Sunday, 12 July 2009

Filming for new DVD on St. Cuthman of Steyning

Mary's Dowry Productions has quite a few projects on the go at the moment. This morning was spent filming around Sompting, Sussex Downs and Steyning to acquire scenic footage for new documentary film on Saint Cuthman.

St. Cuthman was from Saxon times and we were able to discover many original Saxon churches, architecture and sculptures. In Sompting the vicar's husband let us into St. Mary's parish Church and pointed out the many Saxon parts of the building such as the tower which he explained is Saxon at the base and Norman at the top.


The doors in the church you can see used to be very tall. This was when the Knights Templars used to ride their horses into the church to pray all night vigils before leaving for the Holy Land on the Crusades. Much of the stonework was Saxon and a nice girl kindly lifted a trap door to expose a 'knights tomb' which was great!



After filming at St. Mary's, we continued across the top of the downs and filmed the rolling hills. It was very nice to film in the summertime. Despite the windy conditions at least we were warm. Both Philip Howard and St. Edmund Campion films were shot all through winter and memories of snow and hats, gloves, scarves and a slowly turning-blue-Campion represent the making of those films to us.


St. Cuthman will be a warm summery film and our first without ending in execution and martyrdom! It will also be shot in widescreen!

Many walkers and people on bikes and horses passed us along the way and there was even someone out for a country flight in their bi-plane.

I have a small obsession with acquiring nature footage whilst we are out because alongside our productions I work on our catechetical resources such as Well Known Saints and Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Beautiful interesting shots come in useful to superimpose prayers and quotes at the end of our short movies. Unfortunately whilst absorbed in this butterfly bush I realised with horror that a bee was happily sitting on my arm. Being allergic to bee stings I am ashamed to say I shrieked at the top of my voice echoing across the downs until my sister came to the rescue and blew really hard until it flew away.


Over the top of the downs led us to Steyning and we managed to find the church of St. Andrew and St. Cuthman. Outside the church is a statue of St. Cuthman himself.

IInside the ancient doorway is a porch which is very hold and has a couple of Saxon coffins as well as the tomb of a King (I've forgotten who)

and a beautiful stained glass window of St. Cuthman.

All in all a very productive morning. Next week we will with our actors acquire the visuals of St. Cuthman and his mother then can start putting the documentary together ready for post-production. It looks set to be a nice summery Sussex addition to the catalogue of Mary's Dowry Productions.

Wednesday, 8 July 2009

Saint Gertrude the Great and Holy Mass

We have been reading The Life and Revelations of Saint Gertrude the Great. It's quite heavy going and having been translated from German to Latin then to English it's quite tough to get into and the language is quite mysterious.
The other night I read a passage where the imagery was so striking I thought I would share it. It really was quite powerful in relation to the Mass and how awesome the Mass is and what takes place in the spiritual realm that we do not see!

St. Gertrude was discussing with Jesus about abstaining from Holy Communion, as far as I can gather her convent was being denied Holy Communion unjustly for a time and Gertrude was interceding for a person who had asked her prayers when Jesus suddenly announced his intent to come down and communicate himself:

"Our Lord answered: 'I will descend now, and communicate Myself to this soul and to all who are in the valley of self-abasement.' Then the Son of God, the Lord and Master of all virtues, appeared to descend suddenly by a crimson ladder, and soon after she beheld Him at the altar of the church of the monastery, clothed with pontifical vestments and bearing in His Hands a pyx like those in which the consecrated Hosts alone are reserved, and He remained seated before the priest until the Preface of the Mass.

A multitude of Angels attended Him, so that the whole church on the northern side, which was to the right side of the Lord, seemed filled with them; and these blessed spirits testified a particular joy in visiting the pace where their fellow-citizens, the religious of the monastery, had so often addressed their prayers to God."

At this point there is much description about the confessors, virgins, martyrs and all people present at the Mass but what I thought was really awesome was the description of Jesus' actions and the awesomeness of Him as God, interceding for us at Mass in the following way:

"Then, as the Gloria in excelsis was intoned, the Sovereign Pontiff, Our Lord Jesus Christ, breathed toward Heaven, to the honor of His Eternal Father, a breath like a burning flame. And at the words: Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis, He breathed upon those who were present a white light, bright as snow. At the wods of the preface, Sursum corda, the Son of God arose, and by an efficacious attraction drew towards Himself all who were present. Then turning towards the east, assisted by an infinite number of Angels, He stood and raised His hands, and offered to God His Father, through the words of the Preface, the prayers of the faithful.
After this when they began the Agnus Dei, the Lord rose before the altar with all the power of his Majesty communicating Himself, at the second Agnus Dei, by an impenetrable effect of His wisdom, to the souls of all the assistants; at the third Agnus dei, withdrawing into himself, He offered in His own person to God His Father all their prayers and desires. He gave the pax with His own blessed lips to all the Saints who were present."
I think it's wonderful to try and visualise this imagery at Mass, no matter what Mass we are at, the awesomeness and true presence of God and the whole court of Heaven is real. It's also made me want to pray more prayers of reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for sacrileges and offences that happen at Masses. If people only realized what is truly taking place with all the angels and Saints and God Himself, they would be so filled with awe.

