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Ronald Knox was hailed as one of the brightest minds of the Edwardian era, and his decision to become a Catholic shocked many of his contemporaries. He was to be one of the most outstanding recruits to the Church of his generation, and for thirty years he was one of the best known personalities of English Catholicism. A gifted writer and broadcaster, Knox raised the self-confidence of the Catholic Church and showed how Catholicism was now once more at home in England. Knox's writing, broadcasting and preaching made a profound impact on his fellow Catholics and his lucid expositions of Christian teaching found a wide audience. Educated at Eton and Balliol, he demonstrated, as Newman had before him, that an Englishman of his background could be at ease in the Catholic Church. The Church was able to make full use of his talents, as teacher and priest, and as Catholic chaplain to Oxford University in the inter-war years. Renowned for his Bible translations, Knox also wrote detective stories and sparkling satire. His cultivated background and capacity for friendship made him a welcome figure in society, he was famous for his wit - yet sometimes he wrestled with his own melancholy. His close friendships included Harold Macmillan and Evelyn Waugh, who wrote a biography of Knox two years after his death. Waugh's biography is, of course, a literary tour de force, but fifty years on the life of this brilliant and complex priest can now be set in the context of his own times, and of ours.Terry Tastard is a priest of Westminster Diocese and a Research Associate of the Von Hügel Institute, St Edmund's College, Cambridge.

In The School of Compassion, Deborah M. Jones engages with the Catholic Church's contemporary attitude towards animals. This is the fullest sustained study of the subject in that faith tradition.It begins by exploring the history of the Church's ideas about animals. These were drawn largely from significant readings of Old and New Testament passages and inherited elements of classical philosophies. Themes emerge, such as the renewal of creation in the apocryphal legends, in the Desert Fathers, and in Celtic monasticism. The spirituality of St Francis of Assisi, the legal status of animals, and liturgies of the Eastern Catholic Churches also shed light on the Church's thinking. The British Catholic tradition - which is relatively favourable to animals - is considered in some detail.The second part of the book provides a forensic examination of the four paragraphs in the Catechism of the Catholic Church which relate particularly to animals. Finally, major contemporary issues are raised - stewardship, anthropocentrism, and gender - as well as key ethical theories. The revisits some teachings of Aquinas, and explores doctrinal teachings such as that of human beings created in the 'image of God', and, with a nod to the Orthodox Tradition, as the 'priests of creation'. These help form a consistent and authentically Catholic theology which can be viewed as a school of compassion towards animals. The joy of this book is that it helps Catholic Christians to re-engage with the issue of animals by utilising the riches from within their own tradition....And what Dr Deborah Jones has discovered is a remarkably more complex, infinitely richer, and considerably more animal-friendly Catholic tradition than might be supposed by the usual caricatures. This book is the fullest systematic treatment of the moral status of animals within the Roman Catholic tradition. It is the result of painstaking scholarship, wide reading, and, most of all, insightful theological exploration. It builds on the work of others, like myself, and provides a stream of fresh perspectives on our lives with God's other creatures. It is a deeply Catholic work, and I pray that it strikes a deep chord within the Catholic community here and overseas. Revd Professor Andrew LinzeyDeborah M Jones is general secretary of the international organisation Catholic Concern for Animals and a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, with a doctorate in animal theology. She has also worked as editor of the Catholic Herald, deputy editor of Priests & People, as a writer and lecturer, and diocesan adviser for adult religious education.

Among the most beautiful prayers ever composed, the 'O' Antiphons have for twelve centuries voiced the Church's longing for Christ's Coming at Christmas. In this remarkable book Oliver Treanor explores the rich biblical background to each Antiphon and, drawing on the spiritual tradition of the Fathers and the teachings of Vatican II as well, leads us to the deep sources of meditation that lie within the texts.Here is an ideal Advent companion for individuals or groups seeking to recharge their spirituality for Christmas - and indeed throughout the year. For the 'O' Antiphons guide us beyond Advent into the entire mystery of salvation, bringing us beyond the Christmas season to the Paschal Mystery itself. It is in fact a book for all seasons.Oliver Treanor is author of Mother of the Redeemer, Mother of the Redeemed; he has written for L'Osservatore Romano, Priests and People, Religious Life Review, Theology Digest and many other journals. He has worked for five years as a producer and broadcaster at Vatican Radio.

