The Hermeneutic of Continuity

This is a great video from Mary's Dowry Productions illustrating the words of the Blessed John Henry Newman about the English Martyrs. Here is the information for the video: Cardinal John Henry Newman's quote about the English Martyrs with snippets of footage from original films on DVD on St. Margaret Clitherow, St. Edmund Campion, St. Nicholas Owen, St. Anne Line, St. Polydore Plasden, St. Edmund Gennings, St. Swithun Wells, St. Margaret Ward and more upcoming English Martyrs films available worldwide on DVD. Visit www.marysdowryproductions.org for more information. All of these DVDs are available to buy online and available in all region formats.

After seeing the Pope yesterday afternoon, I had to collect my bag from the media centre and then rush down to Chislehurst where Fr Briggs was holding a celebratory dinner at the Chislehurst Golf Club: Camden House which was once the home of Napeleon III and the Empress Eugenie in their exile after the Franco-Prussian war. Back home afterwards, we were in time to see off one of the Bexley Deanery coaches going to Birmingham. Gregory was still sporting his holographic yoof badge which was, it must be admitted, somewhat more kewl than the press pass that I had. There was a great atmosphere as the coach was leaving. Pilgrims I spoke to told me of a gruelling night, arriving at Cofton Park at 4.30am, then having to walk up a hill to the security (though that was not too intrusive.) It was drizzling most of the rest of the night; one family brought a large tarpaulin with them which made it a little less unpleasant than being on wet grass. They also had a giant sleeping bag which di...

In the Times article attacking the beatification of Newman, John Cornwell does not lose the opportunity to have a go at Pope Benedict whom he says is "clearly bent on sanitising Newman’s progressive Catholicism." Cardinal Ratzinger's 1991 lecture on Conscience and Truth is well worth reading for an understanding of how he understands conscience and takes Newman's view that it is not merely something subjective but the voice of God within us. As he explains when discussing the Newman toast quote: Modern man, who presupposes the opposition of authority to subjectivity, has difficulty understanding this. For him, conscience stands on the side of subjectivity and is the expression of the freedom of the subject. Authority, on the other hand, appears to him as the constraint on, threat to and even the negation of, freedom. So then we must go deeper to recover a vision in which this kind of opposition does not obtain. He goes on to show that the lifelong opposition to ...

A recent article by John Cornwell in the Times calls into question the miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable John Henry Newman. The website for the cause for the canonisation of Newman has responded briefly to Cornwell's article: John Cornwell’s analysis of Newman’s miracle is seriously flawed . A further article is promised later this week. Damian Thompson has also responded to other aspects of the article. See: 'Papal bull: Why Cardinal Newman is no saint,' says Sunday Times. When is this going to stop? Cornwell's article ends with the much misused and misunderstood toast quote from Newman about drinking to conscience first and the Pope afterwards. If any of the detractors of Newman were interested in knowing what Newman actually intended, his Letter to the Duke of Norfolk is now available, along with his other works, at the Newman Reader . Here is a link to the relevant section (5) . Newman was responding to the charge made by Gladstone that...

The Meditations and Devotions of John Henry Cardinal Newman were collected and edited by Fr William Neville in 1893, just three years after the Cardinal's death. They include two sets of meditations for the Stations of the Cross. The longer set, which follows similar themes to those of St Alphonsus,  with further reflections of Newman's own, has been recorded by Fr Guy Nicholls of the Birmingham Oratory together with his own arrangement for fourteen chorales by Bach to match the Stations, sung by the Oratory choir. Newman's stations are quite hard-hitting, with a traditional focus on the way in which our sins are responsible for the wounds of Christ. Most edifying for the drive round to Wonersh last night - and the choir is superb. If you are in Birmingham on Good Friday, you can hear the chorales at the Stations of the Cross after the "Seven Last Words" devotion at the Birmingham Oratory. The CD is available from the Oratory, 141 Hagley Road, Birmingham, B16...

In the Tablet of 9 January, Clifford Longley wrote a piece in which he questioned the idea of "canonisation miracles." He wrote: The idea that God would demonstrate that a saint is truly in heaven by instantly healing someone’s fatal illness because he has been asked to by the said saint – who is in turn responding to the prayers of the victim or those near to him – seems to me so simplistic, so credulous, so presumptuous, so mechanical and so manipulative, that it brings no credit to the Catholic religion and indeed confirms the worst prejudices of its enemies. Is that really the kind of God we believe in? Don’t millions of people offer prayers every day for the recovery of a loved one – some of which are answered, some not? Doesn’t the very idea of canonisation miracles – in effect miraculous prayers as part of a PR exercise – mock them cruelly? The blog for the cause for the canonisation of John Henry Cardinal Newman has responded with an article Who needs a miracle? N...