A&B Prayer Crusade Target Reached


Every priest, active and retired, in Arundel & Brighton is now being personally prayed for every day of the year of the prest. We went slightly into the Year of the Priest but as of today every priest has now been allocated to somebody all over the world. We'd just like to thank everybody who took on a priest again for supporting the initiative. We have received feedback from some of the priests thanking everyone and expressing great joy in knowing that they are being prayed for personally.
We'd especially like to thank all the Mary's Dowry Productions previous customers who responded so positively to the initiative and really made it possible. Now it's up to you to pray for your priests. Today we write to the Bishop of A&B and present him with his personalized Year of the Priest Arundel & Brighton Prayer Crusade prayer card.
Out of a bag of 161 names the Bishop could have been pulled out any day for any person but his name was not pulled out until the very last day. I guess the Holy Spirit wanted to keep us all in suspense, what a responsibility (and an honour) the person who was allocated the Bishop has!

Monday, 6 July 2009

Blessed Margaret Pole Upcoming Film


Mary's Dowry Productions is now underway with our next feature film "Saint Margaret Clitherow". Since establishing in 2007 Mary's Dowry Productions has released several documentary style DVDs such as "Philip of Arundel", "The Martyrs Walk" and a documentary on the "Sistine Chapel Reproduction".
In April 2009 we released our first feature film "Saint Edmund Campion". Due to requests we have also produced a number of catechetical resources for churches and schools such as "Well Known Saints: Volume One", "Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Volume One" and are currently producing "Well Known Saints: Volume Two" and "The Virtues". Our cathechetical resources are mainly stocked in St. Paul's Bookshop near Westminster and are also available online as individual movie files from Catholic Media House.
With our next feature film "Saint Margaret Clitherow" now in production, we thought it would be exciting to get to work alongside this film on several long-awaited documentary biographies like "Philip of Arundel" on several of our local saints and martyrs. The first of which is Blessed Margaret Pole. This 'Philip of Arundel' style DVD will be available in a few weeks and will tell the account of Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury who was born at Castle Farley, near Bath in 1473. She was martyred at East Smithfield Green 1541. In custody she was committed to Cowdray Park, near Midhurst in West Sussex, and removed to the tower of London where she was beheaded after two years imprisonment. Coming Soon!

Tuesday, 30 June 2009

Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Volume One DVD


A new DVD from Mary's Dowry Productions now released!
Mary's Dowry Productions is pleased to offer a peaceful, thoughtful means of learning and meditation on the wonderful Truths of the Catholic Faith in this new and inspiring DVD volume.

Five Original Mini Movies are each portrayed with imagery, text and original music to present the life and work of the Holy Spirit in the Church:
The Beatitudes, The Precepts, The Seven Sacraments,
The Fruits and the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

For personal reflection and education, or ideal as a resource for use in R.C.I.A, Confirmation, families and schools, these vital Truths are presented here on DVD in an easy-to-use and enjoyable format.
Approx Runtime 30 minutes: Each Movie accessible from the main menu.
Add Image
The DVD is priced at £9.99 and is available from Mary's Dowry Productions Online Shop.
More information to be found here at this page.
TRAILER:

video

New Items from Mary's Dowry Productions


NEW from Mary's Dowry Productions - a selection of fridge magnets bringing our beloved English Martyrs closer to your every day life.
These NEW holy reminders are now available to order from our online shop and present the images of our heroic Catholic Martyrs. Place them on your fridge and remember them as you go about daily chores.
We presently have a well crafted handmade selection that includes:

St. Edmund Campion
St. Thomas More
St. Robert Southwell
St. Margaret Clitherow
St. Philip Howard
St. John Fisher

The magnets are priced at just £2.00 each and are available from Mary's Dowry Productions Online Shop.
More information visit this page!

Tuesday, 23 June 2009

Solemn High Mass of Thanksgiving

On Sunday we went to a Solemn High Mass of thanksgiving in honour of Our Blessed Lady at the Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation and Saint Francis, West Grinstead. The Shrine is so lovely and so worth visiting.
It was a beautiful Latin Mass with a really beautiful Schola Baptista. The Mass was celebrated by Fr. Matthew Goddard who was ordained a priest in the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter a few weeks ago. We managed to take a few photographs and then queued up for Blessings from Fr. Matthew afterwards.









Novena of Reparation

Having been reading the Life and Revelations of Saint Gertrude the Great I was struck by the following passage the other day:

Reparation for the Disorders of the Carnival.

On Quinquagesima Sunday St. Gertrude saw that Our Lord had all the reparations which she and her Sisters offered Him during the Carnival marked in the Book of Life. "I will give thee" said Jesus "in return for all these services, a measure full, pressed down, heaped up and overflowing; for My human Heart, like thine own, feels more deeply the kindnesses shown to Me in times of sorrow than those I may receive in the time of prosperity. Like David, who deigned to admit into his palace and to his table the children of Berzellari (who had assisted him when he fled from the persecution of Absalom), and showed them his gratitude even til death - in like manner I will admit these to the table of My delights, and for all eternity will be grateful to those who show Me honour now, when I am persecuted by the world."

Jesus then recomended her to offer all her works of atonement in union with his Passion, from which they derive all their merit, and how St. Gertrude begging Him to teach her how He wished her to do this, He indicated to her for this effect to pray with her arms extended in the form of a cross, by which we represent to the eyes of God the figure of His Divine and crucified Son.



Immediately this reminded me of the Divine Mercy because this is how the sisters of mercy pray with their arms outstretched and Jesus was saying this to Saint Gertrude centuries before Saint Faustina!

The carnival put into my mind the thought of the yearly Gay Pride March which takes place in Brighton in Sussex on August 1st.
Since Gertrude and her nuns were making reparation for Jesus so offended back then in the thirteenth century how much reparation is needed now because of what goes on today throughout the world.
A specific novena of reparation for many of the things that take place during these marches and also to give support to the many people who are striving to lead a good life through groups such as Courage would be a good thing to do this year.

