The Unitive Way

By Fr Ian

This is the last of four articles on the three main stages of Christian spiritual life, as understood in the tradition of Catholic spiritual theology

Saint Thomas Aquinas in Prayer by Stefano di Giovanni (c. 1400-1450)
© Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

‘The third endeavour and pursuit of man should be to rest in God and enjoy Him; and this belongs to the perfect who desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ.’ [1]

In the final, unitive, phase, the individual reaches the point of being free from even minor sins and imperfections, with only the most trivial and inconsequential exceptions, and now enjoys a relationship of constant loving contemplative union with God, perfect love of neighbour and a positive loving regard for the world and everything made by God.

The Illuminative Way

By Fr Ian 

This is the third of four articles on the three main stages of Christian spiritual life, as understood in the tradition of Catholic spiritual theology

‘The second duty of man is to apply his energies chiefly to advance in virtue; this belongs to those who are making progress and who are principally concerned that charity may be increased and strengthened in them.’ [1]

Jesus said: ‘I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life’ (Jn 8:12). Pride, greed, lust, the will to power, or any kind of sinful, self-serving desire clouds our spiritual vision. If we allow appetites like these to take root and dominate our heart and conscience we become spiritually blind (Mk 7:21-23). Similarly, the tendency that some people have to to rationalise and deceive themselves about the essential virtuousness of their motives is another form of clouded spiritual vision.

The Purgative Way

By Fr Ian

This is the second of four articles on the three main stages of Christian spiritual life, as understood in the tradition of Catholic spiritual theology 

‘The first duty which is incumbent on man is to give up sin and resist concupiscence, which are opposed to charity; this belongs to beginners, in whose hearts charity is to be nursed and cherished lest it be corrupted.’ [1]

The initial phase of Christian spiritual growth is the period of consciously and deliberately dying to sin and self. It’s a process of eliminating sinful tendencies and moderating our attachment to various pleasures, which aren’t necessarily sinful in themselves, but which easily lead to self-indulgence and obstruct our ultimate goal of living in a close communion of love with God. (Our natural attraction to pleasure, which can over-ride the demands of love and our moral duties towards others, is what the Christian spiritual tradition calls ‘concupiscence’).

Conversion: awakening to God, awakening to love

by Fr Ian 

This is the first of four articles on the three main stages of Christian spiritual life, as understood in the tradition of Catholic spiritual theology   

 

Preaching of St John the Baptist by Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449-1494)

Metanoia, repentance, conversion

Christian spiritual life begins with what Jesus and the gospel writers called metanoia, a Greek noun usually translated into English as repentance or conversion. They also frequently used the verb metanoein, ‘to repent’.

My Faith Journey (Conversion Stories 2)

by Alan Lorrimer-Riley

Alan is pastor of the Snowdonia Christian Fellowship (website here). In this personal testimony he looks back at his journey from a Catholic upbringing to his vocation as Evangelical preacher and pastoral leader. 

    

Miners in County Durham in the 19th Century (photo: The Northern Echo)

I was born and brought up on Tyneside – a part of the post-war ‘baby boomer’ generation.

My dad was part of a family who had immigrated to the area from Ireland in the 1840s. They lived in an Irish enclave in one of the mining communities in County Durham. The Catholic Church was a central part of their community life. My dad, and his brother and sister, recalled getting abuse from other local children while they walked the 2 miles to the nearby Catholic school.

Saint John Henry Newman’s influence on my faith: A personal reflection (Conversion Stories 1)

In the following article Theresa Stiles, a new member of the church of Our Lady of Fatima in Bala, reflects on the background influences that led her to embrace the Catholic religion.

 

In the next article Alan Lorimer Riley, pastor of the Snowdonia Christian Fellowship, will describe his journey from a Roman Catholic youth to an adult faith, centred on the person of Christ and the witness of Scripture. 

____________________ 

Saint John Henry Newman, whose was canonised in 2019, and whose feast day falls on 9th October, [1], was granted the title ‘Doctor of the Church’ [2] by our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV on 31st July 2025.

