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This book, weaving together the history and genealogy of the More family and of the other families to which they allied themselves by marriage, provides an illuminating sequel to the various lives that have been written of St Thomas More. It tells the story of what happened to his family in the wake of his heroic witness against the tyranny of Henry VIII and how his descendants, inspired by his faith, were affected by their refusal to conform to the Church of England as, under successive monarchs, England was forcibly transformed from a Catholic into a Protestant country. The story begins with St Thomas More's parents and through his sister Elizabeth traces a line of literary figures that includes John Rastell the printer, playwright, dramatist and designer of pageants, John Heywood the Court musician, dramatist and playwright, and John Donne, the poet.After Thomas More's execution all the members of his immediate and extended family felt the force of Henry's fury. His step-mother and his widow, Dame Alice More, were both thrown out of their homes. His son, John, and son-in-law, William Daunce, both narrowly escaped the scaffold, but Giles Heron, another son-in-law, was executed at Tyburn on a trumped-up charge of treason. Others were called in for questioning and they, and their families, were carefully watched throughout their lives. Some sought refuge in Catholic Europe. Although knighted by Henry VIII, St Thomas More was not a member of the nobility, his male descendants could, however, take pride in the title 'Gentleman' or 'Esquire', and most of the families into which they married - among them the Scropes, the Gages of Firle, the Brookes of Madeley, and the Giffards - were non-conforming families of a similar standing. The book follows each generation down to the time when the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 finally brought relief from persecution. This is the story of a line of laymen and women, and of priests and nuns, all of whom had a deep faith and a firm resolve that makes them worthy of being listed among the 'Confessors of the Faith' - minor Confessors, maybe, but Confessors nonetheless. Martin Wood is, on his mother's side, a descendant of St Thomas More. He was educated at Ratcliffe College, Leicester, and obtained a degree in theology at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, later qualifying as a teacher at Matlock College of Education. He taught Religious Studies for some years before taking up a career in Child Care with Derbyshire and Leicestershire Social Services.

The sensus fidelium has come to be seen as a key concept in the development of Church doctrine and teaching, and Blessed John Henry Newman as a seminal exponent of it - particularly through On Consulting the Faithful in Matters of Doctrine, his own essay on the topic.Kathleen Kirk provides a useful introduction to the nature of the sensus fidelium: its terms of reference, its history, the views of post-Vatican II theologians on the matter, and how these can be viewed in the context of Newman's own thought and teaching.The sensus fidelium came to have a particular significance for many theologians writing in the aftermath of Pope Paul VI's 1968 encyclical 'On the Regulation of Birth' (Humanae Vitae), and the question of the sensus fidelium in relation to opposition to the Magisterium of the Church is fully explored. From her analysis of the sensus fidelium in the first part of the book Kathleen Kirk shows how there does not at present exist among the faithful as a whole a true sensus fidelium as far as marriage and sexuality are concerned. She takes this further with a study of the sensus fidelium in relation to marriage and sexuality based upon the teaching contained in Pope John Paul II's 'Theology of the Body'. Crucial to that teaching is the existence of marriage as one of the sacraments of the Church (and outside the Church as having a sacramental character), and she demonstrates that it is from awareness of this sacramentality that a study of these Life issues should begin.Kathleen Kirk lives in her native Yorkshire. A barrister of Lincoln's Inn, she has worked as a lawyer in the Civil Service and industry. She studied Theology and Social Studies at Plater College, Oxford, and is an Ascribed Member of the Institute of Charity (the Rosminians).

Edith Stein admitted that there was time when she 'consciously and deliberately lost the habit of praying'. She tells us this because she re-discovered it during the journey which brought her to Carmel. We all need to make our own spiritual way through the prompting of the Holy Spirit, with guides who help us to see the pitfalls and inspire us to persevere. The journey of prayer is one of the great adventures which we should all undertake because it leads us to the mountain which is God himself. In this book we find a sure companion for this journey, showing us how to begin to pray, exploring the many sources of prayer that we may encounter, and sharing the experience of the saints and other spiritual writers from both Eastern and Western Christianity. The great variety of prayer, meditation and mystical experience in the Christian tradition is expertly treated, as well as the many stumbling blocks and obstacles that may come our way. Christian prayer needs to be discovered, or in many cases, rediscovered - it is that mountain waiting to be climbed.It is essential for us today to realize that life is more than the frenzied bustle of activity in which all sometimes find ourselves. We must begin with the interior life ... This is a fine book, drawing from many rich sources in the lives of great spiritual leaders. I commend it to those who are undertaking a serious prayer life for the first time and to those who are looking for a fresh beginning in their own lives of prayer. ¿ John J. Myers, Archbishop of Newark

