Introduction
INTRODUCTION
UNLIKE many Newman biographies, the purpose of this one is to highlight Newman’s constant search for religious truth and lasting happiness. Newman was drawn by the truth about God, about mankind, and about the Church, like metal is drawn by a magnet. From his early adulthood, he preferred truth to a superficial peace of mind. In a world that offered happiness through material comforts, he chose the lasting happiness that comes from love of God and neighbor. It is primarily a biography of the first half of Newman’s life. The subtitle suggests a future second volume, which God willing would appear many years from now.
Each biographer reflects his own perspective. My perspective is that of an American and a Catholic priest who has been enriched spiritually and intellectually by Newman. For me, Newman is an eloquent witness of the healthy relationship between faith and reason, a witness who speaks to contemporary man. In addition to the priesthood, there are a few experiences that I share with Newman. As a young boy I lived and studied for one year in Ealing, and afterward, for another year, at St. John Beaumont, a boarding school outside of London in Windsor. After becoming a priest in Rome, I was stationed for four years at a prestigious university in New Jersey where I engaged the undergraduates in provocative conversations and personal discussions regarding God, mankind, society, and morality. There, amid Princeton’s neo-Gothic imitation of Oxford, I preached for some years at the University Chapel. These shared experiences unite me to Newman’s childhood education and university life; they afford me some personal insight into the man and priest.
The focus of this biography is to show the spiritual and intellectual path that led Newman from Evangelical Protestantism through Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism. Newman relied on divine Revelation together with logical reasoning and historical facts to reach religious truths and defend religious doctrines. This biography also directs attention to Newman’s character and virtues. Newman naturally had personal faults, which he recognized and strove to overcome; this striving, coupled with both human and supernatural qualities, characterizes his greatness as a man. Newman’s passion for the truth about God impelled him to live to a great degree the virtues of faith, hope, charity, industriousness, generosity, and magnanimity.
I hope that through these pages the reader will become familiar with Newman: a loyal friend and dedicated priest, a powerful preacher, and an outstanding educator. He was an exceptional writer of English prose and religious poetry. He was a knowledgeable Church historian and a bold reformer. Newman was also the founder of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in England. Above all, Newman was a man in love with God and His Church. His entire life was aimed at learning and teaching the truth about God and defending His Church, first as an Anglican, and afterward as a Catholic.
The primary source for this biography is Newman’s abundant correspondence, meticulously organized and documented by the Fathers of the Birmingham Oratory. Through many direct quotations, Newman speaks out from the pages. The letters of his correspondents and the biographies and monographs consulted provide the context and add to the narrative.
In an age that presents a mix of rationalism and skepticism, Newman stands out as a wise man who employed reason to reach a deeper understanding of faith and, as a result, a more intelligible way of teaching it to many. He is both a good teacher and an example for contemporary man, who often surrenders to the modern-day disunity between faith and reason. Through his university work at Oxford and Dublin, he showed that faith is not opposed to reason; rather it is an indispensable light for reason. Newman made the convincing argument that faith is essential for the fullness of knowledge.