Tuesday, 26 May 2026

The Tempest - Stratford Festival 2019

The Tempest
2018 Stage
2019 Film
Director Antoni Cimolino
Designer Bretta Gerecke
Lighting Designer Michael Walton
Composer Berthold Carrière
Sound Designer Thomas Ryder Payne 
Fight Director John Stead
Movement Director Philippa Domville
Producer David Auster
Casting Director Beth Russell 
Creative Planning Director Jason Miller

The Tempest - Stratford Festival 2019

This review is going to be a little different. For over the last few years my children and I have been attending Stratford and reviewing all the plays we attend. We have a great appreciation for the bard, and typically attend all plays of his works, and usually a few others as well. Prior to attending my son and I try and read a copy of the play, usually the Oxford School Shakespeare or the Pelican Classic Editions. And we often try and watch a production or 2 before seeing it in person. I believe the festival has put on The Tempest 9 times, the first being in 1962 and this season 2026, which we will be attending next week. This one which we watched the film version of was the penultimate production of it. It was also directed by Antoni Cimolino, 2026 is his final season as artistic director and he selected plays based on his favourites from his tenure at the festival. It will be fascinating to compare this version from stage in 2018 and on film in 2019 with the 2026 stage production, but alas that will be a future review.   


I used the Way Back Machine to get a digital copy of the playbill from this specific production and publicity shots. The summary of the play on the festival site states:

“FORGIVE AND BE FREE 

In Shakespeare’s great drama of loss and reconciliation, a long-deposed ruler uses magical arts to bring within her power the enemies who robbed her of her throne and marooned her on a remote island. But what revenge does she mean to take?.”

The synopsis in the house program states:

“For twelve years, Prospero, former Duchess of Milan and a practitioner of the magical arts, has been marooned on a remote island with her young daughter, Miranda. They landed there by chance after Prospero’s brother, Antonio (aided by Alonso, King of Naples), deposed her from her throne and cast her and Miranda – then not quite three years old – out to sea in a decaying and ill-equipped vessel. Prospero has spent her exile establishing dominion over the island’s other inhabitants, the monstrous creature Caliban and the spirit Ariel. Now, alerted by a sign in the heavens that Antonio and Alonso are within reach of her vengeance, she uses her magical powers to raise a storm at sea that brings them and the others aboard their ship, including Alonso’s son, Ferdinand, to the same island. With Ariel’s help, Prospero orchestrates a confrontation with her old enemies – and a new destiny for Miranda.”

When we go and see the play in person we have an almost an hour drive home, and usually spend the time discussing the performance. One of the things we often discuss is favourite performers. Having watched this on my own I was less inclined to do so, but it was great to see so many members of the company that we have followed and loved over the last 4 seasons.

The full cast is:

Prospero - Martha Henry
Master - Wayne Best
Boatswain - E.B. Smith
Alonso - David Collins
Antonio - Graham Abbey
Gonzalo - Rod Beattie
Sebastian - André Sills
Ferdinand - Sébastien Heins
Adrian - Emilio Vieira
Francisco - Johnathan Sousa
Trinculo - Stephen Ouimette
Stephano - Tom McCamus
Miranda - Mamie Zwettler
Ariel - André Morin
Caliban - Michael Blake
Iris - Chick Reid
Ceres - Alexis Gordon
Juno - Lucy Peacock

Sailors - Farhang Ghajar, Josue Laboucane, Alexandra Lainfiesta, Nick Nahwegahbow, Oksana Sirju, Gordon Patrick White

Spirits - Wayne Best, Martha Farrell, Farhang Ghajar, Alexis Gordon, Shruti Kothari, Josue Laboucane, Alexandra Lainfiesta, Nick Nahwegahbow, Oksana Sirju, E.B. Smith, Johnathan Sousa, Emilio Vieira, Gordon Patrick White, Brigit Wilson

