Roman Catholic Chaplaincy of Saint Thomas More To the University of Surrey

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1 Roman Catholic Chaplaincy of Saint Thomas More To the University of Surrey Chaplain: John McCarthy, Newsletter 8 October 2017 Weekly Events in Term Time Mass During Term Time Sunday 18:00 at the Quiet Centre Morning Prayer 08:45 Monday-Thursday at The Oratory, Wey Flat Discussion, Prayer, Reflection Tuesday 18:30 The Oratory Wey Flat Dear All, I hope that all is well and that you are all feeling settled in. This year we are hosting two students from St John s Seminary Wonersh for their pastoral placements. Fredrick and Thomasz will be joining us most Tuesdays through the academic year. In addition we shall be making two visits to the Seminary, the first one is coming up on 7 November, when we shall join the Seminary community for Mass and Supper more on that soon! In the meantime here are some introductions: My name is Fredrick and I'm studying for the diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska. I have just completed a pastoral year in Alaska and I'm now in my 5th year of formation to the priesthood studying at St. John's seminary in Wonersh, just outside Guildford. Languages and the outdoors are my main interests and come very handy in the last Missionary diocese in the USA. Before seminary I was working in the IT field for many years, and completed a degree in linguistic before I finally answered the call from God to find out more about vocation and where He might be calling me. Tomasz Margol I was born and raised in Poland in credo-catholic family. I completed my education in my country and reading resocialisation pedagogy in AHE in Łódź (central Poland).In January 1012 I moved to UK and I was working in London for about a year. Since I felt calling to priesthood, I decided to apply for admission to seminary in the Archdiocese of Southwark. I spent six months in Whitstable in the

2 Vocations Centre. Then started my formation at St. John Seminary based in Wonersh village, near Guildford. At the moment I am in my fifth year of formation Look forward to seeing you Sunday, John The Week Ahead Sunday 08 October 2017: 27 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass 18:00 at the Quiet Centre, Stag Hill Campus Monday 09 October 2017: Blessed John Henry Newman, Priest Tuesday 10 October 2017: St Paulinus of York, Bishop & Missionary Rosary, Quiet Centre, 14:00-15:30, let by Seminary Placement Students, Fredrick and Tomas Wednesday 11 October 2017: St John XXIII, Pope Thursday 12 October 2017: St Wilfrid, Bishop Friday 13 October 2017: St Edward the Confessor, King Saturday : St Callistus, Pope Sunday 15 October 2017; 28 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass 18:00 at the Quiet Centre, Stag Hill Campus

3 Feast of the Week Blessed (Cardinal) John Henry Newman John Henry Newman was born in London on 21st February 1801, the eldest son of a London banker. His family were members of the Church of England but without any strong religious commitment. The young John Henry learned at an early age to love the Bible and enjoyed reading it. In 1808 he was sent to Ealing School and it was there at the age of fifteen that he underwent a profound religious conversion to what can fairly be described as evangelical Christianity with a strong anti-catholic bias. In 1817 when he was sixteen he entered Trinity College, Oxford as an undergraduate. Five years later he was elected to a Fellowship at Oriel College. He was ordained as an Anglican clergyman and worked first as a curate in the Oxford parish of Saint Clement s, and later became vicar of the Oxford university church of Saint Mary the Virgin. His spiritual influence there on parishioners and members of the university was substantial, especially through his preaching. At the same time he was also working as a college tutor. In 1833 he went on a tour of the Mediterranean with a friend who was in very poor health. While in Sicily he himself fell seriously ill with fever. He recovered and was convinced that God had spared him to perform some special work in England. On his return home he eagerly became a leader in what came to be known as the Oxford Movement, an Anglican movement which aspired to combat three evils which its members believed to be threatening the Church of England: spiritual stagnation, interference from the state, and doctrinal unorthodoxy. When studying the history of the early Church Fathers, Newman was perturbed to discover that the doctrinal position of the Anglican Church in his own day bore a close resemblance to some of the heretical currents that had emerged in the theological controversies of the early centuries. He was even further disturbed a few years later when a number of Anglican Bishops and scholars denounced some of his own writings. He began to question his membership of the Church of England and his leadership of its Oxford Movement. He withdrew from Oxford in order to think and pray. Together with a few companions he moved to modest lodgings in the village of Littlemore just outside Oxford. For three years he lived a quasi-monastic life there, praying for guidance. By 1845 his mind was clear, and on 9th October that year he was received into the Roman Catholic Church by Father (now Blessed) Dominic Barberi. By the grace of God Newman had at last found his way out of shadows and images into what he now professed to be the one fold of the Redeemer. His conversion to Catholicism meant ostracism by many colleagues and friends and some relatives. He went to Rome to study for the priesthood and to discern his future. He was attracted to the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri, a Congregation of priests and brothers founded by that saint in Rome in the sixteenth century. Newman became an Oratorian and in 1848 he established the first English Oratory at Maryvale near Birmingham, moving soon afterwards to

