BEFORE he passed to the Lord on the feast of
All Saints, 1991, Father James Sharp put together much of this book of reflections from the
great nineteenth-century writer and convert to Catholicism, John Henry Newman (1801-1890).
Most of the selections are from Newman's classic work Parochial and Plain Sermons, written during his early years, but they reveal the fire in the soul of this great witness to the Faith.
After a number of years of inner searching and conflict as an Anglican, Newman entered
the Catholic Church in 1845. Ordained in Rome in 1846, he returned to England where he began the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in Birmingham.
In 1853, Newman founded the Catholic University in Dublin and wrote his classic The Idea of a University. He spent much of his Catholic life in pastoral work, teaching, and writing. In 1879, he was made a Cardinal.
Newman wrote in flawless English prose. He translated the ancient Christian Faith into the language of the English-speaking world. He was a scholar, a writer, a philosopher, and a holy man.
Father Sharp has contributed to making the mind and heart of John Henry Newman better
known in our world. May his words and wisdom find fertile soil in the hearts of many.
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Msgr. Richard M. Liddy
Seton Hall University |
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