#stjohnneumann

[thedavekim]

"My God, how great thou art, how wonderful in all thy works! Teach me thy will that I may begin and end all my actions thy greater glory."

St John Neumann; patron saint of Catholic education and the only American born male to be canonized

[anastpaul]

Quote/s of the Day – 20 October – “You also must be prepared ... ” Luke 12:40

Quote/s of the Day – 20 October – “You also must be prepared … ” Luke 12:40

Quote/s of the Day – 20 October – “Month of the Most Holy Rosary” – Readings: Romans 6: 12-18; Psalm 124: 1-8; Luke 12: 39-48 “You also must be prepared,for at an hour you do not expect,the Son of Man will come.” Luke 12:40 “Therefore, stay awake,for you know neither the daynor the hour.” Matthew 24:13 “Prepare the way of the Lord,make straight his paths.” Mark 1:3 “The business of a…

View On WordPress

[anastpaul]

One Minute Reflection – 5 January – Christmas Saturday, today’s Gospel John 1:35–42 and the Memorial of St John Nepomucene Neumann CSsR (1811-1860) & St Charles of Mount Argus C.P. (1821-1893)

He brought him to Jesus.  Jesus looked at him and said, “So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter)...John 1:42

REFLECTION – “Everyone who breathes, high and low, educated and ignorant, young and old, man and woman, has a mission, has a work. We are not sent into this world for nothing; we are not born at random; we are not here, that we may go to bed at night and get up in the morning, toil for our bread, eat and drink, laugh and joke, sin when we have a mind and reform when we are tired of sinning, rear a family and die. God sees every one of us, He creates every soul . . . FOR A PURPOSE. He needs, He deigns to need, every one of us. He has an end for each of us. We are all equal in His sight and we are placed in our different ranks and stations, not to get what we can out of them for ourselves but to labour in them for Him. As Christ has His work, we too have ours – as He rejoiced to do His work, we must rejoice in ours also.”

St John Neumann (1811-1860)

PRAYER – God, our Father, since through the human birth of Your only Son, You began in us the work of redemption, keep us firm in faith and with Christ as the Shepherd of our souls, bring us to the glory You have promised.   Through time, You send us holy men and women, who bring us new light to help us along the sometimes very dark ways of our path, grant that by the prayers of St John Neumann and St Charles of Mount Argus, Your beacons of holiness, we may be guided and assisted to carry our side of the yoke with our Lord and Saviour.   We make our prayer through the Child of Bethlehem and the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.

(via One Minute Reflection - 5 January - Christmas Saturday, today's Gospel John 1:35–42)

[anastpaul]

Saint of the Day – 5 January – St John Nepomucene Neumann CSsR (1811-1860) Bishop, Religious, Founder, Preacher, Writer, Founder of Schools and builder of Churches.  St John was born on 28 March 1811 at Prachititz, Bohemia (Czech Republic) – 5 January 1860 of a stroke at 13th and Vine Streets, Bishop of Philadephia, Pennsylvania, USA.   His body is incorrupt.   St John Neumann is the first United States bishop (and to date the only male citizen) to be canonised.   While Bishop of Philadelphia, Neumann founded the first Catholic diocesan school system in the United States as well as building 50 Churches as well as starting on a Cathedral, before his death. 

John was the third of six children to a German Father and Czech mother.   He showed great talent in school and by the time he was 24, he had mastered six languages.   It was his desire to become a priest, so in 1831, he entered the diocesan seminary in Budweis, and continued his studies at the Charles Ferdinand University in Prague.  (Above -  St John Neumann’s home town in the Czech Republic, Prachititz)

He was looking forward to being ordained in 1835 when the bishop decided there would be no more ordinations as there were more than enough priests in Bohemia.   John wrote to bishops all over Europe but the story was denied on each request.   Nevertheless, John was not discouraged from his vocation and continued to search for a diocese that would take him.   He had learned English by working in a factory with English-speaking workers so he wrote to the bishops in America.   Finally, he emigrated to the United States, where the bishop of New York ordained him in 1836.

