The Young Catholic Writer Award
July 05th 2010
The Catholic Young Writer Award 2011
2011 – YEAR OF A ROYAL WEDDING
The year 2011 sees a Royal Wedding in Britain. Marriage unites a man and a woman, and
begins a new family. It symbolises the union between Christ and his Church.
Christ’s first miracle was at a wedding – at Cana, where he turned water into wine.
Even cynics are touched by the joy and beauty of true love. Some of the greatest poetry in the
world has been written in celebration of love. Pope Benedict’s first Encyclical Letter had the
message: GOD IS LOVE, Deus Caritas Est.
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This Award is open to all Roman Catholics aged 11-18 inclusive, and to all pupils at Roman
Catholic secondary schools in the United Kingdom.
You are invited to write something - in prose or poetry – inspired by one of the following:
- Imagine you are a guest at the wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11). The Bridegroom pours
you some wine, and you raise the cup to your lips. It is the most beautiful wine you
have ever tasted…
- “The human being needs unconditional love. He needs the certainty which makes him
say: “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor
things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:38-
39). If this absolute love exists, with its absolute certainty, then—only then—is man
“redeemed”, whatever should happen to him in his particular circumstances”. (Spe
Salvi, Benedict XVI )
The winner of the best entry will win the CATHOLIC YOUNG WRITER
AWARD – an engraved shield, to be kept for one year – plus £50 cash, and a
selection of books presented by members of the Catholic Writers’ Guild.
The CATHOLIC YOUNG WRITER AWARD is presented annual by the
Catholic Writers’ Guild of England and Wales and the Catholic Union.
Note to teachers: This Project has been designed to fit in with the GCSE requirements for “Religion and Life
from a Roman Catholic perspective”.
Some thoughts to inspire students to think about love and its meaning:
• I lift up my eyes to the hills – from whence does come my help? My help comes
from the Lord who made Heaven and earth. (Psalm 121)
• God is love and in himself he lives a mystery of personal loving communion.
Creating the human race in his own image and continually keeping it in being, God
inscribed in the humanity of man and woman the vocation, and thus the capacity
and responsibility, of love and communion. Love is therefore the fundamental and
innate vocation of every human being. (Familiaris Consortio, John Paul II).
• God’s love for us is fundamental for our lives, and it raises important questions
about who God is and who we are…Today, the term “love” has become one of the
most frequently used and misused of words, a word to which we attach quite
different meanings…we speak of love of country, love of one’s profession, love
between friends, love of work, love between parents and children, love between
family members, love of neighbour and love of God. Amid this multiplicity of
meanings, however, one in particular stands out: love between man and woman,
where body and soul are inseparably joined and human beings glimpse an
apparently irresistible promise of happiness. This would seem to be the very epitome
of love; all other kinds of love immediately seem to fade in comparison. So we need
to ask: are all these forms of love basically one, so that love, in its many and varied
manifestations, is ultimately a single reality, or are we merely using the same word
to designate totally different realities? ( Deus Caritas est Benedict XV)
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Entries – which should be no longer than two A4 pages in length, and can be either hand-written or produced on
a computer – should be sent to:
Catholic Young Writer Award 2011
The Catholic Union of Great Britain
Maximillian Kolbe House
63 Jeddo Road
London W12 9EE
To arrive not later than May 30th 2011.
We particularly welcome batches of entries: this has been designed so that it can be set as a project in
which a whole class can be invited to take part.
NOTES:
Each entry must be the writer’s own unaided work, and must include the writer’s FULL NAME (in block
capitals) and DATE OF BIRTH, and the FULL NAME AND ADDRESS OF THE SCHOOL. Entries are
non-returnable: you are advised to ensure that you have a copy before posting.