Reading Catholic

Reading Catholic and catholic

Nancy Piccione

EWTN to air live coverage of the Holy Father’s Visit to England

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I was pleased to discover recently that EWTN will be airing live quite a few of the events when Pope Benedict XVI travels to England next week for the beatification of John Cardinal Newman.

Here’s a link to the TV page on EWTN, with a listing about halfway down of the papal events in England that will be televised.

We’re planning to watch some of this at our house; we’re fortunate to have EWTN on our satellite television service.  But I imagine it will also be streamed live on the Internet.

Are you planning to watch any of the events related to the beatification of Cardinal Newman?  Have you seen any other television or internet outlets planning to air the events related to the beatification?

A Prayer for September 11

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Lord, take me where
You want me to go;
Let me meet who
You want me to meet;
Tell me what
You want me to say, and
Keep me out of your way.

–a prayer by Father Mychal Judge, who was recorded as the first official fatality on 9/11/2001

Exclusive Q&A with Newman 101 author Father Roderick Strange

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I am so grateful for Father Roderick Strange’s willingness to do an e-interview with me about the book Newman 101 and Newman’s upcoming canonization.


Fr. Strange also shared a few favorite quotes and prayers of Cardinal Newman that I plan to share in upcoming posts.

Tell me a little about your background and why you wrote the book, Newman 101.

I was born into a Catholic family in 1945. The idea of becoming a priest occurred to me while I was still at school and so in 1963, on leaving school, I went to explore that idea. I had been accepted as a student by the Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury in England and was sent to Rome to discern the vocation and prepare for ordination. To be that young – I was till only 17 – may seem odd now, but wasn’t in those days. And at that time we did not go home each summer. Those long summer vacations at the English College villa to the south of Rome were precious times and in 1964, during the first of those vacations, prompted by a friend, I read a new two volume biography of Newman by Meriol Trevor and was so fascinated that I then began reading Newman himself.

 That early interest in Newman continued so that after being ordained in December 1969 and finishing my priestly studies in 1970, I was sent to Oxford University to do some doctoral research. I worked on Newman’s understanding of Christ, which became my first book, Newman and the Gospel of Christ. That research over the years led to me writing a variety of articles on Newman and also giving various talks and lectures.

Fast-forward to 2005, when I was, as I am still, Rector of the Pontifical Beda College in Rome. I had finished a book on priesthood the previous year, called The Risk of Discipleship, and I thought then about these various Newman pieces and wondered whether I might not edit some of the articles, write up some of the notes, and fill in some gaps with fresh material and see what kind of a book that became. I didn’t have Newman’s beatification in view. I wrote for fun, a kind of labor of love, but it seemed to work and was published in England in 2008 as John Henry Newman: A Mind Alive, and in the States as Newman 101.

2.  One of my favorite quotes from the book is from Newman: 

“The best preparation for loving the world at large, and loving it duly and wisely, is to cultivate an intimate friendship and affection towards those who are immediately about us.”

How do you think that Newman viewed friendship, and how did this inform his faith?

Newman combined qualities that can sometimes be in tension in others. So, for example, he was a champion of dogma, but also a keen advocate of theology. He was also said to be “never less alone than when alone”, a man who prized solitude, while he was at the same time blessed with a gift for friendship. His life was studded with friends, people like John Bowden, Hurrell Froude, Edward Pusey, and Ambrose St John, and a wide circle of women friends as well. His letters bear witness to the way he kept these friendships in good repair.

His friends were important to him and, as the quotation you give illustrates, he recognized that if we are to fulfil the great commandment to love God and our neighbour, we will not do that by a vague, broad, general philanthropy. We have to love particular people. Through these particular loves we make the great commandment a reality in our lives. These loves have a sacramental quality. They are outward signs of something profound and interior. And we need to keep in mind that Newman’s society was neither as secularized nor as sexualized as ours. We make the great commandment real by the way we love particular people.

I write in my review that I consider Newman a “blessed for our times,” because he just has such a sensible, intelligent approach that avoids extremes of too strident or too relaxed when addressing various issues. Do you agree?  Who do you think in the modern Church would have Newman’s sensible approach?

As an Anglican, Newman proposed an understanding of the Church of England as a middle way – a via media – between Protestant error and Roman excess. In time, as we know, he lost confidence in that view of Anglicanism. But he retained an instinct for and sympathy with the moderation it expressed. As a Catholic, however, he charted that middle path, obviously not between Protestantism and Rome, but between non-Catholic misunderstandings of Catholic teaching and the mistakes that entailed, on the one hand, and Roman Catholic extravagance and extremism, on the other, exaggerated devotion to Our Lady, for example, or extremist interpretations of Papal infallibility.