He spent 4 years ministering to German immigrants and Native Americans in the Buffalo-Rochester area.   He was one of 36 priests that were attending to more than 200,000 Catholics and his parish in western New York was vast, stretching from Lake Ontario to Pennsylvania.   His church was very meagre, not even having a floor and he spent much of his time travelling from town to town through rugged wilderness to visit his flock.   His work was very solitary and he felt drawn to a community.   He was accepted into the Redemptorist Congregation in 1840 and began his novitiate in Pittsburgh.   Two years later, he took his vows.   By this time, he spoke eight languages. His religious superiors in Europe were impressed with his holiness and hard work, so the appointed him vicar of all the Redemptorists in America.   He was devoted to the education of African-American children and became an American citizen.

John was surprised by his appointment as bishop of Philadelphia in 1852.   His new responsibilities were heavy, as the diocese of Philadelphia was geographically very large and there were many languages spoken among the immigrants under his care.   One of his major accomplishments was to organise the first diocesan Catholic school system.   He worked tirelessly, founding a Congregation of religious sisters to teach in the diocesan schools and during his tenure as bishop, the population of his diocese doubled. He increased the number of Catholic schools in his diocese from two to over 200.

Neumann lived very simply and frugally.   On one visit to Germany, he came back to the house he was staying in soaked by rain.   His hosts suggested he change his shoes but John replied, “The only way I could change my shoes is by putting the left one on the right foot and the right one on the left foot. This is the only pair I own.”   When he was given a new set of vestments as a gift, he would frequently give them to the most recently ordained priest in the diocese.

He was also a humble man, once being picked up by a parish priest from a rural area and riding to town on the back of a manure cart.   John jokingly exclaimed, “Have you ever seen such an entourage for a bishop!”   He was disheartened by constant conflict with religiously and racially prejudiced people in his diocese.   There was a strong anti-Catholic movement which had a strong presence in the area and there were even anti-Catholic riots and arson of religious buildings.   Neumann wrote to Rome asking to be replaced as bishop but Pope Pius IX insisted that he continue.   In 1854, he travelled to Rome and was present at St. Peter’s Basilica on December 8, along with 53 cardinals, 139 other bishops and thousands of priests and laypersons, when Pope Pius IX solemnly defined, the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

His strenuous work load caught up with him and at the age of 48, he collapsed on the street and died on 5 January 1860.   He was declared venerable by Pope Benedict XV in 1921 and beatified by Pope Paul VI during the Second Vatican Council on 13 October 1963.   Pope Paul VI also canonised him on 19 June 1977.   His incorrupt body currently lays in a glass sarcophagus for public veneration in Saint Peter’s Church in Philadelphia.

(via AnaStpaul – Breathing Catholic)

[anastpaul]

One Minute Reflection – 5 January – The Memorial of St John Neumann (1811-1860)

And now these three remain:  faith, hope and love.   But the greatest of these is love….1 Corinthians 13:13

REFLECTION – “But to accomplish his task, love was necessary.   And love meant giving; love meant effort;  love meant sacrifice.   And in his sacrifice, Bishop Neumann’s service was complete.   He led his people along the paths of holiness.   He was indeed an effective witness, in his generation, to God’s love for His Church and the world.”…Blessed Pope Paul VI at the Canonisation of St John Neumann 19 June 1977

PRAYER – Holy Father, You brought St John Neumann to the new world to show Your ways and lead all to You.   By Your grace, may we all learn to live such zealous and loving lives!   Grant Lord that St John Neumann, by the living power of his example and by the intercession of his prayers, may assist us and intercede to help us, today and forever.  We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.

