Retreat Information - flying from England to France
Foyer of Charity Retreat in English, at Tressaint in Brittany, France
from 20-26 September 2009
Flights from East Midlands and Stansted Airports to Dinard Airport in Brittany, via Ryanair
Preached by Fr David Hartley from Oxford
The theme of the retreat is “The Light shines in the darkness,” and it is based on St John’s Gospel
Foyers of Charity are Catholic Communities of men and women led by a priest, the Father of the Foyer, who gives the retreats, which are held in silence. Most days there will be two addresses, and the chance to join the community in prayer, adoration, and the rosary, as well as the celebration of the Eucharist. There is plenty of free time to enjoy the beautiful surroundings.
This is an excellent chance to experience the wonderful spirituality (and hospitality) of the Foyers at first hand. The retreat will begin with dinner at 7:30 pm on Sunday 20 September and finish with lunch at 2pm on Saturday 26 September.
There is no set price for retreats but the community relies on donations, and a donation of 40 euros per day, (£34), would be appreciated if you can afford it. Members of the Foyer will come to meet retreatants at the airport, and drop them off for the return flight. If you find that booking becomes busy and you needed to stay on an extra night this would be possible.
There are several ways to travel to Dinan, including by car and ferry on one of the many routes to northern France. The village of Tressaint is about 3 km south of Dinan. Retreatants can be met from it by car from the Foyer. There are regular flights scheduled for 2009 to Dinard by Ryanair, from Stansted and East Midlands airports. FlyBe have a route to Rennes from Southampton which is also cheap and convenient.
Further details from Donal Foley at: 
For more details about the Foyers please visit: www.foyers.org.uk
The Tressaint Foyer website can be found at: www.tressaint.com
The Foyer Portal site is at: www.foyer-de-charite.com
The Irish Monstance: Ireland's Magnificent Gift to Fatima
This is a beautiful new book on this wonderful Monstrance, a gift from the people of Ireland to the Shrine of Fatima in 1949. It has 104 pages, and 160 colour and b&w photographs
$19.95, including shipping & handling - click here to purchase
Lauri Duffy's article on the Monstrance in the IRISH CATHOLIC of Thursday, October 26th, 1989
Some Pictures and Images from the Irish Monstrance
More Pictures (2) from the Irish Monstrance
Faithful Magazine is a free magazine for Catholic teenage girls. It aims to encourage girls in their faith as well as being an interesting read. This magazine is meant for any teenage girl from anywhere in the world who wants to read it. Help is needed, though, on writing stories/articles for the magazine so please submit them on the "Your Stories" page!
St Rita's Centre in Honiton, Devon, promotes devotion to St Rita of Cascia. She has become known as the Advocate of the Helpless, even the Saint of Hopeless Cases. Her feast day is 22nd May
www.stritascentre.org.uk/
This link to two early pictures of the Medjugorje Visionaries, taken while they were allegedly seeing the Blessed Virgin, quite clearly reveal that were not all looking at the same point in space, a fact which indicates that their claims are not genuine.
Francis Phillips reviews Joan of Arc, by Mark Twain
'If you ask after Mark Twain at a public library, they will mention many editions of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn but have no knowledge of this work. Yet Twain himself believed that Joan of Arc was his best book; it took him twelve years to research and two to write, while his other writings “needed no research and got none.” In his self-taught, roving youth he had stumbled across some random pages of Joan’s trial and had been struck by the power of the personality that thus revealed itself: the only story of a human life “that has come to us under oath.”'
The World Apostolate of Fatima National Pilgrimage, 10-17 July 2009
At the Mass in St. Peter's on 13th May 2006, Pope Benedict XVI expressed the hope that the message of Fatima will be "increasingly accepted, understood and lived in every community".
This pilgrimage will be led spiritually by: Rt. Rev Mgr T Fallon, parish priest of St Francis, Birmingham, and the Spiritual Director of the World Apostolate of Fatima in England.
