The Christian Heritage Centre

The Christian Heritage Centre

Theodore House

Menu
EVENTS

Tag: St John Henry Newman

Categories
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
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
Conferences Events

Set Free Summit [online series]

Set Free Summit
for Young Adults
[online series]

7 February-14th March @4pm

Discover the Mystery of Human Love

An online course for Young Adults aged 18-30, exploring relationships and human sexuality.

In partnership with

The Set Free Summit is an initiative of ICPE Mission. Bringing together speakers from around the globe, it offers young adults an opportunity to explore the theme of relationships and human sexuality in the light of St Pope John Paul II’s rich teachings.

The Summit consists of six sessions held online. Each session consists of a 30-minute video presentation by one of the engaging and expert speakers. This is followed by a time for discussion and sharing in small groups, mediated by one of the ICPE Mission – CHC team. A final Q&A and closing prayer as a single group rounds off each session.

We invite you to sign up and join other young adults from around the UK and beyond, to engage with our fantastic speakers on the topics below. Sign up individually and join as a group.

Takes place from 4 – 5:30pm on Sundays, beginning 7th February through till 14th March. Please register at the bottom of this page for a link.

Brian Butler
7th February - Introduction to the Theology of the Body

Brian Butler is the co-founder and president of Dumb Ox Ministries, a non-profit organization doing chastity and vocation formation for teens and young adults.  He is co-author of Theology of the Body for Teens: High School and Middle School Editions and the director of the feature-length reality film, Mystery Trip.  Brian holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of New Orleans and a master’s degree in theology from Notre Dame Seminary School of Theology.

Dr Mario Sacasa
14th February - Making Sense of Masculinity

I am a Catholic Christian husband and father, that’s my primary vocation and passion. I am happily married to my wife of 16 years, Kristin, and together we share the joy of parenting our four sons. For work, I have a private counseling practice in New Orleans, LA. I am also the Associate Director of Willwoods Faith and Marriage. At Willwoods, I offer lectures, retreats, contribute regularly to their blog, and host a bi-weekly podcast, Always Hope with Dr. Mario.

Kerri Christopher
21st February - Rooted in Feminity

Kerri Christopher, M.A., S.T.L., became the first woman in the world to receive a Licentiate in the New Evangelisation, 2012. As part of her doctoral studies at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, she researched the nature of gender and the vocation of woman. She also has extensive experience in teaching the thought of St. John Paul II, systematic theology, and issues of sexuality.  Kerri has taught at the University of Dallas, Texas, St. Mary’s University, Twickenham, and at the Center for the thought of John Paul II, Warsaw, as well as at Oscott Seminary, Birmingham. 

Kendra Von Esh
28th February - No Sex, No Kidding

Kendra Von Esh was a Corporate Executive who thought she had it all—money, prestige, power and bought into the “me” culture. She devoured all the pleasures this world had to offer but nothing satisfied her desire to “Find Something More” and her life filled with stress, anxiety and never being good enough continued as the norm.  She bought into the lie that life was not supposed to be peaceful and loving … that it was stressful and difficult so party hard because life is short.

Daniella Grillo
7th March - Sexuality: Current Trends & Challenges

Daniella  was born in Bari, in 1973. She graduated from Royal Holloway & Bedford New College, University of London, with a Bachelor’s Degree in French. In Rome she got a Master in Tourism management. She speaks several languages. 

After working for a Rotary District in the South of Italy, for a few years, she moved to Rome where she is currently working for an international organization of lay missionaries who carry out evangelisation activities worldwide and humanitarian work in Africa- the ICPE Mission.

Fr Rob Galea
14th March - Music Heals Body & Soul

Fr Rob Galea is an ordained Catholic Priest and is currently serving in Sandhurst Diocese, Victoria after moving to Australia from Malta, his home country. He is a singer and songwriter with an international fan base. Apart from a series of recordings and CD releases, Fr Rob has also written a number of songs for various campaigns and international conferences.

