In preparation for the canonisation of John Henry Newman Fr Jim Sheehy helps to acquaint us with the man in this the first of his two talks delivered in Dingle last week.
Newman – Scholar and Saint
Who is John Henry Newman?
Introduction
As a brief prelude to this evening’s talk I would like to explain that I was first introduced to John Henry Newman some 50 years ago when shortly after Ordination I happened to be rummaging, as one does, through some books left on a shelf of an attic room in the presbytery of my first appointment. Among the books my attention was drawn to a copy of Newman’s: Apologia Pro Vita Sua, telling his faith story which after many years of searching eventually led him to the Catholic Church. Strange enough, on reading the book, it wasn’t the theological or spiritual content that attracted me at the time, but the clarity of his thought and expression in which, for me, the honesty and integrity of the man shone through and that spurred me on to read more. So I thought that Newman’s faith story as it unfolded in his Apologia would be an appropriate Subject for this evening’s talk; as I pose and seek to answer the question: Who is John Henry Newman?
Newman Scholar and Saint Fr Jim Sheehy Oct 1st 19
Next Talk Tuesday 8th Oct