Fr. James Reidy, Professor Emeritus of English 1981 – 2011 at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota with 67 years in the priesthood, reacts to Newman's prophetic sermon "The Religion of the Day" - the religion of niceness. In this episode Fr. Reidy highlights why he has been attracted to Newman's spiritual insights for close to 75 years. After sharing memories of the late, great Newman biographer and scholar, Fr. Ian Ker, Fr. Reidy reviews Newman's "gentleman" as one limited (by natural religion alone) to the "bright side" of religion. Without a reality of God or judgment from God this man of the world reflects what we see today - a limit of self-sacrificing love stemming from a conscience that does not include the voice of Christ. Fr. Reidy asks us "to what extent are we conforming to our own 'Religion of the Day,' the fashion of our time, and simply being nice rather than true to our call to sanctity"?
To approach Newman's majestic thought it is highly recommended to download the formatted sermon at www.newmanontap.com. Comments and suggestions are appreciated on the same site.
