Selected Sermons, Prayers, and Devotions

by John Henry Newman

An original selection of public sermons, private papers, and devotions—from one of the most definitive authorities on Christianity and theology and "one of the greatest of all spiritual writers" (Philip Zaleski, editor of The Best Spiritual Writing Series).

In this collection, Newman’s thoughtful belief in the Word of God shines through, as do his teachings on how to be in this world but not of it, and how to reconcile faith and reason. 

Devoted to his own religious calling for nearly a century, John Henry Newman is one of the most definitive authorities on Christianity and theology. A cardinal of the Catholic Church, he had a pivotal role in Britian's reembrace of the Catholic Church in the 19th century. In 2010, he was officially canonized by Pope Benedict XVI.
  

Genres: Religion, Catholic, Poetry, Nonfiction, Christianity

432 pages, Paperback

First published May 18, 1999

About the author

Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman was an important figure in the religious history of England in the 19th century. He was known nationally by the mid-1830s.
Originally an evangelical Oxford University academic and priest in the Church of England, Newman then became drawn to the high-church tradition of Anglicanism. He became known as a leader of, and an able polemicist for, the Oxford Movement, an influential and controversial grouping of Anglicans who wished to return to the Church of England many Catholic beliefs and liturgical rituals from before the English Reformation. In this the movement had some success. However, in 1845 Newman, joined by some but not all of his followers, left the Church of England and his teaching post at Oxford University and was received into the Catholic Church. He was quickly ordained as a priest and continued as an influential religious leader, based in Birmingham. In 1879, he was created a cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in recognition of his services to the cause of the Catholic Church in England. He was instrumental in the founding of the Catholic University of Ireland, which evolved into University College Dublin, today the largest university in Ireland.

Newman was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on 19 September 2010 during his visit to the United Kingdom. He was then canonised by Pope Francis on 13 October 2019.

Newman was also a literary figure of note: his major writings including the Tracts for the Times (1833–1841), his autobiography Apologia Pro Vita Sua (1865–66), the Grammar of Assent (1870), and the poem The Dream of Gerontius (1865),[6] which was set to music in 1900 by Edward Elgar. He wrote the popular hymns "Lead, Kindly Light" and "Praise to the Holiest in the Height" (taken from Gerontius).

Reviews

[David Gregg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found a copy while wandering through a second-hand bookshop. I had never read Newman, but I recognized the name because he is the brother of Francis William Newman, who was a fellow student of MacDonald's mentor A.J. Scott. I knew already that both Newman brothers were remarkable, but very different from one another.

Francis was a Godward-hearted iconoclast -- a believer by temperament but a skeptic by disposition -- who, despite his willingness to vocalize doubts and dissenting theology, would faithfully slip into the back row at Scott's sermons, behind Maurice, Erskine, Carlyle, Thackeray, Ruskin, and MacDonald (who apparently always took the front row). By the time of his death, many thought Francis long an atheist. But at the end, in answering the presumption, he spoke clearly that his hope was in Christ -- a point helpful to remember in reading him, just as it is in reading the Psalms.

His older brother John, on the other hand, was drawn to order and orthodoxy -- and likewise defected from the Anglicanism of their youth, but in the opposite direction: to the Roman Catholic Church. His sincerity and devotion made him an attractive Christian figure both before and after that conversion, and we see an excellent glimpse of his depth in "The Dream of Gerontius". Of the sermons, too, I've read, he sounds quite a lot like MacDonald and Scott, with his direct manner of speech and emphasis on the sweetness of simple obedience to Christ, and against superficiality, vanity, and dishonesty.

I wish there was more available of Francis' later thought (especially), but John has remained quite a popular voice to this day.

The two brothers really are a fascinating study in contrast: two types -- two ways to seek Christ and truth so different from one another that the temptation to allow the difference to create absolute disunity is almost unbearable. Indeed, I find it very sad that the two brothers were not very comfortable with each other. But it reminds me, whose sympathy lies more with the younger brother, to always look out for a branch for empathy to light upon, and to always look for a man's sincerities.

In the bookshop, I picked up this anthology and flipped, funnily enough, straight to the astounding poem I've already mentioned and had half of it read before I left the aisle. There is a great deal more to be found in it, and throughout the anthology.