Monday, 22 June 2009

A&B Prayer Crusade for the Year of the Priest Update

Here at Bevansinc we would very much like to thank all those who have contacted us to pray for a priest from the Arundel and Brighton Diocese. The prayer crusade for the year of the priest has been a huge success with almost all of our priests now being prayed for by Sisters, Deacons, Apologists, Men and Women Laity of all ages. People from places such as Taiwan, Singapore, The Philippines, Germany, Italy, Spain, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Denver, Idaho, Alabama, Texas and Boston have taken on a priest to remember in their prayers each day.


How It Works:

All of the names of our A&B priests taken from the 2009 Directory have been put into a bag. Each night after the family rosary, we as a family ask the Holy Spirit and Saint Jean Vianney to find the right priest to be prayed for by the right person, then we pull out a name of a priest. We then email the person who has said they are willing to pray for a priest personally, the name of their chosen priest. Then this person adds the priest to their prayer intentions each day so that all of our A&B priests are being personally prayed for. The names of the individuals are kept strictly confidential and the priests do not know who is praying for them, only that they are being prayed for by someone and that it could be in any part of the world!

Of course it is up to the individual if they want to contact their chosen priest and let them know who they are and that they are praying for them. Some of the sisters in Wales are extending their special indulgence for the year of the priest to their chosen priests and are sending them a prayer card just to let them know which is a lovely idea.

We now have allocated over 100 of our priests and are almost there but there are still some who have nobody to pray for them. If you would like to take one on to pray for, we can pull out a name for you and email you who your priest is. Then you can just remember your chosen priest by name each day in prayer - that's all there is to it!

Simply let us know by contacting us here at Bevansinc.

Thank you again to all those who have really gotten the initiative off the ground so quickly and who have responded so positively to it!

Sunday, 21 June 2009

To make The Culture of Death shudder and tremble


While having a sort through a desk yesterday we discovered a page of notes we made when watching Fr. Wade Menezes present his series called 'The Gospel of Life V's The Culture of Death' on EWTN about 2 years ago.

Here are Fr. Wade's 14 STEPS TO MAKE THE CULTURE OF DEATH SHUDDER AND TREMBLE:

1. Confession, at least monthly
2. Weekly Eucharist and visits to the Blessed Sacrament
3. Morning Offering
4. Rosary - at least 5 decades daily
5. The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy
6. Fasting according to Church law
7. 2 daily examinations of conscience - particular at 12 noon - 1 vice and end of day (confiteor)
8. Ejaculatory prayer throughout the day
9. Daily reader (Mass readings)
10. Use of Sacramentals
11. Sacred Scripture (at least one chapter)
12. The Catechism of the Catholic Church - 5 paragraphs a day
13. Lives of the Saints - one per week, especially those who have the same state in life as you
14. Saint Faustina's Diary - 5 paragraphs daily
A great personal weapon plan - we especially love the idea of having the power in these steps to make the CULTURE of DEATH SHUDDER AND TREMBLE!

Wednesday, 17 June 2009

The Year of the Priest Mission


Thank you to everybody so far who has adopted an Arundel and Brighton priest to pray for personally in the year of the priest 19th June 2009 - 19th June 2010.

We are up to 36 priests who have each been allocated to someone from all over the world. We have people in Belgium, Italy, Singapore, Scotland, England, Wales, Texas, Alabama praying for our priests. Please contact us if you would like a priest chosen for you to pray for! We are going to keep going until all are being prayed for even if we run right over June 19th!

All that is required is nothing specific, just remembering your priest every day of the year of the priest by name in prayer.

Thank you!

Monday, 15 June 2009

Year of the Priest - Praying for A&B Priests


As you know the Year of the Priest begins on June 19th. It's rather a last minute idea but all at Bevansinc would like to network for prayers to be said specifically for individual priests of our Diocese of Arundel and Brighton. The way we would like to do it is for people to contact us who are willing to 'adopt a priest' and make a small commitment to pray for this particular priest every day of the year of the priests from June 19th 2009 - June 19th 2010.


If you would like to take on this small commitment and adopt one of A&B's priests please EMAIL US and simply say that you will be willing to pray every day for a priest. Then Bevansinc will email you back with the name of your adopted priest as well as a nice prayer to say for them. Obviously you are not committed to pray the prayer every day, but try to whenever you can, and just remember this particular priest in your prayers every day for the year.


We will write all the priests' names on pieces of paper and put them into a box. Then when you contact us we will pray to St. John Vianney and ask the Holy Spirit to choose your priest and pull a name out, then we will tell you who your priest to pray for.


Please contact us ASAP as we only have a few days to go to get this whole thing started and we need over 100 people to commit. Please also announce it on your blogs and point them to this post so that they can join. If you are not in A&B Diocese it does not matter, we would very much like help from all over praying especially for A&B. Thank you!

Sunday, 14 June 2009

A special Apostolic Blessing

One of our friend's has a friend who used to work for Vatican Radio and for dad's Ordination he gave him this! We were so amazed and so excited!! Pope Benedict XVI cordially imparted his apostolic blessing upon dad, invoking divine Graces on the occasion of his ordination. We couldn't get over the fact that the Holy Father actually specifically prayed for dad and blessed him by name yesterday!! That is so amazing and so shocking! How exciting!! Dad was so awed and humbled! WOW!

Ordination to the Diaconate

Yesterday dad (Gary Bevans) was Ordained to the Permanent Diaconate at our parish of English Martyrs Church, Goring-by-Sea. It was a beautiful day with a lovely atmosphere. We arrived at 10.30am and the church was already full. A pretty little arbour had been put up over the main entrance.


