St John Neumann: An Example of Hard Work

 Today we read about St John Neumann in the wonderful book In Caelo et in Terra, which tells us about the saint of the day for every day of the year. 

St John Neumann was an incredibly hard worker. He rode horseback to all of the parishes in the New York area, bringing the Eucharist and its devotion to people who desperately needed it in the 19th century. He worked so hard that one day he was walking down the street and collapsed, dying shortly thereafter. He was only 49 years old, which seems EXTREMELY young to me.

Neumann loved his work and he loved the people for whom he worked. Most of all, he loved Jesus and all of his hard work and devotion was for Jesus first and foremost.

May we learn to do the same.

God, thanks for giving us the wonderful example of this saint. St John Neumann, pray for us.