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St John Henry Newman

St John Henry Newman

Saints, Scholars & Spiritual Masters
#3 St John Henry Newman

***The talks are made available freely with the request for a donation to support our costs.***

Please donate here:


The third talk of Saints, Scholars and Spiritual Masters explores the spirituality of the latest English person to be canonised: John Henry Newman. Known for his great intellect and his conversion from Protestantism to the Catholic Faith, Newman’s journey was powered by his grasping of the realism and certainty of God’s presence.  At the heart of this journey was his conscience, drawing him “out of the shadows into truth”. This talk will focus on Newman’s ‘realism’ and his conversions.

About the speaker:

Dr Giuseppe Pezzini

Tutorial Fellow in Latin Language and Literature at Corpus Christi College Oxford. He came to St Andrews in 2016 after research fellowships at Magdalen College, Oxford and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He worked as an assistant editor for the Oxford Dictionary of Medieval Latin, and has published especially on Latin language and literature, philosophy of language, and the theory of fiction, ancient and modern, including above all Tolkien’s views on the ‘mystery of literary creation’. He is an Associate of the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Art in St Andrews and the Tolkien Editor of the Journal of the Inklings Studies. He is a member of the RSE Young Academy Scotland, the Young Academy of Europe, and a collaborator of the Meeting of Rimini, for which he has curated exhibitions on John Henry Newman (2011, 2014), Oscar Wilde (2015) and JRR Tolkien (2021).

For more information about Dr Pezzini, please click here.

Other videos in the series:

St Ignatius of Loyola

#1 St Ignatius of Loyola

#2 St Therese of Lisieux

#4 St Thomas Aquinas

#5 St Francis de Sales

#6 The Spanish Mystics

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Media Video

St Therese of Lisieux

Saints, Scholars & Spiritual Masters
#2 St Therese of Lisieux

***The talks are made available freely with the request for a donation to support our costs.***

Please donate here:


The second talk in the series explores the life and spirituality of Therese of Lisieux. Perhaps one of the most beloved saints of Western Europe, Therese died at the age of only 24 after a long struggle with tuberculosis. She had spent 9 years as a Carmelite nun, fighting to be allowed to enter the convent at the age of 15. Her hidden and simple, yet whole-hearted life of prayer was repaid with a special grace of intimacy with God. Her vocation to love in her very ordinary struggles and simple life instantly made her an immensely popular and accessible saint. Canonised only 28 years after her death, her “Story of a Soul” has been read by and inspired countless people all over the world.

About the speaker:

Canon John Udris is Spiritual Director at St Mary’s College, Oscott, Birmingham.  He has a Licence in Spirituality from the Dominican University in Rome.  He is the author of two books on St Therese: ‘Holy Daring’ and ‘The Gift of St Therese of Lisieux.’

Other videos in the series:

St Ignatius of Loyola

#1 St Ignatius of Loyola

St John Henry Newman

#3 St John Henry Newman

#4 St Thomas Aquinas

#5 St Francis de Sales

#6 The Spanish Mystics

Categories
Media Video

St Ignatius of Loyola

St Ignatius of Loyola

Saints, Scholars & Spiritual Masters
#1 St Ignatius of Loyola

***The talks are made available freely with the request for a donation to support our costs.***

Please donate here:


The first talk in our online series, Saints, Scholars and Spiritual Masters, explores the life and spirituality of St Ignatius of Loyola. Founder of the Society of Jesus, St Ignatius is perhaps one of the most attractive and enigmatic of the Western Saints. A mercenary and a romantic, he was wounded in battle and spent time recuperating in hospital. He famously converted when forced to read the Gospels and the Lives of the Saints out of boredom. The ensuing time he spent in solitude, seeking the real meaning to his life, provided the basis for his Spiritual Exercises. These remain hugely relevant, immensely popular and religiously followed centuries later.

About the speaker:

Fr Dominic Robinson, SJ is currently Parish Priest of Farm Street in central London.  Farm Street Church, and the adjoining London Jesuit Centre, is a vibrant city centre ministry of the Jesuits, aiming to extend welcome and hospitality to many different groups.  Fr Dominic is also UK director of Landings, the programme for returning Catholics, teaches Theology at St Mary’s University, is Chair of Justice & Peace in the Diocese of Westminster and Ecclesiastical Assistant to the charity Aid to the Church in Need.

For more information about Fr Robinson, please click here.

 

Other videos in the series:

#2 St Therese of Lisieux

St John Henry Newman

#3 St John Henry Newman

#4 St Thomas Aquinas

#5 St Francis de Sales

#6 The Spanish Mystics

Categories
Articles Media

Dare we forget the call to sainthood?

