Our forgotten heritage

Perhaps because the vast majority of Catholic buildings in Britain are less than 200 years old, they have often been dismissed as pattern-book boring. But, as a new study reveals, there are some remarkable gems now at risk through prejudice or indifference ...

At the Nativity (Gloomy Night)

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My kind of carol

Vote for your favourite carol before 8 December. The winning carol will be announced in the Christmas double issue.
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From the heart, as always

This year has been one of profound significance for the Jesuits, marking major anniversaries of their founders. Here their provincial superior in Britain argues that the original spirit of mission can inform modern evangelism...

Poet who brought fire to his verse

As the Society of Jesus remembers its founder this weekend, the poetry of one of the order?s martyrs reveals the clandestine world in which the Jesuit missionaries to Elizabethan England were forced to operate...

Bittersweet in the Eternal City

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, found himself between the hard place of Anglican disunity and the solid rock of St Peter when trying to accentuate the ecumenical positive during an otherwise warm and socially successful visit to Rome...

On the moral track

The pastoral needs of the horse-racing community in Newmarket ? which are often acute ? are tended to Revd Graham Locking. He describes the post?s unique challenges to Dominic Prince...

Crosses and clich

The row over the cross worn by a British Airways worker reached epic proportions, drawing in church leaders and politicians. But despite the posturings of tabloid editors, the airline should have stuck to its guns...

The way to go

Choosing a retreat is not as difficult as it might first appear, in spite of the astonishing variety on offer. However, a few basic principles are helpful in deciding on the right one...

Spirituality on the beach

Many who would not normally consider a retreat are being drawn to monasteries by the unusual events some have to offer...

Peace among the mimosa trees

A married couple who went to a Trappist ashram in Kerala, southern India, found that the disconnection from all that was familiar to them brought its own revelations...

?Tis the season

Christmas retains bacchanalian aspects of the pagan winter festival it eclipsed. But it is possible to mark Christ?s birth in a way that is public rather than private, yet still true to its essential meaning...

Between two comings

In our prayer for the first Sunday in Advent we prepare to welcome Christ. Bringing our good works to him as he approaches, we think not only of his birth, but also of being called to his side when he returns...

Light and delicious

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