Foreword
Foreword
John Henry Newman was a person with extraordinary talents that resulted in an astonishing number of accomplishments in a variety of fields. Given his multifaceted interests, his writings are still highly regarded by authorities in different disciplines.1 To people interested in Victorian literature, his Apologia Pro Vita Sua (1864) is a classic example of English autobiography. To educators, Newman’s The Idea of a University (1873) is a classic statement of the importance of both a liberal education in general and theological studies in particular. To philosophers, his An Essay in Aid of a Grammar of Assent (1870) is a thought-provoking analysis of the nature of belief. To theologians, his An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine (1845) is the historical starting point for a reassessment of the nature of doctrine. Few authors manage to write even one classic work that has survived the test of time; Newman wrote several.
Newman’s contemporaries recognized him as a commentator on current events, an historian of the early church, a translator of patristic texts, and a formidable apologist, as well as a novelist and a poet. Yet for Newman personally, all of his writings, however diverse their origin, genre, and focus, had a religious orientation; he wrote as a Christian committed to proclaiming the Gospel. At least a third of his writings—in the form of sermons, meditations, poems, prayers—were specifically written to encourage people to live a Christian life. Given the major emphasis on spirituality in both Newman’s life and writings, it is nothing short of surprising that in comparison to treatments of Newman as an educator, apologist, philosopher and theologian, there has been relatively little written about Newman as a spiritual director.
Newman’s spiritual advice is obviously found in his sermons, both Anglican and Roman Catholic; however, a major resource for his spiritual counsel is found in his enormous correspondence—some twenty thousand of his letters have survived and many of these letters were written in response to people seeking his advice. While Peter Wilcox’s book is primarily concerned with Newman’s spiritual direction during his Roman Catholic years (1845–1890), it quickly becomes evident that Newman’s spirituality as a Roman Catholic was a development of his Anglican spirituality, which was based on the Bible, the Fathers of the Church, and Anglican Divines. What also becomes evident is that people sought Newman’s advice, first of all because they recognized both the seriousness of his pastoral commitment and the depth of his spiritual insight; in effect, his spiritual direction is exemplified in the choice of his cardinalatial motto—cor ad cor loquitur—“heart speaks to heart.”
In this book, readers will meet literally dozens of people who sought Newman’s spiritual direction; these people came from a wide variety of backgrounds: a few were clergy and members of religious communities; others were rich and prominent; most were middle class; a few were so obscure that the editors of Newman’s Letters and Diaries have been unable to provide much identification. What is amazing about Newman’s spiritual direction is that he was able to touch the lives of so many people from so many different strata of society. While, as readers might expect, most of Newman’s correspondents were Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Protestants, there were a few agnostics as well.
The reasons why people sought Newman’s counsel were as personal as each individual. In fact, in his spiritual direction, Newman addressed the particular concerns of each person, rather than relying on a generic spirituality: his spiritual advice was tailored to each person.
Nonetheless, there are certain recurrent themes in Newman’s spiritual advice—which this book has organized around five headings: Divine Providence, Faith, the Roman Catholic Church, Vocation and Religious Life, Friendship. Most readers will probably read these chapters in sequence; however, this book is written in such a way that after the introductory chapter, a reader might choose to read the chapters in order of personal interest.
Since this book includes numerous quotations of Newman’s advice to particular individuals with specific questions, readers with similar concerns may have the experience of the original correspondents—that Newman was speaking personally to them. Thus, this book is not only an important academic contribution to Newman studies; this book is also a valuable contribution to the practice of spiritual direction—both for directors and directees.
John T. Ford, CSC
Professor of Theology and Religious Studies
The Catholic University of America
Washington, DC
1. All of Newman’s writings mentioned in this preface are available online at: www.newmanreader.org. Most of these writings are also available in paperback editions.