Finding an Answer

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disappointment, mission, purpose, rejoice, solution, St. John Neumann, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

There are days when each of us questions our place in “the grand scheme of things.” It usually happens when we feel that something we have tried seems to fail (although we should not be too hasty to judge!). Sometimes it’s just because we have been working too hard or not working enough but feel we are just “worn out” from trying. Sometimes (like today) there is no sunshine and it is very cold outside. What do you do on a day like that? There are always answers; it’s just a question of finding one…

Today is the feast of St. John Neumann, a bishop who lived only 49 years. Born in Bohemia, he wanted to become a priest but, I read today, “his local diocese had a surfeit of priests.” Instead of wringing his hands or finding something else to do, he traveled to America and was accepted in a seminary in New York. He was ordained in 1836 and worked among various immigrant populations because of his gift for languages. He became a naturalized citizen and eventually became the fourth bishop of Philadelphia. Among his accomplishments were the establishment of the first network of parochial schools in the country, the founding of a congregation of teaching Sisters, the construction of a cathedral, and the introduction of the still popular Forty Hours Devotion in American parishes. He died on January 5, 1860 and was canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1977.

Noting that his life was changed by his solution to a disappointment early on, we might not be as energetic or creative but we would do well to attend to his advice today as we wait for the sun to shine, knowing that whatever is ours to do or become, it is worth the effort. He said the following: Everyone who breathes…has a mission, has a work. We are not sent into this world for nothing; we are not born at random…God sees every one of us; God creates every soul…for a purpose. As Christ has His work, we too have ours; as He rejoiced to do His work, we must rejoice in ours also.”

School Days

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Catholic schools, education, grow, prosper, school, schoolchildren, St. John Neumann, teachers, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

This morning as I try to get my mind back into a routine after two days away, I am thinking of the youth of our country – and others – whose  vacation came to an end yesterday. Their return to school must’ve been a shock, not only for those who love to sleep late and did for 11 days, but for all who walk to school or wait on a corner for a school bus. After an unusually balmy “green Christmas” here in the Northeast, the temperature was (and is today) hovering around zero degrees Fahrenheit. I have great compassion for school children on days like this, remembering well those days of shivering and hoping that the heat in the bus was functioning!

Aside from the weather, the impetus for my thoughts today derives from the fact that today is the feast of St. John Neumann, one of a growing number of canonized individuals claimed as a saint of the United States of America. Although born in what is now the Czech Republic, John Neumann came to the United States in 1836 at the age of 25 doing missionary work first in New York and then in Maryland, Virginia and Ohio. It was as bishop of Philadelphia, however, that he organized the Catholic schools which had up until that point been run independently by parishes into a diocesan system. He drew many teaching communities of religious Sisters as well as the Christian Brothers (a teaching community of men) to this well-organized system and engaged his own community, the Redemptorists (Congregation of the Holy Redeemer), in this work as well. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia is still widely noted for its school system with 148 schools across 5 counties.

Today, then, I send blessings to teachers on all levels of education, whose work is essential to the future of humanity, that they may open not only the minds of their students but also their hearts so that they become good and loving citizens of the world. In addition, I bless the children, that their schools may be safe and inspired places, giving them what they need – mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually – to grow and prosper, thus changing the world for the better. May it be so.

To the Ends of the Earth

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cardinals, communication, continents, Galilee, geography, global, Jerusalem, Jesus, Luke, Nazareth, Pope Francis, spread of Christianity, St. John Neumann, Syria, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, zeal

As some people my age, I have come “kicking and screaming” into the world of technology. Those who know me, however, are aware of my enthusiasm for the GeoMaster APP which has enabled me to learn the names and locations of places everywhere around the world. I now feel connected to people and events as never before because I know where they live and see where it’s all happening. In an organic way it has expanded the reach of my prayer as well.

This morning I found an incredible synchronicity as I began to prepare this reflection. It began (rather whimsically actually) with a line from Luke’s gospel that says Jesus left Nazareth and went to live at Capernaum by the sea. I had a fleeting image of him sitting in a beach chair watching the waves…but was brought back to my task as I continued to read chapter 4 which gave me a totally different picture. He went all around Galilee, it said, teaching and preaching the Kingdom and curing every disease and illness of the people. His fame spread to all of Syria and great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and beyond the Jordan followed him. On a map these countries of the Middle East are among the smallest,  but we need to remember that Jesus traveled on foot and only occasionally by boat – small boats.

Next I read about the canonized saint of the Catholic Church whose feast is today. St. John Neumann, born in 1811 was an immigrant to the United States of America when he was 25 years old, coming from what today is known as the Czech Republic. He was a priest of the Redemptorist Order and, his biography states, did “missionary work” first in New York, then in Maryland, Virginia and Ohio, where he was popular with the German community. Named Bishop of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania he became a champion of education, drawing many religious communities of nuns and priests to teach in the schools and creating a system of diocesan schools that remains strong today. He died in 1860 and proclaimed a saint in 1977.

When I went to http://www.americancatholic.org to read about John Neumann, there was a headline on the website about Pope Francis having named a new group of cardinals. There are 15 eligible electors (those who will name the next pope) and 5 honorifics (cardinals who are too old to participate in a conclave but were named because of their long and outstanding service to the Church). The 15 come from 14 nations on every continent including Cape Verde, Tonga and Myanmar. There are 3 from Asia, 3 from Latin America, 2 from Africa and 2 from Oceania. This is an astounding shift and I am proud to say that I can locate all of those places on a world map!

What does all this mean for me today? It just points up the growth and spread of Christianity from a small band of followers of Jesus in a tiny territory over 2,000 years ago to over a billion believers scattered all over planet earth. The miracle of this all boils down to zeal and communication – gifts, talents and willingness exercised by good people not unlike you and me whose faith has continued the story and helped new chapters to be written. Today these include renewed relationships among Christians across the denominational spectrum as well as new connections with those of other religious and philosophical traditions around the world. I am grateful for that today and can only conjecture…where will it go from here?