Sunday 20th September 2020

The CHC @ The Catholic Universe

Dare we forget the call to the sainthood?

Stefan Kaminski

The lives of the saints have historically provided one of the great staples of the catechetical and spiritual life. 

Their biographies, in varying levels of literary and spiritual complexity, would be read by Christians of all ages. Children would be presented early on with these figures in story book form. As they grew, so also did they in knowledge of and friendship with the saints, through reading more complex or original texts as they were able to.

This has always been a self-evidently important element in the formation of a person’s faith, since the saints are guiding lights for the sincere Christian. They mark out a true and trodden path that navigates the difficulties and complexities of this life, while making a bee-line for Heaven. The saints are those who have ‘fought the good fight… finished the race… kept the faith’ (2 Timothy 4:7). 

They have faced the world, they have discerned what is right and what is wrong, and they have relentlessly pursued the former. Do we not still need them today? 

It does not seem unreasonable to suggest that our celebrity culture has, to a large extent, either pushed the saints off our radar or filled in the previously-vacated space that the saints used to inhabit. The saints were at once role models and witnesses to the reality of our faith. Celebrities also serve as role models, and most often as witness to the realities of this world. The saints are clearly a less attractive role model to someone who does not understand the primacy of Heaven over earth, or the spiritual over the physical.

And equally, someone whose primary aim is to make the most out of this world, rather than to strive for Heaven, will not see their relevance.

Perhaps it is precisely the apparent unpopularity or unattractiveness of the saints that serves as a warning of our need for them more than ever. 

It continues to be in the relational nature of humans to look for role models, to aspire after others and to imitate that which we see as appealing in them. This is especially true throughout childhood, in the most formative years of our character. So it is precisely then that we let children down most of all if we fail to present them with these great, Christian role models.

If we take seriously the words of Pope Francis, “To be saints is not a privilege for the few, but a vocation for everyone” – in other words, if we take seriously the fundamental Christian precept that we are all called to holiness – we cannot discard what the saints have to offer us. Pope Benedict XVI once said that for him, “Art and the saints are the greatest apologetics for our faith”. A vivid and real knowledge of the lives of the saints is itself a powerful testimony to the reality of God and the possibility of a relationship with Him. Every young boy who sees the attraction of combat and soldiering can draw great inspiration from St Ignatius of Loyola’s mercenary adventures and his discovery of the one cause worth fighting for. Every young girl who wants to find the means to security and success can look to the commanding and uncompromising presence of St Teresa of Avila.

Moreover, knowing the saints well teaches us that their lives are not somehow simply summarised in a single, beautiful stained-glass window. Seeing the saints means seeing how to struggle to find what is good, how to fight to choose that good for ourselves, and how to persevere in that choice of the good. Knowing the saints is empowering. It teaches us that, as Pope St John Paul II said,

“We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures: we are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of His Son”. 

It is tremendously liberating to truly know and live this, because it gives us both the courage to identify and name our sins, as well as to fight them. 

If, on the one hand, St Ignatius warns us that “It is preferable for us to avoid sin than to be lords over the whole world”, on the other, Padre Pio encourages us with the reminder that “Jesus is never so close to you as he is during your spiritual battles”.

The lives of the saints and the fruits of their spiritual wisdom are treasures that we should not be willing to discard or to fail to hand on. They are part of that great spiritual heritage of Catholic Christianity, which constitutes a sure foundation for navigating this earthly pilgrimage. 

With the upcoming 50th anniversary of the canonisation of the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales, and the first anniversary of John Henry Newman’s canonisation, it is an opportune time to revisit our spiritual patrons and friends in Heaven. At Stonyhurst we have therefore brought together a number of highly respected and well-known speakers, to offer insights into the lives and spirituality of some of the great spiritual masters of the Western Church. The series of talks that they will present will be offered online for free (they will also be accessible afterwards on our website).

Stefan Kaminski is the Director of the Christian Heritage Centre, Stonyhurst.

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Easter notes: How his Catholic faith fired Tolkien’s imagination​

J.R.R. Tolkien in WWI uniform

Friday 3rd May 2019

The CHC @ The Catholic Universe

Easter notes: How his Catholic faith fired Tolkien’s imagination

Stefan Kaminski

Stonyhurst College and its surroundings have a long connection with J.R.R. Tolkien. As a father of four, Tolkien often visited two of his sons at Stonyhurst. Whilst John was based at St Mary’s House as a student for the priesthood during the Second World War, his father spent many an afternoon in the College working on the script of The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien would later return to the school in the ‘60s and ‘70s to visit Michael, who taught classics. The Tolkien Trail, with the Stonyhurst estate at its heart, capitalises on this likely source of real-life inspiration for Middle-Earth and directs the mildly-intrepid explorer from the Shireburn Arms, along Shire Lane, past a now disused ferry crossing and on through other evocative locations.