Here is an excerpt from "The Dream of Gerontius":

[Gerontius:]

I am going [...] I am no more.
‘Tis this strange innermost abandonment,
(Lover of souls! great God! I look to Thee,)
This emptying out of each constituent
And natural force, by which I come to be. [...]
As though my very being had given way,
As though I was no more a substance now,
And could fall back on naught to be my stay,
(Help, loving Lord! Thou my sole Refuge,
Thou,)
And turn no whither, but must needs decay
And drop from out the universal frame
Into that shapeless, scopeless, blank abyss,
That utter nothingness, of which I came:
This is it that has come to pass in me;
O horror! this it is, my dearest, this [...]

[N]ow it comes again,
That sense of ruin, which is worse than pain,
That masterful negation and collapse
Of all that makes me man; as though I bent
Over the dizzy brink
Of some sheer infinite descent;
Or worse, as though
Down, down for ever I was falling through
The solid framework of created things,
And needs must sink and sink
Into the vast abyss. And, crueler still,
A fierce and restless fright begins to fill
The mansion of my soul. [...]

Novissima hora est Latin: "It is the final hour"; and I fain would sleep,
The pain has wearied me... Into Thy hands
O Lord, into Thy hands....

[Gerontius dies.]

[Soul of Gerontius:]

So much I know, not knowing how I know,
That the vast universe, where I have dwelt,
Is quitting me, or I am quitting it.
Or I or it is rushing on the wings
Of light or lightning on an onward course,
And we e'en now are million miles apart.
Yet... is this peremptory severance
Wrought out in lengthening measurements of space,
Which grow and multiply by speed and me?
Or am I traversing infinity
By endless subdivision, hurrying back
From finite towards infinitesimal,
Thus dying out of the expansed world?

Another marvel: someone has me fast [!]
Within his ample palm; ‘tis not a grasp
Such as they use on earth, but all around
Over the surface of my subtle being,
As though I were a sphere, and capable
To be accosted thus, a uniform
And gentle pressure tells me I am not
Self-moving, but borne forward on my way.

[7jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I do have a bunch of unfinished books (listed) that I need to complete, I don’t have very many Christian books like that (just two left after this one here). Yet like with others, it’s not mostly because there was something challenging in reading them, just that at the time I couldn’t keep up with my reading schedule – I’m a bit less strict with this nowadays.

But into this book… I have tried reading his autobiography, which didn’t work for me, but his shorter writings like these here work much better. He was first an Anglican, then became Catholic, up to being a cardinal. Majority of the pages here go to the sermons, which come from both eras (and you can notice it if you look closely). He’s very good at writing them, plain yet aiming to wake up his listeners. Some are tied to the seasons they were spoken in.

And nice variety: how to live a better Christian life, details of faith, focus on certain parts in the life of Jesus, checking on mistakes on can make, and so on. 35 in all, the selection feels thorough and one can find certain ones speak to the reader stronger than others (of course it depends a bit on the reader). Nicely the last sermon ends things on high note, focusing on the joy of the birth of Christ, especially for the shepherds.

The prayers, verses, and devotions part is smaller, but even there one finds gems. Newman’s personal experiences and faith shine through. Of course, these are selections, not complete bits of some, though ”Dream Of Gerontius” is given whole. I have also read the ”Consolation” poem elsewhere already, still makes me feel emotional since it talks to my worried, insecure self so well. ”Dream” is very interesting – how just getting to Purgatory can feel like a met goal for some people, including Gerontius :)

Takes some time to read through, but the writings here are nicely thought-provoking and worth it. Maybe reading the sermons more slowly (and just one per reading sessions) would make them even better, but even just reading through at normal pace you can see how them, and everything else too, are very rewarding to read.

[foundfoundfound · Rating 5 out of 5]

quite the rarest of things: a fellow in orders who takes christianity seriously (not the sort of thing the current archbish of canterbury would ever trouble himself about) and, not incidentally, the greatest prose stylist of the 19th century. one of the greatest minds operating at full capacity.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Newman's sermons. I'd recommend just buying the 1,000 page volume from Ignatius press, but I didn't know about that when buying this. Still a great volume. Gives you a ton of sermons, some of this more famous prayers, and a splash of devotional writing.

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Partial biography of John Henry Newman, a former Anglican priest, and why he converted to Catholicism. Contains a good selection of his sermons on what it means to live a true Christian life.