Prayer Service for the Feast of St. John Neumann

Section: 
prayers
 
January 5
 
ENVIRONMENT:
 
SUGGESTION
Hash Browns are the American version of the Middle European Rosti. John Neumann enjoyed these in many a farm kitchen. Think of the people of our country as you prepare them. Pray for them and thank God for the gift of our society just as John Nepomucene Neumann did for the Americans of his day.
Recipe:
1 lb new potatoes
1 carrot
1 chopped onion
Salt and pepper
Optional:
Crushed garlic
2 oz grated cheese
Peel and parboil the potatoes and carrot for 10 minutes. Cool. Grate both on a coarse grater. Add other ingredients and season to taste. Divide the mixture into 8 pieces, flattening them into rectangles. Heat 4 tablespoons of oil and one of butter in a frying pan and cook the hash browns 4 – 5 minutes on each side. Serve with bacon and fried mushrooms for breakfast, or with 2 other vegetables for something other than breakfast. Tomato sauce is nice or some homemade chutney to aid your digestion.

Bible, candle, picture of John Neumann, cross

 
CALL TO PRAYER:

"One must be ready, for death comes when and where God wills it." (St. John Neumann)
The Bishop of Philadelphia lay crumpled in the snow a few blocks from his new cathedral on Logan Square. By the time a priest reached him with the holy oils, Bishop Neumann was dead. That was January 5, 1860. At his own request Bishop Neumann was buried in a crypt in Saint Peter’s Church where he would be with his Redemptorist confreres.
 
HYMN:

"Only This I Want" – Dan Schutte 
PSALM 63:1-9 Pray psalm antiphonally.
 
Antiphon:

My life is at the service of theGospel;
God has given me this grace.
 
O God, you are my God whom I eagerly seek;
for you my flesh longs and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless, and without water.
 
I have gazed toward you in the sanctuary
to see your power and your glory.
For your love is better than life;
my lips shall glorify you.
 
Thus will I praise you while I live;
lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.
As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be filled,
and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.
 
On my bed I will remember you,
and through the night watches I will meditate on you:
because you are my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
 
But they shall be destroyed who seek my life;
they shall go down to the depths of the earth.
They shall be delivered over to the sword
and shall be the food of jackals.
 
However, I shall rejoice in God.
Everyone who swears by God shall give praise,
but the mouths of those who speak falsely shall be silenced.
 
Glory . . .
 
READING: John 10:11-16
 
RESPONSE: "Shepherd Me O God"  – Marty Haugen
Sing the refrain. The verses may be recited.
 
GOSPEL CANTICLE:

Antiphon:

Our Gospel came to you not only in word, but
also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with
full conviction.
Morning - "Benedictus" - Bernadette Farrell
Evening - "Magnificat" - Bernadette Farrell
 
INTERCESSIONS:

O God, you selected some to be leaders of your people: to teach, strengthen, and support them. We lift up our hearts and pray:
 
Response: Send down your Spirit on those you have chosen.
 
For the Church, particularly for all in positions of authority, we pray…
For Christian educators throughout the world, we pray…
For immigrants, those who are alienated, and those who are poor and all who minister among them, we pray…
For Christians everywhere, called to wash the feet of their brothers and sisters, we pray…
For all who have died, we pray…
 
OUR FATHER
 
CLOSING PRAYER:

O Saint John Neumann, your ardent desire of bringing all souls to Christ impelled you to leave home and country; teach us to live worthily in the spirit of our Baptism which makes us all children of the one God and brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, the first-born of the family of God.
Obtain for us that complete dedication in the service of those who are needy, weak, afflicted, and abandoned which so characterized your life. Help us to walk perseveringly in the difficult, and at times, painful paths of duty, strengthened by our Eucharistic life and under the watchful protection of Mary our Mother. Amen.
 
CLOSING REMEMBRANCES:
 
"Among the shepherds of the flock in Philadelphia," wrote Pope Pius XII, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the founding of the diocese, "the figure of Venerable John Neumann is pre-eminent. It was mainly through his prodigious efforts that a Catholic school system came into being and that parochial schools began to rise across the land. His holy life, his childlike gentleness, his hard labor, and his tremendous foresight is still fresh and green among you. The tree planted and watered by Bishop Neumann now gives you its fruit."
 
"The life of John Neumann remains a challenge to all of us…" —John Cardinal Krol
 
Portions of this prayer service are used with permission and taken from John Cardinal Krol, The Autobiography of Saint John Neumann, C.SS.R. Copyrighted Material. Copyright © 1977 Daughters of St. Paul, Boston, MA. All Rights Reserved. www.pauline.org  and from www.stjohnneumann.org/life.html.