Mystics in the Making: Lay Women in Today's Church emphasizes the necessity of daily prayer, ongoing spiritual development and loving service based on sound Catholic values. It will help Catholic women (and men) find moral strength and confidence in themselves through living the teachings of Christ and his Church in their daily activities and in striving to be their best. What is seemingly ordinary serves an extraordinary purpose when illuminated by God's light and love. The chapters strengthen the unity and harmony within the Catholic family as a unit, and stress its importance as a witness to Jesus' love, in a society dominated by secular values. This book provides an accurate and easily understandable explanation of Catholic mysticism in today's world, with spiritual and practical applications. On every page, we are reminded of how very much we are loved by God. It will help the reader lead a more Christian, more focused and more accomplished life. Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that our friendship with Jesus Christ is learned in love for Sacred Scripture, in love for the Liturgy, in profound faith, in love for Mary, so as to be ever more truly acquainted with God himself and hence with true happiness, which is the goal of our life.

William Lockhart (1819-92) is one of the forgotten giants of the Victorian Catholic Church. Born into a well-connected and wealthy family, he studied at Oxford and joined Newman's community at Littlemore. An encounter with Fr Luigi Gentili led to his speedy reception into the Church in 1843, occasioning Newman's resignation as Vicar of St Mary's and the famous 'Parting of Friends' sermon. What happened next is less well known. Lockhart joined the Institute of Charity (Rosminians), won fame as a preacher and founded the London parishes of Our Lady and St Joseph, Kingsland and St Etheldreda's, Ely Place. He also wrote a number of controversial works, edited popular Catholic magazines and encouraged young writers such as Alice and Wilfrid Meynell, Edmund Bishop and Baron Corvo. His story is also that of a family who gave everything to the Church; indeed his half-sister, Elizabeth, is recognised as foundress of three religious communities. Lockhart, who called himself 'the first fruits of the Oxford Movement', was closely involved with Cardinal Manning and remained strongly influenced by two remarkable men, both beatified by Pope Benedict XVI: Antonio Rosmini (whose works Lockhart helped translate into English) and John Henry Newman. Nicholas Schofield is currently a parish priest in west London and archivist of the archdiocese of Westminster. His previous publications include A Roman Miscellany; the English in Rome 1550-2000 (as editor) and The English Cardinals and The English Vicars Apostolic (both co-authored with Fr Gerard Skinner).

Drawing on forty years' experience in this ministry, the author shows how prayer helps people to emerge from their past hurts and limitations, and gradually reclaim their real selves under the awesome power of God's love. Powerful testimonies underline his call for the Church to empower clergy and laity to meet the needs of people suffering in a wide range of stressful life situations. The stories of some of the hundreds who have come to his home seeking help indicate how effectively people's needs can be met through ordinary people in parishes, and offer a model for development.People are seeking prayer for inner healing, some travelling long distances. More will come forward as The New Evangelisation gathers pace, especially those who have moved away from the Church, and those practising their faith but who are not sufficiently evangelised. This book shows from Church documents that prayer for inner healing which leads towards greater holiness is an essential part of evangelisation, yet this ministry is only rarely available and receives scant, if any, attention in seminaries.Some readers will wish to consider their own lives in the light of the insights and testimonies shared, and seek healing for themselves. Others will realise that they themselves have the capacity and calling to become involved in the ministry of healing. Those in a position to institute change at a higher level within the Church will find suggestions as to how the structures of the Church can respond to the needs of all its people. Priests and religious need prayer for inner healing as well as lay people.Part healing handbook, part honest autobiography, part powerful witness and teaching, this book is wholly focused on spirituality, the chances we have to gain freedom through Christ, and on how the Church can and should help.

