The Mariology of Cardinal Newman

The Mariology of Cardinal Newman is a study of Blessed John Henry Newman’s journey from a cautious intellectual acceptance of limited Marian doctrines while an Anglican to his full acceptance and development of Marian doctrine as a Catholic. Newman was a master of the English language and possessed a fine intellectual mind, but at the same time, because of his deep humility, he could enter into true devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Rev. Friedel draws from all of Newman’s work to provide a truly masterful treatise establishing not only Newman’s views to doctrine, but Newman as a devout client of our Blessed Lady. He divides the first part of the book into two periods: Newman’s life as an Anglican and his developing attitude toward Mary; then his views when he became a Catholic and how this developed in his devotional life. Then, in the second part, the author examines the specific doctrine’s of Mary which Newman treated on.

From the Author’s preface:

The following study is an attempt to analyze the principles and factors which gave the orientation to his attitude concerning the Blessed Virgin Mary during his Anglican and Catholic days. This represents the First Part. The Second is occupied with a synthesis of his doctrine.

From the foreword:

His beliefs regarding Mary as the Mother of God (Theotokos) were firmly in place at the time of his Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine: completed in 1845, right before he was received (therefore, entirely written while he was an Anglican). Four years later, he elaborated upon the dogma:

“[T]he Mother of God has ever been the bulwark of our Lord’s divinity. And it is that which heretics have ever opposed, for it is the great witness that the doctrine of God being man is true.… The truth is, the doctrine of our Lady keeps us from a dreaming, unreal way. If no mother, no history, how did He come here, etc? He is from heaven. It startles us and makes us think what we say when we say Christ is God; not merely like God, inhabited by, sent by God, but really God; so really, that she is the mother of God because His mother.” (Sermon Notes of John Henry Cardinal Newman: 1849-1878, “Maternity of Mary,” 14 October 1849)