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

If booking as a group, please indicate the group size with the appropriate number of ticket.

 
Categories
Events Talks

The Drama Displayed: A Journey of Salvation [online evening talks]

The Drama Displayed:
A Journey of Salvation
[online evening talks]

14 January-25th March @7:30pm

Six talks, six moments in Salvation History

Reflections on key Biblical themes, illustrated with artistic masterpieces.

Online at 7:30pm every second Thursday, beginning 14th January. Please register at the bottom of this page for a link.

Stefan Kaminski
14th January - In the Beginning

A reflection on Genesis 1 and 2, on the nature of God, the mystery of Creation and man’s relationship to God, with the aid of Michelangelo’s series of paintings on creation.

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.

Dr David Torevell
28th January - The Naked Truth

The talk will focus 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”.

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.

Fr John Hemer
11th February - A Great Love Song

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.

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.

Dr Caroline Farey
25th February - The Greatest Gift

God’s approach to us as Son and Redeemer, in the person of Jesus Christ, is the pivotal point of human history. Several artistic pieces will be used to aid in a reflection on the mystery of the Incarnation and of our Redemption in this talk.

Dr Caroline Farey has taught catechesis, theology and philosophy for many years throughout the English-speaking world. She has held several important positions, having also been appointed by the Vatican as one of the lay experts at the Synod on the New Evangelisation. She has a passion for Sacred Art, which she has long made use of in her teaching. For more information about Dr Farey’s current work, please click here.

Pam Moon
11th March - Signs of Passion

This talk will be based around the Turin Shroud, offering a very visual aid to the sufferings of Our Lord in His Passion and Death, as well as some insights into the history and study of the Shroud.

In 2008, Pam acquired a full-sized replica of the Shroud from Barrie Schwortz, the official photographer of the 1978 STuRP scientific examination of the Shroud.  It was one of the first four replicas he created.  She was so moved by the beauty of the Shroud that she developed an exhibition around the replica. For more information about the exhibition, please click here.

Sr Emanuela Edwards
25th March - The Life to Come [starting at 8:00pm]

A reflection on the Last Things, which are most vividly spoken of in the Book of Revelation, but also given concrete shape by the Gospels. Amongst others, Michelangelo’s Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel will provide an artistic aid to this talk.

Sr Emanuela Edwards is a member of the Missionaries of Divine Revelation, an apostolic community orientated towards the New Evangelisation. She has worked extensively with the Vatican Museums delivering tours and talks on Art and Faith. For more information about the Missionaries of Divine revelation, please click here.

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


Please register below:

 
Categories
Events Talks

Saints, Scholars and Spiritual Masters [online evening talk] – #8 St Francis of Assisi

Saints, Scholars & Spiritual Masters 8 - St Francis of Assisi
[online evening talk]

Thursday 10 December @7:30pm

God & the Crib:
St Francis & Greccio

Eighth of the online series: Saints, Scholars and Spiritual Masters

For the recording of this talk, please click here.

In the weeks before Christmas, the final talk of Saints, Scholars and Spiritual Masters appropriately turns to St Francis of Assisi, who built the first crib on a hillside above Greccio, in the Rieti valley, Italy. St Francis’ love for the mystery of God’s Incarnation spilt over into his radical choice of a life of poverty and prayer, following in the footsteps of his master, Jesus Christ. His profound and intense spiritual life powered a charismatic life of preaching. Fr Gabriel Kyte, of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, will offer insights into the Christmas-orientated spirituality of this ever-popular saint.

About the speaker:

Fr Gabriel Kyte, CFR is a Canadian national and was ordained a priest at St Patrick’s Cathedral in New York in 2014.  He is a member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and currently the Local Servant at St Pio Friary in Bradford.  He has a passion for Franciscan spirituality and uncovering it’s authentic roots in the character and life of St Francis.  His Master’s thesis was on the Mariology of Benedict XVI.

