Fr. Tom Cullinan

FATHER TOM – Thomas Anthony Cullinan – known for his teaching, preaching, writing, his discomforting dis-covering of how faith questions our assumptions, our relationship to the world, to one another, to justice and peace – was in all of this first and foremost a monk. A thoroughly Benedictine monk who prayed, worked and practised hospitality, but far from a traditional monastery at Ince Benet, the house he built by hand, with help from his architect brother Edward and local friends, on the edge of Liverpool.

Tom was born in London in 1935 and grew up in a big family with doctors in every generation. He followed his two elder brothers to Ampleforth College and after national service in the navy returned to Ampleforth as a young monk. His social awareness was widened at Oxford when as an antidote to maths studies he became involved with Oxfam; later he served on the Justice and Peace Commission while teaching at Ampleforth. But seeds had been sown and he sought a simpler, more ‘grounded’ monastic life. And so asked permission to begin the venture that led to the building of Ince Benet, where he lived until he died in 2019.

It was there that these talks grew out of daily life – welcoming guests, caring for trees, growing food, baking bread, fixing his bike, and the constant round of monastic prayer and engagement with scripture.

Much is the fruit of his solitude, solitude that “in fact brings us into profound communion with people. Invites us in the crucified living one, to carry in ourselves the agonies of people. Solitude sensitises us, makes our hearts both more vulnerable and more all-embracing”.

The simplicity, and at times starkness of Tom’s way of living gave him a freedom to question conventional approaches to our relatedness to one another and to the whole of creation, and to the meaning of the Incarnation and “why did Jesus die?”

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Presence – Fr. Tom Cullinan

When the Gospel writers wrote, rewrote, and reedited the gospels as we have them, they [...]

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The Eucharist and Politics – Fr. Tom Cullinan

The Eucharist isn’t a Sabbath day escape from the world, it’s a communal commitment to [...]

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Christ as Crisis – Fr. Tom Cullinan

A fascinating talk exploring the strangeness of the resistance that formed against Jesus and the [...]

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Food and Faith:Launch of ‘Year of Food’, 2012 – Fr. Tom Cullinan

In 2012 Pope Benedict inaugurated a Year of Faith to celebrate the half century since [...]

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Notes for CAFOD talk – (Based on Scripture readings for Lent week 3) – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Tom’s notes for a CAFOD talk explore how we as individuals and as a parish [...]

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Money – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Five short but very poignant and moving reflections on the use of property and our [...]

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Where Do You Dwell – Fr. Tom Cullinan

The following reflection written after 30 years of Monastic life in one place , Ampleforth [...]

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The Politics Of Ownership – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Times of Christian renewal have been marked by a willingness to face challenging agendas. In [...]

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Donna Nobis Pacem (the Beatitudes, more or less) – Fr. Tom Cullinan

January 1987 1,943 words. Despite being written over 30yrs ago it’s a timeless and wise [...]

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Live Simply – Fr. Tom Cullinan

2007 Talk given to Live Simply Conference at Lancaster University Chaplaincy Centre Living simply, sustainably [...]

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Creation Groans – Fr. Tom Cullinan

om discusses the urgent need for all to hear God’s call to live simply, sustainably [...]

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Confessions of Another Guilty Bystander – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Written at the time of the Greenham Common Women’s protest against nuclear missiles, Tom argues [...]

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ENVIRONMENT & ECOLOGY

Live Simply – Fr. Tom Cullinan

2007 Talk given to Live Simply Conference at Lancaster University Chaplaincy Centre Living simply, sustainably [...]

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Creation Theology: Why? and What? – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Tom tackles the big questions of developing a relevant theology in an environmentally and ecologically [...]

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Human Life as Part of Creation – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Tom argues that many of us grew up in a church where nature was static, [...]

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Creation Groans – Fr. Tom Cullinan

om discusses the urgent need for all to hear God’s call to live simply, sustainably [...]

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Food and Faith:Launch of ‘Year of Food’, 2012 – Fr. Tom Cullinan

In 2012 Pope Benedict inaugurated a Year of Faith to celebrate the half century since [...]

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Creation Story, A Litany – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Our Creation Story 18 billion years In the beginning God said: Let matter and energy [...]

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In the Beginning… until God shall be all in all – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Introduction Being given ‘Dominion’ as God’s localised ‘Image’ usually referred to the role of Royalty. [...]

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scripture

Sunday Readings, Receiving the Word – Fr. Tom Cullinan

In the first half, Tom explains the three year cycle of readings on Sunday and [...]

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Presence – Fr. Tom Cullinan

When the Gospel writers wrote, rewrote, and reedited the gospels as we have them, they [...]

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The Gospel of Matthew – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Introduction to Matthew – Gospel Origins Kingdom Sermon on the Mount Beatitudes But I say [...]

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Mark Chpt. 11: When Jesus enters Jerusalem (and Christian Zionism) – Fr. Tom Cullinan

The scriptural and social background Tom explores shows how subversive Jesus was. St. Mark’s careful [...]

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Passover 1. The last week in the context of Jesus’ life and deepening and maturing relat – Fr. Tom Cullinan

with his Abba, Father during the first 30 years, and how that shaped the way [...]