Monsters - Wayne Best, Farhang Ghajar, Josue Laboucane, Nick Nahwegahbow, Gordon Patrick White

Harpy - Martha Farrell, Alexandra Lainfiesta, E.B. Smith

Nymphs - Martha Farrell, Shruti Kothari, Alexandra Lainfiesta, Oksana Sirju

Reapers - Farhang Ghajar, Josue Laboucane, Nick Nahwegahbow, Gordon Patrick White

Dogs - Farhang Ghajar, Josue Laboucane, Nick Nahwegahbow, Gordon Patrick White

Understudies
Wayne Best - Stephano, Alonso
Martha Farrell - Ceres
Farhang Ghajar - Ariel
Shruti Kothari - Miranda, Harpy
Josue Laboucane - Trinculo, Antonio
Alexandra Lainfiesta - Juno, Iris
Nick Nahwegahbow - Boatswain, Adrian, Francisco, Harpy
Chick Reid - Prospero
E.B. Smith - Sebastian
Johnathan Sousa - Ferdinand, Reapers
Emilio Vieira - Caliban
Gordon Patrick White - Gonzalo, Master
Brigit Wilson - Nymphs

The Understudies would have been for the stage season but I still wanted to give them their credit. 

This was a fascinating production. Almost everything I could find about it only stated ‘Visually stunning!’ and it absolutely lives up to that description. The casting was perfect. The costumes magnificent. And the production incredible. It would have been amazing to see on stage, and even on film it is a powerful and moving performance. A story that takes place over a single afternoon that has so much packed into it. 

I am incredibly thankful this production was available via streaming. It is a masterpiece. I highly recommend it and if you have the chance see the production in 2026 on stage at Stratford!

Note: Photos by David Hou/Stratford Festival via The Way Back Machine.

The Tempest - Stratford Festival 2019 Sample 1

The Tempest - Stratford Festival 2019 Sample 2

The Tempest - Stratford Festival 2019 Sample 3

The Tempest - Stratford Festival 2019 Sample 4

The Tempest - Stratford Festival 2019 Sample 5

The Tempest - Stratford Festival 2019 Sample 6

The Tempest - Stratford Festival 2019 Sample 7

The Tempest - Stratford Festival 2019 Sample 8

The Tempest - Stratford Festival 2019 Sample 9

Reviews of Other Stratford Productions:
The Tempest - Stratford Festival 2019
Richard III – 2022
Hamlet – 2022
The Miser – 2022
King Lear – 2023
Grand Magic – 2023
Cymbeline – 2024
Twelfth Night – 2024
As You Like It - 2025  
Annie - 2025 
Goblin Oedipus -  2025 
…

Reviews of Shakespeare Movies:
Cymbeline – 2014

Related Posts:

Books by Ted Neill:
Post Apocalyptic Space Shakespeare Series:
Othello
Twelfth Night
As You Like It
A Mid Summers’s Night Dream
…





Labels: , , ,

Posted by at No comments:

Monday, 25 May 2026

Cardinal Newman: The Story of a Miracle - Peter Jennings

Cardinal Newman The Story of a Miracle 
Peter Jennings 
Catholic Truth Society
ISBN 9781860825200
ISBN 1860825206
CTS Booklet B707

Cardinal Newman: The Story of a Miracle - Peter Jennings

With the announcement of Saint John Henry Newman becoming the newest Doctor of the Church that has been a fresh revival in interest in the man, his life and his works. The CTS released three new volumes after the announcement. They are

The Second Spring
Two Discourses on Our Lady The Present and Future of British Catholicism
St John Henry Newman: A New Doctor of the Church

And there has been renewed interest in the volume:

Saint John Henry Newman: His Life and Works

This is an older volume about the miracle that lead to Newman’s Beatification. It is a fascinating read. 

The description of this volume is:

“The story of the miracle opening the way for Cardinal Newman’s beatification.

