De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

The wonderful School of the Annunciation, at Buckfast Abbey in Devon, UK, are now booking students in for their Autumn Courses in the faith.  The School affords an unprecedented opportunity to study in a beautiful, prayerful, Catholic environment, experiencing the ebb and flow of the liturgical day with the monks as well as their legendary Benedictine hospitality.  Book now to avoid disappointment!

My first sight of the beautiful Abbey Church at Buckfast in March. I spent a lovely couple of days at Buckfast Abbey on the 24th & 25th March at the Guild of Our Lady & St. Joseph's day on the New Evangelisation ( see here ). Archbishop Rino Fisichella was due to give a talk o n ‘A new phase of Evangelisation in the thought of Pope Francis’ but was unwell and so couldn't make it. Instead, the text of the talk was delivered by our wonderful Chaplain, Fr. Guy de Gaynesford and you can read the full text here . Fr. Guy, addressing the Guild on Tuesday night, spoke of it existing in itself as an act of love for God. It is our action, our love for Him that has created it. This got me thinking about discipleship, relationship with God, and the necessity of capitulation in our spiritual lives in general. This process of metanoia is the first call of the Bible. In Genesis, we see how it is man's arrogance before God that leads to The Fall . The pivotal story between...

The Most Reverend Archbishop Rino Fisichella will be speaking on ‘A new phase of Evangelisation in the thought of Pope Francis’ at the School of the Annunciation: Centre for the New Evangelisation, Buckfast Abbey, on Wednesday 25th March, at 10 am.  All are welcome- Admission is free!  Archbishop Rino Fisichella will also preside at the celebration of Mass for the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord at 12 noon in the Abbey Church, and again, all are welcome to this celebration.  Archbishop Fisichella is the President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization , responsible for fostering a ‘renewed missionary impulse’, especially among ‘Churches of ancient origin’. (Pope Benedict XVI, Ubicumque et Semper , 2010). Archbishop Fisichella’s address will be delivered at the Schiller Hall, St Cuthbert’s Conference Centre, Buckfast Abbey.  There is ample free parking on-site For further details see the website .  enqu...

I have just found out that EWTN (the global Catholic TV network) are running a series of reflections for Advent from Buckfast Abbey and the School of the Annunciation The Schedule is as follows:- 1st Week of Advent: Repentance Is the Essence of Conversion Abbot David Charlesworth, OSB, of Buckfast Abbey, speaks about the importance of personal conversion as the means for getting ready for the coming of Christ. Sunday, Nov 30 at 7:30, 15:30; Tuesday 2, 19:00; Thursday 4, 21:30 (30 mins) 2nd Week of Advent: Preparing to Welcome Christ Dom Thomas Regan, OSB, of Buckfast Abbey, talks about the need to prepare well in order to properly celebrate Advent and Christmas, by putting Christ at the heart of Christmas. Sunday 7, 7:30, 15:30; Tuesday 9, 19:00; Thursday 11, 21:30. (30 mins) 3rd Week of Advent: Rejoicing with Mary in the Coming of the Lord Fr Guy Nicholls, of the Birmingham Oratory, invites us to prepare our hearts like Mary, to rejoice in the coming of the Lord. Sunday ...

270 miles and 41/2 hours ago I was in Buckfast Abbey in Devon. I was deeply honoured to have been invited to the Foundation Celebrations for The School of the Annunciation by Dr. Caroline Farey, Director of Studies at the School, which was merely an idea just twelve months ago. It is difficult to look at the events of the last twelve months and not see the hand of God at work. After the disappointment and pain of the fracture at Maryvale, Petroc and Caroline had no idea what they were going to do. Today, I witnessed the birth of a new, exciting venture, designed to provide a higher education institution which will present an enormous variety of high quality courses that will help people deepen their faith and partake in the work of the New Evangelisation. Rather than some clandestine, divisive venture, The School of the Annunciation is a living, working, embodiment of the tri-fold sources of Revelation: Scripture, Tradition, and The Magisterium. Enfolded within the rich Bened...

David Clayton writes on the NLM blog today: Consideration of the liturgy and beauty is central to evangelization. Visual art in particular has a role to play - it teaches and informs us through its content, it's beauty helps to direct and deepen our worship of God in the liturgy and in a context outside the church, it's beauty draws all men to itself and then beyond to the source of all beauty, God, so opening their hearts to be receptive to the Word when offered to them.   My good friends at the newly established  School of the Annunciation  situated in the grounds of Buckfast Abbey in Devon, England understand it deeply. I am delighted to learn of the launch of their Diploma in New Evangelization. Taught through a combination of residential weekends and online this means you can take it wherever you live.  The New Evangelization is a fashionable phrase to bandy about (to the degree that anything to do with the Faith can be fashionable!). When I fi...