Dr. John Crosby, distinguished philosopher from Franciscan University and Newman scholar gives his insights into Newman's deeply personal sermon "Mysteriousness of our Present Being".  In this sermon Newman shows (and Dr. Crosby explains) that the profoundest truths of our existence are commonly mysterious. For instance, the reality of the union of the body and soul is a mystery that we readily accept (at least we used to).  Newman's offers universally accepted examples of mysteries as an argument to accept the mystery of God.  Once we accept these mysteries of our present being we are faced with the choice of either openly approaching the mystery of God with acceptance and wonder or skeptically questioning Divine mysteries because the limits of our overly rational human mind prevents us from discovering something greater than ourselves. Dr. Crosby points out that when we make our own mind the measure of all things we naturally refuse the delight found in mystery. The consequences of this refusal can have dangerous consequences in the eventual loss of human dignity by the destruction of the unity of the body and soul. 

If you'd like to learn more of Dr. Crosby's insights into the existential character of Newman thought go to his marvelous text The Personalism of St. John Henry Newman.
https://www.amazon.com/Personalism-John-Henry-Newman/dp/0813229170.  

To approach Newman's majestic thought it is highly recommended to download the formatted sermon at www.newmanontap.com. Comments and suggestions are appreciated on the same site.

Blair Saiz, wife and mother of three young girls, learns from Newman's sermon "The Invisible World" that focusing on the invisible world changes the way we live.  This is evident in how children easily come to know of their own angels and saints through their tremendous ability to wonder.  It is in this world where, despite our own worldly whims, we come to realize that angels and saints are always working for us. Newman's own imagination helps us see that as nature springs eternal it reflects God and His own nature. This gives us reason to rejoice always as what God created is very good. 

As a busy mother Blair (and her husband Jordan) manage a lifestyle brand for women - The Village Green which brings beauty of the past into everyday living through online home goods, handmade jewelry, art, a regular blog and weekly music playlists. This project aims to lead the heart to Truth through beauty. You can find Blair's work at https://shopthevillagegreen.com

To approach Newman's majestic thought it is highly recommended to download the formatted sermon at www.newmanontap.com. Comments and suggestions are appreciated on the same site.

Episode 24 Season 1 – “The Cross of Christ the Measure of the World”

Bishop James Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska shares with us his conversion story as a journey with friends and St. John Henry Newman. He sees Newman’s sacramental imagination (an efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us) as pointing to something beyond ourselves as an imprint of our Creator. It is the through efficacious signs, like the Cross of Christ, that everything makes sense as the Divine life is dispensed to us. By understanding what the Cross means for us we come to understand everything in the here and now. Newman helps us realize that Christ’s most powerful moment was when he died on the Cross. When we find our meaning in the Cross - we die to ourselves, and Christ becomes alive in us. The Cross enables the ability to engage the heart. It is the heart that moves us to act. Next to supernatural Grace, the greatest force on earth is the example of virtue in another person. “Persons influence us, voices melt us, looks subdue us, deeds inflame us. Many a man will live and die upon a dogma; no man will be a martyr for a conclusion”.

To approach Newman's majestic thought it is highly recommended to download the formatted sermon at www.newmanontap.com. Comments and suggestions are appreciated on the same site.

In the midst of our Eucharistic Revival, Archbishop Bernard Hebda discusses Newman’s 1838 sermon “The Eucharistic Presence”. His Excellency finds Johannine depth in Newman‘s precise spiritual thought. Like John the Evangelist, Newman leads us to a deeper “awe, admiration and hope” of Christ’s Eucharistic Presence by recognizing that all other miracles of Christ pale in comparison to the love Jesus shows for us in the Eucharist. The Archbishop of St Paul and Minneapolis sees Newman‘s plea for “a thirst for his presence” producing a joy on “hearing that he is to be found under the veil of sensible things” as an aid for our own Eucharistic revival by helping us find our “reward in believing”. 

To approach Newman's majestic thought it is highly recommended to download the formatted sermon at www.newmanontap.com. Comments and suggestions are appreciated on the same site.

Laura Miller, co-founder of "Newman on Tap", offers her Marian insights as together we celebrate ten years of "Newman on Tap" started upon our 2013 co-graduation with masters degrees in Catholic Studies from The University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.  As a young mother of three children, Laura finds Newman offering insights into how Mary's supreme sanctity could repair our distorted understanding of what it truly means to be fully woman and fully man. As usual Newman draws from comprehensive sources; Scripture, tradition, prayer and the teachings of The Catholic Church to point us to the great principle - celebrating the glories of our Blessed Lady, the Mother of God. 

