Quote of the Day (John Henry Cardinal Newman, Reaching for God When ‘Far From Home’)

“Lead, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom

          Lead Thou me 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 enough for me.”—John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890), “Lead, Kindly Light,” from The Newman Reader: Works of John Henry Newman (2007)

One hundred eighty-five years ago yesterday, just barely having gotten past gastric or typhoid fever, but now on a boat in a becalmed sea between Palermo and Marseille, the Anglican priest John Henry Newman—later, one of the most celebrated converts in the history of Roman Catholicism—was inspired to write “Lead, Kindly Light.” In time, these verses formed the basis for a well-loved hymn, a classic of spiritual consolation.