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Tuesday, January 5, 2010

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St. John Neumann


1 John 4:7-10
Psalm 72:1-4, 7-8
Mark 6:34-44

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fed up?

"Jesus saw a vast crowd. He pitied them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them at great length." —Mark 6:34

If we love Jesus, we will feed His sheep physically and spiritually (Jn 21:15-17). However, many of His sheep are being poisoned by massive, almost constant injections of prime-time TV, pornography, video games, escapist entertainment, and other garbage media. After getting sick from consuming this sewage, these people lose their appetite for the nourishment of God's word and sacraments. They become spiritually anorexic.

Consequently, we as God's people have an unprecedented challenge to spiritually feed more people than ever before. In addition, these people are more spiritually sick and anorexic than ever before. Moreover, we must feed the people with the world competing viciously against us for their time, money, and energy. Finally, the world is heavily funded and controls almost all aspects of the media, to which most people of our culture of death are enslaved.

How can we feed God's people under these worst of circumstances? The Lord has promised: "My grace is sufficient" (2 Cor 12:9, RSV-CE). If we give Him our all and our best, He will multiply it to overcome spiritual anorexia and feed the masses (see Mk 6:41ff), even if we are under-funded and seemingly buried in a media deluge. We need many miracles to feed God's people, and the Lord is the God of miracles. He will do more than we can ever ask for or imagine (Eph 3:20). Feed the sheep.

Prayer:  Father, I give You my "all," as little as it is.

Promise:  "Love, then, consists in this: not that we have loved God but that He has loved us and has sent His Son as an Offering for our sins." —1 Jn 4:10

Praise:  Along with parish schools, St. John also promoted the Forty Hours devotion. He was known for encouraging ordinary people to live in hidden sanctity.

Rescript:  †Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, June 4, 2009

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