9 October 2026 - homily for Friday of the 27th week in ordinary time - Cardinal John Henry Newman, Doctor of the Church - Galatians 3:7-14

We continue to hear from St Paul’s letter to the Galatians today in our first reading. St Paul explains that those who have faith receive the same blessing as Abraham, for Abraham is our father in faith.  We receive this blessing regardless of being Jew or Gentile. Paul goes on to explain that Christ came to free us from the covenant of the Jewish law in order to give us the path of faith under our new covenant in Christ.  God has made the covenant available to all as a freely given gift. This message is echoed in the psalm today: The Lord will remember his covenant forever. 

The saint we celebrate today lived in fidelity to God’s covenant throughout his lifetime. Born in 1801 in London, John Henry Newman was a prominent Anglican priest in England who taught at the prestigious Oxford University. He was influential in the Oxford movement at the University, which was a 19th-century theological revival within the Anglican Church of England that sought to reconnect the Anglican Church with its Catholic and apostolic roots. He converted to the Catholic faith in 1845 and was ordained a Catholic priest. He was a member of the religious Congregation of the Oratory. He was made a cardinal in 1879 by Pope Leo XIII and died in 1890. Pope Leo XIV officially declared Saint John Henry Newman the 38th Doctor of the Universal Church on November 1, 2025, during Mass on the Solemnity of All Saints. Earlier this year, Pope Leo XIV added his feast day to the General Roman Calendar as an optional memorial. He is admired in the Church for the generosity in which he served in his intellectual pursuits, in his preaching and teaching, and in his service to the poor and the least in society. The Vatican has stated that he is a great example to all disciples of Christ in the way he always searched for the truth of God in his theological studies and writings. When he was appointed Cardinal, he chose the motto: "Cor ad cor loquitur" ("Heart speaks unto heart”), which means that God’s love reaches out to us directly, that true faith happens through a personal, loving encounter rather than through cold facts or strict logic alone. This is true in our relationship with God as well in our relationship with our neighbor. We unite our prayers with the prayers of St John Henry Newman today.