Liana Marabini is the Director of "The Unseen World," a film exploring the life of Blessed John Henry Newman and the vocation to the priesthood. Newman is being played by Murray Abraham who is the Oscar winning actor in "Amadeus" (1984). "The Unseen World" is due out in 2011.
Recently in John Henry Newman Category
O God, the source of wisdom's fire,
Who formed the mind of man
In complex and mysterious ways
Within Your loving plan,
We thank You now for calling forth
This priest who praised Your Name
By teaching and exalting you
In words of living flame.
John Henry Newman, England's son,
Was formed in Oxford's halls,
Endowed with tow'ring intellect
To answer all the calls
Which Church and University
Gave forth in times of doubt,
A rebirth of the ancient truths
As rain for minds in drought.
He served the Church of England well
With scholarship and grace,
Restoring ancient roots of faith,
Removing error's trace.
But scorned by leaders of his time,
He left his Oxford home,
In search of kindly, leading light
Which led him on toward Rome.
Attracted by St. Philip's work,
He joined that band of men,
And as an Oratorian,
He worked with voice and pen,
That heart to heart might ever speak,
Revealing Christ's own truth,
Unfolding doctrine's mysteries
For elder and for youth.
As had his Master, Newman found
Suspicion, scorn, and hate;
From those he left and those he joined,
Which nothing could abate;
Yet, undeterred, he struggled on
Beneath this cross's weight
Through shadows and imaginings
To God's own truth so great.
O God of subtle craft and mind,
O only Source of light,
O Father, Son, and Spirit blest,
Our strength in truth's own fight:
We give you thanks for blessed John,
Who leads us still this day:
With him, let us in faithfulness
Still walk in Truth's own way.
Tune: Forest Green (86.86.D)
O God, who bestowed on the priest Blessed John Henry Newman the grace to follow Your kindly light and find peace in Your Church; graciously grant that, through his intercession and example, we may be led out of shadows and images into the fulness of Your truth.
"God has created me to do him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another" (JH Newman, Meditations on Christian Doctrine).
Blessed John Henry's feast day today is the anniversary of his conversion to Catholicism and not the date of his birth into eternal life (death), as most of the saints are honored.
The other Propers for Mass and the Office of Readings for Newman's feast day can be found here.
Many Catholics and Christians of good will are genuinely interested in the formula the Church uses to beatify someone, thus identifying a person a "blessed." Notice who does/says what in the formula. The following is the rite (with a brief biography) used today by Pope Benedict XVI:
The Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Reverend
Bernard Longley requests that the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman be
beatified
The Vice-Postulator of the Cause for the Canonisation of Cardinal
Newman reads a biography of the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman
John
Henry Newman was born in London in 1801. He was for over twenty years an Anglican
clergyman and Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. As a preacher, theologian and
leader of the Oxford Movement, he was a prominent figure in the Church of
England. His studies of the early Church drew him progressively towards full
communion with the Catholic Church. With his companions he withdrew to a life
of study and prayer at Littlemore outside Oxford where in 1845 Blessed Dominic
Barberi, a Passionist priest, received him into the Catholic Church.
In1847 he
was himself ordained priest in Rome and, encouraged by Blessed Pope Pius IX, went
on to found the Oratory of St Philip Neri in England. He was a prolific and
influential writer on a variety of subjects, including the development of Christian
doctrine, faith and reason, the true nature of conscience, and university
education. In 1879 he was created Cardinal by Pope Leo XIII. Praised for his humility,
his life of prayer, his unstinting care of souls and contributions to the intellectual
life of the Church, he died in the Birmingham Oratory which he had founded on
11 August 1890.
Declaration of Beatification
Pope Benedict XVI:
Acceding to the request of
our Brother Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham, with the Congregation
for the Causes of Saints, by our apostolic authority we declare that the
venerable Servant of God John Henry, Cardinal, Newman, priest of the
Congregation of the Oratory, shall henceforth be invoked as Blessed and that
his feast shall be celebrated every year of the ninth of October, in the places
and according to the norms established by Church law.
In the name oft he
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Acclamation at the
Beatification
Praise to the Holiest in the height, and in the depth be praised:
in all his words most wonderful, most sure in all his ways. (Cardinal John
Henry Newman)
The Archbishop of Birmingham thanks the Holy Father:
Most Holy
Father, I, the Ordinary of Birmingham, give heartfelt thanks to your Holiness
for having today proclaimed Blessed Henry Newman.+The Archbishop and the
Postulator of the cause of Blessed John Henry Newman receive the kiss of peace
from the Holy Father.Procession of reliquary including members of the Newman
family and the Oratorians, to greet the Holy Father
A remarkable event in the Church will happen in less than a week's time: the beatification of the Venerable Servant of God Cardinal John Henry Newman, easily the best known cardinal and thinker we have.
In the days before the Cardinal's beatification on September 19th, perhaps we can get to know the value of friendship with Christ and with others through the life and work.
The UK Bishops' Conference will be providing the Holy Father --and the Church universal-- this sanctuary for the Sacrifice of the Mass and the Rite of Beatification for Cardinal Newman. The the only possible thing to say is: OMG!!!! What rubbish.If this is in fact what Britain's Bishops are approving for the papal ceremonies it is, in my mind, a complete disregard (a slap in the face) for the liturgical leadership of Pope Benedict and the renewal he's asked for in recent years. Why spend so much money, time and energy on such stuff.
