Compared to my usual diet of scholarly articles and books, Newman’s writings stood out for what appeared to me as their meandering character. Unlike most contemporary works, Newman does not state upfront what he is going to say and then take the reader through the motions of a demonstration delivered blow by blow. He begins, instead, with a puzzle, or a question, that he brings before his audience; he unfolds his thinking slowly, almost searchingly, from his initial questions; he also frequently refrains from tying up his argument, leaving whatever he said simply to “air” with the reader.
Festivals of Faith: Sermons for the Liturgical Year, by St. John Henry Newman, edited by Melinda Nielsen, presents an impressive and carefully arranged collection of Newman’s homilies.
Dr. Timothy O'Malley presented this lecture as the keynote address for the National Institute for Newman Studies Spring 2020 Newman Symposium. The full lecture is posted at the end of the blog article.
