On Saturday, I was able to attend a conference at Sarum College in Salisbury entitled "John Henry Newman: Theologian for the Contemporary Church." It was an interesting conference, which featured speakers from a number of different theological backgrounds and denominations. Some of the most interesting talks included one given by an Anglican bishop on Newman's understanding of the relationship between faith and reason, and another was given by Peter Hampson, a visiting research fellow at Blackfriars, on Newman's understanding of the mind and psychology. Although none of the papers specifically addressed Newman's educational thought, the conference was quite valuable because it gave me a better insight into the newest developments in Newman scholarship and how he is understood by Catholics and Anglicans. I was also able to meet a number of different Newman scholars, including a permanent deacon from the Diocese of Portsmouth in England who is currently working on his D.Phil. degree on Newman's understanding of tradition at St. Benet's hall, which is right down the street from Blackfriars; hopefully we will be able to meet up again to discuss our research further.
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| Sarum College in Salisbury |
On Sunday morning, I left my B&B and walked down to a quaint little church in Salisbury, where I attended Mass. I always enjoy visiting local churches when I travel because it gives me a sense of what the community is really like. This church was quite tiny, but Mass was beautiful with excellent music (the Anglicans aren't the only Englishmen who like good hymns!), and I was very warmly welcomed by some of the parishioners as I made my way out laden down with a backpack and duffel bag on my way to the train station.
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| The interior of St. Osmund Church in Salisbury |
When I returned to Oxford Sunday evening, I met up with Nathan for dinner at a pub down the street, and then we joined Emile and James, two other Blackfriars students, for a stroll through Oxford, some pleasant conversation, and, of course, ice cream.
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| The Red Lion Pub in Oxford |
On Monday morning, I attended my first course lecture at Blackfriars. Unlike American university lectures, they do not require reading, papers, or examinations, and often, questions aren't even taken. This lecture was part of a Mariology course given by Fr. Aidan Nichols, OP, a renowned Dominican scholar who lives and teaches at the University of Cambridge (and, incidentally, is a former holder of the Randall Chair at Providence College!). On Monday, Fr. Nichols lectured on Mary's title of Co-Redemptrix and her role in effecting man's salvation. It was a really interesting lecture on a topic that had often confused me in the past. I'm looking forward to continuing to go to his lectures for the next several Mondays!
Most of my days so far this week have been spent in the library getting ready for my first tutorial meeting on Saturday. I finished the assigned readings today and am preparing some notes and questions for my meeting with Fr. Guy Nicholls. At the suggestion of Fr. Finn, the Regent of Studies at Blackfriars, I'm also getting ready to start a book on the educational thought of St. Thomas Aquinas by Fr. Vivian Boland, OP, who teaches at Blackfriars. I just can't seem to resist injecting a little bit of Thomism into my research!
Tuesday was the Feast of the Translation of St. Dominic, which commemorates when his body was moved from its first very humble tomb to a more fitting place of rest and the process for his canonization was begun. The Dominicans at Blackfriars celebrate this day as the principal feast of St. Dominic (which the Dominicans in the US celebrate on August 8), so there was a beautiful solemn Mass celebrated at the Blackfriars Priory on Tuesday night with lots of incense, Dominican chant, and a great homily by a local Franciscan priest (the Dominicans and Franciscans have a tradition of inviting a member of the other order to preach on their founder's feast day). It was a beautiful celebration!
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| The Priory Chapel of the Holy Spirit at Blackfriars Hall |
On Tuesday night, I made my way down to the Oxford Catholic Chaplaincy for a meeting of the Oxford Newman Society, which is an organization of Catholic students which sponsors lectures and other weekly social events. The society has a rich patrimony at Oxford; it was founded in 1878, and the famous Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins was among its first members. The Society always has a great list of speakers, and in the past has featured such intellectual giants as G.K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene. On Tuesday, we heard from John Smeaton, who is the founder and director of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, a pro-life advocacy group in London. Mr. Smeaton talked to us about the current challenges facing pro-lifers in the UK and the legal battles that the SPUC is currently engaged in. It was really quite frightening to hear about the real culture of death that seems to be so prevalent in England right now. Mr. Smeaton noted that unlike the United States, England doesn't seem to have a young and vibrant pro-life movement, and even the Catholic Church in the UK doesn't seem to be doing all it can to promote the dignity of the human person. I had never read much about life issues in the UK before, but that lecture certainly opened my eyes. I was also able to meet a number of students at the Newman Society meeting, including a few students from Blackfriars and St. Benet's, whom I had not yet met. Everyone was very welcoming and hospitable, and I'm looking forward to going back in the future!
Finally, I should mention that Nathan and I have embarked on a bit of a culinary adventure this week. While many of the Blackfriars students take their meals next door at St. Benet's Hall, Nathan and I are given a weekly food stipend and have access to the kitchen in Nathan's house. Neither of us has much experience with cooking, so this week has been a bit of a trial run, and it has been pretty successful so far, although we have been pretty much limited to pasta and soup (but not from a can!). Perhaps we'll be able to expand our repertoire as the weeks progress. Last night, we also made brownies to bring to a pot luck dinner being sponsored by the Oxford Oratory, the local Catholic parish, in honor of the Feast of St. Philip Neri, the founder of the Congregation of the Oratory (of which Cardinal Newman himself was a member) whose feast day is tomorrow. The Oratory is celebrating a special Mass this evening with a potluck supper to follow. We are hoping that our brownies will be an acceptable contribution and that, in turn, we will be able to mooch all the other food that the kind parishioners bring so as not to have to cook our own dinner tomorrow - I'll be sure to let you know how that turns out.
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| (Mostly) Homemade Pasta and Vegetable Soup! |
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| Brownie Making Adventure for the Oratory Potluck |
Until next time!
P.S. Because I'm sure you are wondering...Yes, Michelle Obama did come to Oxford yesterday. No, I did not spend my afternoon waiting to catch a glimpse of her motorcade, although it seems like the rest of Oxford did.
And how many brownies did you get from that batch again? ;)
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