ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Father Moley, CSs.R., Pastor of Saint Peter the Apostle Parish,
Members of the Redemptorist Community,
Brother Priests and Deacons, 
Dear Religious Sisters,
Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,

In June of 1836 on the day of his first Mass, Father John Neumann (1811-1860) uttered a prayer that consisted of only five words: “Dearest God, Give me holiness.” He had only recently arrived in the United States. He had studied for the priesthood in his native Bohemia, but there were so many priests in his homeland that the bishop decided there would be no more ordinations for an extended period. So at the age of twenty-five John Neumann set out for America and was there ordained to the priesthood by the Bishop of New York. The next day, he prayed those five words: “Dearest God, Give me holiness.” As he celebrated the Eucharist at the very beginning of his priestly service he prayed for holiness.

This afternoon, during this Mass, we find ourselves little more than six months into that great prayer for holiness, which is the “Year of the Priest” inaugurated last June, on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, by our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI. The Holy Father proclaimed this special year in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the death of Saint John Mary Vianney (1786-1859), the patron of parish priests. Saint John Vianney died on August 4, 1859. The death of Saint John Neumann followed five months later, almost to the day, on January 5, 1860. How provident that in the middle of the “Year of the Priest” we in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia mark the 150th anniversary of the death of Saint John Neumann, another man who stands at the very center of what it means to be a priest.  On this day, and throughout this entire year, we offer the prayer of Saint John Neumann again, with and for all of our priests: “Dearest God, Give me holiness.” In the life of Saint John Neumann, God has answered our prayer.

Holiness comes only from one source.  The Holy Spirit, by His action in and through the Church, changes us, transforms us, configures us to Jesus Christ, and presents us to God the Father.  Through the gift of holiness, the Holy Spirit communicates to us what is beyond our reach. Today we give thanks that the Holy Spirit configured John Neumann to Christ the Good Shepherd: first as a diocesan priest, then as a consecrated religious in the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, as a missionary, and finally as the fourth bishop of Philadelphia.

The words of Saint Paul, the great missionary Apostle, which we heard proclaimed only a few moments ago, apply so well to Saint John Neumann: “I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible. To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak. I have become all things to all, to save at least some. All this I do for the sake of the Gospel, so that I too may have a share in it” (1 Cor 9:19; 22-23).  Devotion to his duties and faithfulness to the missionary spirit led Father John Neumann to study and learn eight modern languages, including Gaelic, which he studied so that he might minister to the Irish immigrants. He was appointed the United States superior of the Redemptorists in 1848. He built 100 new churches and established 80 new Catholic schools. He is known as the Father of the Parochial Schools in America. He founded a religious order of women, the Third Order of Saint Francis of Glen Riddle, and drafted their rule. In the midst of his tireless efforts he welcomed the School Sisters of Notre Dame to America, and offered great assistance to many other communities of women religious He introduced the Forty Hours’ Eucharistic Devotion in America and began the building of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. He stood firm against anti-Catholic prejudice. In the midst of his administrative duties he wrote not one but two catechisms which received the approval of the bishops of the United States in 1852 and were used widely in this country for many decades.

When it came to obedience to God, Saint John Neumann made no excuses, had no hesitation, and entertained no mediocrity. He took shelter only in Jesus Christ. His episcopal motto, “Passion of Christ Strengthen Me,” reveals his deep and dynamic faithfulness to the Cross. In this he was united most closely to the Blessed Mother and to the Sacrifice of the Mass. As our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI teaches in Sacramentum Caritatis “[The] Mass is formative in the deepest sense of the word, since it fosters the priest’s configuration to Christ and strengthens him in his vocation” (no. 80). The Holy Father tells us that the Eucharist provides “moral energy … for sustaining the authentic freedom of the children of God” (no. 82).

We seek the same moral energy which sustained Saint John Neumann. We are so thankful to Almighty God that he sent Saint John Neumann to us! How fortunate we are that we can come to “Fifth and Girard,” to this great Shrine of a great Saint! How many have made a pilgrimage to this Shrine? How many have prayed the novena prayers for Saint John Neumann’s intercession? How many bear his name as their patron Saint? How many more, learning of his heroic life, chose his name as their confirmation name? How many have prayed at this Shrine for peace in the world and in our neighborhoods? How many have prayed to Saint John Neumann for relief from unemployment, pain, suffering, disease, hunger and drug addiction? How many have sought the intercession of “the little bishop” for deliverance from loneliness, for an end to economic imbalance, for respect for immigrants, safety for family members and friends who serve in the military, for the benefit of a good education, for the return of their children to the practice of the faith, for the healing of painful memories, for the suffering of parents or grandparents to be eased? How many have sought the intervention of Saint John Neumann for protection from violence close to home or on a foreign battlefield? How many have prayed in these very pews for the preservation of the rights of conscience and religious liberty, for the protection of marriage as the institution of one man and one woman, and for the defense of all human life from the moment of conception to natural death? We must remember today the words of our Holy Father Pope Benedict in his most recent encyclical letter, Caritas in Veritate: “Openness to life is at the center of all true development” (no. 28).

Saint John Neumann served the flock entrusted to him by ensuring that the administrative and institutional  means were in place to minister the sacramental realities by which the mysteries of the faith were passed on to the next generation.  The life of Saint John Neumann witnesses to us that the life of the theological and cardinal virtues is not a distant, abstract ideal, but a reachable, concrete reality to be lived daily in our homes, schools, places of work, parishes, and neighborhoods. His life reveals for us that despite our frailty and weakness, fidelity to the Ten Commandments and the life of the Beatitudes can truly be our daily path. As we commemorate the sesquicentennial of his birth into eternal life, we rejoice that over these past one-hundred and fifty years the pastoral zeal, heroic virtue, priestly charism and personal holiness of Bishop John Neumann have been central to our heritage and legacy as a local Church. 

On January 5th, one-hundred and fifty years ago this very day, Saint John Neumann laid down his life. As he was walking the streets of Philadelphia, seeing to the details of returning a newly consecrated chalice to a priest, the Bishop took ill and collapsed on a door step.  Even in his final moments he was configured to Christ the Good Shepherd who “had no place to lay his head” (Mt 8:20).  This great Saint shows us that the pathway to sanctity is found in our very streets. How fitting that his final pastoral act was one of pastoral charity centered on the priesthood and the celebration of the Eucharist.

“Dearest God, Give me holiness.”  This afternoon we pray again these same five words prayed by Father John Neumann on the day of his first Mass. The Saint who first prayed these words, hears them now again, recognizes them as his own, recognizes us as his own, and again whispers his prayer to God―Father, Son and Holy Spirit―now, on our behalf: “Dearest God, Give them holiness.”  May the witness and intercession of Saint John Neumann guide us deeper into the life of holiness, which is a life of integrity, truthfulness, justice, honesty, compassion and merciful love in the individual vocation that God has given to each of us.  It is the life of the Spirit, into which we have all been baptized and in which we are called to live.  Amen.