This book is recommended for Level 6 Year 2 in the Mater Amabilis high school religion plans (twelfth grade). It's one of the three books currently in the lesson plans of readings by modern saints. St. John Henry Newman is one of our family's patron saints, so I was excited to read this book.
St. John Henry Newman threw the English religious world into turmoil when he, a revered intellectual and leader in the Anglican church, converted to Roman Catholicism, a faith viewed with particular patriotic contempt. In the years after his conversion, Newman struggled through the loss of many friends and skepticism from many in his new faith.
Finally, in response to a personal attack on his integrity and that of his new faith, Newman decided a thorough response was necessary, one which meant sharing the development of his faith from childhood through his rise in the Anglican church and his eventual conversion. He gathered as many of his personal letters and writings as he could and published it all in an astoundingly short amount of time. The result, through a couple of revisions, is Apologia Pro Vita Sua. The edition I read is that edited by Ian Ker, which contains much of the original content, such as the pamphlet from his most prominent accuser which prompted the book.
Newman spent years reading and praying, on the brink of converting but hesitating. His Apologia offers some explanation for his reticence.
I could not continue in this state, either in the light of duty or of reason. My difficulty was this: I had been deceived greatly once; how could I be sure that I was not deceived a second time? I thought myself right then; how was I to be certain that I was right now? ... To be certain is to know that one knows; what inward test had I, that I should not change again, after that I had become a Catholic? (p. 206)
So, like the rest of us, he decided to write a book (Essay on Doctrinal Development) and, if he felt the same way when he was done, he'd become a Catholic.
And I hold this still: I am a Catholic by virtue of my believing in a God; and if I am asked why I believe in a God, I answer that it is because I believe in myself, for I feel it impossible to believe in my own existence (and of that fact I am quite sure) without believing also in the existence of Him, who lives as a Personal, All-seeing, All-judging Being in my conscience. (p. 182)
Newman's early years as a Catholic were difficult ones. Many of his friends and family abandoned him. Many Catholics were wary of him. His first endeavors as a Catholic ended in failure or mediocrity, but he never looked back and trusted always in the Lord who had been leading him all along.
I read the book and the appendices. I assigned the book itself to my oldest when he was a senior. He struggled at times with all the different groups of people, because Newman writes to an audience who knew all the people and all the controversies. I think there might be benefit in reading the papers and essays going back and forth in order, so you would read what others wrote and then how Newman responded, but it's hard to always sort that out in the book. (If you've read Charlotte Mason's books, you'll find the same sort of essay writing here; where the author is obviously responding to something or someone specific, but modern readers are a bit in the dark.) The Introduction of this edition of the Apologia also has some background, but I hadn't thought to assign it to my son; that might be a good idea. It's really only a problem when Newman is describing the activities of the Tractarians and the responses to his conversion. When Newman is writing about himself and his own thoughts, the book is clear.
When my son was reading it, we paused reading a few chapters in to read Joyce Sugg's John Henry Newman: Snapdragon in the Wall, which was helpful in providing Newman's basic background and some context for the Apologia. I plan to assign Sugg's book to my future kids, but it could also be a good family read-aloud.
If your high school student struggles a little with dense texts, you could assign Sugg's book and some excerpts of the Apologia. That would still provide an excellent foundation for learning about Newman's life.
A friend of mine especially loves reading St. John Henry Newman because he wrote in English. For those of us used to reading the words of saints through a translation, it's a great blessing to read such rich and beautiful prose in our own language. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, even if it was sometimes a challenge.
I have received nothing in exchange for this post. I purchased this book. Links to Bookshop and Amazon are affiliate links.