At a time when there is renewed interest in the Extraordinary Rite, Hugh Ross Williamson's classic exposition of the Roman Canon provides a superb commentary to provide priest and people alike with a deeper devotional understanding of the Mass.The very considerable learning, both historical and theological, which stands behind his writing is never obtrusive, but always serves the main purpose of the book which is devotional.Every paragraph of the Canon is given, both in Latin and in English translation.The prayers which compose the Canon of the Mass in the Extraordinary Rite are exactly those, without any alteration, which St Augustine said the first time he celebrated Mass in Canterbury when he came to England in the year 597.I commend this book to all who wish to discover afresh the riches of the Church's Liturgy and thus to renew her life. + Alan S Hopes Titular Bishop of Chester le Street Auxiliary Bishop of WestminsterHugh Ross Williamson (1901-1978) wrote nineteen plays and more than fifty books, entertaining and informing a wide public from 1933 until the time of his death.Journalist, historian, novelist, theologian and playwright, he had been an Anglican clergyman from 1940 - 1956 before converting to Catholicism. One of the first to explore the thesis that Shakespeare was a Catholic, much of his work was concerned with the rehabilitation of Catholicism in our understanding of England's history - a process that continues to this day. His popular introduction to St Bernadette and the Apparitions of Our Lady at Lourdes, The Challenge of Bernadette, is also published by Gracewing.

Elizabeth Hayes (1823-94) is a woman whose personal life and achievements are of significance in both British and North American religious, social and literary history. Born on the Island of Guernsey, the youngest child of an Anglican schoolmaster-clergyman, she embraced the Oxford Movement, the Wantage Anglican sisterhood, Catholicism and the Franciscan movement when a neo-monastic revival found enthusiasts in both the Catholic Church and in Anglicanism. Strongly committed to living a Franciscan way of life, as foundress, teacher, religious sister and journalist, Elizabeth's desire for mission in foreign places fired her with a courageous determination. Concerned for the poor, she had a bold and broad vision yet her capacity to mingle comfortably with key religious and literary figures of the period in England, Paris, Rome and North America set her apart. In the 'age of journalism', she ventured confidently into an arena where most women writers struggled for acknowledgement and even took on male pseudonyms in order to succeed. Many journals proved ephemeral yet Elizabeth's monthly periodical, published first in Minnesota, then in Georgia, and finally, in Rome, was to endure. No minor player in Victorian Catholic journalism, she wrote, edited, published and distributed through her Sisters the first English Franciscan journal, initiated in 1874. She continued these roles for twenty-one years until her death and her periodical itself continued for a century.Elizabeth carved out a fresh Franciscan path that indicated how she grasped the purpose of her life and the importance of good journalistic literature for society. Annals' subscribers were more than readers with needs; they collaborated in a seven-hundred-year-old Franciscan way of life with its rich history, traditions, missions and Franciscan spirituality through her confraternity. This was the cornerstone of the ultimate success of Elizabeth's mission through journalism, a mission that responded exactly to the needs for Catholic evangelism following the great migrant influx (1825-50) in North America.

Adult Christian learning is central to the life of the Christian church, and is essential for its health, outreach and very survival. Leading Christian educators here apply the principles of Christian education to adult learning in the churches, and present the results and methods of empirical research relevant to the church's ministry of adult Christian education. This book will be of interest to all who are concerned for the ways in which adults learn to be Christian.The editor, Jeff Astley, is Director of the North of England Institute for Christian Education and Honorary Professorial Fellow in Practical Theology and Christian Education in the University of Durham.

