A little over a week ago, 37 of us traveled on pilgrimage to visit the National Shrine of St. John Neumann in Philadelphia. What struck so many of the parishioners who spent the day in exploration and prayer was the beauty and tranquility of the church where Philadelphia’s fourth bishop is buried. “There’s such a sense of peace here,” the pilgrims were often overheard saying.
Upon returning from the trip, a co-worker asked the sincere question: “I know Neumann was a saint, but why? It can’t just be that he was a bishop.”
She was right: being a member of the Catholic hierarchy doesn’t automatically make one a saint, to which history attests. Thus, I shared with her the list of accomplishments that John Neumann worked in his brief 49-years on this earth: he founded what we now consider to be the Catholic school system in the United States; brought the 40 Hours Eucharistic Adoration Devotion to America; was responsible for adding a record number of priests and new parishes to his diocese (which stretched from Harrisburg and Altoona, PA to the Jersey Shore and all of Delaware); spoke at least 6 languages to respond to the growing needs of Catholic immigrants; and served as a missionary to bring the Gospel everywhere he went.
All of these are noble and praiseworthy tasks, a credit to the man whose Catholic faith drove his ministry. But after the co-worker walked away with a better sense of Neumann’s curriculum vitae, I thought to myself: I wish I answered her question differently. John Neumann wasn’t a saint because of his religious accomplishments and works. He is holy – and we hold him up as a model of faith -- because he was a man on fire with the love of Christ and was willing to allow God to transform him and to use him to help build the Kingdom. It didn’t matter whether Neumann founded one school or 100 schools. What truly mattered was that the love of Christ at work in this humble servant spilled out constantly into the world around him.
That goal is the same for each one of us. No matter what we do for a living or how we define our vocation, what ultimately shapes us are the ways in which we spend our lives allowing God to love in us and through us, often in very simple ways. In doing the laundry without complaining; letting another driver merge in front of us; in complimenting a stranger: God uses these moments to bring light to others’ lives and help us grow in virtue and sanctity.
When all is said and done, sainthood isn’t just the calling for a few chosen souls. It’s the life’s mission for each one of us. Bishop Neumann himself would often pray: “Speak to me, Lord, and let me know Your will, for I am ready to do what You ask of me. The difficult and the irksome I will patiently endure for love of You and others.”
May St. John Neumann’s prayer be ours as well. May we, too, become saints – not for what we do but because we have allowed Love to transform us.