John Henry Newman was a pastor, scholar and priest of heroic virtue. These podcasts seek to examine the breadth of Newman’s teaching and preaching by way of reflections from those who have been inspired by and have had their lives touched by Newman.
15th August 2019
Today, on the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we have a special ‘Journeying With Newman’ podcast reflecting on this great feast day.
Dr Rebekah Lamb, a lecturer in Theology and the Arts at St Mary’s School of Divinity in the University of St Andrews, has long-nurtured a personal devotion to Newman – since attending the Toronto Oratory.
Here Rebekah talks about what John Henry Newman had to say about Mary in his meditations and devotions.
12th August 2019
Fr Simon Gaine OP is a Dominican friar, based at Blackfriars in Oxford. He became a Catholic while an Oxford undergraduate, encouraged by the writing and example of John Henry Newman. His focus today is on the Holy Spirit – or the Holy Ghost as the spirit was known in Newman’s time.
“In his teaching on the grace of the Holy Spirit, Newman still speaks powerfully to us, showing us how the work of theology can point beyond conventional divisions to restate the truth of Catholic tradition anew. Of all the gifts of grace God gives us, the presence of the Spirit is the first.”
5th August 2019
Many of our contributors have a strong personal connection with John Henry Newman. Today’s reflection comes from Dr Victoria Newman Seed, a lecturer in philosophy currently working at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
“As a young lecturer named Newman I was intrigued by the work of the Venerable Newman, as he then was, particularly on conscience, but what truly captivated me, and has kept me his devoted acolyte, is Newman’s ability to make the same truths he discussed in his essays real, compelling and beautiful in his poetry and hymns.”
29th July 2019
Walking in the footsteps of John Henry Newman today, literally, is Will Lamb – an Anglican priest and vicar of the university church in Oxford, St Mary’s, where Newman was the vicar from 1828 to 1843.
The quotation from Newman’s work that is the focus of this podcast comes from one of his university sermons – a sermon preached at St Mary’s – on a passage from Luke’s Gospel focussing on the Virgin Mary.
22nd July 2019
We’ve heard podcast reflections from a number of academics contributing to our ‘Journeying With Newman’ series.
This podcast’s a little different as we listen to Dr Joanna Bullivant and her husband Dr Stephen Bullivant. Stephen’s Professor of Theology and the Sociology of Religion at St Mary’s University and Joanna’s a lecturer at Oxford University.
With the kids asleep at the time of recording, Stephen and Joanna were able to record a reflection on a passage from John Henry Newman’s translation of a fragment of poetry from St Gregory of Nazianzus, entitled ‘The Married and the Single’.
15th July 2019
Brother Reed Frey gives this reflection on John Henry Newman and the influence of truth. Brother Frey is a seminarian studying for the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the United States.
“The concern of Newman to ‘touch hearts’ runs throughout his life and work. We can think here of the motto he took upon his elevation to the rank of Cardinal: ‘Heart speaks unto heart’.
“He cared deeply about other people, and he related to them in the most intimate way. He knew this was the best approach to witness to the saving truth of the Gospel and the work of Jesus Christ.”
8th July 2019
Catholic priest and former physician Fr Juan Velez gives us his reflection on Newman and the laity.
Fr Velez lives in Miami, Florida, and is a priest of Opus Dei, a personal Prelature of the Catholic Church.
He is the author of ‘Passion for Truth, the Life of John Henry Newman’.
30th June 2019
Two approved miracles are required to be declared a saint. The second miracle – paving the way for John Henry Newman’s canonisation – came after Melissa Villalobos was miraculously cured during her pregnancy.
In this reflection, she looks at Newman’s teaching on the motherhood of Mary.
20th June 2019
Fr Ignatius Harrison, Provost of the Birmingham Oratory where John Henry Newman lived, gives a reflection on Newman’s writings on God’s providence and the unique plan He has for all of us.
6th April 2019
Fr Joe McCullough, Chaplain at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, gives a reflection on John Henry Newman’s writings on Forgiveness.
Fr Joe’s brother Patrick was tragically murdered by loyalist paramilitaries in 1972 at the height of The Troubles in Northern Ireland.
4th April 2019
Joseph Harrison, a former pupil at the London Oratory School who studies at Newman’s College in Oxford, Oriel, gives a personal reflection on John Henry Newman on Education.
31st March 2019
Fr George Bowen of the Brompton Oratory, London, gives a reflection on John Henry Newman on Saints.
As a particular inspiration, Fr Bowen looks at Elgar’s ‘The Dream of Gerontius’ set to a poem by Newman.
