects fundamental freedoms and promotes the inherent dignity of all people.  ADFI has considerable international experience of religious and civil liberties legislation, and has assisted with several legal proceedings related to the current pandemic.

Post-Abortion Healing
Thursday 15th April

Rachel’s Vineyard has been offering a ministry of healing and support since 1994 to
those suffering from the trauma of abortion.

The presentation will include how to recognise symptoms of Post Abortion Syndrome, testimonies from those who have been through the trauma of abortion and found God’s mercy and healing
though Rachel’s Vineyard, plus input from a priest who is a chaplain to one of the teams in the UK.

A Crisis of Identity and Sexual Difference
Thursday 22nd July

The notion of identity is, today, one that is increasingly liquid and ultimately considered to be uncertain. This presentation will examine the roots of this crisis of identity. It will then consider the area of human sexuality (in terms of sexual and gender identity) as a particular expression of our identity and therefore in its relation to this crisis.

Rev. Dr. Alberto Frigero is a priest of the Diocese of Milan and Assistant Professor of Ethics of Life at the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences in Milan and lecturer of Religion at the Professional Training Center “In-Presa” in Carate Brianza, Italy. He graduated in Medicine and Surgery and obtained a Master in Integrative Neuroscience at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He obtained his Licentiate and Doctorate in Sacred Theology at the Pontifical Theological John Paul II Institute in Rome and Washington.

***Admission is free. We kindly request a donation to support the costs of our activities.***


Please register below:

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Events Talks

Lenten Monday Mysteries [prayer meetings]

Lenten Monday Mysteries
[prayer meetings]

22nd February- 22nd March @8pm

A short, weekly meditation on the Sorrowful Mysteries

A simple way of taking on some extra prayer for Lent!

Each meeting will focus on one of the Sorrowful Mysteries, and will consist of a passage from Scripture, followed by a meditation on the passage, and conclude with the praying of a decade of the rosary.

22nd February
Christ’s Agony in the Garden
1st March
Christ Scourged at the Pillar
8th March
Christ Crowned with Thorns
15th March
Christ Carries His Cross
22nd March
Christ is Crucified
Please register below:

Categories
Media Video

Thinking Christianity & Mental Health

Integrating Spirit, Mind & Body [mental health webinars]
#1 Thinking Christianity & Mental Health

***The talks are made available freely with the request for a donation to support our costs.***

Please donate here:



Building on the fundamental Christian vision of the human person as a unity of soul and body, Olivia Raw examines the healthy attitudes and mindsets that are promoted by Christian wisdom and spirituality.

About the speaker:

Olivia Raw is an accredited and registered psychotherapist, who currently works in private practice in central London.  She is also a Catholic Chaplain at University College London and SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies.) Olivia has worked with young people for over twenty years, and is also on the international board of the World Youth Alliance. She is a lay member of the Verbum Dei Missionary Family.

Other videos in the series:

#2 A Thinking Body, Embodied Minds

Categories
Blog Media

Lent: A Time of Preparation

17th February 2021

The CHC blog

Lent: A Time of Preparation

Stefan Kaminski
Sandro Botticelli, The Temptations of Christ
When God became man, He humbled Himself by taking on a nature (that of the human being) within which change is necessary. He put aside the glory of His eternal perfection, and entered a state that, whilst natural to us, is not natural to God; a state in which He had to grow, progress in maturity and wisdom, and toil towards the accomplishment of a goal.
 
Every human being shares the common experience of existing in this mode of continual change and development, with its accompanying toil and strife. Christians though, are united by their striving, their willingness to undergo change, for eternal life. A Christian’s earthly life is one of actively working towards eternal life: the destiny that the Lord desires for every person, whether they realise it or not.
 
The possibility of our achieving eternal life was bought with Christ’s death. Christ’s very goal in taking on a human nature was the extreme suffering and tortuous death of crucifixion. In this sense, Christ can be said to be the only person who was born in order to die.
 
Lent, as it leads us towards the celebration of this great Mystery of our Redemption, is therefore especially a time for change. It is a time for proving our desire for Heaven by taking stock of our interior state and our exterior habits, and implementing practices that can help us to effect the changes that are needed.
 
The Church’s wisdom identifies three essential practices for spiritual growth: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Their principle aims are to increase our awareness of and desire for God, to help us gain greater mastery over ourselves, and to increase our detachment to material things. As such, Lenten practices most importantly are practices whose effects we should feel: practices that make a certain demand on us and so help us to achieve growth.
 