Architecture is only one piece of the liturgical ac of prayer ... I pray the music, flowers, and ritual actions, vestments are not so churlish. Two things we can be certain of: the papal homily will be exceptional and the papal presence will be superior.
2010 Newman Conference August 5-7, 2010
National Institute for Newman Studies
This year's conference theme is "A
Reflection on the Life, Thought, and Spirituality of John Henry Newman in
Celebration of His Beatification."
Over 25 speakers will deliver papers
on such varied topics as "Principles of Newman's Theological Reading of the
Fathers," "Newman and Twentieth-Century Literary Converts: Lowell, Merton, and
Day" and "Holiness in the Parochial and Plain Sermons: Its Nature, Aids, and
Obstacles."
Keynote addresses will be given by Fr. Ian Ker, of Oxford
University, Dr. Terrence Merrigan, of the Catholic University of Leuven, and
Dr. Cyril O'Regan of the University of Notre Dame.
The August conference in Pittsburgh will begin with a Mass celebrated by Pittsburgh Bishop David
Zubik. Deacon Jack Sullivan, the man who was healed through Newman's intercession,
will offer the homily.
Conference details and registration information is
available on the Newman Association's website.
CHRIST bade His followers take the sword;
And yet He chid the deed,
When Peter seized upon His word,
And made a foe to bleed.
The gospel Creed, a sword of strife,
Meek hands alone may rear;
And ever Zeal begins its life
In silent thought and fear.
Ye, who would weed the Vineyard's soil,
Treasure the lesson given;
Lest in the judgment-books ye toil
For Satan, not for heaven.
John Henry Newman
Off Sardinia
June 20, 1833
Verses on Various Occasions, 170
Britain's Catholic Herald reports today that John Henry Newman's beatification ceremony, conducted by the Holy Father himself, will happen at Coventry Airport, while the pope is visiting England and Scotland from 16-19 September 2010. As we all know, the Pope is dispensing himself of his own rule for beatification ceremonies. Newman's beatification is a great grace not only for the Congregation of the Oratory (Oratorians) but for England and the theological world.
It was announced this morning by the Holy See that Pope Benedict XVI will beatify John Henry Newman on 19th September 2010, during his visit to the U.K., in the Archdiocese of Birmingham. The Cause of Newman's Canonisation has released the following statement:
The Fathers and many friends of the English Oratories are delighted by the official announcement that our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI will beatify our founder, the Venerable John Henry Newman, in the Archdiocese of Birmingham during his visit to Britain in September. Newman made his home in the Archdiocese for all his adult life, first in Oxford, where he lived as an Anglican and was received into the Catholic Church, and later in Birmingham itself where he founded and worked in the Birmingham Oratory for over forty years.
The Holy Father's life-long devotion to Newman has made a profound contribution to understanding the depth and significance of our founder's legacy. His decision to beatify Newman in person confers a unique blessing upon the English Oratories and all who have drawn inspiration from Newman's life and work.
We joyfully look forward to welcoming the Holy Father, as well as the many pilgrims and visitors who will come to the Beatification ceremony and visit Newman's shrine at the Birmingham Oratory.
We also look forward to the challenging work of preparing for the Beatification in conjunction with Church and civil authorities. We pray that the Beatification will fittingly reflect both Newman's significance for the Universal Church and the honour paid to our Archdiocese and our country by the Holy Father's presence among us.
Very Rev. Richard Duffield
Provost of the Birmingham Oratory and Actor of the Cause of John Henry Newman
Additionally, the Procurator of the Congregation of the Oratory, Very Reverend Father Edoardo Aldo Cerrato, CO, has written to the all the Oratories of the world on this great gesture of Pope Benedict XVI in personally beatifying the Venerable Servant of God John Henry Newman. The letter is here: Letter-of-the-Procurator-General-of-the-Oratory-Confederation-March-2010.pdf
The Holy Father recognized the 2001 healing of Deacon Jack Sullivan as a miracle by way of the Venerable Servant of God Cardinal John Henry Newman's intercession. This was the final step in the beatification process of the English cardinal; of course, the canonization process will continue to its natural end. Now the details of the beatification ceremony are pending which is likely to be England.We rejoice with the Congregation of the Oratory and the 82 Oratorian Houses --indeed with the entire Church in the Pope's decision to beatify Newman because it gives us another authentic guide to Christ.
The commission of cardinals approved of the miracle presented to them for the dossier proposing John Henry Cardinal Newman as a "beatus" (blessed).The next step is for the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Archbishop Angelo Amato, to prepare a document for the Holy Father to study the case. Read the Times Online story of the recent events.
A video clip to watch
The recent article in the UK's Catholic Herald of John Henry Newman's biographer who takes on the gay revisionists who try to rewrite the life of the late convert-cardinal-now-saint-hopeful. Father Ian Kerr defends Newman by trying to understand the meaning of the man's life and words. I think the 19th century priest Father St. John is correct: we've lost a concept of affectionate friendship that's not sexual.
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