Dad met up with his fellow Deacons elect and was feeling quite nervous and awed.
We managed to take a few photos of people arriving but our friend took lots of photos throughout the whole Ordination and Mass. The Litany of Saints was really beautiful and the Ordination prayer is awesome. There was quite a profound atmosphere and everyone really loved the day!






I managed to take one photograph during the Mass after Holy Communion as I was in the front and everyone had their heads bowed following the words of the hymn 'O Bread of Heaven'.

Afterwards dad was maneuvered for about an hour and a half for photographs and meeting people.




Bern did a great job playing the organ. The music was so peaceful and gentle and allowed for peace and prayer throughout the Mass.




On with the Roman collar and a photo with dad's best friend. The reception was a time of joy and dad received lots of Books of Blessings which will be put to well use!


The marque in the courtyard was well used.

And a delicious fruit cake to finish the day.


What an amazing event and such an awesome thing for dad to be Ordained a Deacon!

Diaconate Rehersal

Things were bustling in the Bevans household as dad's Ordination to the Diaconate was finally upon us. Three years at the Seminary had passed so quickly and saturday was the BIG day - the Feast of Saint Anthony of Padua (who is mum's favourite Saint). We had a rehersal on Friday evening for two hours to run through the Mass with the M.C, deacons, servers and others and a last quick organ run through for Bern. Dad seemed to be enjoying himself!



Processional practice



One of the most beautiful parts is the Litany of Saints which is sung like it was at Pope John Paull II's funeral. During that dad lies prostrate and the congregation, priests, deacons and Bishop all kneel towards the Tabernacle. It is very moving.


Also mum brings forth dad's Stole and Dalmatic and he will be vested as a Deacon.






There was a marque set up in the courtyard. This was one of our sets for our film Saint Edmund Campion - here we hung Saint Edmund from the gallows (not literally!) and it also doubled as a location in Ireland where Saint Edmund taught younger members of the Stannihurst family.





Final run through of the Mass.



Bernadette is playing the organ and had a practice. The music liturgy is beautiful and carefully planned with just an organ and the choir. For the gathering she will play with her friend on her cello 'Veni Sancti Spiritus' and at Holy Communion 'Pieu Jesu'. It sounded very beautiful and prayerful.



Having a pleasant practice


One last check at how many people we can get into a pew. It was decided that five is the maximum!


The Church was left prepared for the Ordination on Saturday morning.



Corpus Christi Procession - Arundel Cathedral

On Thursday we attended the Mass of Corpus Christi at Arundel Cathedral. This is the view from the bookshop into the town square at about 3pm. Yes, it was tipping it down with rain but we were confident that the sun would come out for the procession!

Most of the soaking wet visitors squashed into the front of the bookshop during the downpour. (I (Emily) was working with 'Anne Boleyn' from our Saint Edmund Campion film)

Sure enough at about 4.30pm the sun was shining again and I ran up the hill to the Cathedral for Mass at about 5.15pm - entered the Cathedral and it was jam packed. I think it was the best turn out in a long-time.


The Carpet of Flowers glowed happily awaiting the Bishop to carry the Blessed Sacrament upon it


Bernadette and I stood at the back for Mass. This was actually quite beneficial because we had a fantastic view of Mass through the front doors and were able to slip out before the procession so as to see everyone assembling and begin down the hill.

There were many guilds and groups represented by lovely banners in the procession.

We waited on the side of the road for the procession to come out of the Cathedral. We didn't manage to see the Bishop carry the Monstrance over the Carpet of Flowers though but we would join the procession after it passed us.




First came the First Holy Communion children mainly from Saint Philip Howard school, but our mum brings along the children from our parish too and they are made very welcome. The children wear their First Holy Communion clothes and hold baskets of flower petals which they strew before the Blessed Sacrament as they follow the processional Cross.

Next follow the orders of Malta and other impressive orders followed by the priests and deacons and the Bishop under the canopy with the Monstrance.




We went down on our knees as the Blessed Sacrament passed - I don't think people do that very often because we got some funny looks but it was great to kneel on the pavement as the Blessed Sacrament passed!
The procession made its way down the hill toward the castle with singing and readings and litanies.

We made our way through the winding grounds towards the drawbridge.


and under a portcullis

Once inside the private courtyard of the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk there is an altar set up in the shadow of the Keep (the Keep is over 1000 years old) and we had a short Benediction and Blessing as the sun began to go down behind the Keep.




Then we went back towards the Cathedral for a final Benediction and the Divine Praises.





Afterwards the Carpet of Flowers was walked upon by everyone - there is a bizarre joy in doing so - it had given hundreds of visitors lots of pleasure and the First Holy Communion children and all who wanted to picked up flowers from it to put into prayerbooks.
A really wonderful event and well-worth attending!

This part was where 'Saint Paul' was.....

Wednesday, 10 June 2009

The finished Carpet - Arundel Cathedral

When I arrived at work this morning I thought I would try my luck and find the one parking space that a million of us would be seeking up the hill but as it was all coned off to let the coaches all through with better access the attempt was pretty hopeless so I went and parked right down the bottom along the castle moat.



This actually proved to be a good thing because I met a friend who was walking his dog and he proceeded to point out lots of natural history along the moat and banks and castle grounds including a peregrine that was heading over the castle, baby water voles in the river banks, the baby ducklings, a water vole swimming across the moat and this one sitting in the grass.


