The Woman

In the Gospels we hear Jesus refer to his mother Mary as “Woman”. This reference should draw our attention to the woman mentioned in Genesis, as well as in the book of Revelation. But who is this “Woman”, and why is she so central in the history of Salvation?

The latest film from St Anthony Communications considers the Catholic teaching about Mary, the mother of Jesus, and her important role in the Church and in the lives of Christians today. The dogmas of Mother of God, Immaculate Conception, Perpetual Virginity, and Assumption are explained along with other traditional beliefs and devotions to Mary.

Insightful commentary is provided by Fr Marcus Holden, Fr Andrew Pinsent, Sr Mary of the Trinity, Fr Jeff Steel, and Joanna Bogle, along with a number of young people speaking about their faith and love of Our Blessed Lady.

Bishop Athanasius Schneider on the Immutability of the Catholic Faith

Two new DVDs have just been released by St Anthony Communications. The first, entitled The Crisis of Faith in Our Days, has two talks by His Excellency Bishop Athanasius Schneider which were delivered during his visit to Ramsgate, Kent in February 2016. The first talk, 'The Immutability of the Catholic Faith and the Crisis of Faith in Our Days,' draws upon Scripture, Tradition, and Magisterial teaching to address the challenges today and offers a sure guide for Catholics to navigate through these turbulent times. The second talk, 'Blessed John Henry Newman and the Sacredness of the Liturgy,' considers the prescient writings of Newman on the importance of sacredness in worship, and demonstrates the errors that follow from inappropriate and informal approaches to liturgy. Bishop Schneider stresses the importance of Eucharistic devotion and reverent reception of Holy Communion. Also included are highlights from the Holy Hour and Benediction, with Bishop Schneider reading meditations by Saint Peter Julian Eymard.

The second DVD entitled Grace, is presented by Fr Marcus Holden and Fr Andrew Pinsent. From the website: "What is grace? What is its purpose? How do we receive it? Who can receive it? Are there different types of grace? Are there mistaken or erroneous teachings about grace? How does modern research help us understand the idea of grace? In Christian theology, the various names and types of grace share one key idea: a second birth into a new and holy life, like a seed in the ground that grows into a plant and bears fruit. In this new life of grace, a human being participates in the life of God, becoming one of His adopted children, and calling Him 'Father'. St Augustine, as a young man in the Roman Empire, speculated about the existence and nature of divinity. Only after his conversion into the life of grace, however, did he speak to God in personal, passionate, and intimate terms: 'Late have I loved You, O beauty so ancient and so new; late have I loved You!'”

A trailer for Grace follows below:



Both DVDs are now available from St Anthony Communications.

Miracles: A new film from St Anthony Communications

A new film has been released by St Anthony Communications. Available on DVD, the film is presented by Fr Marcus Holden and Fr Andrew Pinsent and also features Jamie and Joanna Bogle. From the DVD:

What are miracles? Are miracles possible and, if so, how do we know? Do miracles happen and, if so, what is their purpose? What attitudes should we take towards reports of miracles? How might miracles impact on our prospects for future happiness? What are the perspectives of science, theology, and philosophy on miracles today?

The exploration of miracles raises some of the most important spiritual, intellectual and personal questions that we face. An understanding of miracles is important for catechesis in parishes and in the home, for personal spiritual and intellectual growth, for devotions, as well as many courses in religious studies and the humanities in general today.

This film explores these questions from a Catholic perspective, informed by historical and modern discussions in science, philosophy, and theology, as well as cases of particular miracles, ancient and contemporary.

This film can be purchased from St Anthony Communications, and for readers in the USA, many of their popular titles can be purchased from Ignatius Press including:

- To Be A Pilgrim: The Canterbury Way
- Marriage: God's Design for Life and Love
- Lead Kindly Light: The Life and Message of John Henry Newman
- Prayer: A Surge of the Heart
- Faith of Our Fathers: In Search of the English Martyrs
- The Why? Course
- Powers and Dominions
- The Last Things
- Hostia
- Gifts from God

To Be A Pilgrim

'To Be A Pilgrim' is a new DVD from Saint Anthony Communications, the Catholic Media company which has produced other wonderful films such as Faith of our Fathers and Lead kindly light. In their latest collaboration, Fr Marcus Holden and Fr Nicholas Schofield walk to Canterbury, visiting several medieval Catholic treasures along the route.