You speak of Newman as a ‘blessed for our times’, and that seems to me exactly right, not because we need simply to find Newman’s answer to everything and, heigh-ho, all problems are solved; life is never so simple; but more because of his attitude which can guide us between right-wing stridency and left-wing wackiness, whether inside or outside the Church. Between those two extremes there is a fair space where varying emphases can be found and championed and where intelligent conversation can take place. In that Newman can serve as our model and guide.

Newman was a famous convert.   Can you think of other, recent converts who followed a similar path?

Various crises in the Anglican communion over the years, especially more recently with regard to the ordination of women and approaches to homosexuality, have led some Anglicans to lose confidence in the Catholicity of their Church and move to Rome. In that sense – by losing confidence in Anglicanism’s Catholic nature – they could be said to have followed Newman’s path. At the same time, such paths are also unique. And Newman was also outstandingly original, so I find it hard to bracket anyone else with him. I say that, not because of my admiration for him, but because of his originality that, I believe, has still to be explored much further.

Do you plan to be in the UK for the beatification of Cardinal Newman?  Thoughts on the beatification?

Yes, I will be in the UK for Newman’s beatification and have been invited for the occasion to be part of the commmentary team in the BBC studio. That will be a novel experience for me.

My primary thought about the beatification is to stress that, although Newman is renowned for his intellectual brilliance and the contribution he has made to Catholic thinking, it is the man who is being beatified, not the ideas. He was a man of deep faith in God whose life was often demanding, but throughout his trials he remained utterly faithful. We have to recognize that we will be acknowledging a man of faith and fidelity.

A Quote from John Cardinal Newman

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The best preparation for loving the world at large, and loving it duly and wisely, is to cultivate an intimate friendship and affection towards those who are immediately about us.”—Newman, Parochial and plain sermons



I’ve been amazed at how many “quotable quotes” I have found in reading Newman 101 and other books about John Cardinal Newman.  This one is probably my favorite.  

Meet A Reader: Monsignor Richard Soseman

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Following is the feature “Meet a Reader” that appears on the monthly book page in the print Catholic Post.  This month we feature Monsignor Richard Soseman.  He’s been a friend of our family for many, many years, and I’m so glad to learn more about his favorite books and why he’s a reader.  I think after reading his take on it, I’m ready to tackle Don Quioxote.  Anyone else with me?

Meet a Reader:  Monsignor Richard Soseman
How you know me:
 I’ve been a priest of the Diocese of Peoria since 1992; I was a Judicial Vicar for 12 years and Pastor of  St. Mary of the Woods Princeville for 10 years.  I’m now at Congregation for the Clergy, Vatican City.
I also serve as the Episcopal Delegate for the Cause of Beatification of the Servant of God Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.
Why I love reading:
When we were kids, bedtime was at 8, but we could read until 8:30. We also went to the Library Club Summers at the East Moline Public Library.
Sylvia Standaert, at St. Anne School, East Moline, (now Our Lady of Grace Catholic Academy) was a real inspiration, and guided us in selecting books in First through Third Grades, so we could appreciate and understand the books we were ready to read. I remember being judged ready to read “Farmer Boy” by Laura Ingalls Wilder and being very excited.
I come from a family of readers, from my Father, who loved Zane Grey as a teenager, and read often in his spare time, to my Mom who still enjoys a good novel, amidst quilting and visiting with her great grandchildren. My eldest brother read a lot of non-fiction, my older sisters preferred novels. My brother Gary’s favorite author was Homer. He reads a lot of novels, but there is almost always a volume of Plato or nonfiction on his reading table. So, I suppose I come by reading naturally.
What I’m reading now:
Nathaniel Hawthorne: The House of the Seven Gables. We have to rediscover old classics, and I really enjoy 19th century novels.
Pope Benedict XVI: St. Paul the Apostle
Fulton J. Sheen: Old Errors and New Labels
Luigi Pirandello: Enrico IV (Play) I find fascinating Pirandello’s interest in examining the interplay between reality and fiction.
I also enjoy the mystery novels of Lawrence Block, whose flawed and sometimes criminal characters nonetheless follow a rigid moral code.
My favorite books:
Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset. A beautiful and exciting epic trilogy of medieval and Catholic Norway, Kristin Lavransdatter is the life of the heroine from youthful indiscretion to elderly reflection.
Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales is possibly the best guide for development in the spiritual life ever written.   It’s so practical and full of examples. We say we love God. Don’t we want to learn all we can about Him through growth in the spiritual life?
El Quijote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.  The first modern novel, Don Quixote is so chock full of fun, adventure, and literary technique that it is hard to put down. I first read parts of the novel at Alleman, and for a semester while studying my Masters at Marquette. It is said that a person should read this novel at least three times, as a youth, in middle age, and when elderly. Because of this, for years I gave Don Quixote to students at the High School Graduation. I hope they read it.
Book of Ruth from the Bible
Since I’m part of a large family, I have always enjoyed this story of family loyalty despite great difficulties. Beautiful, especially when Ruth says to Naomi: “whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” It’s such a great reminder of human loyalty and of God’s great love for His people.