In the words of Pope St Clement I: “Let us fix our attention on the blood of Christ and recognise how precious it is to God his Father, since it was shed for our salvation and brought the grace of repentance to all the world… let us hasten towards the goal of peace, set before us from the beginning. Let us keep our eyes firmly fixed on the Father and Creator of the whole universe, and hold fast to his splendid and transcendent gifts of peace and all his blessings.”
Categories
Media Video

A Great Love Song

A Great Love Song

A Journey of Salvation: The Drama Displayed
#3 A Great Love Song

***The talks are made available freely with the request for a donation to support our costs.***

Please donate here:


A talk based on the Song of Songs: the great love song at the heart of the Bible. Following humanity’s distancing from God, the Old Testament tells the story of God’s loving approach to humanity, which is captured in the poetry of the Song of Songs.

About the speaker:

Fr John Hemer is a Mill Hill missionary who has worked in Pakistan, Kenya and Uganda, as well as the UK. He is a scripture scholar, specialising in the Old Testament, who has lectured and taught throughout his ministry.

Other videos in the series:

#1 In the Beginning

#2 The Naked Truth

#4 The Greatest Gift

#5 Signs of Passion

#6 The Life to Come

Categories
Blog Media

The Presentation of Jesus

2nd February 2021

The CHC blog

The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple

Stefan Kaminski
Candlemas? Presentation of the Lord? Purification of the Blessed Virgin? Mildly confused?
 
They’re all the same feast – today! Why the different names? And why “Purification”?
 
The Mosaic Law required a woman who had given birth to a male child to be purified in the Temple. She was considered unclean for 7 days after the birth, and had to await another 33 days before presenting herself in the temple.
 
This question of uncleanliness is often misunderstood as something negative though. The notion of “spiritual impurity” (as it’s translated) is defined by Chassidic teaching as an “absence of holiness”. It refers to a certain distance from the source of life: God Himself. Hence according to Jewish law, the highest magnitude of “uncleanliness” comes from touching a dead body, since death is the principal cause of distance from Life.
 
When it comes to the woman’s natural cycle of fertility, this brings a woman to a peak level of potential holiness, because she is potentially united to the Life-Giver in her ability to pro-create a human being. When a child is conceived, she takes part in a singular action of creation, which involves God Himself. Following that moment (whether actual or potential), the rest of the cycle is a “descent” from that higher state of holiness: a certain emptying or impurity. The ritual purification that follows (the ‘mikvah’) is then part of a cycle of preparing for the next “ascent”. There is a certain parallel with the six “mundane”, week days and the holy day of the Sabbath.
Girolamo Romanino, The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple
And so today we celebrate the day that Mary, forty days after the birth of Christ, went into the Temple to redeem her new-born Son and to be purified. The offering that was prescribed with this ritual was a lamb, or two turtle doves or pigeons if the lamb could not be afforded. Mary and Joseph presented two turtle-doves.
 
The celebration of this day spread out from Jerusalem, and is attested to in Antioch in 526 AD. It is not until the end of the 7th century AD that the procession with candles (not commonly celebrated any more) was added. The significance of the candles foreshadows their use at the Easter Vigil, commemorating the words of Simeon the High Priest, upon receiving the Child Jesus in the Temple:
 
“At last, all-powerful Master, give leave to your servant to go in peace, according to your promise. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all nations: the light to enlighten the Gentiles, and give glory to Israel, your people.”
Categories
Media Video

The Naked Truth

A Journey of Salvation: The Drama Displayed
#2 The Naked Truth

***The talks are made available freely with the request for a donation to support our costs.***

Please donate here:


The talk focuses on humanity’s first disobedience in Genesis 3, and the resulting experience of loss and shame, supported by an examination of Masaccio’s “The Expulsion”.

About the speaker:

Dr David Torevell is currently an Honorary Research Fellow at Leeds Trinity University, before which he taught Religion and Philosophy at Liverpool Hope University. Prior to that he spent eighteen years teaching in Catholic secondary schools. For more information about Dr Torevell, please click here.

Other videos in the series:

#1 In the Beginning

#3 A Great Love Song

#4 The Greatest Gift

#5 Signs of Passion

#6 The Life to Come

Categories
Media Video

In the Beginning

A Journey of Salvation: The Drama Displayed
#1 In the Beginning

***The talks are made available freely with the request for a donation to support our costs.***

Please donate here:


A reflection on Genesis 1 and 2, on the nature of God and of creation, and on man’s place within creation. Supported by an examination of Michelangelo’s series of frescoes on creation.

Question & Answer session following the talk

About the speaker:

Stefan Kaminski is the Director of The Christian Heritage Centre. He gained a licentiate from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute in Rome, specialising in theological anthropology. Prior to that, he studied for degrees in Philosophy and in Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome. He has worked in a wide variety of parishes and in schools, as a catechist and teacher.