4 Alcester Street near the town centre, where he converted a disused gin distillery into a chapel. Three years later the new Oratorian community moved to its present home in Edgbaston. In 1851 the Bishops of Ireland decided that a new university should be established in Dublin specifically for Catholics, and they invited Fr.Newman to become its founder and first rector. It was a demanding task for a man in his fifties, and he was obliged to make fifty six crossings to and from Ireland in seven years. The institution he established is known today as University College, Dublin. Back in England Newman s life was not easy. He faced many misunderstandings and was sometimes the object of resentment, and was even suspected of doctrinal unorthodoxy. Several projects which he embarked upon ended in rejection or failure. These included a magazine for educated Catholics, a projected Oratorian foundation in Oxford, and a new English translation of the Bible, none of which succeeded. During his old age he continued quietly in the Birmingham Oratory which he had founded, devoting his time to preaching, writing, and spiritual direction. In 1879 when Fr.Newman was seventy eight, Pope Leo XIII made him a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, as a tribute to his outstanding erudition and piety. During the years since his conversion he had endured many personal sleights and had been the object of rash judgements. The news that he was to be a Cardinal came as a conclusive vindication of his orthodoxy and loyalty to the Catholic Church. He himself declared the cloud is lifted for ever. His Eminence the Father died in the Birmingham Oratory of pneumonia on the 11th of August In 1991 John Henry Newman was proclaimed Venerable by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The title of Venerable is the Catholic Church s official recognition that someone has lived to a heroic degree the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity, and the cardinal human virtues of fortitude, justice, prudence, and temperance. In 2009 the Holy See confirmed the miraculous cure in the USA of a man studying for the diaconate, Jack Sullivan, who was suffering from a crippling spinal disorder. Through the intercession in heaven of Cardinal Newman he was cured and able to pursue his vocation. That miracle paved the way for John Henry s beatification. On 19th September 2010 Pope Benedict XVI beatified him at Cofton Park in Birmingham. In 2010 prior to the beatification ceremony, Newman s coffin was exhumed from his grave in the Birmingham Oratory s cemetery at Rednal. It was discovered that the coffin and his body had completely decayed during the time since his burial there in The very few relics of him that remain are lovingly preserved in a modest casket in the chapel which has become his national shrine, in the church of the Birmingham Oratory. His liturgical feastday is kept on the 9th of October each year, the anniversary of what he referred to simply as my day ; the day of his reception into the one true fold of the Redeemer, the Catholic Church.

5 Newsletter Notices: If you have anything for the Newsletter please get it to me at no later than on Tuesday, Thanks. Forth Coming Events Tuesday 10 October 2017: 14:00-15:30, Rosary at the Quiet Centre let by Seminary Placement Students, Fredrick and Tomasz Tuesday 17 October 2017: 18:30, Reflection and Discussion led by Fredrick and Tomasz Tuesday 31 October 2017: 18:30, Reflection and Discussion led by Fredrick and Tomasz Tuesday 07 November 2017: Visit to St John s Seminary, Wonersh, joining students for Mass and Supper Tuesday 14 November 2017: 18:30, Reflection and Discussion led by Fredrick and Tomasz Tuesday 21 November 2017: 14:00-15:30, Preparing for Advent, Meditation and Talk led by Fredrick and Tomasz

6 Prayer and Discernment Retreat Weekend for Young Adults Ways of praying, discernment, finding God in all things... Opportunity for silence and individual accompaniment for those who wish to stay overnight on either Friday or Saturday. Dates : October Where: New Cross, London Cost: 35 Who: Young adults (20s and 30s) More information and booking : Sr Lynne fcj lynnefcj@hotmail.com

7 Monastic Experience Weekend Where: Quarr Abbey, Isle of Wight, PO33 4ES When: evening of Friday 10th November to afternoon of Sunday 12th November 2017 For: single Catholic men aged Offers: an opportunity to experience the Benedictine way of life in the Solesmes tradition, participating in monastic work, attending the worship and sharing the silence, with talks from monks and a chance to ask questions. Contact: Brother Duncan Smith novicemaster@quarr.org Other Sunday Mass Times in Guildford St Joseph s, Eastgate Gardens (Town Centre),Sunday at 08.00, & St Mary s Rydes Hill (Aldershot Road),Saturday at 19.00,Sunday at St Pius X Horseshoe Lane East (Merrow),Saturday 18.00,Sunday St Edward s Sutton Park (Jacob s Well),Sunday The Roman Catholic Chaplaincy to the University of Surrey is Provided by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arundel & Brighton The Arundel & Brighton Trust is a Registered Charity No