Tensions in the Church between New Rite and Old Rite, new church and old church, demand a fresh and healing insight. Dom David is convinced of the rightness of the liturgical reforms of Vatican II while still valuing the tried and true insights of the past. He calls for a constructive reassessment of Sacrosanctum Concilium inspired by a truly catholic understanding of the Faith - both Eastern and Western (including a selective Anglican input) - and underlines the complementarity of Eastern and Western Eucharistic theologies. Whatever way the Eucharist is celebrated, the emphasis should be on our outward communal participation precisely because it is the expression of our sharing together as one body in the death and resurrection of Christ in the presence of the Father. The great error which so many made in the wake of Vatican II was to confuse the fruit of good liturgy with the way it is performed, but Dom David points out the liturgical paradox: that if we make human warmth and understanding our goal in the way we celebrate the liturgy, we will lose the reverence and awe which properly lead us to that warmth and understanding. The liturgical texts have properly stressed the relationship between people and God: in practice, however, the emphasis has too often been on the horizontal relationship between priest and people. The complementarity of individual and communal devotion also appears both in the exercise of lectio divina and in devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.This book, Dom David's third, is the fruit of fifty years' monastic life in Europe and Latin America . . . He shares his experiences with his readers, distilled, as it were, through the eyes and heart of a monk, a scholar and a contemplative, for Fr David is truly a man of God. Dom Paul Stonham, Abbot of Belmont.

Father Stanley Jaki (1924-2009) was one of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century and his contribution to Catholic thought and culture has been profound, especially regarding the relationship between science and religion. This work focuses on the close link joining science and Christianity, despite the differences between them. Through his study of modern science, theology and history, Stanley¿Jaki showed that faith and reason are not mutually exclusive. The problems arise because of those ideologies which seek to eliminate God from the ultimate equation. Jaki highlighted the Christian origins of the modern natural sciences. He showed that the concept of the cosmos as both contingent and rational, together with the acceptance that God could work through secondary causes, provided the unique environment for the natural sciences to flourish, from the Middle Ages onwards. He explored the crucial role played by belief in creation out of nothing and in time, reinforced by faith in the Incarnation, in enabling this birth of science. This book contains the first systematic treatment of the ideas of the late Stanley Jaki, and is the only complete work, with an entire bibliography, approved by him during his lifetime. His ideas earned him the highest forms of recognition, including the Templeton Prize, awarded to Fr Jaki by Prince Philip at Windsor Castle in 1987, and his appointment by His Holiness Pope John Paul II, as an honorary member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in 1990.

Vita Communis - 'the common life' - is the term used for community life among priests and other clerics, as opposed to monks and friars. While monasticism is familiar, few are aware that pastoral ('secular') priests have lived in communities for most of the Church's history. Many people have suggested that they could do so again, and that this might help with some of the problems facing solitary priests in the modern world. By exploring what was done in the past, we can suggest what might work in the future, learning from the successes as well as the failures of previous priestly communities.The story of secular canons in the Western Church, as opposed to those who were canons in religious orders, has often been told in terms of their contribution to architecture, literature, and the apostolate. Here, however, the author, building on his earlier work devoted to the medieval rules governing the secular common life, has provided a narrative of the essential shape of the canonical life from its origins down to the present time, and this for a general readership. He thus demonstrates the persistent desire of many secular clergy to live in community. At a time when priests are fewer and more isolated, this work will provide useful models for developing structures of mutual support for the secular clergy of our time. Abbot Geoffrey Scott

POPE BENEDICT said at the beginning of his Pontificate that external deserts in the world are growing, because the internal deserts have become so vast. Therefore the earth's treasures no longer serve to build God's garden for all to live in, but they have been made to serve the powers of exploitation and destruction.This book is a theological investigation of the environment, and takes in scientific, biblical, moral and spiritual themes, all addressed by recent Church teaching on the subject. The starting point is a detailed analysis of the various problems assailing the environment at present. Then a distinction is made between the science of ecology and the ideological overtones which are often associated with this area. Next, an overview of Christian teaching on ecology is present as an antidote to both New Age pseudo-mysticism and political ideology. A Christian theology of the environment is then formulated which has consequences for our moral life and our prayer.PAUL HAFFNER is a priest and professor of theology at Regina Apostolorum University in Rome, visiting professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University, and adjunct lecturer at Duquesne University Roman Campus. Author of over 20 books and 100 articles on philosophical and theological themes, many of his works have been translated into several languages, including Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian. Other published volumes by this author include Mystery of Creation, Mystery of the Church, The Mystery of Mary, The Mystery of Reason and The Sacramental Mystery, all from Gracewing.