¿ Can we have certainty? ¿ Is the universe due to chance, or is it designed? ¿ Does God exist? ¿ Has each of us a soul that survives after death? ¿ Are there unchanging moral laws by which we should live?This book examines these and many other questions from the standpoint of reason. It drawson the wisdom of the past, and especially the perennial philosophy of which St ThomasAquinas is the greatest representative, using these insights to discuss topics affecting us all.A lucid picture is presented of the philosophies which have followed each other through thecenturies, down to current postmodernism. Their main features are critically examined andtheir implications for life and thought are considered, giving the reader a means to critiquemodern civilization.John Young maintains that clarity and certainty about fundamental realities may be achieved through the exercise of human reason. His exposition is clear, while never oversimplifying the issues, and canbe followed by the average person with careful and thoughtful reading. It will be of special value to students engaged in tertiary studies.True philosophy, Young argues, arises from an innate power of reasoning accessible toeveryone, which it clarifies and deepens, bringing a formation of mind achievable in no otherway and a unique insight into the greatest realities. A sound grounding in realist philosophy isurgently needed today, when confusion abounds. Here is an excellent guide to the essentials and unity of the subject, clearly and simply written.John Young, a graduate of the Aquinas Academy in Sydney, Australia, has taught philosophy in four seminaries and to adult education groups. He has published hundreds of articles on philosophy, theology and economics, and is the author of the books Reasoning Things Out, Catholic Thinking and The Natural Economy.

As the sanctity of John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890) finally receives formal recognition by the Church, there is ever more interest in this very English of priests. Based on extensive study of Newman's letters, diaries and private journals, this highly readable biography reveals much about the man who became a Cardinal, but particularly Newman's role in the regeneration of English Catholicism. Newman's intellectual and spiritual fecundity, his radical approach to understanding doctrine and his championship of the laity was of enormous importance. It profoundly influenced the Second Vatican Council and continues in its impact on the Church today.In this book full weight is given to Newman's formative Oxford and Anglican years,of which his Catholic life and Oratorian ministry was in so many ways a fulfilment. Newman's many roles are thoroughly explored - as preacher, theologian, hymn writer, educationalist, controversialist, champion of the laity, and, above all, as priest and man of prayer.The need for a popular introduction and work of synthesis to Newman scholarship for the non-specialist was never greater than it is today. Professor Chisnall has provided just such a work. While this is not primarily a study of Newman as a thinker or writer, Chisnall has produced an admirably balanced and exhaustive biographical survey of Newman's long life and religious journey, with all its drama and vicissitudes ... The great strength of Chisnall's work is his mastery of and extensive citations from the vast corpus of Newman's extant letters. Newman himself would have fully approved of this approach, being convinced that 'a man's life lies in his letters'. Some commentators on Newman hardly let him 'speak', so anxious are they to parade their own interpretations and to make Newman 'relevant'. In happy contrast to this, Professor Chisnall's full, though judicious use of quotation from Newman's letters, allows the reader to catch something of Newman's authentic voice during the many controversies in which he was involved during his long and sometimes painful religious journey. Peter NocklesDr Peter M. Chisnall has worked in industry and consultancy, and held academic posts in both Manchester and Dublin. He has previously published books on enterprise development, the health and social needs of the disabled, and consumer and corporate behaviour. He has made a special study of the life and writings of Newman.

Carthusian spirituality and wisdom have a great attraction for our age.The goal of Carthusian life is union with God in Love. A union as profound and continual as is possible in this life. It has its source in God who is the first to call us to intimacy with Him. The Carthusian's life, the Carthusian's love, is a response to that Love - cultivating solitude, silence, poverty, chastity, obedience, fraternal charity, spiritual reading, study, work and, above all, prayer. Prayer of adoration, praise and intercession. This book is written as a guide to help the beginner during his first months in the Charterhouse. It is a practical introduction for the aspirant to the Carthusian life, providing guidelines of orientation to help during the first steps in solitude as well as essential themes of spiritual formation. Following the young monk, listening in complete openness to God who speaks in the depth of his heart, the reader outside the monastery can gain an insight into this powerful spirituality and the silence of a heart in love.Other books of classic Carthusian spirituality published by Gracewing include The Call of Silent Love, Early Carthusian Writings, Interior Prayer, The Prayer of Love and Silence, They Speak by Silences, The Way of Silent Love and The Wound of Love.

