Religion is more than just an abstraction; it is a lived reality with outward manifestations, Newman explains in his poem External Religion.
Newman wants a “discipline of mind” in education, not some new system that looks good on paper.
The world God made has a natural law of cause and effect built into it. One act of love really benefits the whole of creation, and one sin harms the same whole. On the individual level, our personal sins, as well as our acts of love, mold our character moment by moment.
St. John Henry Newman’s philosophy of education reminds that the true education is the formation of human nature in the image and likeness of God.
Unlike Balaam, our obedience to God should be borne out of the desire to not offend a Good Father, but to please Him out of love.
Obedience to God should not be merely dutiful. John H. Newman explains that this is one of the lessons we can learn from the history of Balaam.
“In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship.”
If we wish to earn the Crown, we must embrace the duty of bearing the Cross.
The joy of Easter will make us bold witnesses to the miracle of God’s forgiveness, but love will spur us to learn more about the truth and to exhaust every means of becoming an effective evangelist.
