Welcome to Second Spring

 at the Centre for Faith & Culture

 

Here you’ll find information about our journal and the other publications we edit, including MAGNIFICAT for the UK, Ireland, & Australia, our books (catechetical colouring books, and books written by our founders Stratford & Léonie Caldecott), our summer school, as well as many online resources.

 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Explore Stratford Caldecott’s related blogs: Beauty in Education and All Things Made New, and sign up to the Beauty in Education Network’s newsletter here.
You’ll also find a lot of free articles and resources in the bottom section of our navigation menu.

Please consider signing up to our mailing list – you can pick which fields you are interested in for very occasional updates and news right to your inbox. You can also find us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Email: secondspringltd{at}gmail.com
Snailmail: Second Spring Centre for Faith & Culture 6a King St Oxford OX2 6DF U.K.
Manager: Teresa Caldecott

Stratford Caldecott

26^th November 1953 – 17^th July 2014

 

Stratford Caldecott, husband of Léonie and father to Teresa, Sophie, and Rose-Marie, passed away on Thursday afternoon. The Requiem Mass will be at 10am on 31^st July at the Oxford Oratory church of St Aloysius, and he will be laid to rest in Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxford.

Donations of un-madeup flowers (white, blue or lilac) for the decoration of the church and reception will gratefully received on the morning of Wednesday 30th July, delivered to the church. Alternatively, if you would like to give a donation to charity in Stratford’s memory, the family would like to suggest that these be made to Sobell House Hospice or Prostate Cancer UK.

Stratford Stanley Francis Caldecott, MA (Oxon.), STD, FRSA, was born in London to Moyra and Oliver Caldecott, who had moved from South Africa shortly before. He grew up alongside his younger brother Julian and sister Rachel surrounded by artists and writers.

Educated at Dulwich College, he came up to Oxford in 1973 to read Philosophy and Psychology at Hertford College, where he met the woman who was to become his wife and collaborator Léonie Richards. They married in July 1977, and lived in Oxford and London, before moving to Boston, Massachusetts where in 1985 they had their first child, Teresa. They moved back to England in 1987, and eventually back to Oxford.

A life-long pursuer of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness,  Stratford became a Roman Catholic in 1980, and his wife in 1983. His conversion is documented in The Path to Rome (Gracewing, 2010) and The Beauty of God’s House: Essays in Honor of Stratford Caldecott, ed. Francesca Murphy (Wipf & Stock, 2014).

For many years he worked as a Senior Editor at Routledge, HarperCollins, and T&T Clark, but in the early 1990s he and his wife, Léonie, founded the Centre for Faith & Culture in Oxford (first based at Westminster College, then Plater College, and later from an office in Jericho, north Oxford). He and Léonie organised several influential conferences, research projects, and summer schools. In 2001 they founded the journal Second Spring, which remains the flagship publication of the Centre.

Stratford served on the editorial boards of Communio, The Chesterton Review, and Oasis, and wrote and edited books on J.R.R. Tolkien, the seven Sacraments, the historian Christopher Dawson, the Book of Revelation, education, and liturgical reform in the Catholic Church. He spoke frequently at conferences, taught at a number of colleges and universities, and published widely on Christian apologetics, theology, and cultural themes in magazines and newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic, including Touchstone, This Rock, Parabola, the Chesterton Review, The Imaginative Conservative, the Catholic Herald, The Tablet, and the National Catholic Register.

Collaborating for many years with various Chestertonian organisations, most especially the G. K. Chesterton Institute at Seton Hall University, Stratford was the guardian of the G. K. Chesterton Library of Aidan Mackey (now housed at the Oxford Oratory), and was appointed the G.K. Chesterton Research Fellow at St Benet’s Hall, Oxford. He encouraged John Kanu, a student of his at Plater College, to found a G. K. Chesterton Centre in his home country of Sierra Leone, which does vital work in community-led sustainable development. Stratford also began to draw together worldwide networks of people involved in the development of Catholic ecology, alternative economics, and education.

In 2010, he and Léonie formed a limited company called Second Spring Oxford to run the Centre for Faith & Culture with their daughter Teresa as manager. They began to edit the UK and Ireland edition of the monthly prayer booklet MAGNIFICAT, as well as publishing catechetical colouring books for children, and organising a summer school on the culture of Catholic England with the Thomas More College Liberal Arts in New Hampshire. Strat also edited Humanum, the online journal of the Centre for Cultural and Pastoral Research in Washington, DC, and worked as a commissioning editor for CTS. In collaboration with the Tabah Foundation, he began a series of interfaith colloquia for Christian and Islamic thinkers to discuss notions of society, the secular, and vocation.

Stratford was diagnosed with prostate cancer in October 2011. After this he wrote profusely, publishing three books: The Power of the Ring (Crossroad, 2012, rewritten from an earlier edition published by Darton Longman and Todd), The Radiance of Being (Angelico Press, 2013), and Not As the World Gives (Angelico Pr, 2014). His earlier books were The Seven Sacraments (Crossroad, 2005), All Things Made New (Angelico Pr/Sophia Perennis, 2011), Beauty for Truth’s Sake (Brazos, 2009), and Beauty in the Word (Angelico Pr, 2012).

Stratford received an honorary doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute at the Catholic University of America in 2013, and is to be awarded posthumously the 15^th Paideia Prize “for lifetime contribution to classical education and the cultivation of wisdom and virtue” by the CiRCE Institute next year.

Personal tributes by the family can be found in this article by Sophie, the art of Rose-Marie, and the poem by Léonie in Stratford’s Festschrift. His daughter Teresa will endeavor to continue the work of the Centre alongside her mother.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Do visit Stratford Caldecott’s related blogs: Beauty in Education and All Things Made New.
You’ll also find a lot of free articles and resources here in the bottom section of the navigation menu.

