Stephen Gurney: “John Henry Newman: The Poetics of Devotion”
An Intercollegiate Studies Institute Partner Feature
released 5/1/2020
English professor Stephen Gurney takes a closer look at John Henry Newman’s Parochial and Plain Sermons, which Newman preached at Oxford between 1828 and 1841 before his conversion to Roman Catholicism. John Henry Newman is best known for his role in England’s Oxford Movement, a movement which — as Gurney describes — “fused the pre-Reformational spirit of the Catholic Church with the poetic richness of English Romanticism.” In this essay, Stephen Gurney shows how in his sermons, Newman draws the listener in through the craft and beauty of his prose — and, for those who heard his sermons, Newman’s entrancing voice — while nonetheless removing himself from the spotlight in order to convey his listeners to the True Presence of Christ. With a delicate and sophisticated balance of subjective devotion and sacramental ecclesiology, Newman’s sermons invite the whole person to participate in a spiritual journey that ends in an encounter with the Divine.
This essay was originally published in Modern Age, Fall 2000, and is read by Ken Myers.
University or “utiliversity”? — In this essay, Reinhard Hütter examines in depth John Henry Newman’s The Idea of a University and argues that its insights and prescriptions are urgently relevant to the current status of higher education. (87 minutes)
The “scandal” of theology in the university — Edward T. Oakes, S.J. explains why John Henry Newman’s eloquent defense of the nature of university education, The Idea of a University, continues to inspire, challenge, and even frustrate its sympathizers. (24 minutes)
The need to recollect ourselves as whole persons — In this 2016 lecture, John F. Crosby explores key personalist insights found in the thinking of John Henry Newman and Romano Guardini. (60 minutes)
Conscience and its counterfeits — A 2014 lecture by theologian Reinhard Hütter examines “Freedom of Conscience as Freedom in the Truth: Conscience according to Thomas Aquinas and John Henry Newman.” (64 minutes)
Maintaining a connected grasp of things — Ian Ker summarizes the central concern of John Henry Newman’s educational philosophy as developed in The Idea of a University
Teachers and Learners — Ian Ker shares John Henry Newman’s ideals of learning, and Mark Schwehn discusses the virtues of good teachers. (27 minutes)
Guarding our tongues — John Henry Newman on the manner of speech fitting for Christian faithfulness
Mars Hill Audio Journal, Volume 52 — FEATURED GUESTS: Tom Shippey, Jeffrey Meyers, Ralph McInerny, Daniel Ritchie, Ian Ker, Mark Schwehn, Gilbert Meilaender, and Tiina Nunnally.