Thoughts on 'Water Baptism'

In his latest contribution to the Forum Ray Caldwell sets out to clarify the place of baptism in the Christian life and the criteria for passing through water baptism. 

True, firm belief in Jesus Christ is an essential condition for receiving Christian baptism, he argues, and those who are reborn in Christ commit themselves to maintaining and deepening their faith in a world where they will be confronted with many arguments seeking to undermine it. 

When I am reading texts that interest me, mostly the four gospels, the book of Acts and select works of contemporary positive psychology, I often enjoy particularly affirming moments when brief verses or phrases 'speak to me'. This was my experience when I read an article about 'Water Baptism' at the Church Junction website:

'October 7': an exercise in investigative journalism

Two years ago today the Hamas attack on Israel took place. Richard Sanders is an English television producer, journalist and author who, in early 2024, finished four months of work with the Investigation Unit of the Qatari media network Al Jazeera, seeking to uncover the truth about what actually happened.

Readers may be interested in his report which is available on YouTube (click on the picture):

God and War. Some thoughts about how we interpret the Old Testament

by Father Ian Dalgleish

Photograph: ‘Damage in the Gaza Strip during October 2023’ by Al Araby 

Earlier in September, in connection with an appeal from the World Council of Churches for a Day of Prayer for Peace, members of the Catholic churches in Bala, Harlech and Gellilydan prayed at Sunday Mass for an end to the violent conflicts that are taking place in different parts of the world today. I offered the following reflection on the subject.

“Thou Shalt Not Kill.” Suicide, Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: Some Considerations (2)

Sister Elizabeth John of the Dolgellau Carmel concludes her study of the rise in support for assisted suicide  

Sir Kier Starmer, Dame Esther Rantzen. Photo Sky News

Status of Assisted Suicide

The status of medically assisted dying has changed dramatically in the last twenty-six years. Switzerland permitted it before 1997. As of October 2022, it is legal in ten countries and parts of the USA: Switzerland (since 1942, but mostly from the 1980s), the Netherlands and  Belgium (2002),  Luxembourg (2009), Colombia (2014), Canada (2016), Austria, New Zealand, and Spain (2021), Australia (2022), plus twenty-two states or districts in the US. In 2023, medically-assisted dying was legalised in Portugal, but assisted suicide and euthanasia remain illegal. It is still being debated in Germany, France and Scotland.

“Thou Shalt Not Kill.” Suicide, Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: Some Considerations (1)

(In memory of David, Jeremy Stanley and Walter)

St Joseph's Hospice, Hackney, East London

In part one of a two-part essay Sister Elizabeth John of the Dolgellau Carmelite monastery examines some of the moral issues at stake around Kim Leadbeater's proposed Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

~~~

A Historical Study: The Moral Problem of ‘Assisted Dying’

This article is an exploration of some of the issues around suicide, euthanasia, and assisted suicide, based on an essay submitted in 2023 for the philosophy element of the Teresianum’s Online Certificate in Spiritual Theology.^[1] It is not intended as a comprehensive summary of arguments for or against assisted suicide.

Terminology

Assisted Suicide: An individual is provided with a fatal drug and has to be capable of administering it themselves.

PAD:  Physician or clinician-assisted death- involves a trained professional administering the drug for the patient.

Euthanasia: Encompasses both of the above but sometimes has subliminal echoes and references, including what we usually do with our dying pets.^[2]

Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID): The term, adopted in Canadian legislation, can include self or physician-administered situations and simply describes what it is.

Those in favour tend to use the term ‘Assisted Dying’, whereas those against refer to ‘Assisted Suicide’.

Why do I believe in God?

Ray Caldwell reflects on Scripture and contemporary psychology, especially the human experiences of suffering and ecstasy, and concludes that they provide strong evidence for the existence of God and for life after death.

Does God exist? If so, why does God seem so distant?

Perhaps the answer to the latter question is that we are dull, and we have to awaken to God by our conscious choice.

There are MANY things on planet Earth to distract us away from this one, supreme quest.

'Open Communion': a sign of disintegration, not progress

Many Protestant churches today accept and celebrate indiscriminate eucharistic sharing. Fr Ian of St Mary Magdalene parish, Blaenau Ffestiniog, questions the wooly thinking behind such a practice, which has come to enjoy growing support among Catholics.            

A typical group photograph after a typical Catholic First Communion Mass

~~~

There's something about Mary

Consider this tale of woe, reported some time ago, on the website of the pressure group The Association of Interchurch Families.

