De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

I would like to warmly encourage readers of my blog to seriously consider attending two excellent events that Brentwood Catholic Youth Service (BCYS) are providing transport for: March For Life : Saturday 16th May Bishop Longley of the Diocese of Birmingham has given a special invitation to men to attend. The event begins at Birmingham Cathedral with a time of prayer and reflection, followed by a walk of witness through the streets of Birmingham. The day includes music, song and pro-life speakers such as the amazing Gianna Jessen . Anyone who has heard her testimony knows that her journey of life is truly inspirational and that she is an amazing witness to the true value of human life from conception to natural death. A BCYS coach departs at 6:30 am from Brentwood Cathedral and returns to at 7pm. BCYS are preparing young people for the day with an optional meeting on 13th May in Brentwood Cathedral Conference Room at 7pm. Here they will hear more about the event and make banners ...

On Saturday our diocese of Brentwood went on pilgrimage to Walsingham. I would have loved to have joined them, but having just returned from a very busy pilgrimage to Lourdes I was, frankly, rather exhausted! I was represented by the best possible ambassador however, in my son Michael. He met our Bishop-elect Fr. Alan Williams SM, MA, PH.D, and shook his hand, telling him we were all praying for him. He also walked the last mile in from the Slipper Chapel carrying the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham bare-foot! Here is his take on his first pilgrimage to Walsingham—England's Nazareth: On Saturday, May 24th I travelled to Norfolk with the Brentwood Catholic Youth Service to visit the Shrine of Walsingham. Upon arriving we entered the Catholic Shrine of Our Lady in Walsingham which was overflowing with pilgrims; we gathered for holy Mass together, which was concelebrated by our Bishop-elect Father Alan Williams SM . After Mass we were greeted by our Bishop-elect and had ...

Me with the brilliant Walsingham House Team! I was honoured to be invited to give a lecture at our diocesan Youth Retreat Centre, Walsingham House this week by Michael Barwick, Director of Walsingham House and Leighton Walker, Assistant Director. The subject was, as regular readers might guess, one of my great passions: Sacred Scripture. I really wanted to light a fire within our young leaders hearts and show them how incredible the Bible really is. I put together a talk which I hope gave them some insight into the extraordinary complexity of the Bible while unlocking some of its secrets and the powerful connections which have led so many to faith in Jesus Christ through the last two thousand years. These talks can go one of two ways really. If the audience is unresponsive and fail to engage or ask any questions, it can seem like a painful eternity. However the Walsingham House Team were very bright and eager to learn. There were lots of questions and the whole thing was very ...

Brentwood Catholic Youth Service oversees Walsingham House , Brentwood Diocese’s Youth Retreat Centre, located on Canvey Island. The ethos of the House is based on the spirituality of Our Lady of Walsingham, whilst also recognising her role as the Star of the New Evangelization, the model disciple, and intercessor for souls like no other. The House is managed on a day-to-day basis by a permanent staff team and the Diocesan Youth Chaplain has oversight of the liturgical life of the House. The staff team invite young people aged between 18 and 25 from our diocese to volunteer to undertake a year of Discipleship and Mission in their on-going conversion to Jesus Christ and their growth in the saving truths of the Catholic faith. In turn they evangelise the young people who come on retreats from our Parishes as part of their Confirmation Programme and Schools as part of their Religious Education Curriculum. Every Tuesday the ‘volunteer disciples’ spend time in prayerful formati...

Brentwood Diocese, purportedly, has the best Youth Service in the Country. This is more than just conjecture, it is the opinion of many people involved with Youth Work I have spoken to over the years, and was certainly affirmed by all who attended Sunday's  wonderful Mass of Thanksgiving at Brentwood Cathedral. Brentwood Cathedral Brentwood Youth Service has been a success due to the involvement of many characters over the years, but perhaps it would be reasonable to say none more so than Sarah Barber and her husband James, here pictured together in Lourdes at a joint Brentwood/Liverpool pilgrimage in 1987. Sarah & James Barber a long time ago! Sarah has been Diocesan Youth Director for twelve years and has made a huge contribution to the spiritual life of young people in our diocese over that time. She has now secured a position with CAFOD, which is very exciting. I'm sure she will continue to make a huge contribution to the life of the Church in her new...