La Beata Vergine Maria, Cuore pulsante della tradizione cristiana, occupa un ruolo centrale nella teologia della Chiesa. La devozione e la teologia che la storia umana le ha attribuito, la riconoscono come Madre di Dio. Per diversi secoli, molto è stato scritto su ogni aspetto della vita e dell¿opera di Maria Santissima. Così tanto, che uno studio sistematico della Beata Vergine sembra un impegno piuttosto difficile. Abbiamo bisogno di aiuto per condividere la gioia dello studio e della riflessione sull¿essere e sull¿agire della Madonna nell¿economia della salvezza. In questo libro, il Professor Paul Haffner ci propone una panoramica chiara e strutturata della dottrina e teologia circa Maria, in una prospettiva storica. L¿opera propone uno schema di Mariologia, nel contesto di altri campi teologici, per poi passare al discorso biblico, articolato nell¿Antico e nel Nuovo Testamento. L¿autore, successivamente, procede ad illustrare le dottrine mariologiche fondamentali,dall¿Immacolata Concezione fino alla Maternità di Maria nella Chiesa come Mediatrice di tutte le grazie. Qui il lettore troverà una guida sicura, fedele alla tradizione che, offrendo un approccio realista, non riduce gli aspetti concreti dei doni e privilegi della Madonna ai simboli e non confonde dottrina e devozionalismo. Il mistero di Maria è pubblicato anche per celebrare il Centocinquantesimo anniversario delle Apparizioni della Madre di Dio a Santa Bernadette a Lourdes.

The Origins of the 'Four Branches of the Mabinogi' is one of the most revolutionary books ever published on the literatures of Britain. Its subject is four stories in the collection of Welsh prose tales known as The Mabinogion. These Four Branches of the Mabinogi are the legends of Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed ; Branwen, Daughter of Ll¿r; Manawydan, Son of Ll¿r; and Math, Son of Mathonwy, which have long enjoyed popularity as Wales's most significant contribution to world literature. The Four Branches are tales of love, adventure and magic, but also of rape, adultery, betrayal and attempted murder. Although most scholars agree that the four stories are the work of a single author, there has been no agreement on where and when they were composed. To these questions The Origins of the 'Four Branches of the Mabinogi' offers a startling answer. It has always been assumed that the tales are the work of a male author. However, Andrew Breeze convincingly shows not only that the Four Branches were composed by a female writer, but that she can be identified as Gwenllian, daughter of Gruffudd ap Cynan (d. 1137), king of Gwynedd, and wife of Gruffydd ap Rhys (d. 1137), prince of Dyfed. Gwenllian was born at the close of the eleventh century, married Gruffydd when she was in her teens, and for most of her life lived quietly with him near Caio in the hills of Carmarthenshire. Her end was dramatic. In early 1136 she led an attack on the Normans of Kidwelly, was defeated in battle and executed outside the town. Despite this catastrophe, her son Rhys (d.1197) survived to lead resistance to English rule and to maintain Dyfed's independence. Amongst his descendants were Henry VII of England and James VI and I of Scotland and England, so that the line of Princess Gwenllian can be traced down to the modern British royal family. Gwenllian's position within the dynasties of Gwynedd and Dyfed explains why the political and territorial aggrandizement of both territories is, uniquely, a theme of these tales. It also explains the uncommon tact with which conflict between them is described. It means too that the stories give a representation of royal government and decision-making in twelfth-century Wales by one who knew them from inside. Andrew Breeze's sensational analysis of this classic text is published in full in this volume for the first time.

St Thérèse of Lisieux is one of our best loved saints. Discalced Carmelite mystic, Doctor of the Church, popularly acclaimed as 'the Little Flower', her spirituality is at once simple and sublime - it appeals to Christians at all stages of the spiritual journey.In this classic account of St Thérèse's spiritual teaching - "the little way of spiritual childhood" - Sister Teresa Margaret, D.C. explores with us her life, her devotions, her teaching and her posthumous mission. She demonstrates how readily adaptable is this simple yet far from easy "ever-ancient, ever-new' method of going to God, by 'doing the tiniest things right and doing it for love"Sister Teresa shows us how a modern saint achieved so perfect a likeness to Christ in her own life, how the unchanging standards of our Saviour can be adapted in every way to the needs and problems of this present age - a consolation and encouragement for us all. She presents to us St Thérèse as a sure spiritual companion and guide.Here we meet St Thérèse in the light of the Gospels, in the light of the Church's teaching concerning her virtues and her universal mission, and against a background of genuine Carmelite tradition and the teaching of St John of the Cross.St Thérèse of Lisieux was canonized in 1925 by Pope Pius XI, was declared patroness of foreign missions with St Francis Xavier in 1927, and in 1944 was declared protectoress of France with St Joan of Arc by Pope Pius XII. St Thérèse was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II in 1997.