This booklet contains the story of Jack Sullivan, a Boston lawyer and magistrate, who, on turning sixty, developed a serious debilitating illness, from which, after praying to John Henry Newman he was miraculously cured. This extraordinary story, much of it in Jack’s own words, is detailed and illuminating. It introduces the reader to Newman, probably the best known churchman in Victorian England, and to the lengthy process of intense scrutiny which the Catholic Church applies to such claims. The approval of this miracle by the Vatican Congregation for the Cause of Saints, on 2nd June 2009, has cleared the way for the beatification of John Henry Newman.”

About the author of the forward we are informed:

“Peter Jennings is a Catholic journalist, writer and broadcaster who has worked on the Newman Cause since 1975. His book Benedict XVI and Cardinal Newman was published in 2005.”

The chapters and sections in the book are:

Foreword 
Introduction 
Miracle Healing 
An Ordinary Life 
Jack's Illness and Healing 
Proclamation of the Decree 
Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Newman 
A Meditation by Cardinal Newman 

I have felt drawn to Newman as a friend in heaven since I first encountered him. One of the Stations of the Cross I pray most often is one from his reflections. I also have a great fascinating for the works of Pope Benedict XVI. Newman was one of the first friends in heaven who I recall praying for his canonization. And this excellent little volume is a unique piece on that history. For as the description indicates this volume chronicles the miracle the life and miracle received by Jack Sullivan. 

Yes I am aware that Newman is now Canonized, October 13th 2019, and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on November 1st 2025. But this volume is more than just the story of a miracle. It is Jack’s life story. It is part history of the process and how in played out in this case and it is park a look at how great Saints and Popes have had a devotion to Newman even before this miracle. And it concludes with a wonderful little reflection from Newman himself. I highlighted a number of passages while reading this volume, some of them are.

“This booklet is a story of the glory of God. In the life of Jack Sullivan, about which we read here, there is remarkable testimony to the power of God, to God's glory This testimony is found, as we should expect, in the life of one man who was walking the pathway of intense suffering.”

“In telling the story of Jack Sullivan, this booklet also introduces us to John Henry Newman. It was in response to the invocation of Jack Sullivan to Cardinal Newman for help, for his prayers alongside those of the sick man, that this glorious miracle took place. Jack had already opened his heart to Cardinal Newman, finding in him a spiritual friend and protector. Now, in the hour of his greatest need, his friend did not let him down!”

“Not many people today are aware of the many years Father John Henry Newman spent as a parish priest in Birmingham. These years and this ministry are an eloquent testimony to his holiness. Indeed the declaration of this holiness is a great encouragement to all parish priests, especially in this Year For Priests, called for by Pope Benedict XVI.”

“So many people, therefore, can identity with these different aspects of the rich life of John Henry Newman. The forthcoming declaration of his sanctity encourages us all, in our prayer, in our study, in our quest for unity among Christians, in our efforts to proclaim our faith to our contemporaries. He is indeed a holy man for our age.”

“In this booklet we find recorded in ordinary words a most extraordinary event. We find we are witnesses to a miracle.”

“People will ask: does God still work miracles in the age of computers, the internet, space travel and all the other wonders we accept so easily? The answer would seem to be "Yes". Such an answer challenges our ideas of how the world goes, and perhaps that is no bad thing.”

“Indeed, the miracles of modern saints have only been declared after the most painstaking medical and scientific investigations, which earlier centuries could not have imagined being possible.”

“The Tribunal to investigate Jack Sullivan's case met in his home diocese of Boston, Massachusetts, under the auspices of Cardinal Sean O'Malley. The length of time required to hold the various sessions, to interview the witnesses and collate their evidence and to gather the medical documents, was rather longer than had been originally anticipated, but by November 2006 all the necessary work had been done and copies of the hundreds of pages that had been assembled were finally forwarded to Rome.”

“Very early on in his Pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI reverted to earlier custom and announced that in future while Canonisations would normally be done in Rome, as acts of the Universal Church, it was better to do Beatifications locally, in the Diocese where the candidate lived. This change is designed to involve the local church more and to encourage the faithful in devotion to the particular saints of their area.”

