"May the example of Saint John Neumann and Saint
Katharine Drexel of Philadelphia increase our love for the Most Holy Eucharist,
the sacrament which will feed our hungry hearts for the important journey that
lies ahead."
(from the Decree convoking the Tenth Archdiocesan Synod)
The Call to Holiness
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has been blessed with two canonized saints,
Saint John Neumann and Saint Katharine Drexel. They are God's gift to us,
examples to encourage us to pursue holiness.
Although John Neumann and Katharine Drexel lived in different
eras (Katharine was born in 1858 and John Neumann died in 1860) their lives have
some important similarities.
The influence of the family
Our parents are our first teachers. John's and Katharine's
parents were the best of teachers in the ways of holiness. John Neumann's father
was a model Christian gentleman. His mother, Agnes, attended Mass daily
accompanied by one or more of her children. In the family there were morning and
evening prayers, grace before and after meals. Katharine's father was a man of
deep prayer. Awareness of God came through family prayer. They said night
prayers together. Katharine's father would take her to Mass and, as was the
custom of the time, she received Holy Communion once a month.
By way of example, John Neumann's father taught him early
lessons in charity. Philip Neumann was the Prefect of the Poor in the town of
Prachatitz, Bohemia. It was his duty to care for the needy and to provide for
them. Katharine's step-mother, Emma Bouvier Drexel, was known as "Lady
Bountiful" because she gave so generously to the poor. Katharine and her
sisters, Elizabeth and Louise, assisted Emma in her love for the needy.
The Blessed Sacrament
Central to the spirituality of John Neumann and Katharine
Drexel was the Blessed Sacrament. Mother St. John Fournier, Superior of the
Sisters of Saint Joseph, said of the Bishop of Philadelphia,
His every act, every tone of his voice and manner as
witnessed by us in his visitation of our houses and schools bore the
unmistakable impress of sanctity. As soon as he entered the house his first
visit was to the chapel, where, as he knelt before the altar his whole soul
seemed absorbed in God and that air of devout recollection, so habitual to
him, became doubly intensified by his faith in the Sacramental Presence.
Saint John Neumann's devotion to the Eucharist is shown also
in the institution of the Forty Hours' Devotion in the Diocese beginning April,
1853 in Saint Philip Neri Church.
Saint Katharine's devotion to the Blessed Sacrament is
demonstrated early on. She wanted to make her First Holy Communion before the
then customary age of twelve. She made her First Communion June 3, 1870 at the
age of eleven. The Religious Community she founded reveals the centrality of the
Eucharist, Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. In her retirement she spent many
hours of prayer in the chapel. This little prayer of her's says much about her
Eucharistic devotion:
O memorial of the wonders of God's love! Take our
cold hearts prisoner, draw them to yourself, for a heart is not worthy to beat
that does not beat for you alone!
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Devotion to our Blessed Mother provided another spiritual
foundation stone for John and Katharine. Returning from Rome, after the
promulgation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, John Neumann requested a
number of the city churches to celebrate the event with triduums in honor of the
Immaculate Mother. Mother Katharine's devotion to Mary is captured in this
reflection of her's:
O holy Mother of God, behold your child! I am
not worthy, but Jesus gave me to you. I am a part of his legacy; teach me to
be all that a child of Mary ought to be.
The Missionary Spirit
The Drexel family attended Mass at the Vatican on January
27, 1887, a Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIII. In an audience following the Mass,
Katharine petitioned the Pope to send missionaries to Native Americans. The Holy
Father responded to Katharine's petition by suggesting that she become a
missionary herself. This encounter led to the future founding of the Sisters of
the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored people. Katharine became a
missionary to America's forgotten people of color.
John Neumann came to America to be a missionary to a young
nation. He endured the difficulties of travel, weather, and evangelizing among
peoples of many different languages. There were times when he would hike for as
many as twelve hours with a heavy pack containing his Mass kit. Both these
saints freely received and they both freely gave to bring Christ to people in
need.
The ultimate goal of our Archdiocesan Synod is holiness.
Encouraged by Saint John Neumann and Saint Katharine Drexel we can become an
Archdiocese where more families pray together, an Archdiocese which will
increase in its devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and to the Blessed Mother. An
Archdiocese that has received much and will give freely to those in need,
especially the most neglected.
-- Rev. Msgr. Michael J.
Carroll
