Customer Reviews

Prayers, Verses, and Devotions

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3 star:		(1)
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Excellent book. If you want to understand Newman's spirituality this is the book to start with. Selections come from Newman's favorite prayers and prayers and verses he wrote. To understand a person it is best to base it on his original writings. This book provides a good cross section of Newman's spirituality.

I could not agree less with the previous reviewer. Comparisons may be odious, but to compare Newman to the Carmelites is ridiculous, like comparing cheese to wine; they exist in different spheres. To describe Newman as 'mannered' is unjust: a less mannered Victorian writer would be hard to find. To describe a profound and original thinker like Newman as 'banal' is crass. To say his writing is 'not a very exciting read' beggars comprehension. As Leo Clifford on EWTN said, Newman is the finest Catholic writer in the English language.

Newman is rarely perceived as a private fellow, known more for his public writings and activities. This fine compilation of Newman's own spiritual writings shows Newman was ever the same person, private or public. These "interior" writings have the same landscape and flavor that his public writings do -- without the usual rhetorical flourishes. And that's what makes this volume disappoint. Newman is exquisite when it comes to logic, rhetoric, and exposition, among the very best of the Victorian Age. Strip his writings of his logic and exegesis, and the eisegesis becomes somewhat banal and distant. This interior exposition cannot be compared to that of the Carmelites or other spiritualists. It's genuine Newman -- intelligent and mannered, but not a very exciting read.