Meditations and Devotions

St. John Henry Newman on “The Paraclete, the Life of my Soul”

Scott Goins June 30, 2025
Saint Cardinal John Henry Newman
Saint Cardinal John Henry Newman
St. John Henry Newman on “The Paraclete, the Life of my Soul”
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St. John Henry Newman on “The Paraclete, the Life of my Soul”

Chiesa Nuova, Rome

In this portion of the Meditations and Devotions St. John Henry Newman has been focusing on God’s kindly care for believers and on the gifts that he bestows upon the individual and upon the Church. Chapters IX-XIII focused on Jesus’ farewells to his disciples before and after his crucifixion as found in the Gospel of John. In Chapter XIV Newman moves to God’s great gift of the Holy Spirit. Newman comments especially on our tremendous need of help and on God’s great kindness in offering the third person of the Trinity to supply the needed aid. In this chapter he frequently uses the term Paraclete, the English version of the Greek word for advocate or helper, literally the one called to a person’s side for help, as a Roman client would summon his patron to help in legal proceedings.

In today’s blog we are looking in particular at section 3, “The Paraclete, the Life of my Soul.” The title of this prayer of thanksgiving shows how deeply Newman feels about the Holy Spirit, whom he actually sees as his “Life.” The saint begins his prayer with utter gratefulness to God for his “incomprehensible condescension” (XIV.3.1) in bringing Newman into His fold. Newman, probably thinking of his teenage years when he flirted with atheism, notes that he had willingly moved away from God but that God still drew him to Himself. To the needy Newman, God had proved “kinder to me than I am to myself.”

In the following paragraph, Newman moves more specifically to the nature of the divine aid given through the Holy Spirit. St. John Henry is thankful for the favor God has shown him, even though it is totally undeserved. God, he notes, could have simply given instructions and commands. But instead, God gives His very self in uniting us with Himself, making us, in Pauline terms, his “Temple.” (I Cor 6:19). He is grateful and amazed at God’s taking “possession of my very soul, this earthly, fleshly, wretched Tabernacle,” a striking juxtaposition.

In the final paragraph of this section, Newman moves from his mystical paradox to the very concrete and practical ways in which the Holy Spirit keeps him and others from sin. He realizes that if he falls into serious sin he will lose the presence of his beloved guest, the Holy Spirit, and so he has a tremendous impetus not to let such a tragedy occur. But also knowing that humanity cannot always act with rational self-control, he adds that the Holy Spirit gives him strength to avoid sin. Thus the presence of the Holy Spirit serves as a “double security,” providing much-needed strength and also serving as a beloved guest whom we would never want to leave us. Our avoidance of sin is thus both our act and God’s act. Newman closes with the promise, “Through Thee I will never forsake Thee,” knowing that despite his own good will, he must have God’s grace.

In order that we might be more aware of this indwelling gift of the Holy Spirit, let us also address this Divine Person in the way which St. John Henry Newman himself did:

“I ADORE Thee, O my Lord, the Third Person of the All-Blessed Trinity, that Thou hast set up in this world of sin a great light upon a hill. Thou hast founded the Church, Thou hast established and maintained it. Thou fillest it continually with Thy gifts, that men may see, and draw near, and take, and live.”

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A Guide to John Henry Newman will interest educated readers and professors alike, and serve as a text for college seminars for the purpose of studying Newman.

Review by Catherine Maybanks
(Catholic Herald, April 1, 2023)

Review by Serenheed James
(Antiphon, April 2023)

 This book is being currently considered for reprinting, all enquiries to the Sales Team general@alivepublishing.co.uk
 

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Endorsement by Neyra Blanco (Amazon)
I bought this book for my son and he loved it, he wrote this review and urged my to submitted: “I think this book has a very beautiful message, because it shows how the young Newman was so determined to achieve his dream of becoming a priest, but even after his dream he continued to work in the church with passion until the day he died, it’s so admirable that even Newman so old and so weak still had that urge to continued his work of being a priest. And the book is well written with words not too complicated with very enjoyable texts and well illustrated pictures. I highly recommend this book for a 5th grader.  