This talk concludes the Saints, Scholars & Spiritual Masters series

For the flier, please click here

 

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

 
Categories
Events Talks

Saints, Scholars and Spiritual Masters [online evening talk] – #7 St Benedict of Norcia

Saints, Scholars & Spiritual Masters 7 - St Benedict of Norcia
[online evening talk]

Thursday 3 December @7:30pm

The Saviour of Europe:
St Benedict & Benedictine Spirituality

Seventh of the online series: Saints, Scholars and Spiritual Masters

For the recording of this talk, please click here.

The seventh talk of Saints, Scholars and Spiritual Masters turns to the “Father of Western Monasticism” and his Rule of life, which  still guides religious life around the world 1,500 years later. Benedict fled Rome, with the degenerate and empty lifestyle that he found amongst his fellow students, to become a hermit in the hills outside the city. His saintliness soon attracted diverse followers, and set him on the path of establishing monastic communities and writing a Rule. Though these were not primarily centres of learning, Benedictine monasteries, and others following their example, became the repositories of learning and culture. Europe thus owes not only its monastic tradition to Benedict, but also the continuity of its development through the medieval era.

About the speaker:

Father Cassian Folsom, O.S.B., is the founding prior of the Monastery of San Benedetto, located in Norcia, Italy, the birthplace of Saint Benedict. He was born in Massachusetts in 1955, and has been a monk since 1979 and a priest since 1984. Fr. Cassian studied music before joining the monastic community of Saint Meinrad in 1974. He has served as the pro-president of the Pontifical Liturgical Institute at Sant’ Anselmo from 1997 to 2000. He founded his monastic community in Rome in 1998 and transferred it to Norcia in the year 2000. Father Cassian has been a consulter to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments since 2010, and is the author of numerous studies on Roman Catholic liturgy.

Next in the series:

10th December – St Francis of Assisi with Fr Gabriel Kyte, C.F.R.

For the flier, please click here

 

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

 
Categories
Articles Media

Newman: A Light between the Reformation and Modernity

Friday 6th November 2020

The CHC @ The Catholic Universe

Newman: A Light between the Reformation and Modernity

Stefan Kaminski

St John Henry Newman’s journey to the Catholic faith remains a powerful testimony to an increasingly-secularised world

Last month, two important anniversaries of English saints coincided. We saw the fiftieth anniversary of the canonisation of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, and we celebrated the first anniversary of John Henry Newman’s canonisation.

Although the Martyrs and Newman lived and died several centuries apart, they are united by the experience of the protestant Reformation and the ensuing split of the English State’s Church from the Catholic. However, they both experienced this split in rather different ways. The Martyrs experienced it from without: being persecuted and executed for not adhering to the new, Protestant Church. Newman, as a member of that Protestant Church, experienced it from within; from there, finding his way to Catholicism.

Oriel College, Oxford, where St Newman was elected Fellow in 1822.

Although Newman was no longer subject to laws that penalised the practice of Catholicism in England, he was nonetheless ostracised following his public conversion, and lost – at least for a period – many of his friends. A large dose of prejudice and suspicion of Catholics remained from the Reformation era, and in this sense too, his experience was in continuity with the Martyrs. 

However, Newman also faced a prejudice and suspicion from different quarters, which, in our turn, we can identify with too. The philosophical current known as modernity had already taken root by Newman’s day. The “modern” way of thinking rejected the possibility of acknowledging any religious belief to be true. It declared, in the words of Newman, that “revealed religion is not a truth, but a sentiment and a taste; not an objective fact, not miraculous.” Modernity meant that all interpretations of reality were equally valid: meaning that none were ultimately true. In this milieu of an increasingly secular culture and an embedded hostility to Catholicism, Newman found his way to God and to the Church.

The statue of Cardinal Newman in front of the Brompton Oratory, London

It was not, as is often the case, a simple and immediate conversion. Rather, as Pope Benedict XVI observed when he beatified Newman, it consisted of three, distinct phases. The first is, in part, a response to the secular world: it is basically the thought that there exist “two and two only absolute and luminously self-evident beings, myself and my Creator”. In effect, this was a conversion to a properly Christian way of thinking, which we are increasingly alienated from due to the contrary assumptions that secular thinking makes. For “modern man”, reality is defined by the empirical: that which science can tell us. For the Christian, reality is defined by the spiritual: God and one’s soul.

This truth applies not only to our own, physical existence in this world, but also to every person around us and, indeed, to the entire world that surrounds us. It leads to the understanding that the meaning of things is given by God; their existence itself is guaranteed by God, rather than by the laws of nature (which are themselves an expression of God’s will). And so, the second of Newman’s conversions is summed up in his insistence that it is not enough to hold one’s faith as an abstract state of consciousness: Christianity means “’looking to Jesus’ (Heb 2:9) … and acting according to His will.” It is a trusting in the Lord to lead us concretely through along the path of life, perhaps best summed up by Newman’s hymn, “Lead, Kindly Light”.

The third conversion was, in a sense, the most difficult. If there was a stigma attached to the rejection of his own, Anglican Church, it was increasingly counter-cultural to profess adherence to the doctrines of the Catholic Church. As Benedict XVI noted, this step involved giving up his rank, profession and many of his academic and personal ties; and yet Newman resolutely took this step in October 1845. If it was a step that involved a great interior struggle; it was also a step that finally brought a peace to his mind. Despite the corruption, divisions and imperfections that Newman saw vividly in the Catholic Church, he understood that these were not relevant to the question of faith. For in the Church, Newman saw the same objectivity that he identified in God: the reality of the Church as the real and living, Body of Christ. The Church, with its frail and human outward appearance, is the real place of God’s presence, that the Creator made for Himself upon entering into the world. In that Church, Newman “found a power, a resource, a comfort, a consolation in our Lord’s Real Presence, in communion in His Divine and Human Person, which all good Catholics indeed have.”

Contrary to what is sometimes, sceptically, asserted: becoming a Catholic did not involve a handing over of his own powers of thinking and autonomy. Becoming a Catholic meant finding the freedom to be transformed by what is true, and therefore to discover oneself ever more authentically. It is the same freedom that the Martyrs possessed in giving their lives readily for God, the Church and their flock. It is a freedom that appears contradictory to the secular mind, which can only conceive of freedom as pure, unstructured (and therefore meaningless) liberty.

St Newman thus retains an enormous relevance to today’s Christians. He stands as a powerful reminder that authentically seeking God entails neither freedom from the Church nor freedom from religion.

This article draws from a talk given by Dr. Giuseppe Pezzini’s on St Newman for The Christian Heritage Centre. It is accessible at www.christianheritagecentre.com/media/sssm3newman/

Categories
Events Talks

Saints, Scholars and Spiritual Masters [online evening talk] – #6 The Spanish Mystics

Saints, Scholars & Spiritual Masters 6 - St.s Theresa of Avila & John of the Cross
[online evening talk]

Thursday 19 November @7:30pm

The Spanish Mystics:
Life & Love in Jesus Christ

Sixth of the online series: Saints, Scholars and Spiritual Masters

For the recording of this talk, please click here

The sixth talk of Saints, Scholars and Spiritual Masters looks at two giants of the interior life: St Theresa of Avila and St John of the Cross. The profound mysticism of these two well-loved, Spanish saints did not detract from their pragmatic determinedness. Together, they reformed the Carmelite order in Spain, founding no less than 23 monasteries between them and effectively establishing the order of Discalced Carmelites. The hardships and difficulties they both endured in pursuing their vocation and in reforming their order were only met with a strength that was founded on their deep love for Christ, which was also the foundation of the great friendship between them.

About the speaker:

Fr Matthew Blake is a Carmelite priest. Originally from Ireland, he has lived and worked  in the UK for more than thirty years. His ministry has mainly involved retreat direction, for which he is well-known in the UK, and he has also worked in many different parishes.

A selection of Fr Blake’s talks can be found here.

