Newman Distilled

Ever wanted to read Cardinal Newman's sermons and didn't have the time? Well here are three sermons in just three paragraphs - composed by yours truly.

Sermon VII: The Cross of Christ the Measure of the World
Newman’s thesis in this sermon is that the Crucifixion – the sacrifice of Christ upon the Cross – is not only the central tenet of Christianity, but the way in which we Christians make sense of our experience in the world. The world, Newman asserts, is “a maze and a perplexity.” The Cross, however, makes the inharmonious and perplexing world consistent. Yet the Cross also seems to present a problem. At first blush, the world seems made for us to enjoy: man “has the capacity of enjoyment, and the world supplies the means.” The doctrine of the Cross, “a sad and sorrowful sight,” mars this pleasant vision of the world. Newman reminds us that this superficial view of the world, no matter how pleasant, is yet untrue. Despite the world’s gay appearance, “evil and misery lie concealed within.” The Cross simply reminds us of the truth. It teaches us to grieve for our sins because if we fail to heed the warning of the Cross, we will find ourselves grieving nonetheless when we are punished for those sins. The Cross, then, reveals the veiled and hidden truth of the world: that while the world is at first pleasing, the pleasure it affords is ephemeral and leads only to misery. Just as the doctrine of the Cross is a hidden truth, the Christian is called to have a hidden interior life, and not make a Pharisaical display of his piety. Finally, Newman reminds us that though the doctrine of the Cross is sorrowful, Christianity is not a sorrowful religion. It is through the sorrow of the Cross that we are comforted and redeemed, and only those who first know sorrow and misery can know true joy.

Sermon XI: The Nature of Faith in Relation to Reason
This sermon asks the question whether the exercise of Reason precedes Faith. Newman contends that it does. Further, he shows that Faith is not the only exercise of Reason that seems unreasonable and yet is not. To prove his basic thesis, Newman offers several examples. He demonstrates that when we make an act of Faith, it is an “acceptance of things as real … upon previous grounds.” Thus Faith is an exercise of Reason insofar as Reason is the faculty whereby the mind moves from the known, or the perceived, to the unknown. Newman argues his second thesis by pointing out that though the vast majority of men in the world are, though they make use of their reason, by necessity incorrect (because the truth is one and opinions are many), this does not mean that their reason itself is at fault, for if it were, each man would reason uniquely, but in reality men form “schools” of thought. Faith, too, though based on insufficient evidence, is not based on weak or imperfect reasoning. Furthermore, every argument is at its roots based on something taken for granted. We assume that our senses do not deceive us (though they often do); we assume our reason does not lead us astray, though we believe the reason of other men has led them astray. “We must assume something to prove anything.” Next Newman asks why this is the case. Why, he wonders, is our evidence for faith deficient? His answer is that by giving us defective evidence, God “is trying our love of its matter.” The greater the height of the knowledge to which we proceed, the more obscure are our means of getting there. Our knowledge of the physical world is by means of the senses, which are quite certain; our knowledge of higher things through the Reason, which is more prone to uncertainty. Our knowledge of God, who is the Most High, is by the most obscure means: it is by Faith.

Sermon VIII: Truth Hidden When Not Sought After
This Sermon is primarily about the difference between the gifts that allow us to excel in this world, and the gifts that allow us to know God and about the necessity for us to earnestly strive to know God. Newman commences by reminding us that, based on 2 Tm 4:4, there is …religious truth, and therefore …religious error, “religious truth is one,” and that when professed Christians forget this, they turn from the one Truth and believe in “fables.” From this Newman gleans that “the multitude of men…are wrong even in the greater matters of religion.” Yet it is not only the ignorant and weak-minded that turn from the Truth, but also men of ability. This is because spiritual excellence differs in kind from ability. Newman proceeds to claim, “earnestness is necessary for gaining religious Truth,” or, in other words, God reveals Himself only to those who seek him with fervor. Yet most men do not acknowledge this; they rather think, “Religious Truth is simple and easily acquired.” Newman draws these two points – that our religious opinions are dissonant and that we are negligent in seeking God – together. Our negligence, he claims, is the reason for our differing opinions. If we all strove with great zeal to know God, our opinions would begin to grow nearer and nearer together.