FoC 166: The Beauty of St. John Henry Newman’s Spirituality with Dr. Bud Marr

St. John Henry Newman is one of the Catholic Church’s newest canonized saints but he’s been a huge theological figure for ages due to his brilliant writing and high profile conversion from the Church of England to Rome. What makes this saint extraordinary and what can we learn about his writings that can help us in our own spiritual lives? Dr. Ryan “Bud” Marr joins us on the show today to share about this English saint and his legacy.

Like St. John Henry Newman, Bud Marr is a convert to Catholicism (and he shares about his conversion story in this episode). He is the Associate Provost at Mercy College of Health Sciences in Des Moines, Iowa and is the author of Seeking God with St. John Henry Newman (Our Sunday Visitor, 2019) and To Be Perfect Is to Have Changed Often (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018). Before coming to Mercy College, Dr. Marr served for three years as the director of the National Institute for Newman Studies in Pittsburgh, during which time he was also Associate Editor of the Newman Studies Journal. He and his wife Rachel have been blessed with seven children.  

In this episode we asked Bud about Anglican priest St. John Henry Newman’s shocking conversion to Catholicism after his prominence in the Oxford Movement and former belief in Anglicanism as a “via media” or middle way between Protestantism and Catholicism. He also shares about Newman’s practical spirituality and where to begin with his writings (some of which can be very challenging!). Listen in and learn more about this saint in this episode!

Sponsor: The Little Catholic Box

The Little Catholic Box is a quarterly subscription box for Catholic women.  Each quarter, the owner Erica curates a bunch of fun, unique Catholic items around a spiritual theme.  It’s a delight for subscribers, and a blessing to the artists, creators and small businesses whose items get featured.

New subscription signups are currently closed, but you can get on the waitlist for when they open back up in December.

If you need a fabulous Christmas gift idea for a Catholic woman in your life, hop on the waitlist now so that you have early access.

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This episode is also sponsored by Happy Nest Home Goods. 

Happy Nest Home Goods (by Theresa) celebrates doing small things with great love with their modern Catholic embroidery art, patterns, and kits as well as their line of beautiful sacrifice beads for the whole family. 

They just released new beginner-friendly embroidery kits for Advent and Christmas that are perfect to gift to the crafter in your life OR for you to add a handmade touch to your Christmas gifts this year!