It was pouring with rain but we didn't get wet under the trees that line Mill Road and I arrived at the shop to begin a day selling books (mainly paperbacks for the read on the coaches) to the endless tourists who had come from all over to visit the Carpet of Flowers!
On my lunch break I went up to the Cathedral to collect some bookmarks from Cathedral House and then thought I would attempt to squeeze through the masses to see the finished carpet before the Bishop walks over it tomorrow. On my way up I could hear this mad organ music and saw this charity organ outside the Priory.

The Cathedral was packed and had such a lovely atmosphere. The Carpet was finished and I managed to grab some photographs but thought I had better move quickly because of getting back down to the shop and there were about ten million people.

The ends of the benches are roped off but you can get through to see the carpet from the sides or either end of the Cathedral.








There were lovely displays all along the sides of the Cathedral. The Poor Clares from up the top of the hill at Crossbush had a table for all their handmade cards, icons of Saint Clare and Saint Francis and Rosaries. I was delighted to see all the reliquaries that were on the main altar around the huge empty Monstrance. In between each candlestick is a reliquary with bones of Saints inside - we LOVE relics.

There were flower displays everywhere including around the Sanctuary Lamp beside the tomb of Saint Philip Howard and the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes.




The Carpet of Flowers was open until 9pm tonight and after work I went back with my work colleague and we stood enjoying the peaceful atmosphere and listening to the organ music.
Mass starts at 5.30pm tomorrow, followed by a Procession of the Blessed Sacrament through the top of the town into the Castle grounds, Benediction, procession back up to the Cathedral and final Blessing.
There are refreshments throughout the day in St. Mary's Hall half a minute up the road from the Cathedral.

Carpet of Flowers progressing in Arundel Cathedral

Yesterday morning I popped into Arundel Cathedral to see how the Carpet of Flowers was progressing for the Feast of Corpus Christi. Speakers were being fitting along the lamp posts where I park alongside the Cathedral. These go all down the hill and into the castle grounds and right through down over the drawbridge under the portcullis into the courtyard so that during the procession we can hear the organ and sing really loudly through the street and the castle grounds.





I went into the Cathedral which was beginning to fill up with visitors. They come from all over the country, one lady last year told me that she caught a coach at 4.30 in the morning. There was a really lovely atmosphere as the flowers had all arrived and the helpers were sitting in the pews before the Blessed Sacrament chatting and preparing them for the carpet.



Lots of lovely bunches.


There were groups of children from Saint Philip Howard's Primary School by the looks of it who were helping to start on the Carpet.


I left the Cathedral as the first flowers were being placed for the whole pattern to be done throughout the day.


You can go and watch them making it, they are so friendly and welcome all the visitors and tell them what they are doing and why. I thought it was really nice to do the Saint Paul theme to mark the end of the Year of Saint Paul.



New Video on CMH - The Precepts of the Catholic Church


A new video is available to view or buy online at Catholic Media House "The Precepts of the Catholic Church". This is the fouth in our short series for new DVD release "Gifts, Fruits, Sacraments and Precepts" which will be released soon as have just completed "The Beatitudes" fifth and final movie for it. Have a look and pass them around to any priests or cathechists you may know who require good original Catholic media tools particularly for RCIA and Confirmation. Click Here to view.

Monday, 8 June 2009

Arundel Cathedral Carpet of Flowers

The Carpet of Flowers for Corpus Christi on Thursday is underway at Arundel Cathedral. The whole Cathedral smells strongly of beautiful flowers when you walk in and you can see the process as the preparations are being made. The Bishop will carry Our Lord in a beautiful Monstrance over the Carpet of Flowers after Mass on Thursday for a procession through the town and the Castle grounds for Benediction. Below you can see the progress, Saint Philip Howard's Shrine and some banners that will be taken in procession.




















Arundel Cathedral is preparing for Corpus Christi which is still celebrated on Thursday because of the Carpet of Flowers and procession into the Castle for Benediction. We are really pleased about that as we will have solemn Mass with the Bishop, procession of the Blessed Sacrament into the Castle grounds and conclusions at the Cathedral this Thursday for Corpus Christi. It is such a lovely event. I (em) pop into the Cathedral every day on my way down to work and was interested to see the process of the Carpet which has begun today.
Above you can see photographs of the Shrine of Saint Philip Howard with the banners that will be carried through the streets in procession, various flower arrangements and the Carpet in its first stage. They will be putting the flowers down tomorrow so hopefully if it is not too busy I will go in and take more photos. It was completely empty this eve when I went in after closing shop.
We love Saint Philip Howard and Arundel Castle. I was so excited to have a private and unexpected tour of the castle with a friend on Thursday as part of local links with businesses in the town. The castle is so beautiful and so Catholic. I loved being in the library which was where Saint Philip Howard paced as he made his conversion after hearing Saint Edmund Campion's disputations in the Tower of London. Apparently his dog brushes against the legs of children sometimes as the dog paces in Philip's footsteps (spooky!). It was very quiet on Thursday so we had the castle at some points to ourselves and could ponder the rooms in silence. The guide took me and my friend into a secret room behind one of the chimneys where there were some beautiful paintings and religious articles. I touched the painting in the Baron's Hall which is worth £20,000,000 - an orginal Van Dyke (even the Queen has a copy!), touched the Russian Icon of Our Lady which has solid crafted silver by Faberge, studied Mary Queen of Scots' Rosary and the pen that signed the Catholic Emacipation Act. I also studied the many gifts that Cardinal John Henry Newman gave to the past Duke and Duchess throughout the castle, the rooms where Sir David Frost and Prince Andrew stay, and other fascinating items. We hiked up to the Keep and pondered the views and then returned to work. What a fab opportunity! Arundel Castle is lovely and the Duke and Duchess open the Castle Chapel for Mass at Christmas and the Baron's Hall for drinks afterwards. It is a lovely place well worth a visit and the guides there are very nice and friendly. What I love is that they remind you it is a Catholic home and the whole place is surrounded by beautiful statues of Our Lady and religious art, seeped in history.