Please consider signing up to our mailing list – you can pick which fields you are interested in for very occasional updates and news right to your email inbox. You can also find us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Email: secondspringltd{at}gmail.com
Snailmail: The Centre for Faith & Culture 6A King St Oxford OX2 6DF England

Second Spring at The Centre for Faith & Culture

Second Spring began as a magazine supplement in 1992 and at the dawn of the new century became the journal of the Centre for Faith & Culture in Oxford. Out of this grew Second Spring Oxford, founded by Léonie and Stratford Caldecott and managed by their daughter Teresa – a small consultancy devoted to the evangelisation of culture through events, education, and publishing.

Please consider signing up to our snazzy mailing list – you can pick which fields you are interested in for very occasional updates and news right to your email inbox. You can also find us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Do also visit Stratford Caldecott’s related blogs: Beauty in Education and All Things Made New. Selected articles from these blogs also appear on the Imaginative Conservative site.

LATEST NEWS:

SECOND SPRING CATECHESIS  A new and improved edition of The Mass Illustrated for Children is available now! This popular missalette/colouring book is 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. £3.95, and discounts are available on orders of 25+.

And why not try some of the other titles in our colouring book series? Scott Hahn’s introduction to the Bible for children (God’s Covenant with You), and Meet the Angels are illustrated by David Clayton in the style of classical icons and illuminations, and are available for only £1.95 each, along with Teach Me Thérèse on the life of St Thérèse of Lisieux illustrated by Susan Bateman.

Books in the Second Spring Catechesis series are available in the UK by emailing [email protected], texting 07836 520597, or leaving a voice message on 01798 343718. If you are in the USA you can order via Thomas More College.

NEW BOOK ON CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING  Stratford Caldecott’s long-awaited book Not As the World Gives: The Way of Creative Justice, is now available from Angelico Press, under the brand new Second Spring imprint!

Along with the prequel, The Radiance of Being: Dimensions of Cosmic Christianity, and other titles by Stratford Caldecott, Not As the World Gives is available for UK customers to purchase through us. Our catalogue and details of how to order are available here.

BEAUTY IN EDUCATION  Beauty in the Word: Rethinking the Foundations of Education, Stratford’s sequel to Beauty for Truth’s Sake, completing his study of the seven Liberal Arts, was published in 2012 with a Foreword by Antony Esolen. 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. Teachers and parents are invited to join our growing network to share ideas and discuss initiatives. Sign up to the mailing list here (and read an article on the whole project here). Angelico Press have a Facebook page for the book and related works that you can join to become part of the conversation. The book is available through Amazon. Read the interview.

FREE ONLINE CULTURAL REVIEW  The eighth issue of Humanum, the free online book review journal of the Center for Cultural & Pastoral Research at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, DC, edited by Stratford & Léonie, is available here. Previous issues have looked at topics such as Technology in the Home, Absent Fathers, Artificial Reproductive Technology, Same-Sex Unions. These and other topics are examined through articles and book reviews by contributors familiar with the Christian anthropology of John Paul II.

Step by step, Humanum is examining the pressing issues of our time 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 links and click for a free subscription so that we can alert you each time a new issue is published! Upcoming issues include one on contemporary threats to the extended family, including many of the issues surrounding urban development.

MAGNIFICAT  The popular monthly prayer book and missal MAGNIFICAT, well known in the US, which we edit here in Oxford for the UK and Ireland, is also 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. Several brand new features will be introduced in December. 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 and Facebook too.)

ASSOCIATED PROJECTS:

OASIS  Issue 17 of this very important international journal founded by Cardinal Angelo Scola is now available, and the theme picks up two of our interests – interfaith dialogue, and the future of the economy. Titled “The Economy Called Into Question“, this issue of Oasis relates the deep economic questions raised by the global crisis to the ongoing political crisis going on in the Middle East and North Africa, with articles by Edward Hadas, Michael Naughton, and a host of others, plus book reviews and news. The Oasis website is a great place to go for informed coverage of events.

The CHESTERTON LIBRARY (Charity No. 1134101), curated by the Centre for Faith & Culture for several years, has now moved to the Oxford Oratory’s new study centre devoted to Newman and the Literary Revival. Academic and Christian interest in G.K. Chesterton is growing worldwide, and the study centre will contain a room dedicated to him where this unrivalled collection of books and memorabilia will be made accessible to scholars and visitors, although funds are still urgently required to finish the project and to shelve the books and display miscellanea. If you wish to become a supporter either of the Oratory Building project or the Library Trust itself, go to the Library page where relevant links are maintained.

SIERRA LEONE CHESTERTON CENTRE  was started by a former student of Plater College and Oxford University, John Kanu, and is a centre for community-led sustainable development inspired by the ideals of G.K. Chesterton in one of the world’s poorest countries. It is helping to revitalize the rural economy on which the country depends. The Centre desperately needs equipment and tools, ranging from scissors to computers and generators. Detailed information is available on request. Help if you can!

IMAGINATIVE CONSERVATIVE  If you haven’t already come across this online journal ‘for those who seek the True, the Good and the Beautiful’, we would like to recommend you waste no time in getting acquainted! With a hearty dose of several essays a day on culture, liberal learning, politics, political economy, literature, the arts and the leading thinkers in Imaginative Conservatism (Russell Kirk, T.S. Eliot, Irving Babbitt, Christopher Dawson…), the community provides much food for thought. Stratford and Léonie are both regular contributors.

HUMANITAS  This important international journal of Christian anthropology and culture, from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, is also available in a beautifully produced English language edition. The first five English-language issues reflect on the legacy of Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict’s call for a broadening of human reason, the Year of Faith, Pope Francis (including a profound analysis of our cultural crisis from Archbishop Bergoglio), as well as lavishly illustrated articles on modernity, Hildegard of Bingen, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and J.R.R. Tolkien. Each issue can be read online with free registration. Also now available for free download from the Humanum site is a Vademecum or Handbook of John Paul II’s anthropology, plus a selection of other useful and important documents from John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

Stratford, Léonie, Teresa, & Sophie Caldecott

Second Spring at The Centre for Faith & Culture

Second Spring began as a magazine supplement in 1992 and at the dawn of the new century became the journal of the Centre for Faith & Culture in Oxford. Out of this grew Second Spring Oxford, founded by Léonie and Stratford Caldecott and managed by their daughter Teresa – a small consultancy devoted to the evangelisation of culture through events, education, and publishing.

