January 25 - The Conversion of Saint Paul

"Now as he journeyed he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed about him. And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" (Acts 9:3-4)

 

"Grace does not simply check him in his mad career, it hurls him violently, all at once, in the opposite direction." (Ronald Knox)

"...this mystery...which is Christ in you,

the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27) 

 

 ...snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding...Let them praise the name of the Lord.                                                                       (Psalm 148)                                          

Neumann and the Blessed Sacrament

"In the Blessed Sacrament Bishop Neumann found the sweet object of his lively faith, his firm hope, his tender love. His devotion to Jesus hidden under the Eucharistic veils was earnest and edifying and intense was his desire to enkindle the same among his flock." --Rev. John Berger, C.Ss.R, nephew of St. John Neumann.





                    
           
                                                




                                                 ...in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me...(Psalm 27:5)

St. John Neumann

Saturday, January 5, is the feast day of St. John Neumann, the fourth bishop of Philadelphia. Oddly enough, when he was made Venerable, there was some concern that his virtue was not "heroic." Pope Benedict XV had this to say in reply:  "...the most simple of works, if carried out with constant perfection in the midst of inevitable difficulties, can bring every servant of God to the attainment of a heroic degree of virtue....Wonderful results can come from simple deeds when they are graced with perfection and carried out with unremitting constancy." Fr. Alfred C. Rush, C.Ss.R., adds "Neumann advanced on the way of Christian holiness from day to day and from virtue to virtue."

He became a hero for us, for the Catholics of America. He established parish schools and churches. He fostered the wide practice of Forty Hours' Devotion and Eucharistic Adoration. He stood firm in the face of bigotry and violence. In the statue above, he holds the first Baltimore Catechism, which he wrote, enabling all to understand and live the Faith.

                                                St. John Neumann, pray for us!