Wednesday, 3 June 2009

Pilgrimage of Reparation and Consecration...

...at Our lady of Consolation and St. Francis, West Grinstead - Saturday 11th JULY 2009.

The Marian Shrines of Great Britain are having a National Day of Pilgrimage on Satruday 11th JULY 2009 at the Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation which will be led by Fr. David Goddard, Priest Custodian of the Shrine. This is always a lovely, prayerful event with lots of devotions and a chance to catch up with like-minded people.


The theme of the day is:
THE RE-EVANGELISATION AND CONVERSION OF OUR COUNTRY.
This is a fantastic day of prayer and power for England.

The schedule of the day is as follows:
12Noon: Angelus. Papal Blessing. Holy Mass followed by personal consecration to Our Lady.1-1.45: Lunch (please bring a packed lunch)
1.45: The Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary (if fine, on the Rosary Way)
2.15: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament with prayers for priests
3.00: Chaplet of the Divine Mercy - Adoration and silent prayer
3.30: Procession of the Blessed Sacrameent and Benediction
4.00: Departure
There will be opportunities for Confession throughout the afternoon.

For more information contact the Shrine on 01403 712512. The Shrine Website is:




We went last year and it was excellent, we shall definately try to go along this year!

Sunday, 31 May 2009

Inspiring talk by Fr Tom Euteneuer - Satan and Our Lady

The second speaker at the Marian conference in La Crosse yesterday was Fr. Tom Euteneuer who is president of Human Life International and is a very powerful voice and preacher and more recently an exorcist. He has travelled 900,000 miles and over 55 countries for his work and witness for life and the Catholic church and was awarded the 'Soldier of the Church Militant' award in 2007.
We thought his talk was so brilliant that we made notes and will share them here.
Fr. Tom's talk for one hour was about the 'Spiritual Maternity of Mary and moral issues facing Catholics today'. Fr. Tom spoke about the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe which is the only approved apparition of Our Lady where Our Lady appeared as a pregnant mother. He believes that the pro-life movement has a responsibilty and a true role in bringing about the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Fr. Tom spoke about motherhood, how we learn from our mothers how to bond to other people, the obligations of family, moral perspectives on the world and how mothers show us right and wrong, values, programme our thinking, make us aware of other peoples needs and rights and relationships. He then spoke about Our Lady doing this for us also but more and her Divine motherhood, how she shows us the truths of this world and how to arrive at the next world, to transend the limits of this world. Our Lady also shows us all of reality, not just OUR reality and that of our family but ALL reality. Mary is the Woman who crushes the head of the serpent and she does that in the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart.


Father Tom spoke of his personal experience of Our Lady's power during an exorcism. He was performing an exorcism on someone who had a spirit of witchcraft and how witchcraft is anti-male. He commanded the demon to leave and go to the foot of the Cross but the demon shouted "I take orders from no man." Fr. Tom took out a Miraculous Medal and held it up and said okay, how about from a woman. Within one minute the demon was cast out to the foot of the Cross. Our Lady is very powerful against Satan and the demons. Fr. Tom spoke about Our Lady's Spiritual Maternity which is to form us into SAINTS. Our Lady desires to form us in the ways of sanctity. She wishes to do this on three levels: personal, communal and leadership. On a personal level Our Lady desires to make us strong and spiritual - the devil is a strong, spiritual being. Our Lady will fortify and sanctify our minds, imagination and our will. We need to ask Her to form us in the way of sanctity. Secondly, Our Lady desires to make communities of faith in sactity. The devil delights in destroying spiritual communities: marriage, religious orders, universities, familes. Thirdly, in leadership - not only the hierarchy but us, mothers, fathers, Catholics in the public forum etc...It is a spiritual warfare which is now so difficult that we need much more spiritual integrity. We are the Church Militant and Our Lady is our General who forms us and guides us and gives us our marching orders to transform the world.

Fr. Tom spoke about warnings - how we continue to be warned about the sins of our day which will bring down a judgement upon our generation. The blood of millions of babies killed by surgical abortion in the United States alone cries out to God. It demands an accountability from us. We will take accountability for the sins of our generation: birth control - the chemical manefestation of which becomes an abortifaciant; biotechnological sins - IVF, cloning, experimentation which even takes place in universities etc...; pornography; homosexuality; drugs, abuse, slave trade...these sins have become as an epidemic. And likewise spiritual evil: Satanism, witchcraft etc...which is spreading like wildfire. Satanism is rampant, you just need to speak to people in law enforcement who have to regularly deal with Satanic crimes. We will be held accountable.

Fr. Tom spoke about how we are warned. Prior to the Rwandan genocide in 1997/1998 where 3/4 of a million people were murdered, Our Lady predicted this in Kibeho, an apparition approved by the Catholic Church. Our Lady said that the genocide was inevitable UNLESS people had a change of heart. It can change. The people of Ninevah changed and God's heart melted.

We continue to be warned today. Events over the world of Biblical proportions warn us: the tsunami in 2004 took place in Indonesia next door to Thailand - the centre of the sex slavery trade; wild fires seen in California which can be seen from the moon; hurricane Katrina which was after a year of the most hurricanes ever seen in the history of America - the hurricane caused the cancellation of the homosexual mardis gras; the recent earthquake in China where there is a one child policy - three hundred children died in one school, all of them single children and the parents begged the government to reverse their forced sterilizations; the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Towers; the murder of Teri Shivo who was killed by a judicial decree and her husband by law - she was a spokesperson for all handicapped. The plague of euthanasia is inevitable in a Culture of Death. The generation that brought us abortion will be the generation that will be killed through euthanasia. All of these things are signs of the time - we need to WAKE up to human sinfulness and as the Church Militant we need to do something!