Baronius Press have published a newly typeset edition in four volumes of St Thomas Aquinas' Catena Aurea , as translated into English by the Venerable John Henry Newman. I was very excited to receive a copy of this recently. " Catena Aurea " means "golden chain" and the work consists of a running commentary on the four gospels, taken from the Fathers of the Church. It thus provides a sure guide to the spiritual sense of the gospels and the apostolic tradition in relation to their interpretation. The intrinsic quality of the work is remarkable: the theological genius of St Thomas Aquinas is applied to the selection of quotations from the Fathers, and summaries of their teaching. He was commissioned to compile the commentary by Pope Urban IV. There could scarcely be a better translator than Newman, a highly competent classicist in his own right, and a master of the use of the English language. In his preface to the 1841 edition, Newman wrote: [...] it is impossib...

On Wednesday, Deacon Jack Sullivan gave the CTS Lecture at the London Oratory, introduced by the eminent Newman scholar, Fr Ian Ker. There is more information and more excellent photos at the blog for the cause of Newman's canonisation. See: Lecture at the Brompton Oratory: Newman, authentic theologian of the tradition, he tells us that heaven is real Yesterday, Deacon Jack was at the Birmingham Oratory, assisted at Mass, and gave an interview for EWTN . He also venerated Newman's relics - it must surely be particularly moving to venerate the relics of the holy man who worked a miracle for him at his intercession. This morning, he assisted the Provost, Fr Paul Chavasse, at Mass at the altar in Newman's room: I had the privilege of saying Mass at this altar some years ago. Newman's room is preserved just as he left it; a fascinating glimpse into the great man's life. More information and photos: Sullivan at the Birmingham Oratory: St Josaphat, Newman and true Ecumeni...

In July, Pope Benedict XVI recognised the healing of Deacon Jack Sullivan in 2001 as a miracle resulting from the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God John Henry Newman. This means that his Beatification has been effectively approved. See Pope Benedict XVI approves Newman's beatification Rev Jack Sullivan gave a press conference in Birmingham yesterday speaking about the miracle, giving a moving account of his experience. He also preached at Mass at Westminster Cathedral. Deacon Jack Sullivan will be assisting at Mass at the Birmingham Oratory tomorrow. The blog for the cause of the Canonisation of John Henry Newman which has provided all the above news, also highlights the significance of the orientation of the altar. See: Deacon Jack Sullivan, Newman’s Oratory and the ‘hermeneutic of continuity’

Following the announcement of the provision for Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans wishing to come into communion with the Catholic Church, the blog for the cause of Newman's canonisation offers a topical reflection on Newman's perspective, especially on a proposal to the Holy See by Ambrose Phillipps de Lisle. Newman saw some difficulties in the scheme. He said: The Roman priests would be complaining that the rich splendid Anglican Church in their mission was drawing away at least the young generation Some days later, Newman wrote more positively: Nothing will rejoice me more than to find that the Holy See considers it safe and promising to sanction some such plan as the Pamphlet suggests. I give my best prayers, such as they are, that some means of drawing to us so many good people, who are now shivering at our gates, may be discovered. It is well worth reading the whole article. See: Benedict XVI and Anglican Converts: Newman’s Perspective

The website for the cause for the Canonisation of John Henry Cardinal Newman has an article highlighting the reflections of the distinguished philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre: Alasdair MacIntyre on Newman: Education, Conscience and Faith today . MacIntyre recently spoke concerning the cause for Newman's beatification and has developed his thinking on Newman in his latest book God, Philosophy, Universities (2009)

Yesterday was the anniversary of Newman's conversion to Catholicism when he was received into "what I now realise to be the one fold of the redeemer". The website for the cause for the canonisation of John Henry Cardinal Newman has posted a letter from Pope Pius XII to Cardinal Griffin marking the 1945 centenary celebrations. The short letter quotes both Juvenal and Lactantius, and celebrates the ancient link between Britain and Rome.

Fr Briggs and I were undecided on the plan for today. If it had been raining, we would have returned early to London and lunched before taking suburban trains home. Thanks be to God, today was an absolutely glorious day so we took a couple of long walks along the seafront and had a sandwich at the hotel before taking an early afternoon train back to London. I realised this morning how much I had needed a couple of days' rest and was grateful to Our Lord for His providence, and my parishioners for their generosity which enables me to get away from time to time. Last night's dinner was a great success with Frs John Zuhlsdorf, Ray Blake, and Stephen Boyle bringing great insights and experience to the conversation. Ecce quam bonum et quam iucundum . ( Wiki ) The above photo is from Westminster Cathedral which was a staging-point for our trip. It shows a mosaic of John Henry Newman that was installed last September.

There is a dedicated website for the cause of the canonisation of Ven John Henry Newman . It is very well implemented with a blend of "static" information an d frequent updates. Today it carries an interesting post Interpreting Newman’s Beatification: reactions from key figures . To select just one, let me quote Fr Jonathan Robinson from the Oratory in Toronto: Newman’s purity was not only that of a chaste priest, although it was certainly that, but there was in addition a purity of mind and intention that led him to seek for the truth no matter what the cost. ‘The Cross of Christ’, to use the words of one of his Anglican sermons, is the measure of the world’; and this measure, or standard, was one he unflinchingly adopted as his own. The atmospheric picture above is from Newman's room at the Oratory in Birmingham - part of his collection of his own published works.

Just got to browsing through the articles in this week's Catholic Herald as the links have been going up on Twitter today. There is a good piece by Fr Ian Ker, the renowned Newman scholar, on how Newman can lead us out of our post-Vatican II turmoil . Only the other day, I posted one of my favourite "purple passages" from Newman which ends with the assertion "To be deep in history is to cease to be a Protestant." Fr Ker suggests: He would say today with Pope Benedict: "To be deep in history is to cease to be a Vatican II liberal Catholic" - that is, the kind of Catholic who thinks that Vatican II represented a complete break in the history of the Church, a new dawn analogous to the Reformation as seen by Protestants.

A short video about the cure of Jack Sullivan which has now been officially recognised as miraculous, paving the way for the beatification of John Henry Newman. Here is one of my favourite passages from Newman. It is from the Introduction to "An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine" where he speaks of those who reject historical Christianity: They say, in the words of Chillingworth, "There are popes against popes, councils against councils, some fathers against others, the same fathers against themselves, a consent of fathers of one age against a consent of fathers of another age, the Church of one age against the Church of another age:"—Hence they are forced, whether they will or not, to fall back upon the Bible as the sole source of Revelation, and upon their own personal private judgment as the sole expounder of its doctrine. This is a fair argument, if it can be maintained, and it brings me at once to the subject of this Essay. Not that it enters into ...

Earlier today, the Holy Father authorised the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate a miracle attributed to the Venerable Servant of God, John Henry Newman. The Westminster Diocesan website carries an article: Pope Benedict XVI recognises Newman miracle in which Archbishop Nichols is quoted: “I am delighted to learn this news, which will be warmly welcomed by Catholics around the world. To have Cardinal Newman among the Blessed is an occasion of great thankfulness to the Lord and of great pride to those associated with him in Birmingham and in Oxford. I am sure he will help us greatly in the task of protecting the Faith amidst the difficulties he foresaw so clearly.” There is also an article in the Daily Mail by Simon Caldwell: Pope Benedict clears way for Cardinal John Newman to become first English saint in 40 years

Br Lewis Berry, of the Oratory, Birmingham, has sent me news of a website dedicated to The Cause for the Canonisation of the Ven John Henry Newman . There is a daily 'thought' from Newman's writings, as well as news, and regular features: extracts from Newman's writings, and other articles connected with the Newman and the Cause. Today's entry chimes in with something that I have been discussing recently with others, especially in relation to adoration: We cannot understand Christ’s mercies till we understand His power, His glory, His unspeakable holiness … that is, until we first fear Him. From the sermon Christian Reverence (1831) That link, by the way, is from the excellent resource " Newman Reader ".

A correspondent has kindly referred me to the excellent Newman reader which I have not seen before. This has the texts of all of his major works. I hope that one day, the Letters and Diaries can also be digitised and made available in this way. Of interest in relation to a previous observation is Newman's Sermon notes on love and purity

The Congregation for the Causes of Saints has instructed that Newman's body be exhumed and buried in the Oratory Church - normal, standard procedure after the approval of the miracle required for his beatification. Fr Peter Weatherby has picked up on the consequent revival of the slur about Newman's friendship with Ambrose St John. (Cf. The concept of friendship has died ) Newman insisted on being buried in the same grave as Ambrose St John. Martin Pendergast has claimed that the "relationship" slowed Newman's beatification. (Cf. Telegraph: Vatican orders Cardinal Newman to be parted from priest friend in shared grave ) Pendergast, of course, has an interest in saying this - a long-time homosexual campaigner, and civil partner of former CAFOD head, Julian Filochowski, the appropriation of Newman as a gay hero. The Pink Paper follows up the story with its own spin (" Cardinal's same-sex resting place upsets Vatican saint makers ") I wrote about this ...