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Passover 2: Did the loving God demand the sacrifice of his Son? – Fr. Tom Cullinan

2921 words After exploring and explaining the differences between the Gospel accounts of the death [...]

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Passover 3. Last Supper and into Gethsemane – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Jesus was celebrating the Passover feast with his close disciples on Maundy Thursday and it’s [...]

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Passover 4. The trials of Jesus: Sanhedrin and Pilate – Fr. Tom Cullinan

We were with Jesus as he came out of the garden. ‘Who is it you [...]

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Passover 5. The Crucifixion; what was said to and by Jesus – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Some general facts about crucifixion and then we’ll look mainly at Mark’s account and John’s [...]

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‘I am Risen…’ – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Understanding the way the Risen Jesus is present and how this presence changes things. [...]

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“… and with you”- Fr. Tom Cullinan

How is the resurrected Jesus different from the person before death? [...]

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Embracing the Way – Fr. Tom Cullinan

The apostles’ reaction to Jesus’ insistence that he must go to Jerusalem to die showed [...]

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Notes for CAFOD talk – (Based on Scripture readings for Lent week 3) – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Tom’s notes for a CAFOD talk explore how we as individuals and as a parish [...]

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St.Paul: formation, conversion and life as Apostle to the gentiles. 7 audio talks – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Social, religious and political setting of the early Christian Church. Why the early Christians were [...]

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The origins of Advent – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Tom traces the history of the Season of Advent and why we celebrate the Feast [...]

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Audio: A theological reading of Genesis 1 & 2 – Fr. Tom Cullinan

A theological reading of the Creation story. How our understanding of the intentions of the [...]

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A Letter from the Authors of Genesis – Fr. Tom Cullinan

How do we read scripture? Every culture has its creation myth – that recounts more [...]

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CHURCH

Knowing-unknowing God until God be all in all – Fr. Tom Cullinan

This talk begins by looking at two aspects of the way in which we come [...]

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Knowing God: Tri-unity of God – Fr. Tom Cullinan

A fascinating exposition of the history of the Trinitarian formula used today exploring origins of [...]

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Living presence of the Risen Jesus – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Tom examines what we mean by the Resurrection of Jesus in the light of the [...]

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Resurrection of the body – Fr. Tom Cullinan

We can only grow in our understanding of the real presence of the Risen Jesus [...]

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Companions of the risen victim: talk to Justice and Peace activists – Tom Cullinan

This begins as an exploration of the Eucharist and develops into an in-depth analysis of [...]

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Christ as Crisis – Fr. Tom Cullinan

A fascinating talk exploring the strangeness of the resistance that formed against Jesus and the [...]

READ MORE
The Eucharist and Politics – Fr. Tom Cullinan

The Eucharist isn’t a Sabbath day escape from the world, it’s a communal commitment to [...]

READ MORE
Food and Faith:Launch of ‘Year of Food’, 2012 – Fr. Tom Cullinan

In 2012 Pope Benedict inaugurated a Year of Faith to celebrate the half century since [...]

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Now is the Glory a short reflection on how plumbing the depths of desolation – Fr. Tom Cullinan

with a loving trust becomes the glory of the Resurrection right now. (Jan. 2007) 1494 [...]

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Mersey Reflections – on Faith in the City – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Tom was the lead writer in these reflections that were a collaboration among an ecumenical [...]

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Dear Sir Dives – Fr. Tom Cullinan

An imagined letter from a parish priest to ‘Dives’ wonderng whether it would be right [...]

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Eucharist: reflections with help from Teilhard de Chardin – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Reflecting on his understanding of Teilhard de Chardin, Tom’s examination of the different aspects of [...]

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This is My Body – Fr. Tom Cullinan

In this reflection we encounter a profound deepening of our understanding of our body from [...]

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Beloved of God – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Written for a women’s religious community, Tom shares his own experience of how the disciplines [...]

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Homily for Kate – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Homily given by Tom on the 50th Anniversary of Sr. Kate’s Final Profession, given in [...]

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In Whose Company – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Tom compares his ‘Christian Thomas mindset’ with his ‘Contemporary Thomas mindset’. The first recognises that [...]

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We are God’s Work of Art – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Talk given to L’Arche UK PEC Meeting Nov 2000 1,754 words In November 2000 the [...]

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Watchful in Prayer – Fr. Tom Cullinan

A wide-ranging talk on prayer, given by Fr Tom Cullinan at a day retreat for [...]

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Wounded in Prayer – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Talk originally prepared for a Retreat for Religious. Word Count 4,869 Fr. Tom leads us [...]

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ETHICS

Money – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Five short but very poignant and moving reflections on the use of property and our [...]

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Tough-minded, Tender-hearted (On ideology, blindness and sin) – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Written at a previous time of confusion and uncertainty –  the height of the cold [...]

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Conscience – Fr. Tom Cullinan

Anthony Cullinan became brother Thomas Anthony in religious life to put himself under the patronage [...]

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Ince Benet

Ince Benet has now been significantly refurbished and is open as a retreat and prayer centre. If you would like to know more, please click the button below.

VISIT THE INCE BENET WEBSITE