Faith in the Family handbook launched at an event with the young illustrators

Faith in the Family - A handbook for parents cover

Faith in the Family is a book of questions and answers which came out of a course run for parents at the Church of the Holy Ghost in Balham in London.

Last week, the book’s authors, Anne Burke-Gaffney and Fr Marcus Holden launched it, explaining its genesis and its possible uses. They said:

“In this Year of Faith, we hope this book will help parents communicate the riches of that faith to their children and perhaps find answers to questions they ask too.”

The real stars of the night however were the children of Holy Ghost primary school, whose fantastic drawings were used to illustrate the volume.

Faith-in-the-family-illustrators-with-copies-of-the-book

The general secretary of the CTS, Mr Fergal Martin presented a copy of the text to each of the children whose art features in it. He said:

“It was a challenge to pick just 11 pictures out of the many fantastic ones we received. We were so pleased when the idea of turning what was a successful course into a book was presented to us. We hope that it will be a great tool for people to know their faith.”

Read an extract from the booklet Faith in the Family – A handbook for parents, and order online from CTS for just £4.95.

Or follow Faith in the Family on Twitter, it has some great ideas for how to bring parents and children closer to Christ and his Church.

Of related interest:

Effective parenting Effective parenting -This text sets out the importance of the role parents have and shows how that role must be expressed through nurturing and encouraging one’s children along a path to responsible caring adulthood.
Making Sunday Special Making Sunday Special – The fast pace of modern life and a growing secularism seem to have made it impossible to accept God’s invitation to make every seventh day a day of rest and contemplation. Starting with the Sabbath in the Jewish tradition and exploring the Christian Sunday Sabbath on the day of Christ’s Resurrection, this booklet traces the importance of Sunday.
Work and the Christian Family Work and the Christian Family – In a time when life is becoming increasingly expensive and when long working hours are the norm, finding the right balance between the demands of work and of the family is a difficult task. This booklet identifies the most important elements of a work-life balance that allows time for children and space for a life of Faith.
Wednesday, 12 June 2013 11:34 0 Comments

Year of Faith: National conference marks potential ‘sea change’ in the reading of the Bible

Cover of Word of the Lord

A national Bible conference held at the historic venue of Ushaw College, near Durham, has been affirmed as beginning a potential ‘sea change’ in the Catholic Bible apostolate in England and Wales.

Bishop Peter Brignall (Wrexham) and member of the Bishops’ Conference Department for Evangelisation and Catechesis, attended the Word of the Lord conference, 24 – 26th April, along with more than 70 delegates from across England and Wales. He commented:

“This gathering is the first of its kind in a generation. The Word of God lies at the heart of Catholic life and initiatives such as this conference are pivotal to encouraging others to read, study and pray with the Scriptures. The conference is one of a series of bible-focused initiatives that have been generated by a new working group established by the Bishops’ Department for Evangelisation and Catechesis in partnership with Bible Society. It’s hoped that more and more people will receive the invitation to listen to and proclaim, through many different means, God’s Word, which is the Word of Life.”

Other contributors to the conference included Fr Timothy Radcliffe OP, former Master of the Dominican Order worldwide and Dom Henry Wansbrough of Ampleforth Abbey, one of the leading Catholic Scripture scholars in England and Wales.

Among many speakers was Group Chief Executive of Bible Society, James Catford, who was presented with an icon of Saint Mark in appreciation of the assistance provided by the Society to organise the conference. He said:

Conference Delegates presented with copies of the Word of the Lord

“This conference represents an exciting next step in our journey together with the Scriptures. The themes of the conference have challenged us to consider afresh how we pass on God’s word in the written scriptures, through the Arts and through the witness of our lives. It has been a timely invitation to ‘be the word’ for others.”

One of the highlights of the conference was the launch of a new study guide, entitled The Word of the Lord, produced by the Department and published by the Catholic Truth Society.

The guide is designed to assist reading of Pope Benedict’s Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini which was issued in response to the Synod of Bishops on the Bible held in Rome in 2008. Delegates also visited Durham Cathedral and prayed at the tomb of the Venerable Bede, doctor of the Church, and patron of Scripture scholarship in these lands.

Fr Adrian Graffy, who helped write the guide, said:

“The whole event was so energising. The delegates were so positive and the speakers excellent. In the Year of Faith it was an opportunity to deepen our appreciation of Scripture at the heart of the Church in this country and to make plans for the years ahead.”