First published ten years ago, The Path to Rome has since established itself as a classic of its kind. Largely ignored by the mainstream media, the impressive flow of conversions to the Catholic Church which took place in the last two decades of the twentieth century has shown no sign of abating in this new millennium. This new edition re-groups the established stories and gathers a fresh collection from a wider range of contributors.The Path to Rome has helped a great many people towards the fullness of Catholic Faith, and this new edition continues the tradition. Comments from readers of the first edition:I'm still not sure why I took a copy but it is the most marvellous book, very moving and powerful. I'm a cradle Catholic very much struggling with my own doubts about Christ and the Church - so much of the book speaks very directly to that.Every person moving towards the Catholic Church should have this book.It has been a wonderful read, and has made me appreciate even more the beauty of my Catholic faith.Fr Dwight Longenecker, editor of the first edition of Path to Rome, is Chaplain of St Joseph's Catholic School in Greenville, South Carolina. He is the author of numerous books and articles as well as being the creator of Standing on My Head - an influential Catholic weblog. He was for many years an Anglican priest in the South of England before being received into the Church in 1995.Cyprian Blamires works part-time for the St Barnabas Society, a Catholic charity, and is also a historian, editor, and translator.

Georgina Alexander is a remarkable lady; she is a twenty-first century mystic, and Following the Silence is her spiritual autobiography...This book can offer considerable light for the way to those engaged on their own journey of prayer, and search for God. It is a book to be gone back to again and again, to be read slowly and savoured, a true companion for the Christian life. Dom Gervase Holdaway, OSBGeorgina discovers in herself a 'sense of an unsatisfied and empty space', a feeling that that space is filled only by 'something else', by wanting 'something more'. In Following the Silence we have the privilege of accompanying her on that search. As she finds the door she discovers contemplative prayer and, deep within her, the Name and Presence of Jesus. I warmly commend this book to everyone who is interested in this search. And who isn't interested in the search? + Andrew EbbsfleetWhile each person's journey into God is unique, the experience of each individual sheds light on the path for all who seek to pray. In this book Georgina Alexander shares her own particular journey of prayer and in so doing offers insights into the path of Christian prayer and living from which her readers can gain encouragement. Georgina's own experience and wisdom is supported by her wide reading of the classics of prayer and is the fruit of a lifetime of faithful prayer exercised in the midst of the challenges and commitments of a busy life. Sister Clare-Louise,Novice Guardian,SLGIf others could only encounter the love of God, as experienced and described by the author of Following the Silence, the lives of many in our country would be greatly changed...that journey in the Christian tradition both Eastern and Western requires faith and courage, but the treasures to be discovered are immense and enduring. Fr Seraphim Vänttinen-NewtonMeditators will find sound advice and guidance in the work of Georgina Alexander. She has read the mystics of the Byzantine school, but her work is primarily a description of her own experience and her own search ...This [account] confirms me in my conviction that contemplative prayer is the way of the future in the world and that Georgina's message is somehow prophetic. William Johnston,SJ

Questo libro tratta il rapporto fra la fede cristiana in Dio Creatore e la scienza moderna, in uno studio di frontiera. Lo scopo è quello di fornire un commentario filosofico-teologico sugli sviluppi recenti nel campo scientifico. Altro intento è quello di offrire una chiave ermeneutica per studiare la relazione fra la visione del cosmo derivata dalla fisica e dalla biologia in relazione alla visione filosofica e teologica del mondo. Secondo il metodo di questo studio, il testo è suddiviso in cinque parti. Prima, si elabora un'analisi della storia e della nascita della scienza. Poi, segue una introduzione ai documenti del Magistero Pontificio. In terzo luogo, è proposto uno studio del rapporto odierno fra scienza e fede che richiede come ponte il realismo filosofico. Quarto, si procede all'analisi di due punti di contatto importanti fra la scienza e fede e cioè la cosmologia del Big Bang, e le teorie dell'evoluzione.