 Whether or not Tolkien had precisely these locations in mind when he penned his saga, the attentive reader cannot fail to see echoes of Middle-Earth in this landscape. From the homely habitations of the Ribble Valley to the brooding presence of Pendle Hill behind thick forest, one can easily find oneself accompanying Bilbo or Frodo along the earlier stages of their journeys in one’s imagination. And with springtime in the air, the unusually marvellous weather is making the Ribble Valley positively sing with the busyness of its fauna and the blossoming of its flora. New life emerges everywhere in its innocence and vibrancy.

The springtime beauty of God’s creation, so eloquently described by Tolkien and so fundamental a theme in the history of Middle-Earth, is of particular poignancy to the Christian at Easter time. The visible signs of life and growth should be a reflection of those occurring in the depths of our souls, after our Lenten preparation. The highlight of the liturgical year – the triumph of life over death and the conquering of sin – constitutes a rallying cry for each individual to new life in Jesus Christ. Easter is the springtime of our souls.

The fact that the Resurrection does indeed involve a personal dimension and not just a cosmic one, is beautifully reflected in Tolkien’s work. Although the LotR saga is undoubtedly attractive for its themes and for the sheer scale of the work, the minds and hearts of readers are drawn into this epic through a very ordinary protagonist with very ordinary worries and struggles. Frodo the hobbit is caught up in matters far greater than himself, yet within the drama of the cosmic struggle is woven his personal contribution with its own strife

J.R.R. Tolkien in WWI uniform

Although Tolkien was clear that The Lord of the Rings was a profoundly religious work, one that built on and explored his Catholic faith, he did not wish for it to be explicitly Christian. The tale is therefore pre-Christian in the sense that it does not directly encapsulate the concept of God’s final revelation and redemption in His Son. Nonetheless, one can find allusions to the Christ throughout the narrative.  One of the clearest such references is the figure of Gandalf the Grey. His duel with the Balrog at the gates of Moria sees him fall “beyond light and knowledge… far under the living earth, where time is not counted.” There, he battles until this fearful enemy is defeated, after which Gandalf returns to the hobbit and co. as a new-and-yet-not-new Gandalf, the White.

Through the figure of Gandalf, we are taught some important lessons about the Paschal mystery. It is Gandalf who is the catalyst for both Bilbo and Frodo setting out on their respective journeys: his is the ‘voice’ that summons them to adventure and to great deeds. For those not familiar with the habits of hobbits, it should be remembered that these are a very homely and comfortable race, that do not like to stray far from their next meal or cup of tea. In this sense, Bilbo and Frodo’s journeys involve a certain detachment and stepping outside of their comfort zones. This is the process by which they are transformed, a hint of the “new creation” which the grace of Christ enables (2 Cor 5:17). “My dear Bilbo!” exclaims Gandalf, “Something is the matter with you! You are not the hobbit that you were.” This is what the process of purification, including the age-long discipline of fasting, is for: to exorcise our worldly attachments in order to free the soul for a renewed growth.

The scenic River Hodder meanders through the Lancashire countryside near Stonyhurst. This tranquil spot was an inspiration for the leafy lanes of Tolkien’s Shire

Lastly, and perhaps most powerfully of all, the final victory over the power of darkness reveals the operation of a certain Providence in and through the freely willed actions of individuals. It is not a providence that overrides minds and hearts; indeed, despite Frodo’s magnificent efforts, he fails at the very end of his mission insofar as he tries to claim the Ring for himself rather than destroy it. Yet the mission is brought to completion by the continued greed of Gollum, who in a final grasp for the Ring sends both it and himself to their fiery doom. In this way, Tolkien expresses a firm sense of the Divine Omniscience who works in and through each of His beloved creatures, allowing us to respond (or otherwise) to His grace; and regardless, always bringing about a greater good from every situation. So Gandalf tells Bilbo: “Surely you don’t disbelieve the prophecies, because you had a hand in bringing them about yourself? You don’t really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit?”

Easter is a time not just to celebrate, but to consider our own response to God’s grace. Confidence in His mercy should all the more encourage our own striving for that which might otherwise seem too much of an ‘ask’. And if we are short of a good read, Tolkien provides both inspiration and much to ponder with a solidly Christian flavour.

Stefan Kaminski is the Director of The Christian Heritage Centre