“Cor ad cor loquitur.” “Heart speaks to heart” was adopted by Saint John Henry Newman as his episcopal motto. Newman believed that people arrive at belief and faith through friendships and relationships, not just through reason or logical conclusions.
Perhaps no one else has better experienced this than Dr. Matthew Muller, associate professor of Theology and Evangelization at Benedictine College. Arriving in the fall of 2002 from Topeka, Kans., Muller was set on playing college basketball and a future career in exercise science or physical therapy. His only relationship with faith was to question whether one needed God in order to live a moral life.
He had no intentions of converting to Catholicism, becoming a FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) missionary, completing doctoral studies in historical theology, returning to Atchison to direct the Institute for Missionary Activity, or teaching theology daily.
What exactly happened to propel Muller to become who he is today? Cor ad cor loquitur.
“In my own personal life, I’m drawn to the idea of heart speaks to heart. I’m like, ‘How did he [Newman] become convinced of it?’ I see that in him and I like that because I think that’s how I was brought into the Church. It was through a witness of friendship and relationship,” said Muller.
Discovering Christ at Benedictine College
During his time as an undergrad student, Muller encountered genuine friendships with those whose capacity for joy and goodness intrigued him and set him on a path of seeking further answers. They invited Muller to join them for Masses and eventually, he agreed.
As he began encountering the truth and beauty of the Catholic faith, he entered the RCIA program (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, now Order of Christian Initiation of Adults). and was fully initiated into the Catholic Church during an Easter Vigil Mass in 2005.
Inspired to help others encounter Christ through personal relationships and friendships like he did, Muller served as a FOCUS missionary at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for three years. Muller’s time there led to a lifetime of friendship with a man who died nearly two hundred years before.
Led by Newman’s studies and spirituality
John Henry Newman at the age of 46, with his prolific academic background and poignant preaching as an Anglican priest, shook up the Oxford world around him when he converted to Catholicism in 1845 at the pinnacle of his professional academic career.
Muller and Newman’s friendship began through the book series In Conversation with God, where Newman’s published prayers and meditations were included in daily reflections. “They’re often about persevering, trusting in God, what does it mean to have faith, and things like that. So those are all very applicable to people’s lives,” said Muller.
In Newman’s thought, Muller found an answer to his question of faith and why some people believe and others do not even though the conditions are the same for both. Muller began to intensely study Newman’s work, edited a Newman primer, and even devoted his doctoral dissertation to “John Henry Newman’s Anglican Writings on Biblical Inspiration and Interpretation.”
Muller’s academic career involved Newman at every turn. On the flip side, Muller has also been there for some key events regarding Newman including Newman’s canonization in 2019 by Pope Francis. Muller was planning on visiting Newman’s old stomping grounds in 2020, but then his plans were cancelled by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Following in the footsteps of Newman
One week ago, at the encouragement of his family, Muller boarded a plane for the Newman Conference in Oxford, England. The conference ran September 16-18, 2024 and commemorated the 200th anniversary of Newman’s first sermon.
The three main presenters each spoke at a church where Newman preached in the course of his time as an Anglican minister. This conference also gave Muller a chance to participate in meetings for the National Institute of Newman Studies, of which he is a member and on the editorial board for the Newman Studies Journal.
Muller’s highlight of the long-awaited trip was being able to encounter Newman in a new way by being immersed in the streets and buildings which Newman would have walked himself. Following in the footsteps of Newman, Muller recognized Newman’s pastoral heart and the heartbeat of the culture around him.
“What I got out of this trip was just how much he really took seriously his job as a pastor. He took care of the poor and administered the sacraments… He went out of his way to be a true pastor to all, whether poor and rich. So, you really saw the saintly side of him, not just the intellectual side of him. And I think that if people could see that more, they would understand why. He’s not a saint because he’s really smart, but he’s a saint because he took seriously his call from God to serve people,” said Muller.
As Muller reached the Birmingham Oratory, he was not expecting to be able to see Newman’s private chapel and room. Much to his surprise and delight, the Oratorian leading him on the tour directed him to Newman’s room. The single room which included both a space for Newman to say Mass and to have a place of work remains as it did on the day Newman passed away in 1890.
Being able to sit in Newman’s chair and take in the atmosphere in which Newman worked and prayed, Muller was renewed in his conviction that Newman was not just another historical figure, but a member of the Church Triumphant whose spirituality still lives and breathes in the Church today.
“He had a really profound commitment to belief in divine providence. He says, ‘God has created me to do him some definite service.’ …Newman really believed that God providentially puts us where he wants us to be and we have a mission and I find that to be very inspiring. That mission may not be to be one of those famous men in England, it may be to be a professor of theology at Benedictine College or whatever else it is that you’re called to do. Under Newman’s vision, God wants you here. He has a mission for you, and it’s a mission that is specifically His plan for you,” said Muller.