To approach Newman's majestic thought it is highly recommended to download the formatted sermon at www.newmanontap.com. Comments and suggestions are appreciated on the same site.

Dr. David Delio offers insight into Newman's call for all of us to an integration of our heart, mind and will as a path to holiness by loving God and our neighbor. "Intellect, the Instrument of Religious Training" cleverly positions St. Monica as an image of faith and St. Augustine as an image of the intellect.  Newman artfully looks at their lives to explain that without a harmony of our religious and intellectual lives our search for truth is limited and moves towards skepticism. Dr. Delio sheds light on Newman's  understanding that knowledge begins in belief and not doubt. Since skepticism begins in doubt it limits our scope as tarting point, rather, the fullness of truth is discovered through the faith due to its broad and deep reach into the unknown. With faith as our origin we able experience an integrated growth oriented to God. 

For further reading on the integration of faith and reason explore Dr. Delio's text An Aristocracy of Exalted Spirits: The Idea of the Church in Newman's Tamworth Reading Room. To learn more of Dr. Delio's innovative offering for an integrated education check out "The Newman Idea" at www.newmanidea.org.

To approach Newman's majestic thought it is highly recommended to download the formatted sermon at www.newmanontap.com. Comments and suggestions are appreciated on the same site.

Dr Brandon Wanless, Assistant Professor of Dogmatic Theology at the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota and Co-Founder of The Sacra Doctrina Project (www.sacradoctrinaproject.org) looks closely at Newman's intriguing sermon "Omnipotence in Bonds".  Dr. Wanless unpacks the radicality of The Incarnation where we come to know God by pondering upon an accepting faith. Newman considers the manner of God as abundantly gratuitous to the point that "The All powerful Creator" subjects Himself to the bondage of the creature. This radical love incentives our faith through our discovery of the perfect form of everlasting bondage found in The Eucharist. 

To approach Newman's majestic thought it is highly recommended to download the formatted sermon at www.newmanontap.com. Comments and suggestions are appreciated on the same site.

Episode 19 Season 1 – “A Particular Providence as Revealed in the Gospel”

Dr. David Foote, associate history professor in the department of Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota unpacks Newman's 1835 sermon "A Particular Providence as Revealed in the Gospel". Dr. Foote highlights Newman's insights into Psalm 139 where we find our God concerned with the particulars of each aspect of our individual lives. When we stop at general providences, we lose all sense of His presence which is a recipe for lukewarmness and self-deceit. It is our heart that moves us from the general (an Enlightenment rational notion of religion limited to an impersonal god) to the particular where we discover a loving, personal God that has an intimate claim on our lives. This presence is made complete in The Incarnation. It is the deeply human, profoundly personal Christ that reveals to us the fullness of our own being. This personal, all loving God who knows us better than we know ourselves can't help but call us. He is patiently waiting for us. 

To approach Newman's majestic thought it is highly recommended to download the formatted sermon at www.newmanontap.com. Comments and suggestions are appreciated on the same site.

Fr. James Reidy, Professor Emeritus of English 1981 – 2011 at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota with 67 years in the priesthood, reacts to Newman's prophetic sermon "The Religion of the Day" - the religion of niceness. In this episode Fr. Reidy highlights why he has been attracted to Newman's spiritual insights for close to 75 years. After sharing memories of the late, great Newman biographer and scholar, Fr. Ian Ker, Fr. Reidy reviews Newman's "gentleman" as one limited (by natural religion alone) to the "bright side" of religion. Without a reality of God or judgment from God this man of the world reflects what we see today - a limit of self-sacrificing love stemming from a conscience that does not include the voice of Christ. Fr. Reidy asks us "to what extent are we conforming to our own 'Religion of the Day,' the fashion of our time, and simply being nice rather than true to our call to sanctity"? 

To approach Newman's majestic thought it is highly recommended to download the formatted sermon at www.newmanontap.com. Comments and suggestions are appreciated on the same site.

Fr. Marc Paveglio, pastor of St. Rose of Lima in Roseville, Minnesota walks us through Newman's sermon "Men not Angels, the Priests of the Gospel". Inspired by Newman's massive Christian intellectual life grounded in heartfelt priesthood Fr. Marc offers that God's desired method of saving us is through the Incarnation - in the flesh and blood of those near us. The fact that priests are shaped in a common humanity permits a shared encounter with the power of God's grace. A priest's human approach to their vocation enables an encounter with the hearts of others. Once we experience God's gracious love through the power of the Holy Spirit we can discover the conquest of sin. This real encounter permits the reception of grace that is infinitely more powerful and the powers of nature. 

To approach Newman's majestic thought it is highly recommended to download the formatted sermon at www.newmanontap.com. Comments and suggestions are appreciated on the same site.