Saint J.H. Newman on Shakespeare and Catholic Churches

There were two other passages in Newman's "Letter Addressed to the Rev. E.B. Pusey, D.D., on the Occasion of his Eirenicon" that impressed me. They don't immediately touch upon the topic of Newman and Marian doctrine and devotion in the Catholic Church, our subject for this month's Son Rise Morning Show series, which will conclude on August 29th. So that's why I'm posting them separately.

One concerns the waxing and waning of Shakespeare's reputation in England. Newman uses it as an example of the distinction he wants to make between faith and devotion. Shakespeare has been considered a great poet and playwright (faith) but national affection has varied; he has fallen out of fashion or returned to center stage:

By "faith" I mean the Creed and assent to the Creed; by "devotion" I mean such religious honours as belong to the objects of our faith, and the payment of those honours. Faith and devotion are as distinct in fact, as they are in idea. We cannot, indeed, be devout without faith, but we may believe without feeling devotion. Of this phenomenon every one has experience both in himself and in others; and we bear witness to it as often as we speak of realizing a truth or not realizing it. It may be illustrated, with more or less exactness, by matters which come before us in the world. For instance, a great author, or public man, may be acknowledged as such for a course of years; yet there may be an increase, an ebb and flow, and a fashion, in his popularity. {27} And if he takes a lasting place in the minds of his countrymen, he may gradually grow into it, or suddenly be raised to it. The idea of Shakespeare as a great poet, has existed from a very early date in public opinion; and there were at least individuals then who understood him as well, and honoured him as much, as the English people can honour him now; yet, I think, there is a national devotion to him in this day such as never has been before. This has happened, because, as education spreads in the country, there are more men able to enter into his poetical genius, and, among these, more capacity again for deeply and critically understanding him; and yet, from the first, he has exerted a great insensible influence over the nation, as is seen in the circumstance that his phrases and sentences, more than can be numbered, have become almost proverbs among us.

Indeed, the Folger Library and other sites provide many examples of those "phrases and sentences" from Shakespeare's works that have been become so commonly used that we forget their source.

And the other passage--both of these are from Chapter 3. The Belief of Catholics concerning the Blessed Virgin, as distinct from their Devotion to her--is Newman's description of the interior of a Catholic church. It is so vivid that it calls to mind many memories of churches I've visited. It's a demonstration of what we talked about so often in the class I taught for Newman University in June and July this summer: Newman's ability to help his congregation or audience see something in a new way by engaging their imaginations:

This distinction is forcibly brought home to a convert, as a peculiarity of the Catholic religion, on his first introduction to its worship. The faith is everywhere one and the same, but a large liberty is accorded to private judgment and inclination as regards matters of devotion. Any large church, with its collections and groups of people, will illustrate this. The fabric itself is dedicated to Almighty God, and that, under the invocation of the Blessed Virgin, or some particular Saint; or again, of some mystery belonging to the Divine Name or the Incarnation, or of some mystery associated with the Blessed Virgin. Perhaps there are seven altars or more in it, and these again have their several Saints. Then there is the Feast proper to this or that day; and during the celebration of Mass, of all the worshippers who crowd around the Priest, each has his own particular devotions, with which he follows the rite. No one interferes with his neighbour; agreeing, as it were, to differ, they pursue {29} independently a common end, and by paths, distinct but converging, present themselves before God.

  

Then there are confraternities attached to the church,—of the Sacred Heart, or of the Precious Blood; associations of prayer for a good death, or for the repose of departed souls, or for the conversion of the heathen; devotions connected with the brown, blue, or red scapular; not to speak of the great ordinary Ritual observed through the four seasons, or of the constant Presence of the Blessed Sacrament, or of its ever-recurring rite of Benediction, and its extraordinary forty hours' Exposition. Or, again, look through such manuals of prayers as the Raccolta, and you at once will see both the number and the variety of devotions, which are open to individual Catholics to choose from, according to their religious taste and prospect of personal edification.

I took the pictures above at St. Joseph's Parish in Andale, Kansas, after it had been restored and renovated after a fire (the first two) and at St. Martin's church in Piqua, Kansas, which has been closed for years as an active parish but is maintained by Catholics in the area to be open for visitors.

And from Servant of God, Chaplain Emil J. Kapaun's home parish in Pilsen, Kansas, honoring the church's patron saint, St. John Nepomucene, which I visited in 2016 on the Solemnity of the Assumption:

And two other side altars in that church:

And finally, here's a picture Mark took during Mass on Christmas Day in 2013 at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Wichita, Kansas (Traditional Latin Mass), depicting the Franciscan saints honored at that parish:

As usual, I'll post my preview of the Son Rise Morning Show discussion this Friday, August 26!

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us!

Saint Joseph, pray for us!

Saint John Nepomucene, pray for us!

Saint Anthony of Padua, pray for us!

Saint Clare of Assisi, pray for us!

Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us!

Saint John Henry Newman, pray for us!

Image Credit for Shakespeare's Works (public domain): Title page of the First Folio, 1623. Copper engraving of Shakespeare by Martin Droeshout. All other images (c) Stephanie A. Mann (2013-2022).