“The Beatification of John Henry Cardinal Newman, as a result of the miracle described in these pages, is an event which many in the Church have longed for and worked towards for a considerable period of time. The great Popes of the twentieth century praised his life and writings. Pius XII, Paul VJ and John Paul II all wrote and spoke about their hopes that one day Cardinal Newman would be raised to the honours of the altar and be a light and a guide for the whole church in difficult times. It is under Pope Benedict XVI, who has also studied and admired the "great English Cardinal", that the event is finally taking place.”

“What is described in this fascinating pamphlet, much of it in Jack Sullivan’s own words, is not the end of the story as far as the Cause of John Henry Newman is concerned. It is marvellous to have reached the moment of the Beatification, but those who love the Cardinal will not rest until he is a canonised saint of the Church.”

“I will never forget the simple words that I said that morning: 'Please Cardinal Newman, help me to walk so I can return to my Diaconate classes and be ordained.'”

“Jack has one sister, Beverly, and two brothers, Bill and Dick. All of the Sullivan children suffered from the learning disability dyslexia, and this caused difficulties in their schooling.”

“At his Confirmation Jack took the name Michael, after St Michael the Archangel. He also began to read the lives of the great saints, in particular St Teresa of Avila and St John of the Cross.”

“As a result of these learning difficulties, Jack found it hard to relate to other people, especially at High School: "Suffering from low self-esteem, shy and a loner, I would often go fishing by myself at a nearby lake and stay and fish all day. I learned to love and appreciate nature and how all of God's creatures were so interdependent.”

“The miracle necessary for the beatification of the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman (180 1-1890), probably the best-known English churchman in Victorian England, had been approved by the Cardinals and prelates of the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints on Tuesday 2nd June 2009.”

“"I have developed a very real relationship with Cardinal Newman in frequent prayer and I try to pass on what marvellous gifts I have received to those I meet. Secondly, when receiving the news, I felt a very deep sense of the reality of God's love for each one of us, especially during times of immense difficulties and suffering.”

“"The writings of Cardinal Newman arc so relevant today in view of our tendencies towards intellectualism and lack of doctrine, in this secular age in which we live during the early part of the 21st century."”

“In April 1990 Cardinal Ratzinger had described Newman as "the great English Cardinal", at a special Audience with Pope John Paul II for delegates attending a Newman Symposium, organised by the international Centre of Newman Friends, in Rome.”

“Except for the martyrs, Newman would be the first English saint to be canonised since well before the Reformation. (Benedict XVI and Cardinal Newman).”

“Jack Sullivan, as he had first done nine years before, contacted Father Paul Chavasse at the Birmingham Oratory. This time it was a simple message: "I volunteer to serve as a deacon during Mass at the beatification ceremony of Cardinal Newman."”

“Therefore I will trust him. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve him. My sickness, or perplexity, or sorrow may be necessary causes of some great end, which is quite beyond us. He does nothing in vain; he may prolong my life, he may shorten it; he knows what he is about. He may take away my friends, he may throw me among strangers, he may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me - still he knows what he is about.”

I hope those quotes give you a feel for the volume. This volume is easy to engage with, anyone with a secondary education could easily work through it. I have a small collections of volumes about Newman from the CTS I still wish to read, and several by or about him that I have. I celebrate that he is a Doctor of the church and can easily recommend this or any of the other CTS volumes about or by him.

This book is a good read. I loved the history and story we are given of Jack’s life and how he discovered Newman and how Newman interceded in his life. I am thankful for the work that the CTS does, and for their effort to stay up to date on eBook editions. With my dual form of dyslexia and my son having eye tracking issues I consider them essential, especially with adaptive technology. I picked this up and did not start it as I was awaiting an eBook of one of the other new volumes. I finally caved and gave it a read I am so thankful I did. This one is out of print but well worth tracking down.