John Cardinal Newman: A Blessed for Our Times

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Here is my review of Newman 101 and other Newman books.  This will appear in this weekend’s print Catholic Post.  I invite your comments, and check back all month for lots of Newman links and other discussion, including an exclusive Q&A with Newman 101 author Roderick Strange.

John Cardinal Newman is truly a blessed for our times.  The more I learn about him, the more impressed how his writing and his life were groundbreaking in his time and much needed in ours.
Newman, who will be beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in Birmingham, England on September 19, is famous for many things:  his prolific writings & sermons; his prayers & poems; his founding with others of the Oxford Movement to reconcile the Anglican Church with Rome; and for simply being one of the most famous English converts to Catholicism.
I had always considered Newman to be read mostly by theologians and intellectuals, but not very accessible to the rest of us average lay Catholics:  in other words, not my kind of reading.
Newman 101:  An Introduction to the Life and Philosophy of John Cardinal Newman, by Newman scholar Fr. Roderick Strange, changed all of that.  Fr. Strange has distilled down Newman’s thought and life into a very readable and engaging story.
The book runs roughly chronologically through Newman’s life, with chapters on areas that intersect Newman’s life & writing, such as Mary, the Mother of Jesus; Seeking Church Unity; and Witness to Holiness.
 Fr. Strange quotes freely from Newman, so the reader can “hear” Newman’s voice.  At the same time, Fr. Strange details how much he has been influenced by Newman in his writing and in his ministry as an Oxford chaplain, among other roles.
What Newman 101 makes clear is that Cardinal Newman is so relevant today because he has an incredibly sensible, intelligent approach that avoids a variety of extremes when it comes to theology and devotion.  Reading this book makes me wonder what gifts and guidance Newman could provide for the 21st Century Catholic Church at a time of great change and conflict.
Newman 101 is full  of “quotable quotes” from Newman (some of these will be featured and discussed on the Catholic Post Book Group blog).   Here’s one of Newman outlining his belief in an active laity:
“I want a laity, not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputatious, but men who know their religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what they hold, and what they do not, who know their creed so well, that they can give an account of it, who know so much of history that they can defend it.”
Newman’s belief in a strong, active laity was virtually unheard of in his time, and brought him the censure of bishops and others.  Reading it today, we can see both his courage and the challenge he sets out for us.
By studying the life of holy people like Cardinal Newman that we can learn more about the ways to have this active, charitable faith.  I am grateful to Fr. Strange for presenting the life of Newman in such an engaging way that the Catholic layperson is not put off by the challenge, but wants to take it up in the 21st century.
Some other books about and by Newman:
*John Henry Newman by Avery Cardinal Dulles, himself a great convert and great theologian, was written in 2002.  This slim volume gives a quick biographical sketch, then covers Newman’s thought on various issues, i.e. redemption, justification and sanctification; the proof of Christianity; the role of the laity; the church.  Dulles interestingly compares Newman’s view of the role of the university (primarily as an  intellectual formation) with John Paul II’s view (the university should fully form the human person).
*Apologia pro Vita Sua, probably Newman’s most famous book.  The title means in Latin, “A defense of one’s life”.  The book was written about 20 years after his entry into the Catholic Church;  it began as a refutation of an Anglican clergyman’s attack on Newman, but ended up a beautifully written spiritual autobiography.
*I know Meriol Trevor from her children’s chapter books like Sun Slower, Sun Faster and The Letzenstein Chronicles, but her acclaimed two-volume biography of Newman, The Pillar of the Cloud and Light In Winter are exhaustive and extremely well-written.
Join the discussion!  Visit the Catholic Post Book Group at www.catholicbookgroup.blogspot.com throughout this month for quotable quotes from Cardinal Newman, an exclusive interview with Newman 101 author Fr. Roderick Strange, and Newman links and clips around the beatification of Newman on September 19.  Visit the blog to share your own impressions of Newman, his works and books about him.