Fr. Tom spoke about the difference now, in these days, in the variety and extension and force of human sinfulness. We propigate sin as never seen before. The Devil has all the instruments of modern means: virtual connections. There is a never before seen demonic cleverness unleashed in a variety of sin being promoted. For instance, the latest book/movie 'Twilight'. The Vampire culture, which before was defeated by a Crucifix and a stake through the heart, the Vampire retreating to its darkness, is now celebrated. A handsome Vampire seduces a vulnerable teenager, with good manners and supposed good 'morals' (these days we have vegetarian vampires) - but this is the power of deception - in the old days we had fairy tales, now we have 'fantasy'. The evil of video games geared towards young men - these are blatantly Satanic, for instance the game 'Diablo' which is Spanish for 'Devil' - this is explicitly Satanic, the names and the actions throughout the game. The devil comes dressed as an angel of light.



Fr. Tom showed how the variety of sin is enormous, the extension of sin and the propogation of evil is like never seen before. Evil has the ability to penetrate our lives in our family and even our marriage beds with chemical birth control, the devil entering right into the heart of the marriage bed, convincing us to take evil voluntarily into our lives - personal sin, public immorailty, harming not only our bodies but our souls. Satanic ritual abuse affects thousands of children every year through drugs and torture, taking place under the surface of our culture. Our governments are all involved in population control. It is a vast expose of the global power of sin. Fr. Tom also said that human beings CAN'T dream this all up on their own - there has so be something behind it - demonic intelligences that humans collaborate with.

Now what can combat it? Not medicine - medicine now helps sin and evil; not Law - laws are corrupt and endorse the Culture of Death; not Government - governments promote sin, the U.N which was set up to avoid these evils now promote them. Planned Parenthood now has a budget of one billion dollars. No pro-life movement, even all combined, can stop them humanly speaking.

Only an organised force that has a spiritual soul with the Catholic Church behind it, nurtured by the Spiritual Maternity of Our Lady can combat it. We have been commanded to conquer evil. There is great, great hope in the Spiritual Maternity of Our Lady - she forms us. Mary becomes a flash point of the testing of the Church and our souls - she is the Woman in Genesis, the Woman in Revelation - even as the power of evil is standing before her - the only place in Scripture where evil of that proportion is seen, she is standing there.

Our Lady of Kibeho

Fr. Tom then said that if you are couragous you will ask Our Lady to TEST you. She fortifies our souls. She knows our weaknesses etc...and she will remedy them. Make sure you are ready to accept the consequences as it is not without the embrace of the Cross. But we must ask for it, we must ask her, beg her to help us. We must ask Our Lady to bless us with sanctity. We must ask Our Lady for priests and Bishops who stand up against the Culture of Death. We need virtuous men and women to guide us. He said that the fault of the Church is that it deosn't speak out enough - it is too silent - it needs to speak out against these evils - it doesn't need to look far to see the evils. When the Church does this, when we do this, the world will be transformed.

Finally, Fr. Tom spoke about the awesome apparitions of Guadalupe, especially the Bishop who is an example of all Holy Bishops. He concluded that we only have to ask Our Lady, beg her, to send forth the Spirit to transform the faith of the earth.

As a side note, he announced that there were free Mircaluous Medals at the back of the church from a couple who had so far distributed 40 million free Miraculous Medals and that those who wear them are remembered each day in the Mass! What a fantastic apostolate!