Through the great men and women of the English Church we can see the continuous inspiration of the Catholic Faith in England as an unbroken tradition shaping life and work, history and culture, for more than fourteen centuries. In this book a group of distinguished authors with varying interests, champion the achievements of twenty-three seminal figures in the history of the English Church - from the seventh century to the present time - who through their Catholic witness have made a contribution to the spiritual, intellectual, ethical and physical welfare of the nation which can be fairly described as 'heroic'. Heroism takes many different forms. Self-evidently heroic are the martyrs of the penal years who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the Faith, others earn their place in this book because their achievements in many different fields of endeavour are truly heroic - as queens, wives and mothers, in education, nursing and social teaching, in journalism and literature, and in challenging the nation's conscience and our national consciousness. The continuity of the Catholic witness in England is often overlooked because of the dislocation caused by the English Reformation, the three subsequent centuries of suppression of the Church, and the rewriting of history to create a new national myth. However, in these lives we can see the impact of Catholicism across the centuries and find inspiration for our own times.Joanna Bogle, Leonie Caldecott , Simon Caldwell, Judith Champ, Mgr Antony Conlon, Mark Elvins OFMCap., Patti Fordyce, Andrea Fraile, Dominic Savio Hamer CP, Etheldreda Hession OSB, Emily Keyte, Mac McLernon, Dora Nash, Fiorella Nash, Josephine Robinson, Penny Roker RSM, Tracey Rowland, Gemma Simmonds CJ, Pauline J. Shaw MFIC, John Skinner and Lucy Underwood share with us their English Catholic Heroines.

EVER SINCE HIS DEATH IN 1890, Newman's name has inspired the thinkingand the devotion of many. The story of his conversion is legendary andyet, as the future Pope Benedict XVI observed, 'Throughout his entire life,Newman was a person converting, a person being transformed, and thus healways remained and became ever more himself.' Newman's genius and hisprolific output of so many types of writing have, in turn, given rise toinnumerable books and articles, these most frequently being academic studiesof some theme or other of this eminent Victorian's thought.Presenting aspects of the life of Cardinal Newman and letting him speak tous in his own words, Fr Skinner draws from the tens of thousands of pagesthat this great pastor penned and presents Newman as a priest, 'A Father ofSouls'. In a series of easily readable sketches we follow Newman's life fromthe time when he first realised that God was calling him to the ordainedministry until his last years as a priest and Cardinal in the BirminghamOratory that he had himself founded. Important themes such as his preachingare seen alongside the means by which he felt he was most sustained andstrengthened for his life's not insignificant trials. Seven of Newman'ssermons conclude this volume.In the words of Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Newman's 'remarkable life,void of sham and ambition, but steeped in a prayerful communion with theUnseen, while it remained alive to the problems of his age in Church andsociety, continues to inspire, to uplift and to enlighten'.Much attention has rightly been given to Newman's scholarship and to hisextensive writings, but it is important to remember that he saw himself firstand foremost as a priest. In this Annus Sacerdotalis, I urge you to hold up toyour priests his example of dedication to prayer, pastoral sensitivity towardsthe needs of his flock, and passion for preaching the Gospel.Pope Benedict XVI, Address to the Bishops of England and Wales,1 February 2010FR GERARD SKINNER is a priest of the Diocese of Westminster. He wasborn in Portsmouth and, after studying at the Royal Academy of Music,London, he trained for the priesthood at the Venerable English College inRome

Born in a small Irish town straddling the border of Tipperary and Waterford, the young John Joseph O'Connor was educated on the Continent by the Benedictines at Douai before being ordained a Catholic priest in March 1895. While his whole life was to be spent as a parish priest, he became known for possessing one of the finest intellects in early-twentieth-century Europe. Friend and confidant of statesmen, writers, and artists, his own literary output was prolific. His ability to distinguish between the genuine and false, in people as well as works of art, led to him assembling an art collection whose sale funded almost half the cost of building his first church. He built up a further valuable collection of art and antiques, but did not have to resort to its sale to build his second, and quite controversial, church. Controversy was something Mgr O'Connor never shied away from. He was loved and revered by his parishioners, most of whom were totally unaware of his close friendship with so many eminent figures beyond the confines of his parish. One of these, G. K. Chesterton, is now being proposed for beatification, and it was he who turned his friend into his fictional priest-detective, Father Brown, who knew more about the underworld than the criminals themselves. And it was Mgr O'Connor who was to guide Chesterton along the path to Catholicism and receive him into the Church. Mgr O'Connor commissioned the Stations of the Cross and other sculptures for his Bradford parish from Eric Gill, but he had a much deeper involvement with the Ditchling group of Arts and Crafts workshops. He not only translated the French philosophy of Jacques Maritain for them but also collaborated with Gill on the publication of Song of Songs and Song of the Soul with their highly controversial and sexually explicit engravings. This, his only, biography aims to introduce the shadowy figure who slipped in and out of so many different worlds to a larger public who never suspected he had so many fingers in so many pies.

