Fr. Kevin Finnegan, pastor of Our Lady of Grace parish in Edina, Minnesota reacts to Newman’s classic sermon “The Ventures of Faith” by sharing that a properly lived faith includes ventures and it is by grace that each chapter of our venture unfolds. Abraham starts the venture which ultimately leads to Jerusalem. Like Abraham we need to give of ourselves in an uncalculating way. What do we venture for Christ? Am I pursuing things because I know that Christ died for me or am I pursuing things so that I can have a more successful life? Our giving and our repentance are intelligible ventures and evidence of faith. If we are calculating the cost, then likely we don’t give much…we may be living a good life but not an adventurous life of faith. When we get to heaven those that greet us will be those that we served. When we repent, we are making an uncalculating venture for things unseen and then by the grace of God we visibly change. By our changed life I show the world that I believe in God’s forgiveness - I believe that God’s grace is real. 

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.

Kate Aitchison, mother of 4 active children, elicits how Newman's 1838 Easter Sunday sermon sheds light on progressing in the spiritual life during life's  transitions. Kate finds Newman's direction helpful: Christ first meet us in that hard place (Lent) before we can enjoy Him in festival (Easter).  By walking with Christ during the vicissitudes of life we discover that God has something broader and better for us than any worldly misdirected gain that we perceive as helpful to our own end. Rather, with the glory of God as our aim we find abundant fruits in the festival.  

As an aside, it is good to note that Kate's husband, Greg, has an extraordinary gift  in forming Catholic school curriculum. If you are active in Catholic education and need a classroom teaching aid that more deeply engages students in their faith go to www.catholicreligionteacher.com.  Also Greg offers life coaching to fill the gaps at www.happyhealthyholy.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 9 Season 2 – “The Indwelling Spirit”

Ian Rangel currently serves as the Vice President of The Papal Foundation, the only charitable organization in the United States exclusively dedicated to fulfilling the requests of the Holy Father’s support for the needs of the poor and marginalized. To learn more about The Papal Foundation and the Stewards of Saint Peter, please visit www.thepapalfoundation.org

 Ian holds a degree in finance from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s in management from Texas A&M University. A native of Abilene, Texas, Ian now lives in Trabuco Canyon, California with his wife, Caitlan, and their four young children. When not working, Ian enjoys spending time with his family and mountain biking the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. 

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.

“The Indwelling Spirit” (part 1)

Ian Rangel, the vice president of The Papal Foundation, discusses Newman's 1834 Parochial and Plain sermon "The Indwelling Spirit by looking at how Newman articulates humanity's "exalted existence" through the reality of a personal visitation of The Spirit of Christ. The "earnest" of Baptism not only is our new birth but it is the Divine Gift that will be actualized through the lifelong union with our "Indwelling Spirit".

The Papal Foundation is the only charitable organization in the United States exclusively dedicated to fulfilling the requests of the Holy Father’s support for the needs of the poor and marginalized. To learn more about The Papal Foundation and the Stewards of Saint Peter, please visit www.thepapalfoundation.org

 Ian holds a degree in finance from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s in management from Texas A&M University. A native of Abilene, Texas, Ian now lives in Trabuco Canyon, California with his wife, Caitlan, and their four young children. When not working, Ian enjoys spending time with his family and mountain biking the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. 

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 Geertjan Zuijdwegt, author of the recent release, An Evangelical Adrift p The Making of John Henry Newman's Theology,  discusses Newman's key sermon that sets Newman apart from his Evangelical beginning. Dr. Zuijdwegt points out that this sermon points to Newman no longer separating faith and works. Newman’s solution is to regard faith and works as equals – both faith and obedience are ways of seeking God. They are the same thing viewed differently – God is their stay. In this sermon we once again find Newman making the life of Christ very practical, personal and relational. 

Dr Zuijdwegt's text can be found at https://www.amazon.com/Evangelical-Adrift-Making-Newmans-Theology/dp/0813235588

Learn more of The  St. John Henry Newman Association of America at www.stjhnaa.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.

Join us for part 2 of a fascinating interview with Monsignor Jefferey Steenson the first Ordinariate (Anglican priest not Catholic priest) in the United States as we look into Newman's Catholic era Lenten sermon "The World and Sin" 

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.

My discussion with Monsignor Jeffrey Steenson, former bishop in the Anglican Church and now a Catholic priest, is so informative and enchanting that  I'm splitting it into two episodes. Part 2 will be posted next Monday.  Monsignor's journey to the Church includes a long journey with St. John Henry Newman that started when he studied at Oxford University in England. His interpretation of Newman's Lenten insights on the world and sin are invaluable. Enjoy!

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.

Monsignor Richard Liddy, retired emeritus professor from Seaton Hall University and Newman/Lonergan scholar extraordinaire, offers beautiful insights into Newman's sweeping 1836 sermon "Elisha a Type of Christ and His Followers".  Monsignor points out that the sermon specifically reaches into the heart of each of us as both Fathers Lonergan and Newman upheld. In this episode Monsignor offers an unparalled guide to personalism by quoting from Parochial and  Plain Sermon "Christian Sympathy" - "we dare not trust each other with the secret of our hearts. We have each the same secret, and we keep it to ourselves, and we fear that, as a cause of estrangement, which really would be a bond of union. We do not probe the wounds of our nature thoroughly; we do not lay the foundation of our religious profession in the ground of our inner man; we make clean the outside of things; we are amiable and friendly to each other in words and deeds, but our love is not enlarged, our bowels of affection are straitened, and we fear to let the intercourse begin at the root; and, in consequence, our religion, viewed as a social system, is hollow. The presence of Christ is not in it".  You will enjoy this episode with one of the great contributors in Catholic philosophy. 

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.

Lauren Scharmer, a 32-year-old longtime friend with a deeply convicted Catholic faith reflects on Newman's insights in his 1856 sermon "The Secret Power of Divine Grace". With the aid of Scripture Newman makes it clear that grace is so close to us that we are never alone.  Since in the Incarnation, Christ came subtly to "conquest the heart", He in turn comes to us daily by regular, subtle inward influences in the form of the Sacraments - "He is ever coming. Again and again He comes to His Church" (lines 160-161). Lauren explains that Christ comes "again and again" in order for wayward souls to be reconciled to God and to oneself. Once reconciled our restless hearts become truly free.  Today, as we contend with a crazy world, alienated from The Creator, we witness an ever increasing distinction of the world from The Gospel making the life of Christ all the more beautiful and inviting. Encountering this beauty is the most important event of our lives knowing that it will propel us forward into the world "again and again".

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.

“The Glory of the Christian Church”

Dr. Barbara Wyman, assistant professor of English at McNeese State University in McNeese, Louisiana highlights Newman’s 1834 Epiphany sermon, “The Glory of the Christian Church”. The Epiphany is ongoing as God guides each of us with a guiding light that we need to be ever watchful for. Quoting Boethius, Dr Wyman explains that “time is an ever-present moment”. Comprehending a timeless God able to see everything in present moment is made possible only by our encountering the bridge between time and the timeless – The Incarnation. The Epiphany reminds us that we must seek the light through Christ with the hope that, in the end, we will be one of its fruits.

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.