Over the last several years, I have read many books from the Catholic Truth Society, in fact over 460 of them as of the reading of this volume; many read more than once; this all since the spring of 2018. Most were good reads; some were great reads; and a few are exceptional. Including this title. There are just do many out of print or not available digitally that I want to read. A great read I can easily recommend if you can lay your hands on a copy.

St John Henry Newman: A New Doctor of the Church - Fr Hermann Geissler, FSO
Saint John Henry Newman: His Life and Works - CTS
Benedict XVI and Blessed John Henry Newman the State Visit - Benedict XVI
…

CTS Books by John Henry Newman:
Meditations on Stations of the Cross
Christ upon the Waters - CTS Onefifties Book 3

Reviews of other books about Newman:
Take Five: Meditations with John Henry Newman -  Mike Aquilina and Juan Velez
…















Labels: , , , ,

Posted by at No comments:

Sunday, 24 May 2026

End Games - Jude Hardin - The Jack Reacher Experiment Book 7

End Games 
Jack Reacher Experiment Book 6
ISBN 9781727607031
ASIN B07FK8XJSR

End Games - Jude Hardin - The Jack Reacher Experiment Book 7

I want to state I did enjoy this book and look forward to the rest in the series and the other two Reacher Series Jude has penned. Second a few years ago I read my first Reacher novel. I had picked up one for my dad, and after giving the back a read, I grabbed the eBook for myself. In under a year I had read all the Reacher Novels in print and all the books in the Hunt for Jack Reacher by Diane Capri. Since then I have read 59 books in the Reacher universe and am expanding out to the three series by Jude Hardin now.

The description of this book and same as some of the others is:

“About The Jack Reacher Experiment series

Rock Wahlman: Forty-one years old, United States Navy Master at Arms, E-8, retired.

DOB 14 October 2057.

Grew up in an orphanage, recently discovered that he is the product of a human cloning experiment, an exact genetic duplicate of a former army officer named Jack Reacher.

Now someone wants all evidence of the experiment to be erased, which means that someone wants Wahlman to be erased.

He’s on the run, desperate to survive, desperate to learn the truth about why all this is happening…

Note: The use of the name Jack Reacher, along with the use of story situations and supporting characters from the Jack Reacher universe, authorized by Lee Child. While sometimes referenced in the context of the story, the Jack Reacher character remains offstage in Kill Shot: The Jack Reacher Experiment Book 4.”

This volume like some of the others begins with:

“Rock Wahlman: Forty-one years old, United States Navy Master at Arms, E-8, retired. DOB 14 October 2057. Grew up in an orphanage, recently discovered that he is the product of a human cloning experiment, an exact genetic duplicate of a former army officer named Jack Reacher. Now someone wants all evidence of the experiment to be erased, which means that someone wants Wahlman to be erased. He’s on the run, desperate to survive, desperate to learn the truth about why all this is happening…”

This story is listed as 106 pages, not the shortest in the series and not the longest; but around the average. It felt shorter though, this one has a lot of focus around a specific base called ‘The Box’, from the previous offering. Based on the page count this volume is more of a novella, the book in this series are available as 9 stand-alone stories or in 3 omnibus editions with 3 volumes each and now even all 9 stories in 1 eBook or print edition. I will continue to read and review the stand-alone editions because that is how I started the series. Back to the book at hand. I read this over a few mugs of coffee on a quiet day at home. It was finished far too soon, and really leaves you desperate for the next 2 stories in the series.

Even death can’t keep Reacher down, in a manner of speaking. Rock Wahlman is a clone of Reacher, but he was not the only one. In the first volume, on the night his life goes sideways, he tries and saves a man after his rig goes off the road and into water. The man he pulls from the water looks just like him. Having been raised in an orphanage this raises some questions. After an attempt on his life, he starts putting together the pieces. His life may have been different than Reacher’s but his determination when he is threatened is the same. 