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What is a Classical Liberal Arts Education? Why is it so important for the development of a person?

Fr. Juan R. Vélez answers these and more questions you might have about University Education in the 21st century. This book is aimed for parents, prospective University students, and educators. It will help you discern why adding Liberal Arts electives to your education will help it form it better, and help the student learn to reason, and not just learn.

He also explains how many Universities have changed the true meaning of Liberal Arts, and the subjects, and gives advise on how to choose College Campus, Subjects, and Teachers.

A wonderful book that every parent should also read way before your children are College bound. A Liberal Arts education can start earlier in life, even from home.

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Endorsement by Christopher Moellering (Goodreads, September 14, 2019)
In Passion for Truth Fr. Vélez gave us an outstanding biography of Cardinal Newman. In this work, he provides a concise overview of his thought and his devotion. This is a great work for someone who, perhaps hearing of Newman for the first time because of his beatification 13 October, 2019, wants to know more about this English saint.Vélez is a wonderful writer in his own right, and the frequent quotations from Newman round out the work nicely. I especially appreciated the frequent citing of Newman’s Meditations and Devotions, which show a different side of his spirituality than his more well-known works, Development of Christian Doctrine and the Grammar of Assent.

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Review by Gregory J. Sullivan (Amazon, May 25, 2012)

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Take Five: Meditations with John Henry Newman, endorsement by Illow M. Roque (Amazon, September 3, 2010)
“There is a time to put direct inquiry on hold and give ourselves to prayer and practical duties.” Sound advice from one of the earlier, thought-provoking reminders in this sparkling gem of a book: Take Five | Meditations with John Henry Newman, written by Mike Aquilina and Fr. Juan R. Vélez and published by Our Sunday Visitor. This particular paragraph, referenced above, which begins with a direct quote from soon-to-be canonized priest, cardinal and poet, John Henry Newman: “Study is good, but it gets us only so far . . .” is actually the 15th in a series of 76 concise, logically organized meditations moving from the elementary to the sublime. Each meditation–one per page–is built upon the great man’s writings and remarkably rich spirituality. Whether taken whole in one reading or in part page-by-page over a course of weeks and months, these wonderfully insightful meditations will open up, even to the busiest reader in the midst of the world, a unique pathway into prayer and contemplation. My advice to spiritual inquirers at all levels, from the novice to the spiritually adept, is to follow the authors’ recommendation to use this book as a guide for daily prayer and meditation. The structure of the book itself is ideal: first, the authors introduce us to Cardinal Newman, the man, where we are given the opportunity to get to know him through a brief sketch of his life and spirituality at the beginning of the book. This is something readers will likely find themselves referring to again and again, prompting many, I suspect, to even wider explorations of this most gifted Christian leader. Then comes the meditations, consisting of a short summary of Newman’s thoughts on subjects taken, as the authors explain, from various salient points for which Newman is justly remembered: The pursuit of objective religious truth; Teaching on the Virtues; Defense of the Catholic Church; A devout spiritual and moral life; and Generosity and loyalty in his friendships, which sets the topic and tone for each meditation to follow. Each meditation consists of an excerpt taken from Newman’s thirty-plus volumes of writings and diaries. Next comes three brief and extremely useful sections entitled: “Think About It,” which establishes a prayerfully resonant tone throughout the book; “Just Imagine,” which provides a vivid, prayerful experience of the Scriptures that tie in, and finally, “Remember,” a pithy summation which the authors suggest may be used as a daily aspiration. Each meditation is given its own page, which makes it ideal for daily reflection for readers on the go. This book is a must have for every serious Catholic who wants to take their faith to the next level, which is to respond appropriately to the universal call to holiness and seek interior union with God.
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