John Henry Cardinal Newman

03/10/2022

03/06/2022

10/08/2016

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/u.s.-catholic-school-expels-student-because-parents-opposed-erotic-sex-ed

'I am just a mother who wanted to protect my son’s innocence for as long as I can:' Susan Skinner.

07/24/2016

http://ucatholic.com/saints/charbel-makhlouf/

Saint Charbel Makhlouf, O.L.M., was a Maronite monk and priest in Lebanon. During his life he obtained a wide reputation for holiness and he has been canonized by the Catholic Church.

03/07/2016

Fourth Sunday of Lent - Year C: Joshua 5:9, 10-12, Psalm 34, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Today's parable of the prodigal son is a story that is familiar to us all from childhood, and yet one so rich in meaning that it can never be fully exploited. An angle on it that I thought might be interesting to consider today was what this parable has to say about a very contemporary problem - materialism. Both sons in the story were deeply attached to the good things in life; the "hero", however, was so enamored of them that he wanted them all - immediately. That caused his problem to begin with. His return home was equally motivated by materialism; he wanted to come home only when he had run out of money abroad. What does all this have to do with us?

When the history of our era is written, it may well be referred to as the "Age of Materialism." Materialism is characterized by a desire for immediate self-gratification of physical wants, a grasping greediness, a willingness to gain more at the expense of those who have less, an immature attitude more concerned with receiving than with giving. One need only look at the advertising media to see how true this is. They know how modern people think and act, and they appeal to those baser instincts for their own benefit.

Don't get me wrong - material things are not bad, if for no other reason than that they were created by God. However, they can become bad when they lead us away from God and other people, rather than bringing us into a closer union with the Christ Who was poor and so loves the poor today. Lent is a time given to us to balance out our excessive materialism, as we do without things to deepen a relationship with a Person. Almsgiving is a traditional Lenten practice by which we give to those in need - not simply from our surplus but from our substance. Mother Teresa used to say, "You know you are giving sacrificially and from the heart if your giving hurts."

Most of us have never known hunger or homelessness. For that reason we need to ponder the words of Pope John Paul II that he spoke at the Yankee Stadium Mass in 1979. Let his words on wealth and concern for the poor guide your conduct in how you react to appeals of charity. On that occasion he spoke about the rich man and Lazarus: "Was the rich man condemned because he had riches, because he abounded in earthly possessions, because he 'dressed in purple linen and feasted splendidly every day'? No, I would say that it was not for this reason. The rich man was condemned because he did not pay attention to the other man. Nowhere does Christ condemn the mere possession of earthly goods as such. Instead, He pronounces very harsh words against those who use their possessions in a selfish way - without paying attention to the needs of others. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus must always be present in our memory; it must from our conscience."

The heresy of materialism makes a tragic mistake: it substitutes the worship of the creature for that of the Creator. I recently came upon a poem that says that people who have fallen prey to that philosophy of life are in for a rude awakening at the end of time:

I had been dead but a few minutes.
I felt myself soaring into the heavens.
I approached the Holy of Holies
With heart-pounding excitement.
How magnificent it will be!
(For the gods have everything.)
I recalled the old stories: thrilling harps,
Gates of pearl, pavements of gold, graceful angels,
I imagined the dazzling beauty, the luxurious furnishings.
The splendid decor, the delicious feasts.
I entered.
There was nothing.
I repeat, nothing!
Then it dawned on me.
Of course!
To be holy is to need nothing.

03/07/2016

Saturday Week 3: Hosea 5:15c-6:6, Psalm 51, Luke 18:9-14

So often Catholics have been accused of empty externalism, and sometimes the charges are well founded. Today we hear Hosea say that God is not interested in religious rites unless we put our faith into practice.

Many have been making an added effort to participate in the Eucharist during Lent, and that is surely praiseworthy. But, that effort must be matched by a similar eagerness to bring the Gospel into our homes and places of business. Otherwise, what we do at Mass loses its meaning, for we become Pharisees who are more concerned with looking good than with being good.

12/16/2015

Late Advent 2015

Dear Friends,

I hope that this missive finds you and yours well.

As usual, this has been a very busy year, on a number of different fronts, with my usual round of lectures, retreats, parish missions, etc., which brought me to twelve (arch)dioceses during 2015: Trenton, New York, Ga***rd, Philadelphia, Boston, Rockville Centre, Charlotte, San Antonio, Newark, Los Angeles and Detroit in the U.S., and the Archdiocese of Southwark in England. Father Nicholas and I had the pleasure of being part of the priestly ordination and First Mass of Father James Cadman in England – I, as the homilist for his First Mass and Father Nicholas as the master of ceremonies for both liturgies.

Of course, work for the Catholic Education Foundation occupied center-stage, especially in regard to assisting schools in the promotion of their Catholic identity. Be sure to visit our website: catholiceducationfoundation.com. For the past two years, I have also been teaching a course or two in philosophy, world religions and Latin at Ocean County College, where my presence as a priest has been very well received. I still serve as a U.S. dissertation advisor for the Maryvale Institute in Birmingham (England) and as a supervisor of student teachers for Grand Canyon University.