The dates are: Friday 10th to Friday 17th July 2009 - Cost, £559 per person sharing (sterling). The pilgrimage includes:
- Fully inclusive Return Flights from London Heathrow - Lisbon
- Half Board accommodation at Domus Pacis
- Coach tours in Fatima
- Taxes and Travel Insurance
Fatima is one of the most important Marian pilgrimage centres in the world, and its message has assumed even more prominence since the beatification of Francisco and Jacinta in May 2000.
The week consists of a full programme of events centered in Fatima.
Please email: for full details and Booking Forms.
(Pilgrims in Clifton diocese, England, or surroundings, can obtain booking forms or further information from Mike Daley, the Pilgrimage leader, via the above email address.)
Eucharistic Renewal Books
The Mystery of Faith - Meditations on the Eucharist
by Fr Tadeusz Dajczer
The book originally appeared in Polish in autumn 2007 and went through 6 editions.
It contains a foreword by Pope John Paul II's former secretary, Stanislaw Dziwisz, now Cardinal of Krakow, Poland
Published 2008 by Eucharistic Renewal Books
For more details see:
http://eucharisticrenewal.org/
For a review by Francis Phillips, click here ...
The Saint Martin Apostolate in Dublin is at: www.stmartin.ie/
St Bernadette and Suffering by Donal Anthony Foley
"On 8 December 1933, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, exactly seventy-five years ago this week, Pope Pius XI declared Bernadette Soubirous a saint. The choice on this date to canonize Bernadette was not coincidental since this feast represents the name that Our Lady gave herself at Lourdes when she said: “I am the Immaculate Conception.”"
To read the rest of the article, please click here ...
The International Crusade for Moral Reform
http://internationalcmr.bravehost.com/
The International Crusade for Moral Reform was founded by Father Bryan Storey of Tintagel, Cornwall,UK in 1986, and has since grown to have followers all over the world. I.C.M.R. is dedicated to promoting chastity,which is basic to the integrity of the human person. It is through inner strength,peace and true love that real harmony is established in human life and relationships. Members,individuals and groups, engage themselves in prayer, fasting and self-denial, education and action.
Popes' Quotes provides a bi-weekly selection of three thought-provoking quotes on a variety of topics from St Peter the Apostle to Benedict XVI. These quotes are stored online at
www.keysofpeter.org/quotes.htm
Francis Phillips reviews A Life with Karol: My Forty-Year friendship with the Man who became Pope, by Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, Doubleday, Distributed by Family Publications. £11.95
"In a recent Telegraph newspaper poll Margaret Thatcher was named the greatest post-war prime minister of Great Britain. Despite the contempt with which she was (and is) held by Left-wingers, the poll pays tribute to her many achievements; she would undoubtedly join a roll-call of the significant world leaders of the twentieth century. Yet if one is looking at such a roll-call to select one single person who did most to uphold the dignity of man during the latter part of the last century (though he was to die in 2005), the answer of many people from around the world, Christian or not, would be the name of John Paul II."
Dubbing in the the Knights of Our Lady
This is the name given to the venerable rite used in the Middle Ages and in our own day (by, for instance, the Knights of Our Lady) by which knighthood is conferred on a suitable candidate. The connection between the order of chivalry and the service of God has always been close, and the correct name for the ritual is the Blessing of the New Knight (‘Benedictio Novi Militis‘).
Click here for more details and photos ....
“Signs and Wonders:” Peter Costello reviews Understanding Medjugorje by Donal Anthony Foley, (Irish Catholic, 19 October 2008)
"For more than two decades the “phenomenon of Medjugorje” has aroused impassioned debate. The recent news that Fr Vlasic, the initial promoter of the seers, has been disciplined by the Congregation for Doctrine and Faith may give many, especially here in Ireland, reason to pause for thought.
"Enthusiasts for the shrine have been quick to claim that Fr Vlasic has been living in Italy for many years and has had no contact with the seers. But all would have to admit that he was instrumental in establishing the international interest in what has been happening in Medjugorje.
"This book by Donal Anthony Foley makes its position clear by its subtitle: he believes that the affair is one of “religious illusion”. This will displease or dismay many."
For full review, click here ...
