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Friends of the Foyers Newsletter - October 2002 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 p.s. If you have any problems clicking on any of the links below, just copy and paste the URL into your Web browser - not all email programs can access the internet directly. 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. Be sure to chose the second option, that is the Foyer Friends newsletter. Please feel free to recommend this Newsletter to anyone you think might be interested in its contents. Just click on "Forward" in your email program, and select their address. This is one of the best ways of spreading the word about the Foyers so please do this if at all possible. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Contents October 2002, 1. Foyer Retreat September 2002 2. Future developments - new lay community 3. France in May 4. Other news 5. The Cause of Marthe's Beatification 6. Books 7. Websites worth visiting ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Foyer Retreat September 2002 Life is full of surprises. This was our sixth annual Foyer-type retreat, and for a time it looked as though we might have to cancel due to a lack of bookings - but the Holy Spirit (prompted by Our lady and Marthe?) made sure this did not happen. And on September 9th, in torrential rain, no fewer than 20 persons assembled at the Carmelite Priory on Boars Hill, Oxford. They included representatives from the United States, the Philippines, France and Scotland, as well as the hard core from the Mother country, and thanks to Fr Ian Ker's leadership, it turned out to be perhaps the best retreat yet. The weather was perfect from Tuesday to Saturday, the food, prepared by the admirable chef, Nigel, was excellent, and silence was much better maintained than usual. We are most grateful to Fr Prior and his team for their hospitality. Fr Ian came over daily from his parish at Burford. He not only gave us two conferences a day, but also celebrated our Mass at midday, gave freely of his time to individual retreatants, and led our Holy Hour at 6 p.m. The theme of his talks was the art of prayer, and he drew on the new Catechism and on his extensive knowledge of Cardinal Newman's works. As usual we kept an all-night vigil before the Blessed Sacrament on Thursday, and made the Stations of the Cross on Friday. Next year's retreat will take place during early September. Each day will be modelled on the retreats held in the many Foyers world-wide. Silence will be of the essence. For more details please email: more information is also available at: www.theotokos.org.uk/pages/movecomm/foyer/eretreat.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. Future developments - new lay community Those of us who have attended all six retreats may occasionally become discouraged by the slow progress we seem to be making towards the foundation of a first Foyer in England, but the Lord is leading us forward and we must be patient. We have a growing mailing list and knowledge of Marthe and the Foyers is gradually being spread, mainly by word-of-mouth - it's up to us to tell our friends! As Fr Ian pointed out, it may that other new movements, such as Youth 2000, may eventually provide vocations to a Foyer community in this country. Donal is planning an experimental opportunity to "live in community" next summer - further details are included with this newsletter. We are also actively researching possible sites for a new lay community. Looking ahead, it was agreed that the time had come for greater publicity. We have had a stall at the Youth 2000 Festival at Walsingham in August, and hope to repeat this at other venues. Each of us must do what we can to make Marthe better known. The CTS booklet B652, Marthe Robin, A Chosen Soul is vital here. We agreed that there should be another six day retreat at Boars Hill next September, and if possible a weekend "get-together" in some other part of the country in the spring, which could act as an alternative short retreat for those who can't make it to annual September retreat. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. France in May Donal and I spent a happy and fruitful week in France last May. We took my car through the Chunnel, and went first to Courset, where the new chapel was blessed by the Bishop of Boulogne. Père Michon was there, of course, from Châteauneuf, and many other Foyer priests and members. Père Michel Tierny was looking a lot older, but he still manages to direct the Foyer he founded thirty years ago and still preaches notable retreats. Donal is working on a book using the notes he made during two of Père Tierny's retreats. Another highlight of our week was a visit with the Master of the Knights of Our Lady (Militia Sanctae Mariae) to L'Ile Bouchard near Chinon, where Our Lady appeared to four young girls in the parish church, on ten occasions during seven days in December 1947. Martin has written up the story. The Archbishop of Tours has recently approved the shrine of Our Lady of Prayer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. Other news English Retreat at Châteauneuf The Irish Friends raised 55 to go to the Centre Foyer for a retreat with Fr Bradley of the USA in August, of whom a dozen were from England. Youth 2000 Prayer Festival Donal and Timothy Tindal-Robertson attended the Youth 2000 annual Festival at Walsingham in August, and, like nearly everyone, were much impressed by the fervour and orthodoxy of the young Catholics who came. They were able to run a joint Friends of the Foyers/World Apostolate of Fatima stall, and several useful contacts were made. Joanna Bogle wrote enthusiastically of the event in the Catholic Herald. There is no doubt that this new movement is inspired by the Holy Spirit. It has already produced a number of vocations to the priesthood and the religious life. Marthe Robin, sous la conduite de Marie, 1925-32 This book by a French Dominican was published in 1995, and draws on Marthe's private spiritual diaries in the formative years during which she received the stigmata. Martin has begun a translation into English and is actively seeking possible publishers. Please pray about this. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5. The Cause of Marthe's Beatification The Bishop of Valence established a Commission of Enquiry regarding Marthe in February 1988. In March 1991 the Holy See gave its "nihil obstat" to the official opening of a Diocesan Cause. The Commission completed its work in 1996 and submitted a text of 17,000 pages to Rome. Since then it has been in the hands of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints. As is well known, this congregation has been inundated with applications from all over the world, many of which have been successful, so it is not surprising that Marthe's cause has not yet reached the front of the queue. But many in France are confident that she will get there soon. Don't forget she will need a miracle of healing for her beatification. Alouette April 2002 The bi-monthy magazine issuing from the Centre Foyer at Châteauneuf produced a special edition in April to commemorate the centenary of Marthe's birth on March 13th 1902. French speaking "Friends" would do well to subscribe (24 euros per annum from: Journal Alouette, BP 17, Châteauneuf-de-Galaure, FRANCE - I myself send cash rather than a cheque). In a letter to Père Michon, dated 26 February 2002, Mgr Rylko, the Secretary of the Pontifical Congregation for the Laity, wrote: On behalf of this Congregation, I send you personally, and all the members of the Foyers throughout the world, our very best wishes. The Lord wished to inspire in the soul of Marthe Robin a new charism for the sanctification of the people of God, both lay and priestly, during the dramatic moments of world history in the twentieth century. From childhood Marthe's life was tried by illness, which she offered to God in an exemplary manner, in an act of abandonment filled with confidence. These sufferings were the solid foundation to the growth of the Foyers of Charity, which began with that 'adventure' of the first retreat in September 1936. What is certain is that the work begun by Marthe Robin is a gift for the Church which must be carefully cherished. Let us recall what his Holiness John Paul II said in connection with the associations when he stressed the importance of 'promoting the various kinds of association, whether in the form of traditional ones or that of the newer ecclesial movements; these forms continue to give the Church a vitality which a gift from God, and which constitutes an authentic "springtime of the Spirit." '(Novo Millennio Ineunte 46) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6. Books Book on Marthe - The "Cross and the Joy" by Rev. Raymond Peyret, the only biography of Marthe Robin, in book form, in English. It is a translation from the French of Père Peyret's book on Marthe, written soon after her death in 198, and published by Alba House. Fr Peyret never knew Marthe, but he attended her funeral and was so impressed he decided to research her life. In the end he wrote three books on her, but this is the only longish biography so far in English. It gives a solid account of her life and mission, and is a good introduction to the charism of the Foyers of Charity. It is available from Family Publications, 77 Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 6LF, at a cost of only £5.95. Tel: 01865 514408; Fax: 01865 316951; email: It is also available online at: www.theotokos.org.uk/pages/recbooks/misc/movecomm.html Joe Connolly has kindly let us have a quantity of copies which we can supply at £5 (p & p UK included). For more details please e-mail: CTS Booklets - "The New Movements: A Theological Introduction" by Fr Ian Ker (Mo 04); "Marthe Robin: A Chosen Soul" by Martin Blake (B 652), and "Apparitions of Mary" by Donal Foley (Do 662); also "Fatima in the Third Millennium," by Timothy Tindal-Roberston (Do 679), and "What Happened at Fatima" by Leo Madigan (D 651), all priced at £1.95. CTS phone: 020 7640 0042; fax: 020 7640 0046; website: www.cts-online.org.uk ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6. Websites worth visiting For further information on the Foyers of Charity world-wide and on Marthe Robin: www.foyer-de-charite.com/ US Foyer of Charity: www.foyerofcharity.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ May God and Our Lady of the Foyers continue to bless our efforts. Martin and Donal p.s. Donal has written a book entitled, Marian Apparitions, the Bible, and the Modern World - this should be available shortly at a cost of £17.99, and is to published by Gracewing. See www.theotokos.org.uk for details. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 2002 Donal Anthony Foley/Theotokos Catholic Website ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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