Introduction
Introduction
On a winter Friday afternoon decades ago, when I was a theology student in Washington, D.C., snow was beginning to fall. Then as now, a snowfall in the nation's capital is headline news: at the first snowflake, many people panic, abandon work, and rush for the safety of home. In Washington a couple of inches of snow often causes chaos, and half a dozen inches become a veritable disaster. The window of my room looked out on a main street: snow was falling furiously; cars were careening downhill; drivers struggling uphill were abandoning their cars. The forecast was for a dozen inches or so; it was immediately evident that I was going to be snowbound for the weekend.
For me, that prospect was not a problem: spending a warm comfortable weekend reading and relaxing was decidedly appealing. What was a problem: there wasn't much in my room to read other than theology textbooks: no novels, no mysteries, no short stories. As I looked through my bookcase, I found an as-yet-unread paperback of John Henry Newman's Apologia pro Vita Sua; for want of anything better, I decided to sample it. That weekend I became fascinated by John Henry Newman (1801–1890).
As I soon discovered, my fascination with Newman was not unique. His Apologia has been considered a classic example of Victorian autobiography from the time of its original publication (1864), and, a century and a half later, it is readily available in paperback for use in courses in English literature; few personal memoirs have a comparable track record. More important, Newman's autobiographical account of his personal search for religious truth still inspires followers; one of my students, a former naval officer, told me that he had decided to follow Newman's example and become a Roman Catholic, after reading his Apologia during night watch, while the ship was on autopilot.
If people who are interested in literature are attracted to Newman because of his masterful command of language and engaging style, many educators consider Newman an outstanding educational theorist. The Idea of a University, which is a collection of presentations and essays that he wrote in his capacity as rector of the Catholic University in Dublin, continues to attract attention: first, for its emphasis on the importance of a liberal education as a preparation for life; second, for its claim that theology should be part of a university's curriculum; and third, for its conviction that a university education should be not only a process of technical training and acquiring information, but also a time of personal formation and moral development.
If Newman's educational ideas still merit consideration, the same must be said for his philosophical view about the relationship of reason and faith. In An Essay in Aid of a Grammar of Assent (1870)—which is his most systematic, as well as his most challenging, work—Newman showed how faith is an eminently reasonable decision, even though no one can ever rationally demonstrate the existence of God, much less understand the mysteries of Christianity. Similarly, in theological circles, Newman is credited for the then innovative proposal in An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine (1845) that Christian doctrines have really developed over the course of centuries. Many of Newman's creative proposals and seminal insights in philosophy and theology that were sometimes suspect in his own day have since become commonly accepted.
Yet if Newman was variously litterateur and educator, philosopher and theologian, he was also a spiritual guide—in his sermons and conferences, in his pastoral counseling both in person and in his correspondence. As an Anglican, while he was vicar (1828–1843) of St. Mary's, the university church at Oxford, he regularly preached at evensong (vespers); so popular were his sermons that many visitors to Oxford felt that a visit was incomplete unless they heard Newman preach. In fact, his Anglican sermons were so popular that 191 were published in the eight volumes of his Parochial and Plain Sermons (1834–1843), another 15 in his Oxford University Sermons (1843), and an additional 26 in Sermons on Subjects of the Day (1843).
Newman's beatification by Pope Benedict XVI on September 19, 2010, highlighted the fact that Newman was not only a spiritual writer, but a saintly person, who practiced what he preached. In contrast to those biographies of the saints whose lives are portrayed as spiritual success stories—some saints have been depicted as examples of perfection from cradle to grave—Newman's life was one of spiritual development in the face of continual challenges. His spirituality developed as part and parcel of his pastoral ministry—both as an Anglican and as a Roman Catholic. His spirituality was both scripturally based and theologically insightful; his spirituality was the product of his own spiritual journey, which was linked to the events of his life and especially to the people who influenced him and whom he influenced. In sum, Newman's spirituality was both biblical and theological, both contextual and personalistic.
Hopefully the following pages will provide readers with a sense of Newman's spirituality as it developed during his life. Although there are numerous biographies of Newman—a few are listed in the bibliography—the introductory biography in this book attempts to highlight the key events and the key persons in his spiritual journey. Newman's spiritual journey is illustrated by thematic selections from his writings; correspondingly, the selections from his writings are linked to events of his life. As Pope Benedict XVI remarked at Newman's mass of beatification: “In Blessed John Henry, that tradition of gentle scholarship, deep human wisdom, and profound love for the Lord has borne rich fruit, as a sign of the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit deep within the heart of God's people, bringing forth abundant gifts of holiness.” Hopefully readers of this selection of Newman's spiritual writings will find Newman a spiritual mentor, as did many of his contemporaries.