John Henry Newman - Lifes Purpose

Todays Questions. Timeless Answers.

Looking for time-tested guidance for the dilemmas of the spiritual life? Find it in the company of the wise spiritual masters of our Catholic tradition.

Inner Peace: Wisdom from Jean-Pierre de Caussade

Lifes Purpose: Wisdom from John Henry Newman

Strength in Darkness: Wisdom from John of the Cross

Solace in Suffering: Wisdom from Thomas Kempis

Forthcoming volumes will include wisdom from:

Catherine of Siena

Francis de Sales

James Alberione

Jane Frances de Chantal

Luis Martinez

Thrse of Lisieux

Lifes Purpose

Lifes Purpose

Wisdom from John Henry Newman

Foreword by Mary Lea Hill, FSP

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Newman, John Henry, 18011890.

Lifes purpose: wisdom from John Henry Newman / foreword by Mary Lea Hill. Classic wisdom collection.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN-10 Print: 0-8198-4533-7

ISBN-10 eBook: 0-8198-4536-1

ISBN-13 eBook: 978-0-8198-4536-8

1. Christian lifeCatholic authors. 2. Christian lifeAnglican authors.

I. Hill, Mary Lea. II. Title.

BX2350.3.N44 2010

248.482dc22

2010018525

Cover design by Rosana Usselmann

Cover photo Mary Lou Winters, FSP

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

P and PAULINE are registered trademarks of the Daughters of St. Paul.

Copyright 2010, Daughters of St. Paul

Published by Pauline Books & Media, 50 Saint Pauls Avenue, Boston, MA 02130-3491

www.pauline.org

Pauline Books & Media is the publishing house of the Daughters of St. Paul, an international congregation of women religious serving the Church with the communications media.

To Pope Benedict XVI

For gifting the Church with the beatification of

John Henry Cardinal Newman

Contents

I met John Henry Newman when I was a romantic. Those years were full of joy because everything unfolded before me so graciously, without the interference of experience. My world consisted for the most part of unfiltered loveliness.

These were the years of early and ongoing adolescence. Just out of the age of reason, yet still in the age of dreams. No more childhood, but no real responsibility either. It was like the first time the spark plugs are changed. It is all an open road and your foot just above the pedal. There is a certain freedom to investigate and suppose and dream. This is where Newman found me when he entered my world.

All my dreaming centered on religion. That would be my career. I was working out arguments for all things religious, and everything I saw or read spoke to me of the eternal. I opened a book of poetry: Lead, Kindly Light, wrote Newman. It was love at first sight. I felt as though the good cardinal had written this for me. He had entered my soul and organized its movements into poetry. And ever since, those lines have led me through everything that encircled me: the good, the bad, the blas, the words of God and those of men. At that time, however, I relished the beauty of the words in Newmans poetry and in his prose: the complexity, the cleverness, the charm. My attraction was particularly to the poetry: Dream of Gerontius, Pusillanimity, Liberalism, The Elements, Nature and Art, and so forth. They were all profound and beautiful, completely attuned to the state of my young spirit.

At that time the encircling gloom was simply the arrival of evening. I liked to sit by the window in my room at the top of our house and watch the world change color: first dusk, then evening. This was especially enhanced by the cloud formations. Another little rush of recognition came when I found that the actual title of Lead, Kindly Light is The Pillar of Cloud. The cardinal had his clouds and I had mine. And all was well with the world.

Sitting beside me as I write is my little red notebook, the companion of my romance days. Now its battered

Today as my dewy eyes become dowdy, Newmans masterpiece still catches my soul by surprise whenever I pick it up. Not even the encircling gloom and doom of our present day can dull the crystal clarity of those lines.

The kindly light of God led John Henry Newman throughout his long life. He was born February 21, 1801, in London, the eldest of the six children in a middle class family. His parents provided their children with a good foundational education. John was an excellent student, versed in Latin and Greek, who delighted also in fantasy and adventure. He admits, I used to wish the Arabianoratory in England upon his return. Back home, his time was spent writing and serving the poor in Birmingham.

The ensuing years were full of misunderstandings and opposition from his former Anglican colleagues as well as, surprisingly, his fellow Catholics, including members of the hierarchy. He was accused by some of backtracking and by others of fomenting trouble among the laity. By 1859, when he was denounced to Rome, he felt it necessary to defend himself. As he said, sometimes one can only get the adversarys attention by shaking a fist in front of him. In his case the fist was literary. He published Apologia pro Vita Sua in 1864. This biographical sketch covered his religious history through 1845, the year of his conversion. It went a long way to opening hearts, both of former friends and fellow Catholics, to the sincerity and integrity of his long faith journey. Despite this new understanding, Newman continued to meet with constant aggravation and confrontation. Nevertheless, he spoke out in defense of the truth, principally with his monumental work A Grammar of Assent, published in 1870. Nine years later, Pope Leo XIII made him a cardinal. This was a great honor for a great defender of the faith. However, Newman saw it more as a sign of approval and acceptance from the Church he so loved. On August 11, 1890, John Henry Cardinal Newman died at the Birmingham Oratory.

Although the man had avoided personal honor in his lifetime, Newmans thought found a certain vindication in the proceedings of Vatican Council II, where his inner vision of the man of God as one who trusted his conscience, found resource in the Scriptures, and involved himself in the life and concerns of the Church was enshrined in the Council documents. And in September 2010 Pope Benedict XVI beatified this most humble servant of the Church.

When I read the itinerary of Cardinal Newmans life, I cant help but think of my own. He lived to his ninetieth year; I am two-thirds of the way. The facts of our journeys are different. His life was played out on a much higher scale than my own: he was an academic, a cleric, and a preacher; a guide to souls; a leader of leaders; possessed of a logical, precise, and prodigious mind. He dealt with a great and grave problem, a dilemma of allegiance. His sacrifice was enormous; his suffering acute and seemingly overwhelming. Despite this he did not give in to pressure; he persevered, digging deeper into his soul for answers. He was not afraid to challenge or to chide when the stakes were high. His appeal to conscience was matched only by his enduring courage.