Wahlman is still working to find info he needs to clear his name, and get his life back. He now has plans and hopes for a life. But it is all going to hinge on a crazy risky plan. He wants a home a family, things he had never desired before. Both Wahlman and Kasey realize their feelings for each other are not going away. But before that can happen he needs evidence on the corrupt general that is trying to have him taken out and about the cloning projects that have done. His is not only running from a rogue element in the Military, and the New Orleans’s Police.

Muck like his generic source material, trouble just seems to find Wahlman. And in this one He is in it again. And it seems he is destined to die. This story jumps back and forth in time in the telling. This is the most intense instalment yet. 

This is another great novella. That stays true to the original character and universe. It is a great read in a fun series. Even if this volume had not been set in the Reacher Universe I would have enjoyed it. The fact that it is only adds to the mystique that is Jack Reacher. It was good read and leaves you desperate for the next instalment in this series. This is a book and series I can easily recommend to fans of Reacher or anyone who love a good action thriller.

Books by Jude Hardin:
Books in the Jack Reacher Experiment Series:
Ricochet
Gone
…
The Reacher Experiment Books 1-3 
The Reacher Experiment Books 4-6 
The Reacher Experiment Books 7-9
…
The Reacher Experiment: The Complete Series Books 1-9
…

The Reacher Code Series:
Timestream 1
Timestream 2
Timestream 3
…

Jack Reacher Files Series:
Fugative
Choke
Hostage
Velocity
The Girl from the Wrong Side of Cordial 
…

Nicholas Colt Series:
Pocket-47
Crosscut
Snuff Tag 9
Rattled
Colt
Key Death
Blood Tattoo
The Blood Notebooks
...

Nicholas Colt Crossover Books:
Racked (with J.A. Konrath)
Lady 52 (with J.A. Konrath)
Sycamore Bluff
...

Midnight Creek Series:
The Cold Gray Adiós
A Single Red Alibi
...

Stranded in the Old West:
Frifter
lawless
...

Pickin' & Grin Inn Mystery Series:
Dead Ain't Your Color 
Friends in Freshly Dug Places
...

iSEAL Series:
iSeal
iSEAL 2
...

Other Books:
Codename: Hollowpoint
   aka Fused
A Thin Ribbon of Smoke
   aka Witness
Rocked
   aka Cage Fight
Au Revoir from a Bridge to Nowhere 
Fire and Ice
Choke
The Blood Notebooks
...

Dead Ringer - Jude Hardin - Jack Reacher Experiment Books 1-9
Labels: ,

Posted by at No comments:

Saturday, 23 May 2026

Two Discourses on Our Lady The Present and Future of British Catholicism - John Henry Newman

Two Discourses on Our Lady The Present and Future of British Catholicism 
John Henry Newman 
Dr Rebekah Lamb Varela (Introduction)
Catholic Truth Society
ISBN 9781784698584
eISBN 9781784698768
ASIN B0G3QRJBB2
CTS Booklet CP003


With the announcement of Saint John Henry Newman becoming the newest Doctor of the Church that has been a fresh revival in interest in the man, his life and his works. This was one of three new volumes released by the CTS after that announcement. The other two are:

The Second Spring
St John Henry Newman: A New Doctor of the Church

And there has been renewed interest in the volume:

Saint John Henry Newman: His Life and Works

But back to the volume at hand. The description of this volume is:

“Years before either the Immaculate Conception or the Assumption of Our Lady were formally declared dogmas of the Church, St John Henry Newman preached an unwavering devotion to Mary. In an introduction, Dr Rebekah Lamb Varela explains how Newman understood Marian devotion as inherently Christological.

Years before either the Immaculate Conception or the Assumption of Our Lady were formally declared dogmas of the Church, St John Henry Newman preached an unwavering devotion to Mary. In an introduction to these two important discourses, Dr Rebekah Lamb Varela explains how Newman, Doctor of the Church, understood Marian devotion as inherently Christological, always leading the way to deeper union with Christ. In the discourses themselves, Newman opens for the reader the mysteries revealed, graces procured and spiritual benefit bestowed on every Christian who draws close to Mary, the Mother of God. 

