Acknowledgements
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
THE life of Blessed John Henry Newman has been, for many, a compelling example of Christian holiness and for me, the inspiration for this book. I first came to appreciate Newman’s life and ideas when reading John Henry Newman (1801–1890) by Fr. José Morales. I was especially attracted by Newman’s passion for the truth and his courage to pursue this truth to the end. I soon came to admire Newman’s vision of Christian holiness. Like St. Josemaría Escrivá, another priest and an educator, Newman insisted on the laity’s call to holiness through the exercise of the virtues in everyday life.
I wish to express my gratitude to the members of Opus Dei and friends for their support during the writing of this book and to Susan Ridlen, Maria Riz Marsella and Anna Gil Exconde for their generous assistance in the preparation of some maps, to Claire O’Leary for her library assistance and to Maria Knox for her help with the “newmanbiography” website. I wish to thank Msgr. James A. Kelly, Professor John Hulsman, Professor William Park, Fr. C. John McCloskey, Carol Buck and Fr. Martin J. Miller, who read the manuscript and offered me valuable advice. Professor Hulsman also graciously wrote the foreword. I also wish to thank Professor John F. Crosby, Dwight Lindley and Janet Madigan, who read the pages on Newman as a philosopher and offered me their advice.
I am grateful to the Princeton Theological Seminary, the University of California in Los Angeles, Fuller Theological Seminary and Christendom College for use of their libraries. My sincere gratitude also extends to Sr. Irene Felder, Sr. Katherine Dietz and Sr. Katy Thomas of The Spiritual Family The Work, the International Centre of Newman Friends, to Fr. Paul Chavasse of the Birmingham Oratory and to Olivia Kirwan for graciously providing me with many photographs of Newman and Oxford.
In particular, I wish to thank Professor Barbara Wyman, Instructor of English and Latin at McNeese State University, and her daughter, Kate Alice Wyman, for their generous editing of the first draft of the manuscript, and Todd Aglialoro, Cecilia Thurlow, Mary Frances Lester, and Lesly Bratt for the final editing and revision. Lastly, I wish to thank Fr. John Ford, C.S.C., for some important corrections which were incorporated in the second printing.