Cardinal Newman Photo: Fathers of the Birmingham Oratory

On July 3, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI signed the decree allowing for the beatification of Cardinal Newman later this year. The healing miracle of Deacon John Sullivan of Massachusetts has been recognized as the result of praying for intercession of the beloved Cardinal. (Sullivan was cured of a debilitating back injury.) There is one more miracle yet to be approved in order to pave the way for the canonization of Cardinal Newman.

John Henry Newman was born in London, England in 1801. At the age of 23, he became an Anglican priest and went on to found the Oxford Movement.  Newman attempted to bring the Church of England back to its Catholic roots.  His studies of the history of the Catholic Church resulted in his choosing, at the age of 44, to convert. In 1846, he was formally received into the Catholic Church.

In 1854, at the request of the Irish Bishops, he went to Ireland to become the rector of the Catholic University of Ireland (now University College Dublin).

He is known for his religious autobiography, “Apologia Pro Vita Sua“, but his seminal work is the “An Essay In Aid of A Grammar Of Assent“. He wrote many influential works over the 40 year period of his Catholic faith.

Cardinal Newman celebrated his last mass on Christmas Day in 1889. He died on August 11, 1890 at the Birmingham Oratory and was buried at the related cemetery in Rednal Hill.

In 1991, after the move to beatify him was made public, an attempt to exhume his body was made. No remains were discovered and this was attributed to the damp conditions and the wood of the casket in which he was originally buried.

Below, are a few of his famous quotations:

Fear not that thy life shall come to an end, but ratherfear that it shall never have a beginning.

Let us take things as we find them: let us not attempt to distort them into what they are not. We cannot make facts. All our wishing cannot change them. We must use them.

If we are intended for great ends, we are called to great hazards.

A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault.

Learn to do thy part and leave the rest to Heaven.

We should ever conduct ourselves towards our enemy as if he were one day to be our friend.

You must make up your mind to the prospect of sustaining a certain measure of pain and trouble in your passage through life.

Evil has no substance of its own, but is only the defect, excess, perversion, or corruption of that which has substance.

My Prayer

Lord,
Only you know
what runs through
the muddle
of my head.
Only you, know
where I’m really
at
Only you, can undo
the thoughts
that sway me
from your path
only you
can keep me walking
on the straight
and narrow road
to your heart,
but I know
despite my needing
You
I need, also
to find myself
on this ill-lit street
and open up
to the lamp in the
distance.
Or maybe
the lamp
is inside me
all the time.
I just need
to switch it
ON.

Beatasum

Church where my father's funeral was held.

Since the death of my father, last November, I have been struggling with my faith. No, let me rephrase that: my faith is intact–I still pray, I still believe and I still feel close to God, but I am having real difficulty with getting to church.

This issue seems to have started when my father was ill.

We moved my parents from their house of 39 years to our town and into an apartment back in 2006. That’s when everything changed.

I left my job working for a small distributor because I was not happy there, but also so I would be available to help out my parents and to give my mom some much needed time out and away from caregiving.

I am one who definitely believes the commandment, “Honour your Father and Mother”, but I have really found it difficult to see my life change so much.

My husband and I have no children and our life was pretty well-ordered until it became necessary to move my parents. Now that my father is gone, my mom is our total responsibility. Although she isn’t ill or frail, she does demand our attention in various ways and for various needs. She is also a person who is not the easiest to get on with. Some days I just can’t face dealing with her, if I’m honest.

Through all of this, sleep has become a huge issue for both my husband and for me. I can’t remember the last time either of us had a truly deep and long, refreshing sleep. My husband is on medication and I often have to resort to an over-the-counter tablet to get to sleep.

This means, by the time we get to Sunday morning, often we are just beat and getting up the energy to go to mass is next to impossible.

We say our prayers every night before we go to sleep and our faith is what rules our lives, but sadly, the act of going to mass to give thanks in person to our God, is falling by the wayside.

A few weeks ago, the priest spoke about not attending mass and I almost felt as if he was looking directly at me. I had every intention of making good the following week, but it was Father’s Day and I just couldn’t face it at church since it was the first Father’s Day without my own father. I know my dad is probably disappointed at the way I’m handling things. I wish I could do something about it, but it feels almost insurmountable.

Is there anyone out there who feels the same way? Or perhaps, someone is out there who has overcome these feelings and returned to regular church-attendance?

I would sincerely appreciate your thoughts.

Peace,

Beatasum