The Benedictine abbey of Solesmes in France is famous for the quality of its Gregorian chant, recordings of which are appreciated throughout the world. Nevertheless, the life of its founder, Dom Prosper Guéranger (1805-1875) is still relatively unknown. This is partly due to Guéranger himself, who never sought to promote his life story. While he published many liturgical and spiritual works, this highly personal account of his early life and events surrounding the foundation of Solesmes in 1833 was never intended for publication, and indeed was never completed. For this reason, the manuscript remained in the archives of the abbey of Solesmes for well over a hundred years. Growing recognition of its wider importance and interest led to its eventual publication in 2005, the bicentenary of Guéranger's birth.The book is far more than a personal portrait of an interesting and innovative individual. Through the prism of events surrounding his early life as a seminarian, secular priest and then Benedictine monk, Guéranger's account illustrates many of the wider issues at play in early nineteenth-century France and French Catholicism. Guéranger's first-hand account of various political events under the regimes of Napoleon I, the Bourbon Restoration and Louis-Philippe has its own historical value. Above all, however, the book shows how Guéranger's project to re-found Benedictine life in France, after its disappearance in the wake of the French Revolution, stood in relation to other currents of religious thought and monastic tradition, notably Gallicanism, Ultramontanism, the Maurists and the Cistercians. Those interested in monastic life and liturgical spirituality will further draw inspiration from Guéranger's narration of the human relationships and mystical experiences that inspired his Benedictine vocation and subsequent life's work. Guéranger's lively text is also enjoyable in its own right. His optimism, determination, creativity, unwavering trust in divine providence, capacity for friendship and often humorous (and occasionally devastating) portraits of the many people whom he encountered give a particular charm and colour to his writing. Ultimately, however, this account of Guéranger's spiritual and intellectual awakening provides impetus for a renewed contemporary appreciation of his convictions, which are of perennial value for all who are seeking God. The monastic community founded by Guéranger bears witness to the transforming power of contemplative liturgical spirituality lived in and for the Church and the world. As such, monastic life serves as an exemplar of spiritual and human values whose relevance extends far beyond the cloister. Extensive footnotes, and an introduction by Dr Judith Bowen, whose recent doctoral thesis is one of the most important studies on the unity and significance of Guéranger's liturgical and theological work, further enhance this translation.

Teresa Higginson (1844-1905) was a saintly Catholic schoolteacher. She was born in Holywell, North Wales and grew up in Gainsborough and Neston. As an adult she lived in Bootle, Clitheroe, Edinburgh and Chudleigh in Devon where she died. She received many supernatural gifts including the Mystical Marriage and the Stigmata. Teresa was chosen by Christ to make known His great desire that His Sacred Head be worshipped as the Seat of Divine Wisdom. This would be a remedy for a time of foolish intellectual pride and lapsing from the faith. It would be not only the completion of devotion to the Sacred Heart, but the crowning of all devotions. In fact it was prophesied to be the one great means for the conversion of England. Lady Cecil Kerr's account of the Venerable Teresa Higginson remains the standard biography and is based on many of Teresa's letters and other direct evidence of her remarkable life. This new edition features an introduction by the Roman theology professor, Rev Dr Paul Haffner.Mary Catherine Cecil Kerr was born on 15 November 1878. She was the daughter of Admiral Lord Walter Talbot Kerr and Lady Amabell Frederica Henrietta Cowper. She died on 19 July 1957 at age 78. Lady Cecil Kerr was a religious sister who wrote several other historical and devotional works, including The life of the Venerable Philip Howard, earl of Arundel and Surrey, The Miraculous Medal, and Bishop Hay, a Sketch of His Life and Times

