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In this powerful poem filled with emotion, Blessed John Henry Newman pleads with England to repent of its secular ways and loss of faith, to be like Tyre, and not like the other Biblical cities mentioned, or else England would meet the same doom as did Babel and Sodom.

England’s increasing secularity caused Newman sadness. But composing verse was a way for Newman to release emotion; he frequently refers in letters to his poetry as a means of relieving his mind. To that end, Newman believed the content of his poetry was more important than the form, and that the best poetry expressed sincere feeling. However, Newman still paid attention to the form, as is evidenced in this poem “England.” Newman uses mixed meter and begins several lines with a strong stressed syllable, in order to emphasize these first words. In the first stanza, lines 1, 4, and 5 begin with a stressed syllable, instead of the initial unstressed syllable of the usual iambic meter.

TYRE of the West, and glorying in the name

  More than in Faith’s pure fame!

O trust not crafty fort nor rock renown’d

  Earn’d upon hostile ground;

Wielding Trade’s master-keys, at thy proud will

To lock or loose its waters, England! trust not still.

Newman opens the poem in a powerful way, by recalling the gentile city of Tyre. Jesus mentions Tyre and Sidon in the gospel of St. Luke 10:13–14, comparing them to several cities in which He had performed miracles. Those Israelite cities had been blessed with Jesus’ presence, and power, yet they had not repented. Jesus pronounces woes on them (Chorazin and Bethsaida), stating that Tyre and Sidon, given the same opportunity, would have turned from their wickedness and been saved.

In the second stanza, stressed syllables continue to emphasize certain words. Newman exhorts England to take heed of how the Biblical strongholds, because of pride, were in actuality frail, due to the attitudes of the people. The lines with irregular meter along with stressed words in unexpected places, cause the sound of the lines to echo the sense of the words: that is, the “madness” of man’s foolishness is indicated by the meter.

Dread thine own power! Since haughty Babel’s prime,

  High towers have been man’s crime.

Since her hoar age, when the huge moat lay bare,

  Strongholds have been man’s snare.

Thy nest is in the crags; ah! refuge frail!

Mad counsel in its hour, or traitors, will prevail.

The final stanza continues the use of stressed syllables to emphasize words. Here, it is the judgment of God upon these cities, with the accompanying sound echoing the sense, which lends power to the verse. Newman believed the meter of the poem would flow naturally from the poem’s meaning, through the poet’s free choice of meter, instead of by following conventional fixed metrical patterns.

He who scann’d Sodom for His righteous men

  Still spares thee for thy ten;

But, should vain tongues the Bride of Heaven defy,

  He will not pass thee by;

For, as earth’s kings welcome their spotless guest,

So gives He them by turn, to suffer or be blest.

(At Sea.December 18, 1832)

Jesus used the gentile cities of Tyre and Sidon to highlight the way God’s chosen people, in contrast, had refused Him. While Newman pleads with England to be like Tyre, we could well apply these words to the United States, which also needs to humbly obey God’s laws instead of rebelling as did the English.

Newman’s use of meter, along with end rhyme, serve to make this poem an excellent example of his use of poetic technique which is rich in form yet always secondary to content.

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Aim at ‘seeing the King in His beauty’.  All things that we see are but shadows to us and delusions, unless we enter into what they really mean.

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About Cardinal John Henry Newman

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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)

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Fr Peter Conley takes us on an exciting journey into the spirituality and inner life of Saint John Henry Newman.
 

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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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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.
Fr. Peter Conley

Aim at ‘seeing the King in His beauty’.  All things that we see are but shadows to us and delusions, unless we enter into what they really mean.

David Warren

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which comes upon you to prove you, as though something strange were happening to you.”

Robert Kirkendall

The Psalms, the "voice of the Church," invite us to enter into the sufferings of Christ and His people, and cling to God above all.

Fr. Juan Velez

Applying Newman's theory, it seems clear that the notion that women's ordination to to the priesthood, would not maintain the type of the early Church.

Fr. Juan Velez

In 1990, the International Theological Commission, issued a document titled "The Interpretation of Dogma" in which Newman's seven notes are endorsed.

David Warren

The path forward for us personally and for the Church at large, requires returning to the core truths that Christ Himself has revealed to us.

Robert Kirkendall

We are made to be gifts to God and gifts to each other, body and soul; to go against God’s law, which is for our good, is to refuse the gift.

Fr. Juan Velez

What does John Henry Newman mean by the words: "to live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often?"

Fr. Juan Velez

Listening to God is done keeping in mind the normative value of the whole of Tradition and of the Church’s Teaching.