Category: History
Newman and Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius
Composed in 1900, a decade after the Cardinal’s death, Elgar’s Gerontius is not a collaboration but a new interpretation. What, then, did Newman’s poem mean to Elgar, and how did the composer articulate Newman’s vision musically?
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“Lead, Kindly Light”: Trusting God in the Midst of a Pandemic
One of the most important turning points in John Henry Newman’s life involved contracting an illness (probably typhoid fever) while on a trip to Sicily in 1833. Newman was accompanied on the trip by his best friend, Hurrell Froude, and Froude’s father, Robert.
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Newman as Complex and Influential: A Review of Eamon Duffy’s “John Henry Newman: A Very Brief History”
Eamon Duffy’s recently published, John Henry Newman: A Very Brief History, provides a concise and well-articulated introduction to who Newman was and who Newman was perceived to be in scholarship.
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Window into the Heart of a Saint: A Review of Michael Collins’s Newman: A Short Biography
Fr. Michael Collins, a priest of the Archdiocese of Dublin and graduate of University College of Dublin, which developed from John Henry Newman’s Catholic University, has composed an excellent short introduction to the life of John Henry Newman.
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Newman’s Visit to Rome in 1833: Part V
Newman was not a mere tourist or pilgrim during his Mediterranean voyage, rather he was a curious Anglican looking for an “enlargement of mind” and benefit of health. In fact, by tracing the footsteps of the apostles, fathers, and the great saints of Christianity, he sought a personal ecclesial enlargement.
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Newman’s Visit to Rome in 1833: Part IV
Newman was not mere tourist or pilgrim during his Mediterranean voyage, rather he was a curious Anglican looking for an “enlargement of mind” and benefit of health. In fact he was looking for a personal ecclesial enlargement by tracing the footsteps of the Apostles, Fathers, and the great Saints of Christianity.
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Newman’s Visit to Rome in 1833: Part III
Newman was interested in the events happening back home and added that the church in England might console herself with the knowledge of having partners in misfortune in Sicily and Italy. Years later, in his Apologia, he recalled what he truly felt: “England was in my thoughts solely, and the news from England came rarely and imperfectly.
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Newman’s Visit to Rome in 1833: Part II
In a letter to his mother, Newman not only described how the Mediterranean was the seat of the most celebrated empires and events, but also how it had become the center of the lives of the church fathers.
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Newman’s Visit to Rome in 1833: Part I
What did John Henry Newman learn from his first journey to Rome in 1833, and how did it affect him? Did he experience what he later called an “enlargement of mind” during this visit to Rome?
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Francis de Sales the Oratorian
There is something stirring about seeing two greats from different generations together in the same place. In the world of sports, for instance, some memorable photo-ops have come about this way—say, with a young Lebron James standing next to Bill Russell or with Derek Jeter warming up on the same baseball diamond as Cal Ripken Jr.
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Recent Articles
Newman High: More Lessons for Secondary TeachersNovember 18, 2020John Thompson’s post entitled “Newman High: Some Notes on Newman for Secondary Educators,” raises some important and timely questions for those teaching at the pre-college levels. We write to share one resource and three additional lessons from Newman that may further help secondary educators strengthen their professional practice. […]
Newman and Elgar’s The Dream of GerontiusNovember 2, 2020Composed in 1900, a decade after the Cardinal’s death, Elgar’s Gerontius is not a collaboration but a new interpretation. What, then, did Newman’s poem mean to Elgar, and how did the composer articulate Newman’s vision musically? […]
Revisiting the Threefold Office of Christ in the ChurchOctober 22, 2020One of the most significant contributions of the Second Vatican Council lay in its appropriation of the tria munera—that is the threefold office of Christ as priest, prophet, and king—as an architectonic structure for reflection on the church. […]- It is Better for Sun and Moon to Drop from HeavenSeptember 11, 2020It’s one of Newman’s most notorious lines, and a claim I for one wish were untrue:”The Catholic Church holds it better for the sun and moon to drop from heaven, for the earth to fail, and for all the many millions on it to die of starvation in extremest agony […]
Newman, Probability, and TruthAugust 17, 2020The Grammar of Assent, published in 1870, represents Newman's last major work. As a religious epistemology, it provides systematically thought-through answers to questions that had preoccupied him since his early twenties […]