With eight volumes of sermons, poetry, two novels and more, St. John Henry Cardinal Newman of England was prolific.
And yet, he was accessible, said Patrick Conley, host of “Practicing Catholic” as he interviewed Ron Snyder, a member of Our Lady of Grace in Edina and president of the St. John Henry Newman Association of America.
“Whenever I think of Newman and even in this conversation today, I’m thinking there’s not a lot of weightiness to it,” said Conley, himself a fan of the saint. “He’s wooing in that sense. It’s like I want to draw closer to this guy.”
Readily agreeing, Snyder launched into lines from one of the saint’s sermons: “‘But in the unseen world Christ has entered, there is peace. There is no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither any more pain. … (N)o strife but the light of God’s countenance and a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne. That is our home. Here we are but, on a pilgrimage, and Christ is calling us home.’”
The interview will debut at 9 p.m. Oct. 20 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM. It includes Snyder first learning about St. John Henry Newman in a Catholic Studies course at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul as he pursued a “midlife graduate degree.”
“I stumble into Catholic Studies wanting to learn more about our faith, and then Newman is front and center, and I didn’t know anything about Newman,” Snyder said.
What Snyder found was deep and rich, and he explored the great saint’s writings with young adults who were fellow graduate students. That led to Snyder hosting weekly Zoom sessions and a podcast at newmanontap.com.
Additional resources on the saint include the websites newmanreader.org and cardinaljohnhenrynewman.com, Snyder said.
“I would go to his sermons, without a doubt,” Snyder said. “That’s a really important starting point.”
To hear more about St. John Henry Newman, who was born in 1801 and died in 1890, tune into “Practicing Catholic,” which repeats at 1 p.m. Oct. 21 and 2 p.m. Oct. 22.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes an interview with Cathy Blaeser from Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, who describes pro-life efforts in Minnesota and the “Save the 12,000” campaign; and Kathleen Osberger who shares stories from her missionary work abroad as we approach World Mission Sunday.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at?PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at anchor.fm/practicing-catholic-show.
