Lead, Kindly Light: A Devotional Sampler

John Henry Newman, one-time Anglican priest and subsequently Roman Catholic priest and cardinal, was a controversial figure during his life. He began as part of the Evangelical branch of the Church of England, and eventually ended up in the High Church school, influenced by and influencing to a significant degree the Tractarian/Oxford Movement people. Eventually, Newman had a conversion experience with an increasing disenchantment from the Anglican church - his departure shook the Anglican world tremendously, such was his intellectual and spiritual stature. Newman's best known writings are 'The Idea of the University' and 'Apologia Pro Vita Sua', a religious autobiography likened to the 'Confessions' of Augustine. However, Newman's writings also include many specifically spiritual pieces - often these were in the forms of letters, tracts, pamphlets or other uncollected forms. A posthumous collection, 'Meditations and Devotions' brought some of these together. Another collection, 'Plain and Parochial Sermons', consists of eight volumes of material, far more than the average reader (or, often, the dedicated reader) is likely to wade through. This book, 'Lead Kindly Light', draws together excerpts and passages from both of the above collections, as well as hymns texts and poems from Newman (the title is from one of his better known hymns). Newman's motto as a cardinal was 'Cor ad cor loquitor' - a heart speaks to a heart. These meditations are heartfelt and significant, and have wide appeal to Christians Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox. Newman never departs from his foundation of Catholic faith, but this is cast in an open and inviting sense, rather than a dogmatic and exclusive sense. Meditations and devotions are based on many different things - the presence of God is a frequent theme. Other themes include aspects of God such as God's love or sufficiency, Jesus (both his life and work, as well as his continuing presence), the work of the Paraclete, meditations on the sacraments, or selected images and passages from scripture. Sermons included here include those developed from gospel passages, psalms, Torah stories, and epistles. Newman's controversies were largely settled during his lifetime, and the memory of Newman is that of a towering statesman and thinker of the Church Universal. The selections in this book show how the spirit that led Newman can continue to lead us in our own times. Newman's gravestone was inscribed with the words 'Ex umbris et imaginibus in veritatem' (From shadow and images into truth) - these meditations, sermons, poems and prayers can help the images emerge for us from the shadows.