Project BLACK MAMBA: Christmastide

'Tis the Memorial of Saint John Neumann, Bishop, C.Ss.R. (1811-1860): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

A native of Bohemia, he became fluent in six languages before immigrating to the United States, where he became a priest of the Redemptorist order & the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia. He is the first United States bishop (& to date the only male citizen) to be canonized. While Bishop of Philadelphia, Neumann founded the first Catholic diocesan school system in the United States.

Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:

St. John was born in 1811 in Prachatitz, Bohemia. He fulfilled his dream of coming to America when he came to the United States & was ordained a priest in New York City in 1836. He joined the Redemptorists & worked in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, & the American frontier. He was the first Redemptorist to make religious profession in the U.S. In 1852, at age forty-one, he was ordained bishop of Philadelphia. He worked hard to establish parochial schools & parishes for European immigrants. He inaugurated the Forty Hours Devotion in the U.S. He collapsed & died on a Philadelphia street in 1860.

'Tis also the feast of Saint Simeon Stylites the Elder (circa 390-459), first of the pillar-dwelling ascetics: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings
The First Letter of John, chapter four, verse seven thru ten;
Psalm Seventy-two, verses one thru four, seven, & eight;
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter six, verses thirty-four thru forty-four;

or, for the Memorial,
The Book of Isaiah, chapter six, verses one thru eight;
Psalm Eighty-nine, verse two;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter twenty-eight, verses sixteen thru twenty.