Above all, let us imitate [Our Lady’s] purity… O my dear children, young men and young women, what need have you of the intercession of the Virgin-mother, of her help, of her pattern, in this respect! What shall bring you forward in the narrow way, if you live in the world, but the thought and patronage of Mary? What shall seal your senses, what shall tranquillise your heart, when sights and sounds of danger are around you, but Mary? What shall give you patience and endurance, when you are wearied out with the length of the conflict with evil, with the unceasing necessity of precautions, with the irksomeness of observing them, with the tediousness of their repetition, with the strain upon your mind, with your forlorn and cheerless condition, but a loving communion with her! She will comfort you in your discouragements, solace you in your fatigues, raise you after your falls, reward you for your successes. She will show you her Son, your God and your all.”

About the author of the forward we are informed:

“Dr Rebekah Lamb Varela is the Director of Teaching at the School of Divinity at the University of St Andrews and a Lecturer in theology, imagination and the arts. Her research specialities are in theology and the arts, particularly literature and visual culture, in late modernity. Key figures in her work include John Henry Newman, Thérèse of Lisieux, Gerard Manley Hopkins SJ, Christina Rossetti and the Pre-Raphaelites as well as their inheritors (JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis and Frances Blogg Chesterton, among others).”

The chapters and sections in the book are:

About the Author
Introduction by Rebekah Lamb Varela
Discourse 17. The Glories of Mary for the Sake of Her Son: Seasons – Immaculate Conception
Discourse 18. On the Fitness of the Glories of Mary: Seasons – Assumption

The book is split almost equally in three, between the introduction and the two Discourses. I highlighted several passages while reading this volume, some of them are:

From the Introduction:

“This mysterious bond between Christ, the God-man, and his mother, the God-bearer (Theotokos), profoundly touched the heart of St John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890) and enlivened his devotional life. It also illuminated his theological writings and homilies throughout his long life of preaching, teaching, and pastoral ministry.”

“Central to Newman’s great affection for Mary as the Theotokos is his appreciation that any devout Mariology is a derivative of Christology.”

“As with Newman, John Paul II’s Marian devotion was one which grew, maturing as he entered ever more deeply and prayerfully into the heart of the Church’s teaching and heritage.”

“As with John Paul II, Newman’s Marian devotion grew at different stages until it reached a deep maturation and became an abiding resource for his prayer and pastoral ministry–especially following on from his conversion to the Roman Catholic Church in 1845 and in his vocation as an Oratorian priest.”

“Newman was appointed vicar of the University Church and used this new pulpit extensively, preaching on a wide and rich variety of subjects concerning the spiritual life and Christian doctrine, including several meditations on the nature and dignity of Mary as God’s Mother and on the lives of the saints.”

“Newman’s preaching was not only popular due to his eloquence and the depth of his theological understanding. His sermons were also rooted in a living, active faith which manifested in practical wisdom, in offering concrete direction on how to live a holy life in the middle of the world, in one’s own place and time.”

“He the proceeds to emphasise how Mary’s paradoxically hidden presence throughout scripture reveals that the heart of the spiritual life is receptivity to the Holy Spirit.”

“However, following his conversion to the Roman Catholic Church in 1845, Newman’s writings on our Lady as the God-bearer, the Theotokos, take on a new depth of affection and admiration which is shaped by, and grounded in, his extensive study of the early Church’s teaching and councils.”

“It is Newman’s searching examination of the early Church which also led him to see the degree to which the Christians of the early Church turned to the mother-son bond between Our Lady and Christ to clarify aspects of doctrine, especially those articles of faith concerning Christology (the study of the nature and person of the Jesus of history who is also the Christ of God).”

