Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice; for they shall have their fill.
Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure of heart; for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice's sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven...

'The Beatitudes', from Jesus's Sermon on the Mount [Matthew 5]

In this small page, I am trying to build up some pointers to an inner path, with mystic and charismatic elements. I'm sorry I only manage to update the page very occasionally in small steps, but perhaps that is okay since Christian faith seems to be a matter of simplicity. [However I must apologise for the broken or out-of-date links].

There is a large collection of Catholic Resources on the Net available from Carnegie Mellon University.

• Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship A great renewal in spirit.
• The Mary Page
• The Vatican is a high-powered site by anyone's standards!
• Diocese of Southwark is one of the first Christian sites I encountered on-line.
• St Pio UK Information Centre  - the official site for Saint Pio's presence in the UK.

Meditation, Contemplation and Prayer
In the Catholic Church, there is much optimism for fresh beginnings. It is referred to as the 'New Dawn' and is characterised by a return to reflection and devotion, with various charisms. There are annual conferences in Walsingham, which are detailed in a site devoted to Catholic Charismatic Renewal in UK (GoodNews online).

Some quieter approaches:

• The Method of Centering Prayer
• Firewatch - Thomas Merton. This site has a rich Meditation bibliography.
• The Teresian Carmel where may be found the example of Saints:
  • Teresa of Avila
  • St. John of the Cross

I am also interested in the continuation of the practice of the Desert Fathers by the Russian Startsy. I was impressed by the 'Way of a Pilgrim', which descibes a spiritual journey based on the mantra of the 'Jesus Prayer'. I ought to find a suitable link...

Instruments of Devotion

One day I was due to go on my second little one day pilgrimage to Walsingham, but I missed a lift. Instead, as I had risen early, I wandered off to explore the 'Silver Jubilee' walk in London. Along the way, I popped into several churches, including one in which there was a leaflet explaining about scapulars, especially the brown scapular. It was a brown scapular that I had received on my previous trip to Walsingham and about which I had been pretty clueless.

On subsequently enquiring about whether I could publish the interesting guide on the net, I was told that there was no apostolate for this, so reluctantly I consent. However, if you ask me for the information, I can email you at least the address of the publishers of the article.

A personal devotion by Michael Lilly. Also a little history about England's national shrine to Our Lady is available here (a bit more for the tourists) .

Events
Some signs

• Father Finelli's Medugorje Page
• Apparitions of Our Lady of the Eucharist - Miracles in Rome

Essays

I undertook a Master's degree at Oxford University in the 'Study of Religion' (completed in October 2009) and submitted the following essays:

• Religion and Healing: Miracles and the Shrine of St. Frideswide in the late Twelfth Century
• Visions Within: Spiritual Development and the Evolution of Imagery in Teresa of Àvila'sThe Interior Castle
• The Catholic Church and Inter-religious Marriages: Reflections on Pastoral Theology and Practice after Vatican II

Veteran Newsgroups

• uk.religion.christian
• soc.religion.christian
• soc.religion.christian.bible-study.
• alt.christnet (there are many others in the family, alt.christnet. ...)

Also available: An Index to InterFaith

- Paul Trafford

Last Modified: 1 November 2009 [added links to essays]