Conclusion
Conclusion
The life of John Henry Newman intersected the lives of many of the leading ecclesiastical and political figures of the nineteenth century: Pius IX, Leo XIII, Wiseman, Ullathorne, Manning, Faber, Ward, Gladstone, Acton, Dölinger, Montalembert, among others Newman was in contact not only with the leaders of his age, but also with people from all walks of life. Through an enormous correspondence in the midst of many other duties, Newman generally wrote with an apostolic purpose in mind. In particular, he wrote, as he preached, for lay people whose duty it was to live and work in the world. Newman recognized the importance of the laity for the renewal of the Church. He frequently corresponded with lay people who desired to grow in the Christian life.
With empathetic understanding, cogent explanation, and patient waiting, Newman encouraged others to strive for holiness. For example, he urged people to perform well the ordinary duties of the day as “a short rule to perfection.” Similarly, his teaching on the sacraments, his approach to penance, his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and to Mary indicate his balanced approach to the spiritual life. His correspondence shows him to have been both a theologian and a spiritual director, although he explicitly denied that he was either—at least in the technical sense. There are several reasons why Newman claimed that he was not a theologian: first, because he was not conversant with neo-scholastic theology nor was he a specialist in any particular field of theology; in addition, he believed that he was more of a controversialist, responding to particular needs and questions as they arose. He also recognized that any claim to be a theologian might place him in jeopardy with ecclesiastical authorities.
Similarly, Newman did not consider himself a spiritual director because he felt that he did not possess the knowledge, training, experience, and patience required of a director. While his spirituality was an expression of his theology, his approach to the spiritual life and spiritual direction was grounded on scriptural and patristic study, a consciousness of the unseen world, and his personal experiences. His belief in and explanation of the centrality of Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, as well as his dogmatic, sacramental, and ecclesial principles gave his understanding of the spiritual life a strong theological framework. In a century that tended to separate theology and piety, Newman’s letters reveal that he consistently sought to keep them united. Accordingly, his spiritual direction flowed from and expressed his personal theology. His correspondence frequently provided him with the occasion to work out his theology and spirituality. In particular, the questions of both old friends and new critics often challenged Newman’s concept of faith and provided the vehicle for his understanding of faith to develop. In retrospect, it can be seen that his correspondence was especially important during the years when he was not writing publicly, since his letters discussed a number of topics which later appeared in his books. In effect, his correspondence provided Newman with the opportunity of deepening his theological understanding and spiritual awareness.
The hefty volumes of Letters from his Roman Catholic years make it clear that there are two major bases for his spiritual direction—theology and experience. At times, Newman’s spiritual direction was a reflection of a particular theological position; this is especially the case in the development in his understanding of faith and church which were, in turn, reflected in the spiritual direction he gave to others. At other times, his own experience greatly affected his direction, as was the case particularly with his advice on vocation, religious life and friendship. Sometimes both theology and experience were operative sources in his guidance as was the case with his emphasis on the Providence of God. The specific determinant of Newman’s advice was usually that aspect of the Christian life which was most relevant to his correspondent’s situation.
Not only did Newman’s spiritual direction possess a strong theological basis, he also believed that some type of devotional life was a necessary support for faith. Accordingly, he encouraged individuals to nurture an active devotional life based on sound Roman Catholic doctrine. Correspondingly, while he wanted people to be free to choose those devotions best suited for them, he did not favor “tangential” spiritualities, or expressions of devotions that were on the fringes of the Church’s life.
A second fundamental principle on which Newman based his spiritual direction was experience. His correspondence shows how his guidance of others was often influenced by his own experience. As an Anglican, his family life, his first conversion experience, the death of his sister, and his illness in Sicily, as well as his contacts with a variety of people—all contributed to the formation of his own spiritual life and continually found expression in his letters. Similarly, as a Roman Catholic, Newman experienced various purifying events, such as the Oratory dispute, the Achilli trial, the Catholic University difficulty, the Scripture translation problem, the Rambler incident, the Apologia challenge, and the Oxford Oratory setback. All of these experiences further contributed to shaping his life, his thinking, his spirituality and consequently his direction of others.1 For example, his experience of God’s Providence provided a constant backdrop from which to direct others, particularly in times of trial; his experience of Oratorian life influenced his understanding of vocation and religious life; his experience with friends helped him to value friendship as a dimension of the spiritual life.
Newman’s Letters do not provide a precise method or technique for spiritual direction. Rather, his approach is similar to the rhetorical style he employed in many of his other works. Accordingly, when he was seeking to convince a correspondent of a particular point, Newman would argue masterfully along certain lines of thought. For example, in trying to guide people into the Church, Newman directed others to look for apostolicity; thus, his correspondence focused on the “notes” of the Church. Similarly, in directing others in their concerns about the doctrine of infallibility, his approach was to help people understand the infallibility of the Church and only then to consider the infallibility of the Pope as one of the Church’s teachings. In this sense, there is a general pattern or style to his direction. Nonetheless, the needs of each individual appear to have been the primary factor in molding his responses. Consequently, what emerges from his correspondence is not so much a method or technique of spiritual direction, but the personality of Newman. In addition to his theological acumen and experience, Newman’s Letters implicitly show the unique importance of the personality of the spiritual director. His correspondence highlights the belief that one of the means that God uses to manifest His grace, love and presence in the process of direction is the person of the director. By implication, the director is truly a divine instrument in spiritual direction.
Newman believed that his own role was one of personal influence. His correspondence shows that his spiritual direction was characterized by several features: first, he respected the dignity of the individual. His letters had a way of making people feel accepted, important, and unique; for example, he patiently responded to their inquiries, sometimes writing at length, at other times corresponding over a period of many years. In addition, Newman possessed a genuine concern for every person. For instance, his correspondence encouraged and supported people in their search for truth and faith, in the quest for finding their vocation, in guiding them in personal trials. Newman also had the kind of personality that could challenge people while still allowing them to be free. Without being overbearing, his desire was “to speak the truth in love,” to be honest with people even at the risk of personal sacrifice; yet, when he realized that he had been insensitive or wrong, he did not hesitate to apologize. Finally, his correspondence shows that Newman was extremely sensitive to others. People constantly wrote to him about almost every facet of life, presumably because they believed he would understand. He had a way of eliciting from others what was really on their minds and in their hearts. Because of his own personal struggle in coming to the Roman Catholic Church, Newman understood the hesitation of others; because of his own experience of sickness and death, Newman could appreciate what others were experiencing; because he had personally known failure and misunderstanding, he could be empathetic with others. He was a man of great sensitivity.
Newman, whose personality was many sided, resembled the Fathers of the Church, whose works he cherished and studied; like them, he was a preacher, spiritual director, theologian all in one. Nonetheless, the more one studies his correspondence, the more human Newman becomes; his strengths and limitations are more clearly appreciated as integral to his unique personality. Because the purpose of letters is so different from that of books or sermons, correspondence enables us to catch a glimpse of the inner workings of a person. Emerging from Newman’s Letters are certain qualities that tend to go unnoticed in his other literary works. The dominant quality which surfaces in Newman’s correspondence is his humanness. With his friends, Newman felt he could be free, sincerely manifesting what was on his mind and in his heart. In his letters to his friends, he spoke about his real feelings, his needs, his struggles, his joys.
Finally, Newman’s Letters offer the opportunity to experience a wealth of information on how Newman understood the spiritual; life and how he directed others to grow in their life of faith.
1. Appropriating the Pauline theme of the Christian life as a sharing in the Paschal Mystery, Newman believed that he was participating in Christ’s death-resurrection process through the purifying events of his life, and his correspondence encouraged others to do the same.