“For Newman, the first, divine dispensation toward Our Lady–namely, her Immaculate Conception–is the guarantor of the mysterious glory of her Assumption and all other graces granted to her.” 

From Discourse 17:

“They are startling and difficult to those whose imagination is not accustomed to them, and whose reason has not reflected on them; but the more carefully and religiously they are dwelt on, the more, I am sure, will they be found essential to the Catholic faith, and integral to the worship of Christ.”

“As she was once on earth, and was personally the guardian of her Divine Child, as she carried Him in her womb, folded Him in her embrace, and suckled Him at her breast, so now, and to the latest hour of the Church, do her glories and the devotion paid her proclaim and define the right faith concerning Him as God and man. Every church which is dedicated to her, every altar which is raised under her invocation, every image which represents her, every litany in her praise, every Hail Mary for her continual memory, does but remind us that there was One who, though He was all-blessed from all eternity, yet for the sake of sinners, “did not shrink from the Virgin’s womb”.”

“It would not have sufficed, in order to bring out and impress on us the idea that God is man, had His Mother been an ordinary person. A mother without a home in the Church, without dignity, without gifts, would have been, as far as the defence of the Incarnation goes, no mother at all. She would not have remained in the memory, or the imagination of men.”

“I am not proving these doctrines to you, my brethren; the evidence of them lies in the declaration of the Church. The Church is the oracle of religious truth, and dispenses what the apostles committed to her in every time and place.”

“O harbinger of day! O hope of the pilgrim! lead us still as thou hast led; in the dark night, across the bleak wilderness, guide us on to our Lord Jesus, guide us home.”

From Discourse 18:

“We find that it is simply in harmony with the substance and main outlines of the doctrine of the Incarnation, and that without it Catholic teaching would have a character of incompleteness, and would disappoint our pious expectations.”

“So stands the case with Mary; she gave birth to the Creator, and what recompense shall be made her? what shall be done to her, who had this relationship to the Most High? what shall be the fit accompaniment of one whom the Almighty has deigned to make, not His servant, not His friend, not His intimate, but His superior, the source of His second being, the nurse of His helpless infancy, the teacher of His opening years?”

“Fulfil this boast in yourselves; prove to the world that you are following no false teaching, vindicate the glory of your Mother Mary, whom the world blasphemes, in the very face of the world, by the simplicity of your own deportment, and the sanctity of your words and deeds. Go to her for the royal heart of innocence. She is the beautiful gift of God, which outshines the fascinations of a bad world, and which no one ever sought in sincerity and was disappointed.”

I hope those quotes give you a feel for the volume. This volume is easy to engage with, anyone with a secondary education could easily work through it. I have a small collection of volumes about Newman from the CTS I still wish to read, and several by or about him that I have. I celebrate that he is a Doctor of the church and can easily recommend this or any of the other CTS volumes about or by him.

This book is a good read. I am thankful for the work that the CTS does, and for their effort to stay up to date on eBook editions. With my dual form of dyslexia and my son having eye tracking issues I consider them essential, especially with adaptive technology. I picked this up and did not start it as I was awaiting an eBook of one of the other new volumes. I finally caved and gave it a read I am so thankful I did.

Over the last several years, I have read many books from the Catholic Truth Society, in fact over 460 of them as of the reading of this volume; many read more than once; this all since the spring of 2018. Most were good reads; some were great reads; and a few are exceptional. Including this title. 

St John Henry Newman: A New Doctor of the Church - Fr Hermann Geissler, FSO
Saint John Henry Newman: His Life and Works - CTS
Benedict XVI and Blessed John Henry Newman the State Visit - Benedict XVI
…

CTS Books by John Henry Newman:
Meditations on Stations of the Cross
Christ upon the Waters - CTS Onefifties Book 3
The Second Spring
…

Reviews of other books about Newman:
Take Five: Meditations with John Henry Newman -  Mike Aquilina and Juan Velez
…















Labels: , , ,

Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)