Father Nicholas and I press ahead with The Catholic Response, which is a constant struggle in this era of diminished interest in the printed word, along with constantly increasing costs for printing and mailing. Of course, we also face similar difficulties with Newman House Press. Some unanticipated, extraordinary expenses have put us in a real bind; your help would be most appreciated, especially in promoting these two apostolates, as well as in any financial support you can render. Once more, I would invite you to visit our “new and improved” website (johnhenrycardinalnewman.org).

Father Nicholas and I continue to assist the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops with translation projects, presently embarking on an English version of the Latin Compendium Eucharisticum, produced by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments a couple of years ago. It is a great gathering together of doctrinal and devotional texts taken from the Church’s rich treasury of Eucharistic theology. Watch for its appearance later in 2016.



I was most pleased that Father Nicholas was able to be in Rome to cover the Ordinary Synod on the Family this past October (during which he provided invaluable insights to many who were often bewildered by some of the happenings). His reflections were picked up by Catholic World Report and the Catholic Voice of Ireland (which garnered 7,000 to 14,000 hits per piece); those articles can be found on the home page of our website – read them for your own information and pass them on to others as part of your own work of evangelization. The downside to the whole experience was that Father Nicholas did not have Wi-Fi access in the clergy house where he was living, thus necessitating his use of constant roaming to research and write his articles – resulting in over $2000 due to ATT and creating a huge hole in our budget. Therefore, any back-up would be most appreciated.

With this Christmas, I move into Medicare mode! Which reminds me of an episode when I was teaching at St. John’s University in New York in the 1980s. During the week of final exams, one of the “students” said, “Heh, Padre, we hear you’ve got a birthday coming up.” “Yes, I’ll be 35 on Christmas,” I admitted. His retort: “Wow, like your life is half-over!” I reminded him that the grades weren’t handed in yet, bringing his attempt at a “save”: “But you look really good for a guy who’s half-dead!” Within five years of the magic number of seventy, I must say I don’t feel “old,” and many tell me (not out of sympathy, I hope) that I don’t look that old!


As we prepare our hearts and homes to receive the Christ Child in a few short days, permit me to suggest that you make your own the words of that lovely carol which pleads, “O come to us, abide us with us, our Lord Emmanuel.” He does abide with us, especially in the Holy Eucharist, which extends the mystery of the Incarnation in time, making every day a “little Christmas” for us. Know that you and your intentions will be remembered in a special way as I offer Holy Mass on the day of the Lord’s Nativity, indeed, “Christ’s Mass.” I ask for the same in return.

My loving prayers and priestly blessing accompany you for the duration of Advent and throughout Christmastide. As a special aid to your liturgical spirituality, I offer below one of my favorite poems by G. K. Chesterton, who had a particular affection for Christmas.

In the Coming Savior,

Father Peter

The Catholic Response
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10/19/2015

10/17/2015

If you would like to receive a copy of The Catholic Educator, private message me your email address and I will forward you a copy of it.

Dear Friends,

Please find the latest issue of TCE. I hope you enjoy it and pass it on to other potentially interested parties.
_________________________________
Rev. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Ph.D., S.T.D.
Newman House
601 Buhler Court
Pine Beach, New Jersey 08741
732-914-1222 (office)
732-914-1226 (fax)
215-327-5754 (mobile)

10/09/2015

Oct 9 - “John Henry Newman” © icon by Br. Robert Lentz, OFM. Happy Feast Day John!

Cardinal Newman represents the best in Roman Catholic scholarship, which is the reason Catholic centers on college campuses in the United States are named for him. He began his career as an Anglican priest and a professor at Oxford. He ended his life as a Roman Catholic cardinal. His conversion cost him his position at Oxford, one of the greatest personal sacrifices he could have made.

Newman has been called the patron saint of critics who love the church. As much as he loved the Church of Rome, he deplored its lack of theological liberty. He firmly believed that theological issues should be worked through by theologians, rather than settled peremptorily by the Vatican bureaucracy. "It is intolerable," he wrote, "that we should be placed at the mercy of a secret tribunal, which dares to speak in the name of the pope, and which would institute, if it could, a regime of espionage, denunciation, and terrorism."

The laity, according to Newman, was always the truest measure of Catholicism. "The Church would look foolish without them." From his deep knowledge of church history and theology, he realized that the hierarchy needed the laity as much as it did theologians. In this icon he holds a scroll with another quotation from his writings. Even when the hierarchy does not listen to the laity or the theologians, their voice will emerge with the passing of time. The Spirit will insure this.

Newman was a sensitive man who loved people. He believed that "the best preparation for loving the world at large, and loving it duly and wisely, is to cultivate an intimate friendship and affection towards those who are immediately around us." As a Roman priest, he introduced St. Philip Neri's Oratory into England -- a form of community life for priests, but without religious vows. At the end of his life he was buried at his own request in the same grave as one of his dearest friends, so that even death might not sever their companionship.