COMMENDATIONS
MONSIGNOR KEITH MITCHELL
Fowey Retreat is a place of great blessings both for our parish and other groups from the diocese and beyond who want some time-out in a very special setting. I have used the house for days of personal retreat as well as joining groups of young people from the parish there. I know it has been much appreciated by our seminarians and vocation enquirers too. Having worked with Robbie on catechesis in the parish and listened to some of his CD's I can say his talks are both profound and well and prayerfully researched while at the same time being accessible to all.
This is a place where good catechesis, real prayer and generous hospitality come together to create something really special. The lovely little chapel in the roof is one of those "thin" places where prayer comes as naturally as breathing. Fowey Retreat is ideal for any small group whether joining in one of the planned events, organising their own programme ot just taking time to relax and enjoy.
MONSIGNOR GEORGE HAY
Former Rector of the English College , Rome .
'Your course on the 'Four Last Things' was very good and challenging. It would provide excellent material for a parish study group. I also enjoyed your study on St. John and hope that your talents will be fully used by the Church.
MONSIGNOR ROBERT DRAPER, Vicar General, Plymouth Diocese
'Four Last Things was very good indeed and very challenging.'
FR. STUART SEATON
Catholic Chaplain at Harrow School
What makes Fr.Robbie Low an outstanding and lively teacher of scripture is his manifest love and knowledge of God’s word, coupled with a rich insight into human beings. He brings us to Jesus precisely by helping us to grasp more clearly the needs and frailties of the people Jesus encountered, and how Jesus met those needs. This results in teaching which, by being focussed on the person of Jesus himself, is at once orthodox and scriptural in its content, yet personal and contemporary in its immediacy. This is great material for retreats, prayerful meditation and preaching or indeed, for anyone who is simply after a fresh look at familiar passages.
NEW DIRECTIONS
'These recordings are real meat. .... a solid, eloquent, convicted, full expression of the orthodox faith and practice.
Many will benefit from this valuable ministry. Sound teaching expressed in an engaging way.'
CANON ANDREW HAWES
Former Director of Edenham Retreat House, Spirtiual Director and 'Ghostly Counsel' columnist
'These talks are the fruit of a lifetime of wide reading. There is careful attention to the Biblical text, its historical context, its linguistics and historic interpretation.
But the whole collection is grounded in pastoral experience and practical application. His humour breaks through and his dramatic ability is used to both moving and comic effect. There are asides of acerbic political analysis and a wide range of literary connections. (There is) a full expression of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (and) an evangelical zeal that is a genuine concern for the salvation of souls.'
Fr GUY DE GAYNESFORD
Former Rector of the School of the Annunciation, Buckfast Abbey.
'Robbie and Sara Low have been a blessing to my old parish since their move to Cornwall in 2003. Over the last 14 years they have become involved in a wide variety of parish and catechetical activities, and in this time I have come to trust and value deeply what they are able to offer. He worked with me in providing ongoing catechesis for the adults of the parish, specifically in short courses on St. Paul, St. Peter and an overview of the Old Testament. Together with Sara, he was key to the running of the Catholic Alpha course that we were able to offer to the parish in 2006. In the process of offering these courses I have come to respect Robbie's profound knowledge of the Faith, and (more significantly) not only the way he can inspire his listeners by his explanation of that Faith but also the spiritual insights he offers, both from the experience of his own life and from his keen understanding of the rich traditions of prayer and spirituality of the Catholic Church. I welcome their work at Fowey with great joy, as a gift of God for all and any who wish to donate time to the pursuit of holiness, to a deeper relationship with God and a richer appreciation of the treasures of the Catholic faith. I cannot recommend Robbie and Sara too highly, and I keep their apostolic work at Fowey a regular part of my own prayer. May it be a place of great blessing.'
Fr. MARK O' KEEFFE
Dean of Plymouth Cathedral
'The Year of St Paul was marked in a very special and poignant way by a series of presentations by Robbie Low and Fr Guy de Gaynesford. We had a series of two half- hour talks on four consecutive weeks and the numbers were consistently large and grew during the weeks. The exploration and exegesis on the life, times and character of St Paul were thoroughly and expertly expounded with superb visual aids and witty animated presentation. The readings from the letters of St Paul have subsequently become more alive for us as a parish community. To quote a parishioner who attended the course "Like many people I've struggled with St Paul but suddenly he was alive and talking clearly to us today.' - which reflects the power and passion of the presentation.'