Please consider signing up to our snazzy mailing list – you can pick which fields you are interested in for very occasional updates and news right to your email inbox. You can also find us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Do also visit Stratford Caldecott’s related blogs: Beauty in Education and All Things Made New. Selected articles from these blogs also appear on the Imaginative Conservative site.

 LATEST NEWS:

BOOKINGS ARE STILL OPEN for our 2014 Centre for Faith & Culture Oxford Summer School in conjunction with The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, NH. The two week programme is titled ‘Between Tiber and Thames: The Soul of Post-Reformation England’, and will take place 7th-21st August. Undergraduate students wishing to participate and gain accreditation should apply via Thomas More. All others should email Teresa at [email protected].

We will be exploring the history, literature, and spirituality of Catholic Britain from its flowering in the late middle ages through the period of destruction and persecution and into its resurgence in the modern age. Focusing on the lives, context, style, and impact of writers such as Shakespeare, John Henry Newman, Gerard Manley Hopkins, G. K. Chesterton, and the Inklings, we look at the vocation of the Christian and most importantly the Catholic writer in witnessing to Christ in a hostile environment. We also wrestle with the deeper question of what it means to be human, and examine the vision of humanity imperilled by the English Reformation, which the writers of the 19^th– and 20^th– century Catholic Revival tried to recover and reclaim. Details will be found on our ‘Summer School‘ page on the left.

You may also be interested in the upcoming Pentecost Lectures given by Second Spring editor, Carol Zaleski at Pluscarden Abbey.

SECOND SPRING CATECHESIS LAUNCHES NEW & IMPROVED MASS BOOK
A new and improved edition of The Mass Illustrated for Children is available now! This popular missalette/colouring book is 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. £3.95, and discounts are available on orders of 25+.

And why not try some of the other titles in our colouring book series? Scott Hahn’s introduction to the Bible for children (God’s Covenant with You), and Meet the Angels are illustrated by David Clayton in the style of classical icons and illuminations, and are available for only £1.95 each, along with Teach Me Thérèse on the life of St Thérèse of Lisieux illustrated by Susan Bateman.

Books in the Second Spring Catechesis series are available in the UK by emailing [email protected], texting 07836 520597, or leaving a voice message on 01798 343718. If you are in the USA you can order via Thomas More College.

NEW BOOK ON CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING
Stratford Caldecott‘s long-awaited book Not As the World Gives: The Way of Creative Justice, launches is out any day from Angelico Press, under the brand new Second Spring imprint! The prequel, The Radiance of Being: Dimensions of Cosmic Christianity, also from Angelico Press, is available for purchase through us (email [email protected]), along with his other Angelico Press titles, Beauty in the Word and All Things Made New. We also have in stock his book on the great Catholic writer J.R.R. Tolkien and the spiritual meaning of Middle-earth, The Power of the Ring, which was released recently by Crossroad as an expanded and revised edition of the now out-of-print Secret Fire published by DLT. A Spanish edition of the same book, El poder del Anillo, is now available as well as Italian and Russian translations. You can read more about books by the Directors of Second Spring under ‘Books>Recommended Books’ in the navigation menu.

Beauty in the Word: Rethinking the Foundations of Education, Stratford’s sequel to Beauty for Truth’s Sake, completing his study of the seven Liberal Arts, was published in 2012 with a Foreword by Antony Esolen. 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. Teachers and parents are invited to join our growing network to share ideas and discuss initiatives. Follow the link to find out more (and read an article on the whole project here). Angelico Press have a Facebook page for the book and related works that you can join to become part of the conversation. The book is available through Amazon. Read the interview.

CATHOLICISM AND THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE  The eighth issue of Humanum, the free online book review journal of the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, DC, edited by Stratford & Léonie, is available here. It features papers from a conference with the Mayo Clinic. The previous issue was on problems caused by technology in the home. These and other topics are examined through articles and book reviews by contributors familiar with the Christian anthropology of John Paul II.

Step by step, Humanum is examining the pressing issues of our time 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 links and click for a free subscription so that we can alert you each time a new issue is published! Upcoming issues include one on contemporary threats to the extended family, including many of the issues surrounding urban development.

MAGNIFICAT  The popular monthly prayer book and missal MAGNIFICAT, well known in the US, which we edit here in Oxford for the UK and Ireland, is also 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. Several brand new features will be introduced in December. 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 and Facebook too.)

ASSOCIATED PROJECTS:

OASIS  Issue 17 of this very important international journal founded by Cardinal Angelo Scola is now available, and the theme picks up two of our interests – interfaith dialogue, and the future of the economy. Titled “The Economy Called Into Question“, this issue of Oasis relates the deep economic questions raised by the global crisis to the ongoing political crisis going on in the Middle East and North Africa, with articles by Edward Hadas, Michael Naughton, and a host of others, plus book reviews and news. The Oasis website is a great place to go for informed coverage of events.

The CHESTERTON LIBRARY (Charity No. 1134101), curated by the Centre for Faith & Culture for several years, has now moved to the Oxford Oratory’s new study centre devoted to Newman and the Literary Revival. Academic and Christian interest in G.K. Chesterton is growing worldwide, and the study centre will contain a room dedicated to him where this unrivalled collection of books and memorabilia will be made accessible to scholars and visitors, although funds are still urgently required to finish the project and to shelve the books and display miscellanea. If you wish to become a supporter either of the Oratory Building project or the Library Trust itself, go to the Library page where relevant links are maintained.

SIERRA LEONE CHESTERTON CENTRE  was started by a former student of Plater College and Oxford University, John Kanu, and is a centre for community-led sustainable development inspired by the ideals of G.K. Chesterton in one of the world’s poorest countries. It is helping to revitalize the rural economy on which the country depends. The Centre desperately needs equipment and tools, ranging from scissors to computers and generators. Detailed information is available on request. Help if you can!

