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Saint Cardinal John Henry Newman
Saint Cardinal John Henry Newman
Self-Denial, the Test of Religious Earnestness, Part 2
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Thee Minutes with Newman

Self-Denial, the Test of Religious Earnestness, Part 2

by Fr. Juan Vélez

Jesus bids us to take up our cross daily. We must careful, however, of the danger of self-deception by doing things for our own praise. Self-denial in daily life is the chief duty and test of whether we are living as Christ’s disciples and are on our way to heaven.

[trx_audio url=”https://www.cardinaljohnhenrynewman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Self-Denial-Part-2_01.mp3″ title=”Three Minute Reflection” author=”Fr. Juan Velez”]

 

st-paulSelf-Denial (Part 2)

The world bids us to enjoy life as much as possible – Jesus bids us to take up our cross daily. The world promises pleasure here on earth – Jesus promises a lasting happiness that only begins in part here on earth. To this end our Lord asks us to live daily self-denial.

In the sermon Self-Denial, the Test of Religious Earnestness Blessed Newman warns us, however, not to act for worldly motives, namely, for the praise of others. According to him, to make a general profession of religion for the sake of being respected, is wrong,

“For two reasons, first, because you are in danger of doing right from motives of this world; next, because you may, perchance, be cheated of the Truth, by some ingenuity which the world puts, like counterfeit coin, in the place of the Truth.”

He explains that such persons face the danger of self-deception.

“Good behaviour is, in their case, not only a matter of duty, but of interest. If they obey God, they gain praise from men as well as from Him.”

We know that only God will judge us and that we must strive to the very end of our lives to live in his grace; yet we still need to test ourselves to see that we are going in the right direction.

Even St. Paul was not assured of his real state in life. He wrote “I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” [1 Cor. ix. 27.] Without impatience and presumption we must strive with a subdued hope for God’s forgiveness and to live as his children.

The first Christians were tested by the very profession of their faith for which they suffered persecution and death. Of their suffering St. Paul wrote: “Tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience and experience hope.” [Rom. v. 3, 4.] “Henceforth let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus” [Gal. vi. 17.]

But in our age, too, Christian obedience has the same character, and it is shown by self-denial. Jesus tells us, “Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” [Mark viii. 34.]

Self-denial in daily life is the chief duty and test of whether we are living as Christ’s disciples and are on our way to heaven.

In what way do we fulfill Christ’s commands? In Newman’s words can we say that we “are really and truly awake, alive, living in the day, on our road heavenwards?”

 

 

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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.

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

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.

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.

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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.

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.

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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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Endorsement by Christopher Moellering (Goodreads, September 14, 2019)
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Take Five: Meditations with John Henry Newman, endorsement by Illow M. Roque (Amazon, September 3, 2010)
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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.

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.