Word of the Lord – Discovering ‘Verbum Domini’ is available from CTS priced £4.95

Of related interest:

Do860 The Gift of Scripture -The Bishops of England and Wales, and of Scotland, in their teaching document The Gift of Scripture, build on Dei Verbum and subsequent Church teaching.
Understanding the Story of the Bible Understanding the Story of the Bible – In order to recover our sense of the narrative as a whole, we need to understand Salvation History as the true history of the world, from creation and fall to salvation through the death and resurrection of Christ,leading to eternal happiness in God.
Desire & Delight Desire & Delight – This book examines the joys and pleasures of the Christian life through the Song of Songs and the Psalms. These two ancient books, contain some of the most poetic and gorgeous imagery of the whole bible, and are simply explained in this text..
Wednesday, 08 May 2013 15:24 0 Comments

The Hobbit film is out – Read the story of its Catholic author

Tolkien

The latest blockbuster film adaptation of a J.R.R Tolkien book is released in cinemas nationwide today.

After the huge success, both financial and critical, of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, now comes The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey. It is the first in a three-part re-telling of the children’s story first published in 1937.

Reviews of the new film have been mixed, since the project faces the difficulty of satisfying fans of the book as well as a wider movie-viewing public. One thing is for certain though, the transition to the screen of professor Tolkien’s characters has gone on to arouse a new curiosity about the man who created them.

As one reviewer of the new CTS biography, Tolkien – his life, work and faith explains:

“It is an area of continuing fascination that a donnish, pipe-smoking academic spent his entire life creating a mythical world with an entire history and several complete languages.

What is equally intriguing is that Tolkien was a devout and thoughtful Catholic, and a careful reading of his work shows that it is infused with Catholic thinking, as well as his love for northern European mythology.”

The biography by Raymond Edwards, looks at Tolkien’s family and academic life, as well as his fiction, showing how his Catholicism and in particular his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament was hugely important.

Tolkien – his life, work and faith is available from CTS, priced £2.50

Please note that orders for overseas customers will not now be processed until the New Year, and UK customers have until Sunday 16th December to place any order.

Of related interest:

The Cover of Chesterton Chesterton -Chesterton was a convert to Catholicism and a prolific novelist, critic, biographer, journalist. Above all he was a defender of the faith and common sense which he saw in everything natural and good.
Hilaire Belloc Hilaire Belloc – The astounding life of the famous English Catholic writer, historian and controversialist.
Friday, 14 December 2012 16:00 0 Comments

Christmas is coming – Important improvements and dates

There are some vital improvements taking place at CTS.

We are about to change our order processing systems and launch a new website! This will happen from mid-December 2012 to early January 2013.

So please make sure you have your pre-Christmas orders with us early:

  • Parish, trade & overseas orders before 12th December
  • All other UK orders before 16th December

We’ll do everything we can to get your orders to you in time for Christmas; to ensure delivery, please place your order as early as possible.

Christmas closure

We close on 24th December and reopen on 2nd January – (Our Bookshop reopens on 7th January).

Thank you for your terrific support and custom in 2012.
A holy and blessed Christmas from all of us at CTS!

Do not forget our 2012 Christmas Appeal too!

Thursday, 29 November 2012 12:41 0 Comments

Welcome back!

 We have been away for some time due to a web attack, but are very glad to be back!

Just two short stories to flag up, now that we have returned.

Year of Faith bookstall at St Mary Magdalen’s, Willesden Green

An image of CTS Head of Sales and Marketing Barbara Wilmot handing a donation of CTS 2013 Missals to Deacon Michael Jarmulowicz and Fr KevinJordan

At the end of last month, CTS set up a pop-up bookshop in the parish of St Mary Magdalen, Willesden Green, to offer Year of Faith books and resources to local parishioners.

CTS flyers were also handed out, explaining the essence of the Year of Faith and highlighting activities for the year that the Holy Father is asking us to participate in.

CTS author to be interviewed by Premier Christian Radio

Monsignor Keith Barltrop, who penned 25 Tough Questions on the Catholic Faith, has been asked to talk about the Catholic Year of Faith. The interview, on the UK’s best known Christian radio station, will be broadcast on the Breakfast Show, which runs from 8am – 10am on Sunday 25th November.

Thursday, 15 November 2012 16:45 0 Comments
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