IMAGINATIVE CONSERVATIVE  If you haven’t already come across this online journal ‘for those who seek the True, the Good and the Beautiful’, we would like to recommend you waste no time in getting acquainted! With a hearty dose of several essays a day on culture, liberal learning, politics, political economy, literature, the arts and the leading thinkers in Imaginative Conservatism (Russell Kirk, T.S. Eliot, Irving Babbitt, Christopher Dawson…), the community provides much food for thought. Stratford and Léonie are both regular contributors.

HUMANITAS  This important international journal of Christian anthropology and culture, from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, is also available in a beautifully produced English language edition. The first five English-language issues reflect on the legacy of Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict’s call for a broadening of human reason, the Year of Faith, Pope Francis (including a profound analysis of our cultural crisis from Archbishop Bergoglio), as well as lavishly illustrated articles on modernity, Hildegard of Bingen, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and J.R.R. Tolkien. Each issue can be read online with free registration. Also now available for free download from the Humanum site is a Vademecum or Handbook of John Paul II’s anthropology, plus a selection of other useful and important documents from John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

Stratford, Léonie, Teresa, & Sophie Caldecott

Second Spring at The Centre for Faith & Culture

Second Spring began as a magazine supplement in 1992 and at the dawn of the new century became the journal of the Centre for Faith & Culture in Oxford. Out of this grew Second Spring Oxford, founded by Léonie and Stratford Caldecott and managed by their daughter Teresa – a small consultancy devoted to the evangelisation of culture through events, education, and publishing. Find us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

You are also encouraged to visit Stratford Caldecott’s personal blogs: Beauty in Education and All Things Made New. Selected articles from these blogs also appear on the Imaginative Conservative site.

 LATEST NEWS:

BOOKINGS ARE STILL OPEN for our 2014 Centre for Faith & Culture Oxford Summer School in conjunction with The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, NH. The two week programme is titled ‘Between Tiber and Thames: The Soul of Post-Reformation England’, and will take place 7th-21st August. Undergraduate students wishing to participate and gain accreditation should apply via Thomas More. All others should email Teresa at [email protected].

We will be exploring the history, literature, and spirituality of Catholic Britain from its flowering in the late middle ages through the period of destruction and persecution and into its resurgence in the modern age. Focusing on the lives, context, style, and impact of writers such as Shakespeare, John Henry Newman, Gerard Manley Hopkins, G. K. Chesterton, and the Inklings, we look at the vocation of the Christian and most importantly the Catholic writer in witnessing to Christ in a hostile environment. We also wrestle with the deeper question of what it means to be human, and examine the vision of humanity imperilled by the English Reformation, which the writers of the 19^th– and 20^th– century Catholic Revival tried to recover and reclaim. Details will be found on our ‘Summer School‘ page on the left.

RECENTLY the second in our Interfaith Colloquium Series in conjunction with The Tabah Foundation was held at St Benet’s Hall, Oxford on Saturday 1st March. The series brings together Christian and Islamic thinkers to engage in a conversation about notions of society, the secular, and the human vocation. The topic was ‘Humanising Work’, and the speakers were Dr Karim Lahham (stone carver and barrister), Warwick Pethers (traditional Gothic architect), Roy Peachey  (teacher and writer), and Dr Talal al-Azem (Oriental Institute and Pembroke College).

We’ve also been delighted to be involved in several interesting conferences, including two in Spain organised by Universidad CEU San Pablo and Fundacion Maior, and the English Chesterton Society’s March spectacular in Beaconsfield. Keep up the good work everyone!
You may also be interested in the upcoming Pentecost Lectures given by Second Spring editor, Carol Zaleski at Pluscarden Abbey.

BOOKS
A new and improved edition of The Mass Illustrated for Children is available now for pre-orders! This popular booklet is 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. Discounts are available on orders of 25+ copies. 

And why not try some of the other titles in our colouring book series? Scott Hahn’s introduction to the Bible for children (God’s Covenant with You), and Meet the Angels are illustrated by David Clayton in the style of classical icons and illuminations, and are available for only £1.95 each, along with Teach Me Therese on the life of St Therese of Lisieux illustrated by Susan Bateman. Books in the Second Spring Catechesis series are available in the UK by emailing [email protected], texting 07836 520597, or leaving a voice message on 01798 343718. If you are in the USA you can order via Thomas More College. See the books in action in this featurette or Second Spring Catechesis film.

Stratford Caldecott‘s long-awaited book on Catholic Social Teaching, Not As the World Gives: The Way of Creative Justice, will be out very soon from Angelico Press, under the brand new Second Spring imprint! The prequel, The Radiance of Being: Dimensions of Cosmic Christianity, also from Angelico Press, is available for purchase through us (email [email protected]), along with his other Angelico Press titles, Beauty in the Word and All Things Made New. We also have in stock his book on the great Catholic writer J.R.R. Tolkien and the spiritual meaning of Middle-earth, The Power of the Ring, which was released recently by Crossroad as an expanded and revised edition of the now out-of-print Secret Fire published by DLT. A Spanish edition of the same book, El poder del Anillo, is now available as well as Italian and Russian translations. You can read more about books by the Directors of Second Spring under ‘Books>Recommended Books’ in the navigation menu.

Beauty in the Word: Rethinking the Foundations of Education, Stratford’s sequel to Beauty for Truth’s Sake, completing his study of the seven Liberal Arts, was published in 2012 with a Foreword by Antony Esolen. 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. Teachers and parents are invited to join our growing network to share ideas and discuss initiatives. Follow the link to find out more (and read an article on the whole project here). Angelico Press have a Facebook page for the book and related works that you can join to become part of the conversation. The book is available through Amazon. Read the interview.

CATHOLICISM AND THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE  The eighth issue of Humanum, the free online book review journal of the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, DC, edited by Stratford & Leonie, is available here. It features papers from a conference with the Mayo Clinic. The previous issue was on problems caused by technology in the home. These and other topics are examined through articles and book reviews by contributors familiar with the Christian anthropology of John Paul II.

