Quality Talks!


Torch of The Faith News on Monday 27 October 2008 - 15:24:07 | by admin

faith_family_future_017.jpgThe weekend was chaired by Richard Marsden who will be familiar to many readers as the author of the blog Bashing Secularism. It was great to see a young and capable man using his gifts and talents as a journalist in the service of the Church.

Everyone at the conference will have a 'best bits' selection from the notably high level of quality talks. Some of our favourites (in alphabetical order) include -

davies.jpgFr. Jeremy Davies who spoke in one of the lounges about the Catholic Evidence Guild and its work at Speaker's Corner in London. Fr. Jeremy said something which hit a chord with things I have been saying, praying and researching for some time, when he said that the T.V. actually prevents us being really present to God, others and ourselves. His desire for the ancient tradition of street preaching to be continued and even revived also impacted on things we have both been discerning together for some time...

langridge.jpgHow great to hear that a man like Fr. Stephen Langridge is the Vocations Director for Southwark Diocese. A man with maturity, clarity of thought and sound insight into contemporary culture. Fr. Stephen encouraged us with his distrust of attempts to 'baptize youth culture' (including such oddities he had encountered as a 'teenagers Stations of the Cross' made with images of The Spice Girls and 007...); his promotion and practice of Adoration with young people; and his call to remain open to evangelising contemporary society - in short by seeing our efforts to build Christian homes and communities not as ghettos to which we may retreat, but rather as bases from which we may grow in order to reach out and bring people outside to Christ. He used the witness of Sacred Scripture to show that all things work together for those in Christ Jesus and that God often chooses the ordinary in life - and chooses them in their regular secular worlds - for example St. Matthew the tax collector! The key? Prayer and openness to God's Will and inviting and supporting young people to consider priesthood and religious life.

Over the midday dinner Fr. Stephen said something that deeply impressed me, when he explained 'I've never tried to be trendy with young people.' We have nevertheless seen him at Youth 2000 events at Walsingham surrounded by gaggles of young people. In his talk he had spoken of youth work as too often falling into entertainment or on the other hand exploitation of young people's desire to raise money for causes and had called for these tendencies to be replaced by inspiration to prayer and love of Jesus Christ. This connects to something we've said in earlier posts; that young people aren't looking for trendiness from the Church and her leaders but for God, truth, integrity, honesty, interest and understanding. All of which perhaps suggests the reasons for Fr. Stephen's noticeable attraction to young people and those considering a call to the priesthood. 

martin.jpgMrs. Martin's story touched us a lot. Like us, she has not been blessed with children of her own. God's healing of her heart in this matter at one propitious Easter Vigil led her to acceptance and the ability to seek new ways to respond to God's call to be open to life. She and her husband eventually adopted a family of children and have grown in the love of Christ through their sufferings and joys as a family.

faith_family_future_016.jpgFr. Aidan Nichols has been a theological hero of mine since reading some of his work while we were in America. To me his thought is deeply in tune with that of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. He also has a lot of very worthwhile things to say about the reconversion of England; a country which, he reminds us, came into being at the conversion of the Anglo-Saxon world to Christianity and subsequently had a key role in the development and growth of Christendom. He made a key, and often overlooked point, that the idea of secular society should be reclaimed because in fact all the world belongs to God and there should be no real split between the sacred and creation in this way. He suggested the word Civic as more proper in place of secular when speaking of the outside world which is governed by civil leaders. It is actually secularization - or even more properly De-Christianization - which seeks to marginalise the sacred in this manner. Fr. Aidan invited us to grow in the practice of family prayer and setting aside an altar or icon corner to create the sense of the sacred in the home. For all these reasons, and his monastic background, I suggested in a post a couple of months back that he (like Fr. Tim Finigan) should be seriously considered as a future bishop, or even as the next Cardinal of Westminster.

faith_family_future_022.jpg

Fr. Luiz Ruscillo is a man we had heard many great things about - dynamic, bags of energy, hilariously funny, great with young people, orthodox and on fire for God - and they all turned out to be true! His talk encouraged families that they are fulfilling the true goals and measure of life by worshipping God and letting Him be the measure of their success and lifestyle rather than the world. He reminded us that God's Law is not a matter of doing things in order to achieve God's Love but of accepting an unmerited and free gift and co-operating with Him in responding to its blessings and requirements. He reminded us that some people who struggle with the Church's teachings need help to live them - not rejection - whilst also upholding those teachings with humility and integrity. He also called us to make parishes welcoming places for young people and encouraged fathers in their role of family leadership in parishes -saying that it makes a BIG difference when 'dad' leads his family to Mass. He called us to frequent confession, regular - even daily Mass - and family prayer. Fr. Ruscillo's work under Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue in the field of education just may yet turn out to make Catholic education and its schools a key and viable player in the re-evangelisation of British culture and the individuals in it. Let us pray for him and all those involved in this important work.

