By Dominic V. Cassella, The Catholic Thing - Before St. John Henry Newman converted to Catholicism, he gave a series of sermons to the students of Oxford. The last of these University Sermons provided a brief theory of developments in religious doctrine, and he took for his model Mary, the Mother of God... Quoting Luke 2:19 – “But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart” – Newman offers Mary as a model of faith since when she was provided with the Angel’s message, she does not question it like Zacharias; she accepts without question, but ponders it.