Step by step, Humanum is examining the pressing issues of our time 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 links and click for a free subscription so that we can alert you each time a new issue is published! Upcoming issues include one on contemporary threats to the extended family, including many of the issues surrounding urban development.

MAGNIFICAT  The popular monthly prayer book and missal MAGNIFICAT, well known in the US, which we edit here in Oxford for the UK and Ireland, is also 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. Several brand new features will be introduced in December. 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 and Facebook too.)

ASSOCIATED PROJECTS:

OASIS  Issue 17 of this very important international journal founded by Cardinal Angelo Scola is now available, and the theme picks up two of our interests – interfaith dialogue, and the future of the economy. Titled “The Economy Called Into Question“, this issue of Oasis relates the deep economic questions raised by the global crisis to the ongoing political crisis going on in the Middle East and North Africa, with articles by Edward Hadas, Michael Naughton, and a host of others, plus book reviews and news. The Oasis website is a great place to go for informed coverage of events.

G.K. CHESTERTON  The CHESTERTON LIBRARY (Charity No. 1134101), curated by the Centre for Faith & Culture for several years, has now moved to the Oxford Oratory’s new study centre devoted to Newman and the Literary Revival. Academic and Christian interest in G.K. Chesterton is growing worldwide, and the study centre will contain a room dedicated to him where this unrivalled collection of books and memorabilia will be made accessible to scholars and visitors, although funds are still urgently required to finish the project and to shelve the books and display miscellanea. If you wish to become a supporter either of the Oratory Building project or the Library Trust itself, go to the Library page where relevant links are maintained.

SIERRA LEONE CHESTERTON CENTRE  was started by a former student of Plater College and Oxford University, John Kanu, and is a centre for community-led sustainable development inspired by the ideals of G.K. Chesterton in one of the world’s poorest countries. It is helping to revitalize the rural economy on which the country depends. The Centre desperately needs equipment and tools, ranging from scissors to computers and generators. Detailed information is available on request. Help if you can!

IMAGINATIVE CONSERVATIVE  If you haven’t already come across this online journal ‘for those who seek the True, the Good and the Beautiful’, we would like to recommend you waste no time in getting acquainted! With a hearty dose of several essays a day on culture, liberal learning, politics, political economy, literature, the arts and the leading thinkers in Imaginative Conservatism (Russell Kirk, T.S. Eliot, Irving Babbitt, Christopher Dawson…), the community provides much food for thought. Stratford and Léonie are both regular contributors.

HUMANITAS  This important international journal of Christian anthropology and culture, from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, is also available in a beautifully produced English language edition. The first English-language 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, the third  is on the theme of the Year of Faith. The fourth is a tribute to Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, and contains a profound analysis of our cultural crisis from Archbishop Bergoglio, as well as lavishly illustrated articles on modernity, Hildegard of Bingen, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and J.R.R. Tolkien. The FIFTH ISSUE is now published, and reflects on the year of two popes. Each issue can be read online with free registration. Also now available for free download from the Humanum site is a Vademecum or Handbook of John Paul II’s anthropology, plus a selection of other useful and important documents from John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

Stratford, Léonie, Teresa, & Sophie Caldecott

Second Spring at The Centre for Faith & Culture

Second Spring began as a magazine supplement in 1992 and at the dawn of the new century became the journal of the Centre for Faith & Culture in Oxford. Out of this grew Second Spring Oxford, founded by Léonie and Stratford Caldecott and managed by their daughter Teresa – a small consultancy devoted to the evangelisation of culture through events, education, and publishing. Find us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

You are also encouraged to visit Stratford Caldecott’s personal blogs: Beauty in Education and All Things Made New. Selected articles from these blogs also appear on the Imaginative Conservative site.

LATEST NEWS:

BOOKINGS ARE OPEN for our 2014 Centre for Faith & Culture Oxford Summer School in conjunction with The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, NH. The two week programme is titled ‘Between Tiber and Thames: The Soul of Post-Reformation England’, and will take place 7th-21st August. Undergraduate students wishing to participate and gain accreditation should email [email protected] All others should email Teresa at [email protected].

We will be exploring the history, literature, and spirituality of Catholic Britain from its flowering in the late middle ages through the period of destruction and persecution and into its resurgence in the modern age. Focusing on the lives, context, style, and impact of writers such as Shakespeare, John Henry Newman, Gerard Manley Hopkins, G. K. Chesterton, and the Inklings, we look at the vocation of the Christian and most importantly the Catholic writer in witnessing to Christ in a hostile environment. We also wrestle with the deeper question of what it means to be human, and examine the vision of humanity imperilled by the English Reformation, which the writers of the 19^th– and 20^th– century Catholic Revival tried to recover and reclaim. Details will be found on our ‘Summer School‘ page on the left.

RECENTLY the second in our Interfaith Colloquium Series in conjunction with The Tabah Foundation was held at St Benet’s Hall, Oxford on Saturday 1st March. The series brings together Christian and Islamic thinkers to engage in a conversation about notions of society, the secular, and the human vocation. The topic was ‘Humanising Work’, and the speakers were Dr Karim Lahham (stone carver and barrister), Warwick Pethers (traditional Gothic architect), Roy Peachey  (teacher and writer), and Dr Talal al-Azem (Oriental Institute and Pembroke College).

BOOKS  Stratford’s latest book, The Radiance of Being: Dimensions of Cosmic Christianity, from Angelico Press, is available for purchase through us (email [email protected] or contact our distributers ‘Prompt Reply’ directly), along with his other Angelico Press titles, Beauty in the Word and All Things Made New. A sequel to Radiance on social doctrine called Not As the World Gives: The Way of Creative Justice is to appear later in 2014. We also have in stock his book on the great Catholic writer J.R.R. Tolkien and the spiritual meaning of Middle-earth, The Power of the Ring, which was released recently by Crossroad as an expanded and revised edition of the now out-of-print Secret Fire published by DLT. A Spanish edition of the same book, El poder del Anillo, is now available as well as Italian and Russian translations. You can read more about books by the Directors of Second Spring under ‘Books>Recommended Books’ in the navigation menu.