Pope Benedict XVI has announced a special "Year of Faith," dedicated to rousing a "new impetus to the mission of the whole Church to lead men out of the desert in which they often find themselves, to the place of life, of friendship with Christ." The Year of Faith will begin on October 11, 2012: a date that marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of Vatican II. Pope Benedict notes that the date is also the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which he describes as "a precious and indispensable tool" for the task of evangelization. The Year of Faith will have to see a concerted effort to rediscover and study the fundamental content of the faith that receives its systematic and organic synthesis in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Here, in fact, we see the wealth of teaching that the Church has received, safeguarded and proposed in her two thousand years of history. From Sacred Scripture to the Fathers of the Church, from theological masters to the saints across the centuries, the Catechism provides a permanent record of the many ways in which the Church has meditated on the faith and made progress in doctrine so as to offer certitude to believers in their lives of faith ...In this Year, then, the Catechism of the Catholic Church will serve as a tool providing real support for the faith, especially for those concerned with the formation of Christians, so crucial in our cultural context. Pope Benedict XVI Porta FideiThe Year of Faith offers a special opportunity for all believers to deepen their study of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. In this useful book Fr James Tolhurst provides a paragraph by paragraph exposition of this key text, supplemented by a wealth of information and an extensive prayer section which is intended to aid reflection on the teaching of the Catechism itself. Also included is a thematic preface which lays out the major concepts contained in the work, a full index, and extensive cross references to other Church documents.Drawing out its doctrinal richness, this is an ideal tool for catechists, groups of faithful, schools and families, for educators in centres of theological studies, seminaries and Catholic universities, for those concerned with the continuing education of the clergy and for priests studying the Catechism of the Catholic Church as a resource for the pastoral care of their parishes - catechesis, preaching, Sacramental preparation. Dr James Tolhurst studied at Fribourg and Salamanca Universities. He has served as Theology Tutor at the English College, Valladolid, and as Dean of Studies for the Permanent Diaconate of the Southern English Dioceses. He is Series Editor of the Newman Millennium Edition, and his many books include the bestselling A Concise Catechism for Catholics.

Ronald Knox was hailed as one of the brightest minds of the Edwardian era, and his decision to become a Catholic shocked many of his contemporaries. He was to be one of the most outstanding recruits to the Church of his generation, and for thirty years he was one of the best known personalities of English Catholicism. A gifted writer and broadcaster, Knox raised the self-confidence of the Catholic Church and showed how Catholicism was now once more at home in England. Knox's writing, broadcasting and preaching made a profound impact on his fellow Catholics and his lucid expositions of Christian teaching found a wide audience. Educated at Eton and Balliol, he demonstrated, as Newman had before him, that an Englishman of his background could be at ease in the Catholic Church. The Church was able to make full use of his talents, as teacher and priest, and as Catholic chaplain to Oxford University in the inter-war years. Renowned for his Bible translations, Knox also wrote detective stories and sparkling satire. His cultivated background and capacity for friendship made him a welcome figure in society, he was famous for his wit - yet sometimes he wrestled with his own melancholy. His close friendships included Harold Macmillan and Evelyn Waugh, who wrote a biography of Knox two years after his death. Waugh's biography is, of course, a literary tour de force, but fifty years on the life of this brilliant and complex priest can now be set in the context of his own times, and of ours.Terry Tastard is a priest of Westminster Diocese and a Research Associate of the Von Hügel Institute, St Edmund's College, Cambridge.

