'Firmly I Believe and Truly' Ed Fr John Saward et al

Last night was the book launch of 'Firmly I Believe and Truly' edited by Fr John Saward, John Morrill, and Michael Tomko. Fr Saward is familiar to readers of this blog as a great friend of Tradition in Oxford; his small parish church of SS Gregory & Augustine in North Oxford sees a great many traditional Masses, many of them sung. He is the author of many books, and the translator of the English edition of Pope Benedict's The Spirit of the Liturgy.

This new book is an anthology of English Catholic writers, and it sounds fascinating. It demonstrates the continuity, breadth and depth of English Catholicism, and the absurdity of the idea that Catholicism is somehow foreign to England, or not English enough ever to be the religion of this nation once more, as it was for a millenium.

I paste in below some of the publisher's blurb; HERE is where to buy it: at a discount!

'Firmly I Believe and Truly'

• Brings together a diverse array of writers from the last five hundred years to celebrate the English Roman Catholic tradition
• Includes authors who maintain a high profile today and reintroduces key figures whose writings have recently been neglected
• Provides authoritative introductions to each author
• Chronologically ordered with a clear three part structure to aid navigation
• Thoughtfully illustrated with images relevant to each part of the anthology

An Anthology of Writings from 1483 to 1999

Firmly I Believe and Truly celebrates the depth and breadth of the spiritual, literary, and intellectual heritage of the Post-Reformation English Roman Catholic tradition in an anthology of writings that span a five hundred year period between William Caxton and Cardinal Hume. Intended as a rich resource for all with an interest in Roman Catholicism, the writings have been carefully selected and edited by a team of scholars with historical, theological, and literary expertise. Each author is introduced to provide context for the included extracts and the chronological arrangement of the anthology makes the volume easy to use whilst creating a fascinating overview of the modern era in English Catholic thought. The extracts comprise a wide variety writing genres; sermons, prayers, poetry, diaries, novels, theology, apologetics, works of controversy, devotional literature, biographies, drama, and essays. Includes writings by:
John Colet, John Fisher, Thomas More, Robert Southwell, Philip Howard, Anne Askew, Edmund Campion, John Gother, John Dryden, Mary Barker, Alexander Pope, Richard Challoner, Alban Butler, John Milner, Elizabeth Inchbald, Nicholas Wiseman, Margaret Mary Hallahan, A. W. N. Pugin, John Henry Newman, Henry Edward Manning, Frederick William Faber, Bertrand Wilberforce, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Vincent McNabb, Hilaire Belloc, Maurice Baring, G. K. Chesterton, R. A. Knox, J. R. R. Tolkien, Caryll Houselander, Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene, John Bradburne, Cardinal Hume

Readership: People of all Christian traditions who want to gain a deeper understanding of the roots of the Catholic faith and heritage. Scholars in the fields of theology, history, and literature.