Beauty in the Word: Rethinking the Foundations of Education, Stratford’s sequel to Beauty for Truth’s Sake, completing his study of the seven Liberal Arts, was published in 2012 with a Foreword by Antony Esolen. 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. Teachers and parents are invited to join our growing network to share ideas and discuss initiatives. Follow the link to find out more (and read an article on the whole project here). Angelico Press have a Facebook page for the book and related works that you can join to become part of the conversation. The book is available through Amazon. Read the interview.

A NEW EDITION of The Mass Illustrated for Children is due to be available shortly. This popular booklet is 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. In the meantime, why not try some of the other titles in our colouring book series? SCOTT HAHN’s introduction to the Bible for children (God’s Covenant with You), and Meet the Angels are illustrated by David Clayton in the style of classical icons and illuminations, and are available for £1.95 each, along with Teach Me Therese on the life of St Therese of Lisieux illustrated by Susan Bateman. Books in the Second Spring Catechesis series are available in the UK by emailing [email protected], texting 07836 520597, or leaving a voice message on 01798 343718. If you are in the USA you can order via Thomas More College. See the books in action in this featurette or Second Spring Catechesis film.

CATHOLICISM AND THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE  The eighth issue of Humanum, the free online book review journal of the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, DC, edited by Stratford, is available here. It features papers from a conference with the Mayo Clinic. The previous issue was on problems caused by technology in the home. These and other topics are examined through articles and book reviews by contributors familiar with the Christian anthropology of John Paul II.

Step by step, Humanum is examining the pressing issues of our time 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 links and click for a free subscription so that we can alert you each time a new issue is published! Upcoming issues include one on contemporary threats to the extended family, including many of the issues surrounding urban development.

MAGNIFICAT  The popular monthly prayer book and missal MAGNIFICAT, well known in the US, which we edit here in Oxford for the UK and Ireland, is also 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. Several brand new features will be introduced in December. 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 and Facebook too.)

ASSOCIATED PROJECTS:

OASIS  Issue 17 of this very important international journal founded by Cardinal Angelo Scola is now available, and the theme picks up two of our interests – interfaith dialogue, and the future of the economy. Titled “The Economy Called Into Question“, this issue of Oasis relates the deep economic questions raised by the global crisis to the ongoing political crisis going on in the Middle East and North Africa, with articles by Edward Hadas, Michael Naughton, and a host of others, plus book reviews and news. The Oasis website is a great place to go for informed coverage of events.

G.K. CHESTERTON  The CHESTERTON LIBRARY (Charity No. 1134101), curated by the Centre for Faith & Culture for several years, has now moved to the Oxford Oratory’s new study centre devoted to Newman and the Literary Revival. Academic and Christian interest in G.K. Chesterton is growing worldwide, and the study centre will contain a room dedicated to him where this unrivalled collection of books and memorabilia will be made accessible to scholars and visitors, although funds are still urgently required to finish the project and to shelve the books and display miscellanea. If you wish to become a supporter either of the Oratory Building project or the Library Trust itself, go to the Library page where relevant links are maintained.

SIERRA LEONE CHESTERTON CENTRE  was started by a former student of Plater College and Oxford University, John Kanu, and is a centre for community-led sustainable development inspired by the ideals of G.K. Chesterton in one of the world’s poorest countries. It is helping to revitalize the rural economy on which the country depends. The Centre desperately needs equipment and tools, ranging from scissors to computers and generators. Detailed information is available on request. Help if you can!

IMAGINATIVE CONSERVATIVE  If you haven’t already come across this online journal ‘for those who seek the True, the Good and the Beautiful’, we would like to recommend you waste no time in getting acquainted! With a hearty dose of several essays a day on culture, liberal learning, politics, political economy, literature, the arts and the leading thinkers in Imaginative Conservatism (Russell Kirk, T.S. Eliot, Irving Babbitt, Christopher Dawson…), the community provides much food for thought. Stratford and Léonie are both regular contributors.

HUMANITAS  This important international journal of Christian anthropology and culture, from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, is also available in a beautifully produced English language edition. The first English-language 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, the third  is on the theme of the Year of Faith. The fourth is a tribute to Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, and contains a profound analysis of our cultural crisis from Archbishop Bergoglio, as well as lavishly illustrated articles on modernity, Hildegard of Bingen, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and J.R.R. Tolkien. The FIFTH ISSUE is now published, and reflects on the year of two popes. Each issue can be read online with free registration. Also now available for free download from the Humanum site is a Vademecum or Handbook of John Paul II’s anthropology, plus a selection of other useful and important documents from John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

Stratford, Léonie, Teresa, & Sophie Caldecott

Second Spring at The Centre for Faith & Culture

Second Spring began as a magazine supplement in 1992 and at the dawn of the new century became the journal of the Centre for Faith & Culture in Oxford. Out of this grew Second Spring Oxford, founded by Léonie and Stratford Caldecott and managed by their daughter Teresa – a small consultancy devoted to the evangelisation of culture through events, education, and publishing. Find us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

You are also encouraged to visit Stratford Caldecott’s personal blogs: Beauty in Education and All Things Made New. Selected articles from these blogs also appear on the Imaginative Conservative site.

LATEST NEWS:

Our 2014 Centre for Faith & Culture SUMMER PROGRAMME in conjunction with Thomas More College of Liberal Arts will take place in Oxford 7th-21st August. Further details will be posted shortly. Students wishing to participate and gain accreditation should email [email protected], and others should email Tessa at [email protected]

INTERFAITH COLLOQUIUM at St Benet’s Hall, Oxford. Saturday afternoon 1st March 2014, 2–5pm in the Refectory, admission free. Christian and Islamic thinkers engage in a conversation about notions of society, the secular, and the human vocation. Includes the Gothic architect Warwick Pethers, teachers both Muslim and Christian, and stonecarver Karim Lahham discussing the topic Humanising Work. Come and join us.

