09/10 St JOHNN HENRY NEWMAN

OCTOBER 9th is the memorial of SAINT JOHN HENRY NEWMAN who lived from 1801 to 1890.

Newman was first an Anglican priest but later converted to Catholicism before becoming a Cardinal. In 2025 he was honoured as a Doctor of the Church for his writing.

He believed that God has created each of us for a unique purpose. He wrote the following:

“God knows me and calls me by my name.

God has created me to do Him some definite service;

He has committed some work to me

which He has not committed to another…

Somehow I am necessary for His purposes…

He has not created me for nothing...

Therefore I will trust Him.”

This quote reminds us all that we are not here by mistake. Nor have we simply been created for a ‘job’ - we have been created for a bespoke contribution to the universe that no one else can do. We can all experience the pressure to be what other people want us to be - the pressure to look, act and dress in certain ways to fit in. We were not created for such an existence - you were created to be uniquely you.

Let us pray for all those who struggle to be themselves, and we ask for the intercessions (prayers) of John Henry Newman.

Saint John Henry Newman: Pray for us.