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Friends of the Foyers Newsletter - Easter 2003 www.theotokos.org.uk/pages/movecomm/foyer/foyer.html Dear Friend, You are receiving this Friends of the Foyers Newsletter because you subscribed at the Theotokos Catholic Website - www.theotokos.org.uk - or you contacted the site at some stage about the Foyers, or possibly a friend may have forwarded it to you. This newsletter usually appears a couple of times a year, in the spring, and in the autumn, after the annual Foyer-type retreat in England. God Bless, Donal Foley and Martin Blake ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Contents - Easter 2003 Retreat September 2003 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This Newsletter comes rather hot on the tail of the last one, but we have to get out the booking forms for the ANNUAL RETREAT. Until a Foyer is established in England we only have two means of propagating the idea, namely this Newsletter and the Annual Retreat. The whole purpose of the retreat is to lead some of our 'Friends' into deeper union with Our Lord and his Blessed Mother to prepare for an eventual foundation in His good time. The chief activity of a Foyer, as Marthe foresaw, was to be the arranging and hosting of retreats for lay people by members of the community, and it remains so to this day in the seventy-five Foyers world-wide. This year is the seventh annual Foyer-type retreat in this country, and Donal and I feel strongly that we must make it a special one. We have over 200 Friends on our mailing list. Could each one reckon him or herself a representative of this movement, and try to recruit others at least to pray for it? Please get others to read the CTS booklet on Marthe, or better still 'The Cross and the Joy'. Please suggest the retreat to any friend who may be seeking this sort of vocation, or who you think might eventually become a Foyer member. Let us make no mistake about it, to become a member of a Foyer is very much a modern vocation, like becoming a Carmelite or Benedictine. Boars Hill is a very special retreat house, right in the middle of England. It also offers possibly the best value of any such place in this country. We have had an outstanding succession of conductors, and this year's - Dom Piers - will certainly be in that tradition. So, let us aim to fill the place this year, and maybe attract some of the younger age-group. There was no response to our suggestion of a meeting in Glastonbury after Easter, and so no spring get-together. As the French say: "L'homme propose, Dieu dispose" ! MARTHE AND THERESE: This article by Martin is due to appear in 'Mount Carmel' in October 2003. If you wish to obtain a copy, write to Carmelite Book Service, Boars Hill, Oxford OX1 5HB, with a cheque for £3 payable to 'Mount Carmel Magazine A/c' (this includes P&P). We may ask if we may reprint the article in a future Newsletter. EWTN: Those who are fortunate to be able to tune in to Mother Angelica's famous TV network, as Donal and I can, may have seen the series on Ecclesial Movements in the Church presented by Fr John McCloskey. I don't think the Foyers have been featured yet, but then there are a great many of these 'New Movements'. Our friend Fr Ian Ker has appeared on EWTN several times. He also writes powerfully in the Catholic Herald from time to time. He is much involved with the Neocatecumenate Movement and with Youth 2000. Another programme which the network features regularly is called Bookmark in which Doug Keck interviews the author of some new book. In March he spent half and hour with Donal talking about his 'Marian Apparitions, the Bible, and the Modern World'. This has also been reviewed by Martin. Details of the book may be seen on the Theotokos website. STOP PRESS!! Amazon.co.uk have just dropped the price of the book from £20 to £14, so the cost including postage is now only £16.75 - it can be ordered direct via: www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0852443137/theotokoscath-21 Martin has also reviewed Dwight Longenecker's excellent new book "More Christianity." We have heard from another clerical Friend and supporter, Mgr. Keith Barltrop, that he recently visited Chateauneuf-de-Galaure. He was much moved and impressed by his visit to Marthe's room in La Plaine, where he spent half an hour in prayer. Martin recalls vividly his own first visit, in the company of the present Archbishop of Glasgow, another keen Foyer supporter. INDIA: Martin hears good news from the Foyers which he has visited. He has been invited to return to India for a longer period to teach the disabled children English. Please pray that he may be given the strength to do this. He is organising a coffee morning in aid of 'Enable in India' at Glastonbury soon after Easter. If any Friend feels he or she would like to support this fine charity, Martin can supply details. One incorrect statistic was given in the last Newsletter - the number of Catholics in the Eluru Diocese is 200,000 not two million. PUBLISHING: In the latest number of 'Alouette' (Feb. 2003) there is a striking article by a couple who met at Jean Vanier's community L'Arche and decided, with very slender means, to go in for Christian publishing. With the help of the Benedictines of Mesnil St Loup they have published 75 titles and brought up five children. They end with a quotation from Marthe: "All that is apparently impossible becomes possible when one belongs to Jesus". There are many short articles in Alouette under the heading 'Temoinages' (witnessing). If any reader cares to send us a personal 'temoinage' to his own experience, we might be able to publish it. World Apostolate of Fatima National Pilgrimage - Led by: Rt. Rev Mgr T Fallon. From 8th-15th July 2003 - Cost, per person, sharing: £430 (sterling). Fully inclusive. Scheduled Flights from London with Half Board accommodation at Domus Pacis Hotel. Includes Coach tours in Fatima, Airport and local taxes. The week consists of a full programme of events centred in Fatima, to include a visit to Sr Lucia's Carmelite convent in Coimbra - More details at: www.theotokos.org.uk/pages/waof/waof.html With all good wishes for Easter in union of prayer Martin and Donal ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- p.s. For more details about the Foyers please log-on to:www.theotokos.org.uk/pages/movecomm/foyers/foyers.htmlFor information about Marthe Robin and the Foyers worldwide see: www.foyer-de-charite.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you have received this Newsletter from a friend, and would like to subscribe to future issues, then simply send an email to Or you can subscribe at the Theotokos site at: www.theotokos.org.uk/cgi-bin/mojo/mojo.cgi - your email address will then be added to the list. Please feel free to recommend this Newsletter to anyone you think might be interested in its. Just click on "Forward" in your email program. This is one of the best ways of spreading the word about the Foyers so please do this if at all possible. Privacy Statement: Theotokos Catholic Website will not distribute your email address to any third parties. If you have any ideas / news items / suggestions / feedback etc., for future issues, please contact me at: Copyright 2003 Donal Anthony Foley/Theotokos Catholic Website ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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