An ancient trail of pilgrimage runs through south-east England; a pathway along which so much of English identity converges. It is the way of St Thomas Becket, the martyr who stood up to a King and inspired Christendom. It is a route that drew countless pilgrims in ages past, captured the imagination of Chaucer and is reviving in our own times.

This film follows Fr Marcus Holden and Fr Nicholas Schofield as they journey from London to Canterbury. Along the way they discover the story of St Thomas and some fascinating traditions: the Rood of Boxley, the splendour of Rochester, the 'second Carmel' at Aylesford and many more.

By retracing the steps of the medieval pilgrims, this film draws out the rich Christian heritage of England and reflects on what it means ‘To Be A Pilgrim.’

Here is the trailer:

Marriage: God's Design for Life and Love

From St Anthony Communications comes a new DVD entitled Marriage: God’s Design for Life and Love. Produced in association with The British Province of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, it includes interviews with Cardinal Burke, Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury, Fr Marcus Holden and Fr Andrew Pinsent. As with other DVDs from St Anthony Communications, it is very beautifully produced and articulates Catholic teaching in the area of Marriage and Natural Law unambiguously and with great clarity, making this a valuable resource for parishes and schools alike.

Cardinal Burke:

“There is no question that we are living in very difficult and challenging times, but we can’t permit ourselves to be discouraged because we know that Christ is always at work in the lives of those who have entered marriage with sincerity.”


Bishop Mark Davies:

“Christ himself raised marriage to become a sacrament so that marriage, the living out of married life, becomes a means and a way to holiness for the couple and indeed for their children.

And the Church now has a responsibility to give the clarity of her teaching, her vision of life and love, of marriage and the family, not only in words, but also in the witness of our lives, for the sake of the future of civilization, for the sake of the future generations who are still to come.”

You can find more information at the Saint Anthony Communications website.

Lead Kindly Light

Today, the Feast Day of Blessed John Henry Newman, is a fitting day to announce Lead Kindly Light, a beautiful new DVD produced by St Anthony Communications. Presented by Fr Marcus Holden and Fr Nicholas Schofield, the film traces the passage of Newman’s life right from his original roots in Ealing, to his time as a student at Trinity College, Oxford, his near-death experience in Sicily which inspired him to write the hymn Lead kindly light, and his time as a vicar in the Church of England, as he made his gradual journey towards Catholicism. Fathers Holden and Schofield take us to key places in Newman’s story, including Oxford, Littlemore, Maryvale and of course the Birmingham Oratory, where we are shown the library with its treasures of Newman memorabilia, such as the desk at which he wrote his Apologia Pro Vita Sua, his viola, and a facsimile of The Dream of Gerontius which Sir Edward Elgar presented to the Oratory. We are also shown his study which Pope Benedict visited in 2010, now lined with volumes of some of the 17000 letters Newman is estimated to have written in his lifetime, and the private chapel where he said his last Mass on Christmas Day 1889. It is especially touching to see Fr Nicholas Schofield talk of his sense of inspiration drawn from Newman, and Fr Marcus Holden speaks of Newman’s importance to us today: “He foresaw a time when culture would not support Christianity and each Christian would have to be strong and faithful.”

The film features interviews with Fr Jerome Bertram Cong. Orat. and Fr Daniel Seward Cong. Orat. of the Oxford Oratory, Sister Bianca Feuerstein FSO, Mother Winsome SBVM of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, Fr Richard Duncan Cong. Orat. of the Birmingham Oratory and the Newman Scholar Dr Andrew Nash. This beautifully presented all-region DVD will be available shortly from Saint Anthony Communications. Readers may also recall other beautiful productions from this stable including Faith of Our Fathers, a film about the English Martyrs and A Surge of the Heart, a film about prayer. A trailer for Lead kindly light follows below. A Happy Feast to Oratorians everywhere!

