St. John Henry Newman: Committed to the Truth

St. John Henry Newman: Committed to the Truth

By Stephen Rule, Intern

Every single day, we are called to bear witness to the truth of the Gospel. Though this will look different for everyone depending on their state in life, this is a calling for every Catholic. A tremendous intercessor for this calling is St. John Henry Newman, who Pope Leo XIV recently announced will be declared a Doctor of the Church. This great saint will become the thirty-eighth saint and only the second Englishman to be given this great distinction. To be a Doctor of the Church, in its most basic terms, means that the writings and teachings of a particular saint are officially recognized by the Church as being held in high regard. Beatified in 2010 and canonized in 2019, Newman’s name might not be familiar to the average Catholic today. Nevertheless, he was very well known in his lifetime and is well-deserving of this honor.  

It is also quite fitting that Pope Leo XIV would declare Newman a Doctor of the Church, as Pope Leo XIII was the pontiff who named Newman a cardinal back in 1879. Leo XIII had such a great respect for Newman that he referred to him many times as “My Cardinal.” 

There is not one Catholic of the 19th century who had a greater influence on theology and perhaps no convert to the Catholic faith more well known than St. John Henry Newman. Whether he was writing a theological tract or a poem, Newman had a deep commitment to the truth and beauty of the Christian faith. 

While his writing beautifully upholds the fullness of the Catholic faith, this was not the case in the early part of Newman’s life. In fact, there was hardly anyone who spoke against Catholicism more than the young John Henry Newman. 

Newman’s Conversion 

Once an Anglican priest for over twenty years, Newman was convinced that he needed to convert in large part by the overwhelming historical evidence for the Catholic faith. 

Even before he became Catholic, Newman could recognize the need for the Church of England to embrace a way that was more in line with the Early Church and the sacramental life. Newman was received into the Church by Fr. Dominic Barberi, an Italian priest of the Passionist Order who was beatified in 1963.

John Henry Newman does not just represent someone who held up the Catholic faith boldly and authentically, but someone who did so at a time and place when that carried numerous societal consequences. As a convert to Catholicism in England in the mid-19th century, he ended up having to leave Oxford, a city he loved dearly all his life. Bishop Robert Barron once said of Newman, “He was an Oxford man. It defined him his whole life long—even after he became a Catholic and left his formal teaching here—he remained an Oxford man.” Leaving the Church of England not only left him ostracized by those who once praised him in the Anglican establishment, but also caused him to be met with suspicion among Catholics. Despite the sorrow of leaving his city, Newman managed to find a way to make a fruitful impact in the city of Birmingham, opening the Oratory of St. Phillip Neri, allowing him to live within an intentional community of priests while also serving the laity within the city. 

Newman’s Great Writing

“In a higher world it is otherwise, but here below to live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.” 

Using the analogy of an acorn and a fully grown tree, Newman beautifully illustrates the context in which we can understand how the Church’s teachings are able to grow through space and time, strengthening our walk with Christ.  

It is quite admirable the way in which Newman understood the mission of his life and went about fulfilling it regardless of the problems that came up. In regards to following God’s will, Newman once said:

“He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission.”

This is a call that each one of us, regardless of our vocation, must keep in mind.

As a man who stood apart from the conventions of faith in England in the 19th century to the point of being a controversial figure, Newman did not wish to live as a contrarian, but he understood what the Lord was asking of him and took that call seriously. Newman’s grave is inscribed with the Latin phrase “Ex umbris et imaginibus in veritatem,” which translates to “Out of shadows and phantasms into the truth.”

Ultimately, Newman’s conversion is a great lesson to us in following Christ to the fullest and having the fortitude to do so regardless of the societal backlash we might face. This is well articulated in one of my favorite pieces of writing by Newman, “The Dream of Gerontius.”

This poem takes a look at the final moments of a dying man and his face-to-face encounter with God. Here is a particularly moving passage from this tremendous work:

Praise to the Holiest in the height
And in the depth be praise:
In all His words most wonderful;
Most sure in all His ways!
O loving wisdom of our God!
When all was sin and shame,
A second Adam to the fight 
And to the rescue came. 

May the courage, humility, and creativity of this great saint inspire us through his life and writing to be bearers of the Gospel.

St. John Henry Newman, pray for us!

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Stephen was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, and is a recent convert to the Catholic faith, which came about through reading the Doctors of the Church, particularly the writings of St. Augustine and St. Thérèse of Lisieux. He is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio. Stephen has a great love for reading, writing and creating music and has a passion for using his gifts to share the faith with others.