'Two Iranian Ex-Muslims Speak Out: Israel’s Attack on Iran | Biblical & Political Perspective'

A Forum reader has suggested that others might be interested in the following interview on YouTube, conducted immediately after the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Iran on 13th June.

Photo from the Financial Times, 13th June, 2025. © Meghdad Madadi/Tasnim News/AFP/Getty Images

The interviewer, Mohamad Faridi, is President of Iranian Christians International, 'the first indigenous mission to Iranians outside of Iran'  (click here for their website).

The person being interviewed is Hedieh Mirahmadi Falco, who runs the Resurrect Ministry with her husband Andy (click here for a link to their website).

Here's the interview (click on the photograph):

Did Thomas the Apostle Really Go to India?

Ian Hampson of the Harlech Goleudy (Lighthouse) Church looks at some of the historical material about Saint Thomas the Apostle, whose missionary life began with questions and doubts about Jesus' resurrection  

St Thomas’ Cave, Little Mount, Chennai/Madras

Most of us know him as "Doubting Thomas" - the apostle who refused to believe in Jesus’ resurrection until he saw the wounds for himself. But there’s much more to Thomas than a moment of scepticism. In fact, according to a long-standing tradition, he may have taken the message of Jesus further east than any other apostle - possibly even to India.

The Universal Soldier: lamenting the passing of protest songs

Mary Howell, from St David in Seion Catholic church in Harlech, reflects on the strength of the anti-war movement in the 1960s and its apparent weakness today.

Anti-Vietnam War protestors in Washington, D.C., November 27, 1965

In the 1960s when I was a teenager protest songs were common. Nuclear disarmament and anti-war sentiment gained momentum to guard against bile from dictators and their followers’ mouths. World War 2, the Holocaust and the awfulness of the testimonies were a living memory.

Two Poems by Saunders Lewis

As we begin Holy Week this year Tim Griffin, who attends Holy Cross Catholic church, Gellilydan when he is in North Wales, introduces two poems by Saunders Lewis, one of the founders of Plaid Cymru, the Party of Wales. 

John Saunders Lewis, 1893 – 1985, left, photographed with D.J. Williams and Lewis Valentine.

‘O happy fault,…’: original sin and its consequences (4)

by Fr Ian

Punishment and Promise

The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise by Benjamin West (1738-1820)

Chapter 3 of Genesis concludes with an account of God delivering his sentence on Adam and Eve - and the serpent.

The serpent is cursed by God to ‘go upon its belly’ and ‘eat dust for all the days of its life’. Eve learns that from now on she will experience great pain during childbirth, that her relationship with her husband will be contaminated by lust and a struggle for dominance. Adam is condemned to onerous and frustrating work which will often be largely fruitless. (Genesis 3:14-19).

‘O happy fault,…’: original sin and its consequences (3)

By Fr Ian 

The consequences of the first sin

It would be a huge mistake to read chapter 3 of Genesis with a purely legalistic mentality that sees the original sinful action of Adam and Eve as mainly the breaking of a rule or a commandment. The real essence of their sin was the breach of their personal relationship with God, the rupture of their harmonious friendship.

Jesus' portrait of a loving parent: The Prodigal Son by Nikolay Losev (1855-1901)

‘O happy fault,…’: original sin and its consequences (2)

by Fr Ian

 

The nature of the first sin

God showed his protective care and his trust of his human creatures by issuing a strict commandment, a prohibition: ‘...of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die’ (2:17).

Apart from what this says about God’s character, it also tells us that human beings weren’t created as robots; their reverence and obedience towards God wasn’t somehow pre-programmed and automatic. God made them so that they had to choose voluntarily to co-operate and share responsibility with him in the care and maintenance of his Creation.