Try a Little Tenderness might have been a nicer title for this book had the songwriter not claimed it first. Benedictine spirituality is known for the gentleness with which it patiently massages away at the monk's hardness of heart. The flowing robes they wear, the flowing chant they sing, the endless repetition of the day's structure based on prayer, manual labour and spiritual reading; all bear witness to a seamless process of conversion, the lowly contemplatives ever waiting on God's quiet voice within their hearts. However, it's not as easy as it sounds, so when Brother Daniel fled the world, back in the sixties, he was in no way prepared for a conflict of such dimensions with the worldly self he had forgotten to leave behind. Try a Little Lowliness traces his journey, strewn with stumbling blocks and banana skins, with a mischievous humour, but also with great insights into monastic spirituality. It lovingly paints the diversity of characters peopling the abbey, especially the irrepressible Father Lawrence, Daniel's novice-master and mentor, the wise old Prior, the inscrutable Abbot, the incorrigible cook, the lovable Sam. Both the author and Father Robert O'Brien, fellow novice and friend from Caldey Abbey, hope that Try a Little Lowliness will appeal to men and women, both young and not so young, providing a signpost to the contemplative life on their spiritual journey. Brother Daniel's humanity exudes a love of life, however strange the circumstances, and the warmth of his portrayal leaves the reader never far from laughter or tears.Paddy Lyons lives in north London with his wife, Elsie, their five grown-up children and four grandchildren all settled nearby. It wasn't always like that. In the early sixties, after a Jesuit schooling, military service and management training with Unilever, he renounced the world, survived an early brush with the Carthusians, and eventually landed on Caldey Island in the Bristol Channel to spend several generally happy and profitable years in the Cistercian Order. Later, having trained as a social worker and marrying Elsie (on the rebound from monastic life, she maintains), he turned to journalism and worked for the Financial Times. Renouncing the world a second time he used his writing skills to manage the communications of a national children's charity. After retiring he spent a decade caring for the deaf blind. Now with nothing else to do . . .

The best-selling novel, The Da Vinci Code, has brought under scrutiny a powerful and influential movement within the Catholic Church - Opus Dei.This institution, often charged with excessive secrecy, has had many critics.What is Opus Dei? offers a comprehensive profile of Opus Dei, and of its founder, St Josemaria Escriva. In this rigorous and well-documented book, its inspiration, history, sprituality, organisation and activities are all clearly detailed.Here are the answers to so many questions, authoritatively presented.Opus Dei, founded in 1928 by St Josemaria Escriva, proclaims that lay people can and ought to seek holiness in the context of their ordinary life. Through daily work, at home and in the family, men and women can spread the Gospel in the world in which they live. Flourishing both before and since the Second Vatican Council, Opus Dei anticipated what were to be the great pastoral themes of the Church at the beginning of the third millennium.

Ivan Clutterbuck has long been a familiar figure amongst Anglo-Catholics. His books have provided both much needed teaching and a source of inspiration for many. Here at last is his autobiography, which recalls both the triumphal days of the Anglo-Catholic movement earlier in the last century and the pain and turmoil of recent decades. It takes us from his earliest memories during the First World War, through family life in the parishes of South London and University days at Christ's College, Cambridge in the 1930s, to long service as first an Army Chaplain and then (for eighteen years from 1947) as a Chaplain to the Royal Navy. This is a life both varied and adventurous. Ordained into the Diocese of Rochester, Ivan Clutterbuck has served in parish ministry in Cornwall, as Master of the Hospital of St John the Baptist without the Barrs in Lichfield, and has taught both at one of England's most famous schools for girls and on the Naval Training Ship, HMS Ganges. As a Naval Chaplain his ministry took him around the world, including three years serving on Malta. In the Church of England, Ivan Clutterbuck is best known for his eight years service with the Church Union, at the time of the abortive scheme to unite the Anglican and the Methodist Churches. His particular interest has always been greater training of the laity to play their full role in the Church.Recent years have taken him overseas again, to help with the formation of the Traditional Anglican Churches in Canada and the USA, while at home he has continued his witness to the Church that he loves with Forward in Faith.Engagingly written, Ivan Clutterbuck's story will resonate with a whole generation of Anglo-Catholic clergy and people, and inspire hope for the future alongside an inevitable sadness for what has gone.Ivan Clutterbuck has been a priest of the Church of England for nearly seventy years. He read Classics and Theology at Cambridge University. He has served as both an army and a naval chaplain, has taught in several public schools, and was Director of Religious Studies at Roedean School. From 1966 to 1974 he was Organising Secretary of the Church Union. He has also published with Gracewing Marginal Catholics, a history of the Anglo-Catholic Movement in the Church of England, The Church in Miniature, an analysis of faith and order in contemporary Anglicanism, and two commentaries on the Gospels, According to Luke and Another Look at St John.