Canon ARTHUR MIDDLETON
Leading Spiritual Director and authority on the Fathers.
Author of ,'Prayer in the Workaday World' and 'Fathers and Anglicans - the limits of orthodoxy'
'I commend the house at Fowey and the opportunities it offers for prayer and study, quiet reflection, relaxation and fellowship. You will find sound Christian teaching, good company and excellent food in idyllic surroundings.'
ANTHONY KILMISTER
Former National Chairman and present Vice President of the Prayer Book Society (Registered charity 1099295)
Present President of the Anglican Association (Registered charity 1002192)
Founder and President of Prostate UK ( Registered charity 1037063)
'I have known Robbie and Sara Low for nearly thirty years and have felt blessed by the warmth of their friendship and of their personalities over these three decades.
Robbie Low is an accomplished teacher who explains and preaches the faith with a flair that is deeply enriching. At the same time he has a great sense of humour and is able not only to put all around him at their ease but is also able to get his listeners to absorb his message in a manner that is seemingly effortless but really very able.'
Fr CHRIS FINDLAY-WILSON
Parish Priest, Parkstone, Poole
'Robbie Low's talk on St Paul at my former parish retreat was excellent; he brought St Paul to life in a very compelling way, vindicating so much that we treasure today as Catholics. My parishioners were thoroughly appreciative.
God bless your work.
The Revd.DANIEL COZENS
Leading English Evangelist.
Canterbury Six Preacher ; Rees Missioner ; Founder of Through Faith Missions and the Walk of a Thousand Men.
'Having stayed at the house for the best part of 5 days, I can tell you that it is as good as the brochure says. It is a beautiful home, quiet and restful with loads of space: both inside and out in the garden. It is, in every sense, well-appointed having a lovely peace about it, and if buildings breathe, then this building says, "Sit down in your heart". I commend it absolutely.
I've known Robbie Low for more than
20 years and he truly is a one-off: a Catholic to his core; but a beautifully balanced, enthusiastic evangelist - whose capacity to see a broad view of the church, to read trends, to have a deep understanding of history and a wonderful, pastoral disposition combine to make this man unique in the church. I value his counsel. I've always found his writing inspiring and he is, in the quietest sense, a powerful man and a great gift to the Church.'
Fr. BASIL CLARK
Parish Priest,Musselburgh, a parish in the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh.
'No priest every really likes to hear another priest or speaker spoken well of by his own parishioners. You might imagine my feelings when Robbie, whom I had invited up as the key note speaker for a diocesan conference on Our Lady, was described as 'the most enthusiastic and clear cut speaker' she had ever heard by one of my folk. She then went on to quote back to me things he had said in a way I suspect she could never quite do with my sermons. What pains me more however is that I was forced to agree with her, which is, I suppose why I had invited him in the first place: no point in someone who puts you to sleep either through a dreary presentation or unintelligible nonsense. More than that Robbie presents Catholic orthodoxy for the straight forward common sense it is and has been doing so long before he became a Catholic, which was why it surprised me that he had agonised for years before making the decision to come over from Anglicanism.
Sara, the other half of the Low partnership, is in her own right a gifted communicator and complements Robbie in a way that has always allowed me to value Christian marriage as a basis for ministry rather than a distraction from it. In other words Sara and Robbie are positive role models for a married ministry, where their spirituality and shared vocation combine to offer a sum greater than the parts.
On both of these counts I have no hesitation in supporting them in their venture in Christian ministry developing their house of prayer and in being willing to share their insights with their fellow Catholics and other Christians. In doing so they are doing nothing other than the Church asks of us all:
Lay people have the duty and the right to acquire knowledge of Christian teaching which is appropriate to each one's capacity and condition, so that they may be able to live according to this teaching, to proclaim it and if necessary to defend it, and may be capable of playing their part in the exercise of the apostolate.
On a recent visit to the house itself I saw that it had been renovated to a very high standard and is in a beautiful and peaceful location making it ideal for times of prayer, reflection or study.
Consequently I am happy to recommend it and Robbie and Sara's teaching ministry. For my own part I hope to use the house in the near future and bring them back to Scotland to give them another chance to put me in the shade.'
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