* Prayers and hymns by John Henry Cardinal Newman
Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801 – 1890)
Cardinal Newman was an important figure in the religious history of England in the 19th century. Originally an evangelical Oxford academic and priest in the Church of England, Newman was a leader in the Oxford Movement. This influential grouping of Anglicans wished to return the Church of England to many Catholic beliefs and forms of worship traditional in the medieval times to restore ritual expression. In 1845 Newman left the Church of England and was received into the Roman Catholic Church where he was eventually granted the rank of cardinal by Pope Leo XIII. He was instrumental in the founding of the Catholic University of Ireland, which evolved into University College, Dublin, the largest university in Ireland today.
In 1991, Newman was proclaimed venerable after a thorough examination of his life and work by the Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints. One miracle was investigated and confirmed by the Vatican, so he was beatified on 19 September 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI. A second miracle is necessary for his canonization.
Cardinal Newman was also a notable literary figure. Below are some prayers and hymns by Cardinal Newman quoted from A Catholic Prayer Book. In “The Mission of My Life” poem, Cardinal Newman wrote about his own life in God’s plan. He demonstrated courage and acceptance of Our Lord, Our Savior.
Prayers and hymns by John Henry Cardinal Newman
The Mission of My Life
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 may never know what it is in this life.
But I shall be told in the next.
I am a link in a chain,
a bond of connection between persons.
He has not created me for nothing.
I shall do good, I shall do His work.
Therefore, I will trust Him.
Whatever, wherever I am, I cannot be
thrown away.
If I am in sickness, my sickness may
serve Him
If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may
serve Him
He does nothing in vain, He knows
what He is about.
He may take away my friends. He
may throw me among strangers,
He may make me feel desolate, make
my spirits sink.
Hide my future from me—
still He knows what He is about.
A Daily Prayer
May He support us all the day long, till the shades lengthen and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then in His mercy may He give us a safe lodging, and a holy rest and peace at the last.
Prayer for a Happy Death
Oh, my Lord and Savior, support me in that hour in the strong arms of Your Sacraments, and by the fresh fragrance of Your consolations. Let the absolving words be said over me, and the holy oil sign and seal me, and Your own Body be my food, and Your Blood my sprinkling; and let my sweet Mother, Mary, breathe on me, and my Angel whisper peace to me, and my glorious Saints smile upon me; that in them all, and through them all, I may receive the gift of perseverance, and die, as I desire to live, in Your faith, in Your Church, in Your service, and in Your love. Amen.
Lead Kindly Light
Lead, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom, Lead me Thou on! The night is dark, and I am far from home, Lead Thou me on! Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see the distant scene; one step is enough for me. I was not ever thus, nor pray’d that Thou shouldst lead me on; I loved to choose and see my path, but now lead Thou me on! I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears, pride ruled my will: remember not past years. So long Your power hath blest me, sure it still will lead me on, o’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till the night is gone; and with the morn those angel faces smile which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.
Praise to the Holiest in the Height
Praise to the Holiest in the height,
And in the depth be praise;
In all His words most wonderful;
Most sure in all His ways!
O loving wisdom of our God!
When all was sin and shame,
A second Adam to the fight
And to the rescue came.
O wisest love! that flesh and blood
Which did in Adam fail,
Should strive afresh against their foe,
Should strive and should prevail.
And that a higher gift than grace
Should flesh and blood refine,
God’s presence and His very Self,
And Essence all-divine.
O generous love! that He who smote
In man for man the foe,
The double agony in man
For man should undergo;
And in the garden secretly,
And on the cross on high,
Should teach His brethren and inspire
To suffer and to die.
Prayer for the Light of Truth
O my God, I confess that Thou canst enlighten my darkness. I confess that Thou alone canst. I wish my darkness to be enlightened. I do not know whether Thou wilt: but that Thou canst and that I wish, are sufficient reasons for me to ask, what Thou at least hast not forbidden my asking. I hereby promise that by Your grace which I am asking, I will embrace whatever I at length feel certain is the truth, if ever I come to be certain. And by Your grace I will guard against all self-deceit which may lead me to take what nature would have, rather than what reason approves.
O My Lord Jesus
O my Lord Jesus, low as I am in Your all-holy sight, I am strong in You, strong through Your Immaculate Mother, through Your saints and thus I can do much for the Church, for the world, for all I love.