BOOKS  Stratford’s latest book, The Radiance of Being: Dimensions of Cosmic Christianity, from Angelico Press, is available for purchase through us (email [email protected] or contact our distributers ‘Prompt Reply’ directly), along with his other Angelico Press titles, Beauty in the Word and All Things Made New. A sequel to Radiance on social doctrine called Not As the World Gives: The Way of Creative Justice is to appear later in 2014. We also have in stock his book on the great Catholic writer J.R.R. Tolkien and the spiritual meaning of Middle-earth, The Power of the Ring, which was released recently by Crossroad as an expanded and revised edition of the now out-of-print Secret Fire published by DLT. A Spanish edition of the same book, El poder del Anillo, is now available as well as Italian and Russian translations. You can read more about books by the Directors of Second Spring under ‘Books>Recommended Books’ in the navigation menu.

Beauty in the Word: Rethinking the Foundations of Education, Stratford’s sequel to Beauty for Truth’s Sake, completing his study of the seven Liberal Arts, was published in 2012 with a Foreword by Antony Esolen. 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. Teachers and parents are invited to join our growing network to share ideas and discuss initiatives. Follow the link to find out more (and read an article on the whole project here). Angelico Press have a Facebook page for the book and related works that you can join to become part of the conversation. The book is available through Amazon. Read the interview.

WINTER SALE OF OUR COLOURING BOOKS CONTINUES The Mass Illustrated for Children is 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. For a limited period only, this title is available in the UK and Europe at the discounted price of only £1.95*. Also, SCOTT HAHN’s introduction to the Bible for children (God’s Covenant with You), illustrated by David Clayton in the style of classical icons and illuminations, is still available, along with our other titles, all at £1.95. Books in the Second Spring Catechesis series are available in the UK by emailing [email protected], texting 07836 520597, or leaving a voice message on 01798 343718. If you are in the U.S. you can order via Thomas More College. See the books in action in this featurette or Second Spring Catechesis film. (*+p&p, and not in conjunction with any other discounts.)

CATHOLICISM AND THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE  The eighth issue of Humanum, the free online book review journal of the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, DC, edited by Stratford, is available here. It features papers from a conference with the Mayo Clinic. The previous issue was on problems caused by technology in the home. These and other topics are examined through articles and book reviews by contributors familiar with the Christian anthropology of John Paul II.

Step by step, Humanum is examining the pressing issues of our time 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 links and click for a free subscription so that we can alert you each time a new issue is published! Upcoming issues include one on contemporary threats to the extended family, including many of the issues surrounding urban development.

MAGNIFICAT  The popular monthly prayer book and missal MAGNIFICAT, well known in the US, which we edit here in Oxford for the UK and Ireland, is also 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. Several brand new features will be introduced in December. 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 and Facebook too.)

ASSOCIATED PROJECTS:

OASIS  Issue 17 of this very important international journal founded by Cardinal Angelo Scola is now available, and the theme picks up two of our interests – interfaith dialogue, and the future of the economy. Titled “The Economy Called Into Question“, this issue of Oasis relates the deep economic questions raised by the global crisis to the ongoing political crisis going on in the Middle East and North Africa, with articles by Edward Hadas, Michael Naughton, and a host of others, plus book reviews and news. The Oasis website is a great place to go for informed coverage of events.

G.K. CHESTERTON  The CHESTERTON LIBRARY (Charity No. 1134101), curated by the Centre for Faith & Culture for several years, has now moved to the Oxford Oratory’s new study centre devoted to Newman and the Literary Revival. Academic and Christian interest in G.K. Chesterton is growing worldwide, and the study centre will contain a room dedicated to him where this unrivalled collection of books and memorabilia will be made accessible to scholars and visitors, although funds are still urgently required to finish the project and to shelve the books and display miscellanea. If you wish to become a supporter either of the Oratory Building project or the Library Trust itself, go to the Library page where relevant links are maintained.

SIERRA LEONE CHESTERTON CENTRE  was started by a former student of Plater College and Oxford University, John Kanu, and is a centre for community-led sustainable development inspired by the ideals of G.K. Chesterton in one of the world’s poorest countries. It is helping to revitalize the rural economy on which the country depends. The Centre desperately needs equipment and tools, ranging from scissors to computers and generators. Detailed information is available on request. Help if you can!

IMAGINATIVE CONSERVATIVE  If you haven’t already come across this online journal ‘for those who seek the True, the Good and the Beautiful’, we would like to recommend you waste no time in getting acquainted! With a hearty dose of several essays a day on culture, liberal learning, politics, political economy, literature, the arts and the leading thinkers in Imaginative Conservatism (Russell Kirk, T.S. Eliot, Irving Babbitt, Christopher Dawson…), the community provides much food for thought. Stratford and Léonie are both regular contributors.

HUMANITAS  This important international journal of Christian anthropology and culture, from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, is also available in a beautifully produced English language edition. The first English-language 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, the third  is on the theme of the Year of Faith. The fourth is a tribute to Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, and contains a profound analysis of our cultural crisis from Archbishop Bergoglio, as well as lavishly illustrated articles on modernity, Hildegard of Bingen, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and J.R.R. Tolkien. The FIFTH ISSUE is now published, and reflects on the year of two popes. Each issue can be read online with free registration. Also now available for free download from the Humanum site is a Vademecum or Handbook of John Paul II’s anthropology, plus a selection of other useful and important documents from John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

Stratford, Léonie, Teresa, & Sophie Caldecott

Second Spring Oxford: Resourcing the Culture

Second Spring began as a magazine supplement in 1992 and at the dawn of the new century became the journal of the Centre for Faith & Culture in Oxford. Out of this grew Second Spring Oxford, founded by Léonie and Stratford Caldecott and managed by their daughter Teresa (Tessa) – a small consultancy devoted to the evangelisation of culture through events, education, and publishing. Find us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

You are also encouraged to visit Stratford Caldecott’s personal blogs: Beauty in Education and All Things Made New. Selected articles from these blogs also appear on the Imaginative Conservative site.

