October 9--St. John Henry Newman, Priest

John Henry Newman, by Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Bt (died 1896), licensed under Public Domain.

“God has created me to do him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. I have my mission; I never may know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I have a part in a great work; I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do His work; I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it, if I do but keep His commandments and serve Him in my calling.”

St. John Henry Newman was a late-comer to Catholicism. Born in 1801, he became an Anglican priest in 1825 and leader of the Oxford Movement, which tried to move the Church of England closer to Catholicism. Eventually, he saw that he could not be an Anglican and converted to Catholicism in 1845 and ordained a Catholic priest in 1847. He wrote extensively in theology, apologetics, education, and more. He is known today for his teachings on the development of doctrine, which were taken up in Vatican II in the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei verbum: ″[T]he understanding of the things and words handed down grows, through the contemplation and study of believers, [...] [which] tends continually towards the fullness of divine truth” (8). He was created cardinal in 1879 without becoming a bishop and died in 1890. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 and canonized by Pope Francis in 2019.

St. John Henry Newman was a brilliant, humble, and holy man. Saints like him are models for us, so that we may “keep His commandments and serve Him in [our] calling.”

October 9—St. John Leonardi, Priest

The Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, also known as CCD, was the brainchild of today’s saint. The Society for the Propagation of the Faith also owes its existence to St. John Leonardi. They are two immense programs dedicated to the growth of the faith in foreign lands as well as in our own parishes, yet their founder made sure that the religious order he founded, the Order of Clerics Regular of the Mother of God, remained a small congregation. Perhaps he knew that a religious order is not the sole responsibility of faith and missions, but rather the entire Church! 

St. John Leonardi was born in Tuscany, Italy in 1541. After studying to be a pharmacist he became a priest dedicating himself to teaching others about the faith. He founded his religious order in 1574. In 1603 he cofounded the seminary of the Propagation of the Faith for training of missionary priests. He also helped reform some other congregations. He died in Rome in 1609 from the plague while ministering to his brothers.

Obviously, St. John Leonardi had great energy and passion to do God’s work. But he also had the grace of God, without which no one can accomplish any good. All our good rests in God’s gracious love. He gives us the graces and virtues we need to accomplish his saving work in the world. He depends on us to love others in his name. That is why we strive to grow in holiness and perfection. Our lives need to be focused on his saving mission. Our relatives, our friends, our colleagues, and our fellow citizens need the grace that he has given to us for their benefit. Let us remember St. John Leonardi’s efforts and redouble our own, through Christ our Lord. Amen.