A Surge of the Heart

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux described prayer as 'A surge of the heart'. This wonderful expression is the title of a new DVD about prayer from St Anthony Communications. The beautifully produced film features Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury, Fr Marcus Holden, Fr Andrew Pinsent, Sr Mary Trinity, Joanna Bogle, Fr Stephen Brown and Sr Hyacinthe Defos Du Rau. It looks at the true meaning of prayer, the different types of prayer, how to find inspiration in the lives of the saints and the centrality of the Holy Mass.

The DVD is in a multi region PAL format and can be purchased here. Saint Anthony Communications also produced 'Faith of our Fathers' which we featured here. The trailer for 'Prayer: A Surge of the Heart' is below:

A Beautiful Film about the English Martyrs

Faith of our Fathers – In search of the English Martyrs is a new film presented by Fr Marcus Holden and Fr Nicholas Schofield, priests of the Dioceses of Southwark and Westminster respectively. In the course of the two-part film they travel throughout England visiting a number of historic sites of great significance in the story of the English Martyrs. This is a beautiful and highly-recommended film which contains fascinating insights into this turbulent period of Catholic history. One feels very drawn into the sense of exploration as the two priests set off on their journey, a pilgrimage in which they speak with evident devotion to the Martyrs. Starting off at the Westminster Diocesan Archives, where Fr Schofield is the Archivist, they go to the seminary at Allen Hall where Fr Stephen Wang speaks about St Thomas More who lived in a house on the site.

At Westminster Cathedral, the Master of Music, Martin Baker talks about the music of the reformation, pointing out that Byrd’s Mass for five voices, which was heard so publicly at the Cathedral on the occasion of Pope Benedict’s visit, would originally have been sung in secret by necessity. Archbishop Vincent Nichols talks of the inspiration of the English martyrs and his personal favourite, St John Fisher. He talks of the different type of courage required today to proclaim the Gospel in the face of public scorn.

Fr Schofield’s own parish in Uxbridge is the next stop, before the pair go to Stonor Park to see the priest holes and the hiding place of the secret printing press which St Edmund Campion used to produce Catholic literature such as the ‘Ten Reasons’ (a set of arguments against the validity of the Anglican Church which caused a huge controversy). Also shown is the 13th century chapel in which Mass has been celebrated continuously since the thirteenth century. The Stonors have lived at the house since this time and the current head of the family, Lord Camoys, speaks about the exclusion from society of young Catholics who were denied positions in government, law and industry: ‘The programme to annihilate Catholicism could hardly have been more thorough, but it didn’t work.’

At the ‘Priest’s House’ in West Grinstead they show the priest holes built by the ingenious craftsman St Nicholas Owen and the hidden altar at which Blessed Francis Bell, among others, celebrated Mass. Travelling north, they visit Wardley Hall in Lancashire and are given a tour of the house by Bishop Terence Brain who shows them the skull of St Ambrose Barlow. Bishop Brain recalls the energy surrounding the process which led to the canonization of the Forty Martyrs in 1970 and talks of the importance of retrieving that sense of focus.

At Arrowsmith House they recount the story of St Edmund Arrowsmith’s capture and show the tiny statue of Our Lady which fell from his pocket during pursuit, giving him away. At Chorley the amazing story of Blessed Robert Wrennall is told: the first attempt to hang him failed when the rope broke. When he came to from a dazed state lying on the ground, he ran up the ladder, eager to be hung properly without any further delay. Asked by the Sheriff ‘Why are you in such a hurry to die?’, he replied ‘If you had seen that which I have just now seen, you too would be eager to die.’

The film also takes in the Shrine of Our Lady at Ladyewell with its amazing collection of relics, Rievaulx and Ampleforth where the Abbot speaks about the role of monasteries and the fate of the monks post-dissolution, the Shrine of St Margaret Clitherow 'The Pearl of York', the most prominent female martyr, and finishes at Tyburn Convent in London, just yards from the site of the infamous ‘Tyburn Tree’ where so many of the martyrs gave up their lives.

The DVD, produced by St Anthony Communications, is multi-region and can be bought from SaintAnt.com.

Here is a trailer: