St Mary’s Shrine Bulletin, 15-28 December 2024
Read the latest fortnightly bulletin here.
Read the latest fortnightly bulletin here.
Read the latest fortnightly bulletin here.
[Click on the picture above or here to open the magazine]
In this issue:
FSSP Wall Calendars 2024-2025
We include a complimentary copy in every printed copy of this issue of Dowry. Discover beautiful pictures of our apostolates across England, Scotland and Ireland, with the liturgical year and traditional feasts. Needless to say, all this comes at a cost and we are grateful for donations in excess of £5.00 to FSSP England.
Editorial: Three Saintly Anniversaries
Three forthcoming anniversaries of great significance for Catholics are spiritual opportunities to seize. They commemorate God’s Incarnation, the Lord’s revelation of his Sacred Heart, and Our Lady’s mediation, Fr de Malleray observes.
Hope Does Not Disappoint
Extracts from Pope Francis’ bull of indiction for the 2025 Jubilee of the Incarnation of the Lord. Further to Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical on the virtue of Hope, Pope Francis reminds all the importance of that virtue, especially in times of trial or gloom.
He Smuggled The Sacred Heart Into England
Dominica Roberts tells how French priest Father Claude la Colombière S.J. providentially brought the devotion from Paray-le-Monial into the heart of London at the cost of his life, thus securing a direct connection between the Sacred Heart and England.
Statistics, Intercession, And Sanctification
The annual statistics of the FSSP were updated to close to 600 members and over 10,000 sodality members: an occasion to give thanks to God, but also to request more prayers for us to grow and bear lasting fruit by God’s grace.
Garments of Sanctity: Opus Anglicanum
The glorious English tradition of sowing and embroidering liturgical vestments is valued anew, Ola Smalley finds, with immediate use within the traditional movement as generously provided by the busy sewing needles of the Guild of St Clare.
Interior of the Carpenter’s Shop at Forty Hill
Using a non-religious painting by John Hill (c.1780–1841) from the Tate Britain Gallery in London, Fr Armand de Malleray walks a few easy steps with beginners in the art of interpretation that can further apply to religious art.
Craft Resources For Catholic Homes
Catherine Witkowski and John Grimer introduce the online shop run by them and their siblings to equip families with home-made visual illustrations of the Catholic faith through the depictions of saints, calendars, and books.
Support our Apostolate
More than ever we need your help to keep our ministry going in Bedford, Chesham Bois, Reading, Warrington, Edinburgh, Waterford and Wexford. Please tell your friends about us, sharing links from our articles, pictures, publications, and activities, praying God that bequests be made to help us secure or acquire the buildings we need.
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We welcome proof-readers with a good command of English, as well as electronic submissions of articles consistent with the scope of this magazine.
Read the latest fortnightly bulletin here.
Read the latest fortnightly bulletin here.
Read the latest fortnightly bulletin here.
[Click on the picture above or here to open the magazine]
In this issue:
Editorial: Woodcarving As Worship
Reflecting on the importance of sacred architecture as a medium of evangelisation that touches even non-believers (as the fire of Notre-Dame showed), Fr de Malleray rejoices at the new altarpiece commissioned by a traditional Dominican community in France.
A Queen For All Seasons
Aidan Harvey-Craig praises Queen Catherine of Aragon’s courageous witness to the inviolability of marriage and to the Catholic faith as a timely example for our times of matrimonial breakdown and religious relativism. Could she be declared a heavenly intercessor?
Coercion and Belief: Compelle Intrare
Fr Brendan Gerard, FSSP (who holds a licence in Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome) examines whether the use of coercion to bring people into the Church is authorised by Christ’s mandate to “make disciples of all nations.”
Tintin and the Secret of the Elusive Priests
Despite being a cradle Catholic, world-famous author Hergé included almost no priest characters in his numerous comic strips; and yet, multiple priestly influences have inspired or guided the creator of Tintin―finds Fr de Malleray (Head of Tintinology at St Alban House in Bedford).
Why the Film Nefarious Is Atheists’ Nightmare
Avoiding any gory or horrible display, the supernatural thriller Nefarious cleverly depicts an atheistic doctor trying to persuade a possessed inmate that God and Satan are not real. Fr de Malleray praises this battle of wits that can prompt non-believers to ask salutary questions.
Spoiler Alert: Life Wins In The End
Young adult Sophia Rumpus took part in the joyful and peaceful March for Life, the largest event in the UK every year to celebrate the sacredness of human life, particularly in its unborn stage: an initiative worthy of support as the “legal” termination of the elderly and sick looms ahead.
Click HERE to subscribe to Dowry for free.
We welcome proof-readers with a good command of English, as well as electronic submissions of articles consistent with the scope of this magazine.
Read the latest fortnightly bulletin here.
Minors involved in activities at the Shrine must have parental consent. Parents whose children are new to our groups, or who have not yet submitted a parental consent form, must do so preferably in advance.
Forms can be downloaded below. To submit them, please hand a hard copy to one of the priests or email a scanned copy to Fr Homolya.
Read the latest fortnightly bulletin here.