St. John Henry Newman and the Gift of Understanding in his Poem to Edward Caswall

Saint Cardinal John Henry Newman

St. John Henry Newman and the Gift of Understanding in his Poem to Edward Caswall

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Understanding is one of the precious gifts of the Holy Spirit. Although at first surprising, a poem dedicated by St. John Henry Newman to Edward Caswall serves as a delightful approach to this spiritual gift. To grasp the poem in the light of this gift and apprehend Newman’s meaning, it is useful to review what this spiritual gift of understanding is. 

As Fr. Antonio Royo Marin O.P. has explained, “The Gift of Understanding is a supernatural habit, infused by God with sanctifying Grace, by which the human intellect, under the illuminating action of the Holy Spirit, is made apt for a penetrating intuition of revealed truths, and even of natural truths so far as they are related to the supernatural end . . . . It discloses the hidden meaning of Sacred Scripture. It reveals to us the spiritual realities that are under sensible realities and so that the smallest religious ceremonies carry tremendous significance.  It makes us see causes through their effects simply and intuitively. This gives a profound appreciation for God’s providence.” In other words, the gift of understanding is not reasoning, not analysis, but an insight into divine truth through grace. It is not the use of intellect or a product of knowledge, but it’s a way of perceiving that is at the heart of Newman’s teachings. 

Edward Caswall was a dear friend to John Henry. They both shared a love for poetry and for translation. They both were first Anglican priests. After the early death of his wife, Edward, who greatly admired Newman, converted and was subsequently ordained a Catholic priest. He became an Oratorian and joined Fr. Newman.  Fr. Caswall along with Fr. Frederick Faber, another convert from Anglicanism, and Newman had a shared background and love of Anglican hymnody. It is notable that these three oratorians are responsible for many hymns loved and still sung today. 

St. John Henry’s poem to Caswall was “A gift for the new year in return for his volume of Poems” as the epigraph reads.  The opening image of the poem is essential: a “clear calm pool” reflecting blossoms, trees, and flowers. These first lines of the poem are remarkable because they illustrate Newman’s ability to write tenderly of nature, as follows:

ONCE, o’er a clear calm pool,

The fulness of an over-brimming spring,

I saw the hawthorn and the chestnut fling

Their willing arms, of vernal blossoms full

And light green leaves: the lilac too was there,

The prodigal laburnum, dropping gold,

While the rich gorse along the turf crept near,

Close to the fountain’s margin, and made bold

To peep into that pool, so calm and clear:—

As if well pleased to see their image bright

Reflected back upon their innocent sight;

Each flower and blossom shy

Lingering the live-long day in still delight . . . 

The opening image of the pool is essential because it represents the mind or soul at rest, capable of receiving and reflecting spiritual truths. This first section concludes with these lines:

“Yet without touch of pride, to view,

Yea, with a tender, holy sympathy,

What was itself, yet was another too.”

This is the heart of the poem and the illustration of the gift of understanding. The flowers seem to gaze at themselves but they also encounter the “other.” Understanding sees the created thing but also its divine meaning. This reflection and “comprehension” by the flower without pride is illustrating spiritual understanding. The flower is a flower but participates in divine beauty, contrary to being a mere material thing.  Understanding allows a person to see both at once, the actual beauty of the flowers and their divine resonance.

In the second stanza, St. John Henry Newman shifts the metaphor: 

So on thy verse, my Brother and my Friend,

—The fresh upwelling of thy tranquil spirit,—

I see a many angel forms attend;

And gracious souls elect,

And thronging sacred shades, that shall inherit

One day the azure skies,

And peaceful saints, in whitest garments deck’d;

And happy infants of the second birth:—

These, and all other plants of paradise,

Thoughts from above, and visions that are sure,

And providences past, and memories dear,

In much content hang o’er that mirror pure,

And recognize each other’s faces there,

And see a heaven on earth. 

(The Oratory. January 1, 1858).

The clear calm pool from the opening line is replaced by Caswall’s “verse” or poetry. His verse becomes the pool. And what is reflected in this pool? “angel forms,” “gracious souls,” “plants of paradise,” “thoughts from above,” and “visions that are sure.” Caswall’s poetry comes, or “upwells” from his Christian life. Newman has recognized in Caswall’s poetry spiritual truths and divine realities. The pool reflects flowers and Caswall’s verses reflect heaven. 

The glorious final line of this poem could be a definition of spiritual understanding, that is, “And see a heaven on earth.” This points to the presence of grace in ordinary things, with a continuity between earth and heaven. The beauty of the visible world is a sign of the invisible, Newman’s sacramental principle.

In St. John Henry’s poem, the gift of understanding is shown as a contemplative clarity granted to the soul by which it perceives created things not only in themselves, but as reflections of divine reality: thus “seeing a heaven on earth.” With this incredibly moving tribute, Newman honors and recognizes the gift in his dear friend, Edward Caswall.  

 Sunday, May 31, is Trinity Sunday, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. The spiritual gift of understanding helps one move beyond attempting to understand this mystery with human logic. Understanding allows a person to accept the mystery of the triune God, a communion of divine Persons in perfect love. The community of Oratorian brothers represented this love as evidenced by their joy in shared worship and shared friendship, beautifully expressed by Newman in his poem to Edward Caswall.