waldstein.jpgMr. Waldstein delivered an excellent talk written by his father (who was formerly a professor at the International Theological Institute at Gaming in Austria and now teaches at the inspirational Ave Maria University in Naples, Florida, USA). We knew of the Gaming institution because our alma mater Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio had an exchange programme there and the faculty provide an excellent MA specializing in Marriage and the Family. Mr Waldstein was introduced by a good man called Bob who recently graduated from Gaming and has 7 children with his wife Helen. He struck us as someone whose gifts, training and experiences could, and should, be usefully employed by the English Church in the evangelisation and pastoral care of families.

Mr. Waldstein's father's talk drew on John Paul II's Theology of the Body to underscore the importance of fathers in the role of bringing up solid families and thus helping to save Western society and bring it back to building the Civilization of Love. Particular highlights included the need to transcend the post-modern preoccupation with dominating nature and the making of things just for use in economics and entertainment, by a receptivity to God and other persons in humility and love. Such a world view would need fathers to spend time loving, listening, reading with and being really present to their children and wives and shunning contraception and utilitarian work ethics which are based in use of persons rather than in love. He also warned how modern youth culture and rock music have been antithetical to love and order in the home and thus in wider society. In all this Mr. Waldstein came across as a humble man who realised that such ideals are not achieved overnight but as gifts of God's Grace which nevertheless require much prayer, time and effort to realize.   

Sailici
26 Apr : 16:43
хочу найти где можно бесплатное порно онлайн смотреть бесплатно что бы обязательно было уникальное бесплатно онлайн порно или к примеру как порно ролики. а еще хочу бесплатное порно скачать бесплатно и бесплатное порно видео
Rucombui
07 May : 14:45
Думаю кому-нибудь пригодится, без понятия, нашла здесь ключик к игре папины дочки, да этот ключ вообще он работает со всеми играми от компании Алавар.
Spacguinet
17 May : 19:18
Привет всем! Как можно делать разные трюки, на страничке http://what-focus.ru. А на счет сотовых телефонах обязательно поможет сайт mobi-best.ru. Ну а если интересуют PS игры, необходимо заглянуть по url http://xxl-games.ru. Покасики!
Teagogent
05 Jun : 18:40
Добрый день. Наконц и пришло всеми любимое лето. Интересно какие у вас планы на эти теплые месяца? А я пока сейчас хочу посмотреть что-нибудь полезное тут, а так же и тут, не забыть зайти на xxl-games.ru и последне что хочу, это наверное тут. Всем счастливо.
Deodsides
15 Jun : 18:58
Как жизнь? Хочу написать своими сайтами русское порно | порно галереи | бесплатно смотреть порно и порно ролики бесплатно. Вот и все. Счастливо!
Lietije
25 Jun : 07:07
Привет всем! Какая у Вас погода за окном? У нас прохладно. По этому сижу смотрю usb flash компьютеры и комплектующие для него. Так же смотрю ремонт nokia 8800 arte, так как дня не прожить без сотового телефона. Все это можно увидеть в каталог сайтов и не только это. Вот мои новости. До встречи!
Guzzsepdie
07 Jul : 00:37
Доброго времени суток. У вас довольно познавательный веб-сайт. Здесь много познавательных тем. Но бывает нам всем надо освободить голову от тяжелых мыслей, а поэтому я могу порекомендовать релаксирующие сайты. На порно мультики и еще смотреть порно секс ролики вы можете наслождатся просмотром видео с сексуальными девочками, а на бесплатное онлайн порно бесплатно , а еще русское порно бесплатно вас ждут зажигательные дамочки в откровенных видео роликах. Ещё иногда я люблю смотреть на самочек у которых нетрадиционная ориентация, а это вы найдёте на бесплатные порно ролики бесплатно и порно ролики онлайн. Всего Вам самого!


You must be logged in to make comments on this site - please log in, or if you are not registered click here to signup