LATEST NEWS:

EVENTS  Our 2014 Centre for Faith & Culture Summer Programme in conjunction with Thomas More College of Liberal Arts will take place in Oxford 7th-21st August. Students wishing to participate and gain accreditation should email [email protected], and others should email Tessa at [email protected]

INTERFAITH COLLOQUIUM at St Benet’s Hall, Oxford. Saturday afternoon 1st March 2014, 2pm until 5pm in the Refectory, admission free. Christian and Islamic thinkers engage in a conversation about notions of society, the secular, and the human vocation. Includes the Gothic architect Warwick Pethers, teachers, and stonecarver Karim Lahham discussing the topic Humanizing Work. Come and join in.

BOOKS  Stratford’s latest book, The Radiance of Being: Dimensions of Cosmic Christianity, from Angelico Press, is available for purchase through us (email [email protected] or contact our distributers ‘Prompt Reply’ directly), along with his other Angelico Press titles, Beauty in the Word and All Things Made New. A sequel to Radiance on social doctrine called Not As the World Gives: The Way of Creative Justice is to appear later in 2014. We also have in stock his book on the great Catholic writer J.R.R. Tolkien and the spiritual meaning of Middle-earth, The Power of the Ring, which was released recently by Crossroad as an expanded and revised edition of the now out-of-print Secret Fire published by DLT. A Spanish edition of the same book, El poder del Anillo, is now available as well as Italian and Russian translations. You can read more about books by the Directors of Second Spring under ‘Books>Recommended Books’ in the navigation menu.

Beauty in the Word: Rethinking the Foundations of Education, Stratford’s sequel to Beauty for Truth’s Sake, completing his study of the seven Liberal Arts, was published in 2012 with a Foreword by Antony Esolen. 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. Teachers and parents are invited to join our growing network to share ideas and discuss initiatives. Follow the link to find out more (and read an article on the whole project here). Angelico Press have a Facebook page for the book and related works that you can join to become part of the conversation. The book is available through Amazon. Read the interview.

WINTER SALE OF OUR COLOURING BOOKS CONTINUES The Mass Illustrated for Children is 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. For a limited period only, this title is available in the UK and Europe at the discounted price of only £1.95*. Also, SCOTT HAHN’s introduction to the Bible for children (God’s Covenant with You), illustrated by David Clayton in the style of classical icons and illuminations, is still available, along with our other titles, all at £1.95. Books in the Second Spring Catechesis series are available in the UK by emailing [email protected], texting 07836 520597, or leaving a voice message on 01798 343718. If you are in the U.S. you can order via Thomas More College. See the books in action in this featurette or Second Spring Catechesis film. (*+p&p, and not in conjunction with any other discounts.)

CATHOLICISM AND THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE  The eighth issue of Humanum, the free online book review journal of the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, DC, edited by Stratford, is available here. It features papers from a conference with the Mayo Clinic. The previous issue was on problems caused by technology in the home. These and other topics are examined through articles and book reviews by contributors familiar with the Christian anthropology of John Paul II.

Step by step, Humanum is examining the pressing issues of our time 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 links and click for a free subscription so that we can alert you each time a new issue is published! Upcoming issues include one on contemporary threats to the extended family, including many of the issues surrounding urban development.

MAGNIFICAT  The popular monthly prayer book and missal MAGNIFICAT, well known in the US, which we edit here in Oxford for the UK and Ireland, is also 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. Several brand new features will be introduced in December. 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 and Facebook too.)

ASSOCIATED PROJECTS:

OASIS  Issue 17 of this very important international journal founded by Cardinal Angelo Scola is now available, and the theme picks up two of our interests – interfaith dialogue, and the future of the economy. Titled “The Economy Called Into Question“, this issue of Oasis relates the deep economic questions raised by the global crisis to the ongoing political crisis going on in the Middle East and North Africa, with articles by Edward Hadas, Michael Naughton, and a host of others, plus book reviews and news. The Oasis website is a great place to go for informed coverage of events.

G.K. CHESTERTON  The CHESTERTON LIBRARY (Charity No. 1134101), curated by the Centre for Faith & Culture for several years, has now moved to the Oxford Oratory’s new study centre devoted to Newman and the Literary Revival. Academic and Christian interest in G.K. Chesterton is growing worldwide, and the study centre will contain a room dedicated to him where this unrivalled collection of books and memorabilia will be made accessible to scholars and visitors, although funds are still urgently required to finish the project and to shelve the books and display miscellanea. If you wish to become a supporter either of the Oratory Building project or the Library Trust itself, go to the Library page where relevant links are maintained.

SIERRA LEONE CHESTERTON CENTRE  was started by a former student of Plater College and Oxford University, John Kanu, and is a centre for community-led sustainable development inspired by the ideals of G.K. Chesterton in one of the world’s poorest countries. It is helping to revitalize the rural economy on which the country depends. The Centre desperately needs equipment and tools, ranging from scissors to computers and generators. Detailed information is available on request. Help if you can!

IMAGINATIVE CONSERVATIVE  If you haven’t already come across this online journal ‘for those who seek the True, the Good and the Beautiful’, we would like to recommend you waste no time in getting acquainted! With a hearty dose of several essays a day on culture, liberal learning, politics, political economy, literature, the arts and the leading thinkers in Imaginative Conservatism (Russell Kirk, T.S. Eliot, Irving Babbitt, Christopher Dawson…), the community provides much food for thought. Stratford and Léonie are both regular contributors.

HUMANITAS  This important international journal of Christian anthropology and culture, from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, is also available in a beautifully produced English language edition. The first English-language 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, the third  is on the theme of the Year of Faith. The fourth is a tribute to Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, and contains a profound analysis of our cultural crisis from Archbishop Bergoglio, as well as lavishly illustrated articles on modernity, Hildegard of Bingen, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and J.R.R. Tolkien. The FIFTH ISSUE is now published, and reflects on the year of two popes. Each issue can be read online with free registration. Also now available for free download from the Humanum site is a Vademecum or Handbook of John Paul II’s anthropology, plus a selection of other useful and important documents from John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

 

Stratford, Léonie, Teresa, & Sophie Caldecott