Memorial of Saint John Neumann, Bishop
Joy! Joy rings out in the words of today’s psalm, “Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands… come before him with joyful song” as our celebration of Christmas continues.
It might seem tempting to let go of this joy as the decorations come down, Christmas music ceases to play on the radio, and holiday shopping winds down. Many have moved on to post-holiday diets and bearing down for the coming harsh winter months. Joy endures not because there are still sales to be had—this is the answer of Verizon Wireless to the emblematic joy-sapped man in their commercial, “Don’t worry, there are still phones on sale!” Christians are joyous because we know that, in the words of the psalm, “The LORD is good: the LORD, whose kindness endures forever, and his faithfulness, to all generations.” God’s faithfulness is unfailing. God’s kindness is everlasting.
We have a God who loves us so much that He humbled Himself to become one of us. But that was not all. As St. John reminds us in his first epistle, Jesus showed us the very definition of love by laying down His life for us. Not only has Jesus made possible eternal life with God, but He stands as an exemplar of Christian love.
In Baptism, we have been brought from death to new life in Christ. But as St. John emphatically reminds us, the indicator of this new life is our love for our brothers and sisters. It is this love, modeled on Christ that brings us everlasting joy. This love means sacrificing ourselves for our spouse, the homeless person on the street, our children, that irritating co-worker, and the family next door. This self-sacrifice, not cheap phones, brings the everlasting joy of God.
Let us give thanks for the loving witness St. John Neumann, who graciously gave himself to the people of Philadelphia, working tirelessly for greater educational opportunities for the poor immigrants in his diocese.
- Tim Gabrielli