De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

Walsingham is a most interesting place. Certainly it is one of the oldest Marian shrines in Europe; people have been coming here in pilgrimage since 1061 when Mary appeared in a vision to Richeldis de Faverches, a devout English noblewoman. Before the Reformation, Walsingham was one of the three foremost pilgrimage sites in the world, known as "England's Nazareth", along with Jerusalem and Santiago de Compostella. However, In 1538, the Reformation caused the Priory property to be handed over to the King’s Commissioners and incredibly, this extraordinary and ancient building was torn down. The famous statue of Our Lady of Walsingham was taken to London and burnt. After the destruction of the Shrine, Walsingham ceased to be a place of pilgrimage. Devotion was necessarily in secret until after Catholic Emancipation (1829) when public expressions of faith were finally allowed once again. It wasn't until Charlotte Pearson Boyd purchased the 14th century Slipper Ch...

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to be invited to the beautiful Ordinariate Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St. Gregory in Warwick Street by my friend Fr. Jeff Woolnough for a service of Carols for Epiphany. The Ordinariate has quickly become a watchword for orthodoxy and beautiful liturgy and it was really interesting to see how many people were there that I knew. The beautiful event was led by Mgr Keith Newton, and featured readings from the works of Bl John Henry Newman, T S Eliot and G K Chesterton, as well as seasonal lessons from the Scriptures which ended with the Gospel; John 2; the wedding feast at Cana. I thought this was brilliant. These weren't random readings picked out because they were nice. The readings were carefully chosen and ordered to lead to this crescendo of epiphany! I really got the sense we were being taught something; that something important was being revealed to us. You see, if we consider the chronological implications of the Cana ...

Mgr John preaching on The Feast of the Immaculate Conception this year. Mgr John Armitage, one of Brentwood Diocese most loved priests has been appointed as the Rector of the National Shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham by Bishop Alan Hopes.  He will take up his appointment on Ash Wednesday, February 18th 2015. Monsignor Armitage is currently Parish Priest of the Royal Docks in London’s East End and has served for the last 11 years as Vicar General in the Diocese of Brentwood. He comes to this appointment with tremendous pastoral and practical experience, He has a great devotion to Our Lady of Walsingham and is keen to help Walsingham to play its part in the New Evangelisation, particularly among young people and young adults. Fr. John is well known for being one of the busiest men in the country, so I can't help wondering if this is an almost perfect appointment for him. Although he will be far away from his beloved London (he was born and bred in Newham), where he has be...

 We had an excellent Catenian meeting last night. It was great to meet up with the brothers after a month and catch up on how everyone has been. We meet every month at the Park View Suite , who always do us proud with a wonderful dinner, and last night was certainly no exception, with a sumptuous three course meal, brushcetta, followed by roast lamb and chocolate souffle with mint ice-cream. Lots of visiting gentlemen from  Chelmsford's Catenian Circle and Steve Webb was also present, director of Brentwood Catholic Children's Society . Steve Webb with Archbishop Vincent Nichols Brentwood Catholic Children's Society provides counseling for children and young adults up to the age of eighteen, regardless of their beliefs, together with their families, who could be experiencing emotional difficulties.It was started in 1984 by Mgr. John Armitage, much beloved priest of our diocese, who, following the closure of the Children’s Homes in Basildon, adopted the role of ...