In The School of Compassion, Deborah M. Jones engages with the Catholic Church's contemporary attitude towards animals. This is the fullest sustained study of the subject in that faith tradition.It begins by exploring the history of the Church's ideas about animals. These were drawn largely from significant readings of Old and New Testament passages and inherited elements of classical philosophies. Themes emerge, such as the renewal of creation in the apocryphal legends, in the Desert Fathers, and in Celtic monasticism. The spirituality of St Francis of Assisi, the legal status of animals, and liturgies of the Eastern Catholic Churches also shed light on the Church's thinking. The British Catholic tradition - which is relatively favourable to animals - is considered in some detail.The second part of the book provides a forensic examination of the four paragraphs in the Catechism of the Catholic Church which relate particularly to animals. Finally, major contemporary issues are raised - stewardship, anthropocentrism, and gender - as well as key ethical theories. The revisits some teachings of Aquinas, and explores doctrinal teachings such as that of human beings created in the 'image of God', and, with a nod to the Orthodox Tradition, as the 'priests of creation'. These help form a consistent and authentically Catholic theology which can be viewed as a school of compassion towards animals. The joy of this book is that it helps Catholic Christians to re-engage with the issue of animals by utilising the riches from within their own tradition....And what Dr Deborah Jones has discovered is a remarkably more complex, infinitely richer, and considerably more animal-friendly Catholic tradition than might be supposed by the usual caricatures. This book is the fullest systematic treatment of the moral status of animals within the Roman Catholic tradition. It is the result of painstaking scholarship, wide reading, and, most of all, insightful theological exploration. It builds on the work of others, like myself, and provides a stream of fresh perspectives on our lives with God's other creatures. It is a deeply Catholic work, and I pray that it strikes a deep chord within the Catholic community here and overseas. Revd Professor Andrew LinzeyDeborah M Jones is general secretary of the international organisation Catholic Concern for Animals and a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, with a doctorate in animal theology. She has also worked as editor of the Catholic Herald, deputy editor of Priests & People, as a writer and lecturer, and diocesan adviser for adult religious education.

Among the most beautiful prayers ever composed, the 'O' Antiphons have for twelve centuries voiced the Church's longing for Christ's Coming at Christmas. In this remarkable book Oliver Treanor explores the rich biblical background to each Antiphon and, drawing on the spiritual tradition of the Fathers and the teachings of Vatican II as well, leads us to the deep sources of meditation that lie within the texts.Here is an ideal Advent companion for individuals or groups seeking to recharge their spirituality for Christmas - and indeed throughout the year. For the 'O' Antiphons guide us beyond Advent into the entire mystery of salvation, bringing us beyond the Christmas season to the Paschal Mystery itself. It is in fact a book for all seasons.Oliver Treanor is author of Mother of the Redeemer, Mother of the Redeemed; he has written for L'Osservatore Romano, Priests and People, Religious Life Review, Theology Digest and many other journals. He has worked for five years as a producer and broadcaster at Vatican Radio.

At a time when there is renewed interest in the Extraordinary Rite, Hugh Ross Williamson's classic exposition of the Roman Canon provides a superb commentary to provide priest and people alike with a deeper devotional understanding of the Mass.The very considerable learning, both historical and theological, which stands behind his writing is never obtrusive, but always serves the main purpose of the book which is devotional.Every paragraph of the Canon is given, both in Latin and in English translation.The prayers which compose the Canon of the Mass in the Extraordinary Rite are exactly those, without any alteration, which St Augustine said the first time he celebrated Mass in Canterbury when he came to England in the year 597.I commend this book to all who wish to discover afresh the riches of the Church's Liturgy and thus to renew her life. + Alan S Hopes Titular Bishop of Chester le Street Auxiliary Bishop of WestminsterHugh Ross Williamson (1901-1978) wrote nineteen plays and more than fifty books, entertaining and informing a wide public from 1933 until the time of his death.Journalist, historian, novelist, theologian and playwright, he had been an Anglican clergyman from 1940 - 1956 before converting to Catholicism. One of the first to explore the thesis that Shakespeare was a Catholic, much of his work was concerned with the rehabilitation of Catholicism in our understanding of England's history - a process that continues to this day. His popular introduction to St Bernadette and the Apparitions of Our Lady at Lourdes, The Challenge of Bernadette, is also published by Gracewing.