(via AnaStpaul – Breathing Catholic)

[anastpaul]

Saint of the Day – 5 January – Saint John Nepomucene Neumann (1811-1860) C.Ss.R – Bishop/Teacher/Missionary/Polyglot – Patron of Catholic Education

Not only was John Neumann quiet, he was short-five feet, two inches tall. His eyes were very kind and he smiled a lot. He was born on March 28, 1811, in Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. His parents were Philip and Agnes Neumann. He had four sisters and a brother. After college, John entered the seminary. When time came for ordination, the bishop was sick. The date was never set because Bohemia had enough priests at the time. Since he had been reading about missionary activities in the United States, John decided to go to America to ask for ordination. He walked most of the way to France and then boarded the ship Europa.

John arrived in Manhattan on June 9, 1836. Bishop John Dubois was very happy to see him. There were only thirty-six priests for the two hundred thousand Catholics living in the state of New York and part of New Jersey. Just sixteen days after his arrival, John was ordained a priest and sent to Buffalo. There he would help Father Pax care for his parish, which was nine hundred square miles in size. Father Pax gave him the choice of the city of Buffalo or of the country area. Now John’s heroic character began to show. He chose the most difficult-the country area. He decided to stay in a little town with an unfinished church. Once it was completed, he moved to another town that had a log-church. There he built himself a small log cabin. He hardly ever lit a fire and often lived on bread and water. He only slept a few hours each night. The farms in his area were far apart. John had to walk long distances to reach his people. They were German, French, Irish and Scotch. In school, John had learned eight languages. Now he added English and Gaelic. Before he died, he knew twelve languages.

Father John felt the need for community life, so he entered the Redemptorist Order. He was the first Redemptorist to make vows in the United States. He became the superior of the American branch of the order.He became bishop of Philadelphia in 1852. Bishop Neumann built fifty churches and began building a cathedral. He opened almost one hundred schools, and the number of parochial school students grew from five hundred to nine thousand. Bishop Neumann’s health never improved much, but people were still very surprised when he died suddenly on January 5, 1860. He was walking home from an appointment when he fell to the ground with a stroke. He was carried into the nearest house and died there at 3:00 P.M. In March Bishop Neumann would have been forty-nine. He was proclaimed a saint by Pope Paul VI on June 19, 1977.

(via Anastpaul – Breathing Catholic)

[anastpaul]

Thought for the Day – 5 January

John Neumann took seriously our Lord’s words, “Go and teach all nations.” From Christ he received his instructions and the power to carry them out. For Christ does not give a mission without supplying the means to accomplish it. The Father’s gift in Christ to John Neumann was his exceptional organizing ability, which he used to spread the Good News. Today the Church is in dire need of men and women to continue in our times the teaching of the Good News. The obstacles and inconveniences are real and costly. Yet when Christians approach Christ, he supplies the necessary talents to answer today’s needs. The Spirit of Christ continues his work through the instrumentality of generous Christians.  We might not be as smart, strong, or active as we would like to be. But that doesn’t stop God from loving us and from using us to do wonderful things. When we have to do something difficult, we can ask St. John Neumann’s help.

St John Neumann Pray for us!

(via Anastpaul – Breathing Catholic)

[anastpaul]

Quote of the Day – 5 January

“Everyone who breathes, high and low, educated and ignorant, young and old, man and woman, has a mission, has a work. We are not sent into this world for nothing; we are not born at random; we are not here, that we may go to bed at night and get up in the morning, toil for our bread, eat and drink, laugh and joke, sin when we have a mind and reform when we are tired of sinning, rear a family and die. God sees every one of us; He creates every soul, . . . FOR A PURPOSE. He needs, He deigns to need, every one of us. He has an end for each of us; we are all equal in His sight and we are placed in our different ranks and stations, not to get what we can out of them for ourselves but to labour in them for Him. As Christ has His work, we too have ours; as He rejoiced to do His work, we must rejoice in ours also.”

~~~ St John Neumann (Saint of the Day)

(via Anastpaul – Breathing Catholic)