Next in the series:

3rd December – St Benedict of Norcia with Fr Cassian Folsom, O.S.B.

10th December – St Francis of Assisi with Fr Gabriel Kyte, C.F.R.

For the flier, please click here

 

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

 
Categories
Events Talks

Saints, Scholars and Spiritual Masters [online evening talk] – #3 St John Henry Newman

St John Henry Newman

Saints, Scholars & Spiritual Masters 3 - St John Henry Newman
[online evening talk]

Thursday 8 October @7:30pm

Newman, Belief & Reality:
Finding God in the World

Third of the online series: Saints, Scholars and Spiritual Masters

For the recording of this talk, please click here.

The third talk of Saints, Scholars and Spiritual Masters will explore the spirituality of the latest English person to be canonised: John Henry Newman. Known for his great intellect and his conversion from Protestantism to the Catholic Faith, Newman’s journey was powered by his grasping of the realism and certainty of God’s presence.  At the heart of this journey was his conscience, drawing him “out of the shadows into truth”. This talk will focus on Newman’s ‘realism’ and his conversions.

Dr Giuseppe Pezzini
About the speaker:

Tutorial Fellow in Latin Language and Literature at Corpus Christi College Oxford. He came to St Andrews in 2016 after research fellowships at Magdalen College, Oxford and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He worked as an assistant editor for the Oxford Dictionary of Medieval Latin, and has published especially on Latin language and literature, philosophy of language, and the theory of fiction, ancient and modern, including above all Tolkien’s views on the ‘mystery of literary creation’. He is an Associate of the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Art in St Andrews and the Tolkien Editor of the Journal of the Inklings Studies. He is a member of the RSE Young Academy Scotland, the Young Academy of Europe, and a collaborator of the Meeting of Rimini, for which he has curated exhibitions on John Henry Newman (2011, 2014), Oscar Wilde (2015) and JRR Tolkien (2021).

For more information about Dr Pezzini, please click here.

Next in the series:

22nd October – St Thomas Aquinas with Fr Richard Conrad, O.P.

5th November – St Francis de Sales with Canon Scott Tanner, I.C.K.S.P.

19th November – Sts Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross with Fr Matthew Blake, O.C.D.

3rd December – St Benedict of Norcia with Fr Cassian Folsom, O.S.B.

10th December – St Francis of Assisi with Fr Gabriel Kyte, C.F.R.

For the flier, please click here

 

Please register below:

This event has closed.

Categories
Events Talks

Saints, Scholars and Spiritual Masters [online evening talk] – #5 St Francis de Sales

Saints, Scholars & Spiritual Masters 5 - St Francis de Sales
[online evening talk]

Thursday 5 November @7:30pm

Devotion is for Everyone:
The Working Spirituality of St Francis de Sales

Fifth of the online series: Saints, Scholars and Spiritual Masters

For the recording of this talk, please click here.

The fifth talk of Saints, Scholars and Spiritual Masters will explore the spirituality of a great Bishop and director of souls: St Francis de Sales. Known for his deep love of God and his determination to bring every person – be they lay or religious – to a real holiness of life, he paid special attention to lay people living working lives. Much of his writing was directed to showing such people how to grow in holiness through their day-to-day activity. His fame as a spiritual director brought him into demand from Popes, royalty and nobility. Despite this, he lived out the last word of advice he gave from his deathbed: “humility”.

About the speaker:

Canon Scott Tanner is a priest of the Institute of Christ the King, Soverign Priest. After studying Theology and Religious Studies at Nottingham University, he studied for the priest at St Philip Neri Seminary, near Florence, Italy. He was ordained in 2015 and worked in the Diocese of Shrewsbury before joining the parish of St Walburge’s in Preston, Lancashire.

Next in the series:

19th November – Sts Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross with Fr Matthew Blake, O.C.D.

3rd December – St Benedict of Norcia with Fr Cassian Folsom, O.S.B.

10th December – St Francis of Assisi with Fr Gabriel Kyte, C.F.R.

For the flier, please click here

 

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