What moves us first of all in these ¿Conversations¿ is, in the words of Father Boucher CSsR, Van¿s spiritual director, ¿The unbelievable familiarity and ¿ the tenderness of which Brother Marcel has been the object on the part of his heavenly interlocutors. On reading the little sheets that he handed over to me each week I had the feeling that this very small Redemptorist brother whom Jesus, Mary and Thérèse were leading by the hand would have a role to play in the Church and in the world.¿ Indeed, ¿Jesus, from the time of his first conversation, expressed to him his wish to choose him to serve as an intermediary of his Love towards his Vietnamese compatriots,¿ in order to be the apostle of souls¿ We are only at the beginning of what little Van has to tell us to do here below: ¿O Mary, my particular mission is to be the apostle of souls, and the apostle particularly of children. It is only later, in heaven, that I will be able to fulfil it perfectly.¿ Private revelations must not be read in a spirit of curiosity but always in a willingness to allow ourselves to be led to the centre of our faith, towards God and his will, towards Christ and his love : the Conversations lead us right to the centre, to the immeasurable love of Christ. They invite us, through the little apostle of his love, to become so in our turn. from the Preface by Cardinal Christoph Schönbor Conversations, now published in English, is the second volume of the four-volume French language ¿uvres Complètes of Marcel Van (1928-1959), responding to the desire of the late Pope John Paul II for the life stories of the twentieth-century witnesses and martyrs to the Faith to be gathered together. The first volume, Autobiography, was published in English by Gracewing in 2006.

The Mary of the Celts is essential reading for anyone interested in the reality of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary in Celtic spirituality. The book explores themes and images associated with the Annunciation, Nativity, Crucifixion, and Assumption, as also the Blessed Virgin's Joys and Sorrows, through a detailed study of poetry on Mary from the Celtic regions of medieval Britain and Ireland. There are haunting images such as the Blessed Virgin Mary as daughter of her Son and as the chamber of the Trinity, with her virginity remaining as unstained and pure as glass pierced by a beam of light, as well as references to popular apocryphal legends, including those of the Instantaneous Harvest that grew while Mary and her child were fleeing into Egypt from Herod's men, and of the girdle thrown down by the Virgin to St Thomas at the Assumption. Amongst the many poets encountered are Muiredeach Albanach, a thirteenth-century Irishman who established a dynasty of poets in the Western Isles of Scotland, and his Welsh contemporary Brother Madog ap Gwallter, whose poem on Mary and her child at Bethlehem has been praised for a Franciscan simplicity and freshness. Taking the original verse in Middle and Early Modern Irish, Middle Welsh, and Middle Cornish (from medieval Cornish drama), Andrew Breeze relates their characteristic images to patristic material, other vernacular poetry (especially in Old and Middle English), Latin hymns, and medieval painting and sculpture. Indeed, The Mary of the Celts has been written as a guide to Marian iconography. It will be useful for students of medieval European literature and art, as well as for specialists in early Irish and Welsh, all of whom will find in it much that is new. It should make readers aware of the wealth of Marian material to be found in Celtic Ireland and Britain, not all of which has had the attention it deserves beyond the Celtic lands. In reviewing Andrew Breeze's Medieval Welsh Literature, Dr Jerry Hunter of the University of Wales wrote in The Times Literary Supplement, 'he has succeeded where generations of scholars have failed'. The Mary of the Celts is likely to have a similar warm welcome from all those concerned with the Marian devotion of the Middle Ages in the Celtic lands and beyond. Dr Andrew Breeze (b. 1954), FSA, FRHistS, was educated at Sir Roger Manwood's Grammar School and the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Married with six children, he has been lecturer in English since 1987 at the University of Navarre, Pamplona. Besides numerous research papers on philology, he is the author of the controversial study Medieval Welsh Literature (Dublin, 1997) and co-author with Professor Richard Coates of Celtic Voices, English Places (Stamford, 2000).