Inspiring talks taking place today

We have been watching the fantastic conference happening today LIVE from the Marian Conference in La Cross which is being streamed live at AirMaria.com. So far Fr. Peter Fehlner, Fr Tom Euteneuer and Fr. Pablo Straub have given excellent and inspiring talks followed by Mass. They are presently on a lunch break but Raymond de Souza will be speaking live at about 8pm tonight our time here in the U.K. The first speaker this morning was Fr. Peter Fehlner. Dana is the hostess of the conference which is taking place at the Basillica of Our Lady of Guadaloup in La Cross, Wisconsin, USA. We thought that Fr. Peter was not only like a saint but like a warrior angel who speaks with a deep and powerful and humble tone! His talk was on Our Lady and how she intercedes with Jesus for us. He said how we are in crisis. Not just a material crisis but more importantly a spiritual crisis and how we must consecrate ourselves to Our Lady. He spoke beautifully about Our Lady and also about the Culture of Death and how if you want to promote the Culture of Death and destroy souls then you promote the so called sexual revolution. We must grasp the basic principle, the one that is True, to choose life, to choose the blessing, not the curse. He said that the human body is so vastly different from the bodies of beasts but the sexual revolution is a denial of the difference and a degredation of persons. He spoke about concentration camps - which still exist - where persons are treated like pigs. He spoke about the deception of sin- all you have to do is TASTE, just a little bit, TASTE by sinning and rejecting the wisdom of God. But when you taste you are no longer free to spit it out - and you can be dead for eternity, spiritually dead. He also said "Why did God make the world? For the sake of Jesus and Mary." He spoke about how Jesus redeemed our HUMAN family (not the angels - they had one chance and struck out). Adam struck out but God decided to redeem us because Mary is a child of Adam. He willed the Incarnation, that Jesus would be Son of Man, Son of Mary. The Incarnation is a pure gift of God and we owe it all to Our Lady, to her intercession for us. Fr. Peter also spoke about the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary which will be when everyone in the whole church becomes a child of Mary in their heart and in their character etc...to reflect the Immaculate Heart of Our Lady. The Immaculate Heart of Our Lady is an extension of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. If you want to know the Mercy of Jesus, become a child of Mary. It is possible for each of us to do God's Will and enter Heaven. Fr. Peter also spoke about Our Lady standing at the foot of the Cross which can also be translated as 'beside' the Cross. Our thoughts went immediately to the Calvary scene in the graveyard of St. Nicholas, Arundel which we used in our film 'Saint Edmund Campion' where you actually stand before a life sized scene of Our Lord in front of you on the Cross rather than looking up at Him - Jesus is actually before you just raised a tiny bit from the ground - it is a powerful image - Fr. Peter said that Mary stood beside the Cross of her Son and to imagine the scene, with their similar facial features. He spoke about Simeon's prophecy that Jesus would be a sign of contradiction, those who love God's Will and those who hate it, those who accept the Cross and those who despise it. He spoke about the sword piercing Our Lady's heart and how her spiritual maternity for us began on Calvary. He also spoke about Our Lady's perfect childbirth in Bethlehem, childbirth that God originally intended, painless. When Jesus died, Our Lady suffered the pains of death - He died, but Our Lady continued to live to be our spiritual Mother to stand by each one of us. She was a spiritual link for the Apostles. He spoke about the connection between the 1st commandment and the 4th commandment - connecting the Divine Family with the human family and how the Church is the extension of the Holy Family. The purpose of marriage is not personal pleasure, although there are personal pleasures, but generosity, which is bringing into existence someone who was nothing, someone who did not exist before but came from nothing. Finally, Fr. Peter spoke about how the most important thing that you can do today is to consecrate yourself to Our Lady. Do not fail to acknowledge that Our Lady will anticipate our needs.

Saturday, 30 May 2009

Well Known Saints Series Online


Each of our mini movies from "Well Known Saints Volume One" are now available to view and purchase online individually as a video file from Catholic Media House at this link.

Co Redemtrix Conference Live online


Be sure to tune into Air Maria at this link on Sunday to watch the Maria C0-Redemptrix Conference. Raymond de Souza is due to speak at 3:00pm EST which in the UK is 8:00pm on the topic "THE FIVE SINS FOR WHICH OUR LADY ASKED REPARATION IN THE DEVOTION OF THE FIVE FIRST SATURDAYS". The conference starts at 10:00am (EST).

Wednesday, 27 May 2009

HLI Award

On April 16th, 2009, a grand event took place in the Archdiocese of Olinda and Recife: the International Pro-Life Cardinal von Galen Award was granted to Archbishop José Cardoso Sobrinho, in the crowded auditorium of the prestigious Damas College, in Recife. The Award was granted by Human Life International, the largest pro-life movement of Catholic orientation in the world, which counts on affiliated groups in 86 countries. A new and complete movie of the event is now available to view at this link.

Tuesday, 26 May 2009

Saint Edmund Campion Film Clip

The following clip is the first 3 minutes of our Edmund Campion film to give a sneak preview. The film is just £9.99 and available to buy online at Mary's Dowry Productions Online Shop.

video

Monday, 25 May 2009

Traditional Retreat at Douai Abbey (Berkshire in England) orgainsed by Young Catholic Adults

During the weekend of the 18-20 September 2009. Young Catholic Adults (YCA are part of the international Juventutem Federation) will be running a Traditional Retreat at Douai Abbey in the south of England, the weekend will be led by Juventutem Ecclesiastical Assistant Fr de Malleray. Douai Abbey, situated on high ground in the Berkshire countryside provides an ideal setting for quiet reflection, retreats and for conferences. One of the comments frequently made about Douai is that it offers an environment and atmosphere of peace and serenity, where the cares of daily life can be left behind.

Hospitality has been a special concern of monasteries from the earliest times. St Benedict teaches in the Rule "All guests are to be welcomed as Christ". All rooms are fully en-suite offering accommodation for guests in the Bl Hugh Faringdon , St Alban Roe and the St Benet Biscop buildings. For the first time Young Catholic Adults will be using the main Abbey Church for a Missa Cantata, sung by the Douai Singers.

Places are limited so please book early -YCA will have half of the whole retreat centre to itself-There will be a social in the evening- Fr. de Malleray FSSP head of Juventutem will preach the retreat, all Masses will be in the Extraordinary form- There will be a Sung Mass (Missa Canta) on Saturday 19th September 09’ at 10am. The choir will be the Douai Singers, in the main Abbey Church, followed by a Marian Procession at 11am (starting from the main Abbey Church) around the extensive grounds of the Abbey (weather permitting, if the weather is poor there will be Marian devotions in the main Abbey Church )-The weekend will be full-board (except for the Sunday lunch)

How to book
The cost of the weekend will be from as little as 25 pounds for students (or 48-88 pounds for non students) for more details, please see http://www.youngcatholicadults.co.uk/news.htm or email juventutemcatholicam@yahoo.co.uk; or ring 07908105787.

Events Open to the Public
The Sung Mass (Missa Canta) on Saturday 19th September 09’ at 10am followed by a Marian Procession around the extensive grounds of the Abbey at 11am (starting from the main Abbey Church) are open to the public. There are also a few rooms allocated for all age groups (not just YCA) so please book soon.

Saturday, 23 May 2009

Today's 'The Vortex'

We took this off because it was slowing the page down but it is well worth a view!
Visit Real Catholic TV for daily Vortex and News updates.

How Beautiful