September 19th - The Beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman

"O My God, what a great and awful difference is there between what I am and what I ought to be" Venerable John Henry Newman

On September 19th - Cardinal John Henry Newman will be beatified in London at a special Mass by Pope Benedict XVI.

In my Theology class last fall we read Newman's "An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine"

On speaking of metaphysical developments he wrote:

"The mind which is habituated to the thought of God, of Christ, of the Holy Spirit, naturally turns with a devout curiosity to the contemplation of the object of its adoration, and begins to form statements concerning it, before it knows whither, or how far, it will be carried. One proposition necessarily leads to another, and a second to a third; then some limitation is required; and the combination of these opposites occasions some fresh evolutions from the original idea, which indeed can never be said to be entirely exhausted. This process is its development, and results in a series, or rather body, of dogmatic statements, till what was an impression on the Imagination has become a system or creed in the Reason."

If you are interested in going to the Beatification here is a link for information: http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=4Gbj1e6Ytb8=&tabid=36