Other videos in the series:

#2 The Naked Truth

#3 A Great Love Song

#4 The Greatest Gift

#5 Signs of Passion

#6 The Life to Come

Categories
Conferences Events

Integrating Spirit, Mind & Body [mental health webinars]

Integrating Spirit, Mind & Body
[webinars for mental
health professionals]

13th February & 13th March @10amGMT

Promoting mental health with Christian wisdom

Two webinars for mental health professionals seeking to unite their faith and practice

In partnership with

Integrating Spirit, Mind & Body is intended to offer a forum for Christian mental health professionals to learn from and support each other in their work.

Building on the fundamental Christian vision of the human person as a unity of soul and body, the two webinars will examine the relationship of soul and of body to mental health. Olivia Raw will examine the healthy attitudes and mindsets that are promoted by Christian wisdom and spirituality, and Elizabeth Corcoran will explore the benefits for mental health in caring for our body in a holistic manner.

Webinars take place at 10am GMT on Saturday 13the Feburary and Saturday 13th March. Please register at the bottom of this page for a link.

Olivia Raw
13th February - Thinking Christianity & Mental Health

Olivia Raw is an accredited and registered psychotherapist, who currently works in private practice in central London.  She is also a Catholic Chaplain at University College London and SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies.) Olivia has worked with young people for over twenty years, and is also on the international board of the World Youth Alliance. She is a lay member of the Verbum Dei Missionary Family.

Dr Elizabeth Corcoran
13th March - A Thinking Body, Embodied Minds

Dr Liz Corcoran has a passion for empowering people to restore their health through changing how they interact with their world. Through her own and family members’ struggles with health she was led to Functional Medicine. She graduated Royal Free University College London in 2005 and completed higher training in psychiatry. She has pursued further education with the Institute of Functional Medicine as a means to ‘come alongside’ her patients to help them make changes and improve their health. She also runs the only UK charity focused on medical research helping people with Down’s syndrome.

 

***Admission is free. We kindly request a donation to support the costs of our activities.***


Please register below:

 
Categories
Blog Media

Advent Antiphons: O Emmanuel

23rd December 2020

The CHC blog

23rd December - O Emmanuel

“O Immanuel, you are our king and our judge, the One whom the peoples await and their Saviour.
O come and save us, Lord our God.”

The final antiphon condenses the glory and might of the Lord, as announced by the previous antiphons, into the immanence of the human form. Emmanuel is the name given in prophecy by Isaiah to King Ahaz to describe the promised Messiah (Is 7:14). Meaning “God is with us,” it serves as a title that aptly describes the person of Jesus.

The references to “king” and “judge”, as well as the final invocation, “O come and save us”, are also drawn from one of Isaiah’s prophecies (33:22), which has as its theme the deliverance of Israel from its foes into the land of the King. The final “Lord our God” of the antiphon also emerges from a similar theme: it appears to refer to Isaiah 37:20, in which the prophet Ezekiel prays for deliverance from the siege of Jerusalem laid by the Assyrian King, Sennacherib, in 70BC.

So the meat of this antiphon expresses very succinctly a certain physical imagery of salvation, that of Israel and its earthly foes, whilst hinting at the hidden way – and thereby the real significance of salvation – in which God will save us.

This salvation is once again given its universal orientation by the phrase at the centre of the antiphon: “the One whom the peoples await and their Saviour.” Although the first part of this is a reference to the prophecy made by Jacob (who was renamed Israel) to his sons (Gn 49:10) regarding the Messiah who would emerge from Judah, the specific notion of a Saviour of all peoples is one that is more identifiable with the New Testament writings of St John and St Paul.

In this way, the final antiphon rounds off the three antiphons that form the acrostic for the word “ero” – “I will be”. The first four, which give “cras” (“tomorrow”), all referred explicitly to the Old Testament; whereas these latter three rely on the New Testament for their full meaning. As the 23rd December draws to a close and the Church waits expectantly for the birth of the Saviour at the next midnight, the last three antiphons have literally spelt out the immanent arrival of Christ, and drawn together the promises of the Old Testament with their fulfilment.

Listen to the O Emmanuel antiphon here

Stefan Kaminski

Director, The Christian Heritage Centre

How to support The Christian Heritage Centre at Stonyhurst The Christian Heritage Centre at Stonyhurst

is a registered charity, established to increase access by the Catholic community to the Stonyhurst Collections.

Images from the Collections are kindly reproduced by permission of the Society of Jesus and Stonyhurst College.

The Christian Heritage Centre at Stonyhurst has built Theodore House to enable visitors, scholars, parishes, schools and retreatants to deepen their Christian faith.

Further details of how to support the project or to book Theodore House are available from 01254 827329.