“And now after reading these Sermons I must say I think they are, as a whole, the best things I have written.”—John Henry Newman

These remarkable sermons by John Henry Newman (1801-1890) were first published at Oxford in 1843, two years before he was received into the Roman Catholic Church. Published here in its entirety is the third edition of 1872 for which Newman added an additional sermon, bracketed notes, and, importantly, a comprehensive, condensed Preface.

More accessible to the beginning Newman reader than the Grammar of Assent, these highly original sermons are “of the nature of an exploring expedition into an all but unknown country,” says Newman; for they were written “with no aid from Anglican, and no knowledge of Catholic theologians.” Often overlooked these early sermons provide indispensable insights and clues about the leading ideas of his later well-known works.

In her introduction, noted Newman scholar Mary Katherine Tillman considers the volume as an integral whole, showing how all of the sermons systematically relate to the central theme of the faith-reason relationship. Mary Katherine Tillman is Associate Professor in the Program of Liberal Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Her many publications on John Henry Newman include ”’What, Then Does Dr. Newman Mean?’: The Vision and the Views” in The Challenge and Promise of a Catholic University. (Notre Dame Press, 1994).