Welcome! 1 February, 2013

Second Spring OxfordEditorial & Educational Services for the Catholic Community

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Please also visit Stratford Caldecott’s three blogs:

Beauty in Education is for parents, teachers, and students

All Things Made New is for mystics, theologians, and seekers

The Economy Project is about Catholic social teaching, ecology, etc.

APOLOGY: The Magnificat Year of Faith Companion is now almost out of print. It sold out rapidly worldwide, contrary to the January and February MAGNIFICAT editorials, which were finalised several months ago when we still had many copies in stock! Try calling our lovely people at Prompt Reply (01798 343717) to see if they can dig up a copy or two for you, but be warned: they will be cleaned out very soon.

LATEST NEWS:

UPCOMING EVENT  At the beginning of February we welcome Dr Glenn Juday, Professor of Forest Ecology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) and recently scientist trainer for the commissioning of Catholic Climate Ambassadors for the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change . We have organised for him to give a free seminar on ‘Catholic Environmental Stewardship: Principles and an Example’ on Saturday 2nd February at 4pm, at St Benet’s Hall, Oxford. Space will be limited, so if you would like to attend, please let us know at [email protected]

 

J.R.R. TOLKIEN, THE HOBBIT, AND THE LORD OF THE RINGS  With the first part of the new Hobbit movie by Peter Jackson recently released, the publishers Crossroad have published a new, expanded edition of Stratford Caldecott’s well-received book on this great Catholic writer and the spiritual meaning of Middle-earth. Called The Power of the Ring, the new edition incorporates and supersedes the earlier Secret Fire, published by DLT and now completely out of print. (A similarly expanded and definitive edition of Stratford’s book The Seven Sacraments is in preparation from Crossroad.) Meanwhile BEAUTY IN THE WORD: Rethinking the Foundations of EducationStratford’s sequel to Beauty for Truth’s Sake, completing his study of the seven Liberal Arts, was published in 2012. Education is in crisis, and new possibilities are opening up all the time, but any genuine reform will have to be based on an understanding of what education is for. Follow the link to find out more (and read an article on the whole project here). It is published by Angelico Press and available through Amazon. Read the interview.

SAME-SEX UNIONS  The fourth issue of Humanum, the free online book review journal of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute in Washington (described here), now available, is devoted to the topic of same-sex unions and the debate over gay marriage. It contains a major article on the topic by David S. Crawford. The previous issue examined the use of technology in human reproduction, including IVF. Edited by Stratford Caldecott, Humanum (not to be confused with Humanitas – see below) regularly examines some of the most pressing issues of our time, especially as they affect the most vulnerable members of society, and includes a round-up of relevant life, health, and family news from around the world. Follow the link to Humanum and click for a free subscription – that way we can alert you each time a new issue is published!

SECOND SPRING  The sixteenth issue of our own flagship journal Second Spring is on the theme of “Holy Vessels and is now on sale. It includes articles by Duncan Stroik, Margaret Atkins, Jerome Bertram CO, Margaret Truran OSB, Léonie Caldecott, and others. The fifteenth issue, still available, was guest-edited by Christopher Blum on the theme of Faith and Science. The fourteenth, “In the Garden”, dealt with the theme of nature, gardening, and ecology, and contained a lead article by Cardinal Scola. To purchase back issues, please write to Thomas More College or contact us at the Oxford office. 2012 marked two decades since the first appearance of Second Spring as a supplement in Catholic World Report. Teresa and Sophie Caldecott represented the editors at the recent Towards Advent cultural festival in London, where they gave talks on the Oxford apostolate.

Don’t forget our much-loved The Mass Illustrated for Children, designed not just to keep a child quiet during Mass, but as a rich resource for parents and catechists to use to explain what happens in the liturgy to young children – to stimulate both faith and imagination. If you are curious, we also created a little animated featurette. Meanwhile, Scott Hahn’s introduction to the Bible for children (God’s Covenant with You), a colouring book illustrated by David Clayton in the style of classical icons and illuminations, is still available, along with our other titles, all now at bargain prices. Books in the Second Spring Catechesis series are available through Thomas More College in the US or directly from our distributor in the UK (for details again see the BOOKS section). More books are in preparation.

HUMANITAS:  This important international journal of Christian anthropology and culture, from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, is available in a beautifully produced English language edition, which can also be read online HERE. The first issue is about the legacy of Pope John Paul II, the second has a number of important articles on Pope Benedict’s call for a broadening of human reason, and the providential relationship between Rome, Athens, and Jerusalem. The third English-language issue, now available, is on the theme of the Year of Faith.

The CHESTERTON LIBRARY (Charity No. 1134101), originally collected by Mr Aidan Mackey, will soon be housed at the Oxford Oratory’s study centre devoted to Newman and the Literary Revival. Academic and Christian interest in the great English writer G.K. Chesterton is growing worldwide, and the new study centre will eventually contain a room dedicated to him where the unrivalled collection of books and memorabilia will be made accessible to scholars and visitors. Building work is going well, although more funds are still urgently required to finish the project and shelves the books. In the meantime our collection is being catalogued in preparation for the move. If you wish to become a supporter of this worthy project, by supporting either the Oratory Building project or the Library Trust itself, go to the Library page where all relevant links are maintained. A Press Release is available on request.

In a rare visit to London, Cardinal Angelo Scola, the Archbishop of Milan (formerly the Patriarch of Venice), spoke at the House of Lords and Heythrop College in London on 15 November about Religions, Plurality, and the Common Good, introducing the work of the Oasis Foundation for Christian minorities in Islamic countries, dedicated to better Christian-Muslim understanding. Papers may be found on the Oasis site and a summary on our Economy Project blog here. A close friend of the late Hans Urs von Balthasar, Cardinal Scola is one of the leading “theological bishops” of the Church and is looking for more collaborators in the UK for the Oasis project.

MAGNIFICAT  The popular monthly prayer book and missal MAGNIFICAT  is now available as a iPhone/iPad app. It contains spiritual meditations for every day of the year by the great writers and saints of our tradition, with a beautiful cover as well as high-quality artwork to accompany an art essay in each issue. MAGNIFICAT is a wonderful aid to daily prayer and meditation, even if you can’t get to Mass each day. The UK/ Ireland/ Australia edition is edited from our office in Oxford and can be viewed online here. (It is on Twitter too.)

Stratford, Léonie, and Teresa Caldecott