30th Sunday
25th Anniversary – Dedication of St. John Neumann
Annapolis, Maryland
October 25, 2025
Introduction
Throughout much of the last century, the Catholic Church in the Annapolis area experienced steady, even rapid growth. It had long since outgrown St. Mary’s Church downtown, the historic and beautiful church in the heart of town. So the decision was made to create a mission to St. Mary’s Parish. This afternoon, we recall the efforts three Redemptorists who led the way in buying the land and building the church in which we now worship: Fr. John Murray; the late Fr. Thomas Si-conol-fi, and Fr. Denis Sweeney. Happily, the new mission church was named after St. John Neumann, the saintly Redemptorist missionary, ordained to the episcopacy in Baltimore in 1852 and appointed to the See of Philadelphia.
We’ve gathered this afternoon to celebrate the blessings of these past 25 years, as this “mission church” has proved itself to be truly a missionary church that has reached out in welcome to everyone seeking a spiritual home, and in a special way, to those who have recently come to the United States. St. John Neumann, ever the missionary, would be proud of all of you – his fellow Redemptorists, led so ably and devotedly by Fr. Pat Woods, the lay leadership, and the lay faithful. As we look the future, we can best honor your patron saint and recall with gratitude the dedication of this church by rededicating ourselves to walk intentionally in the footsteps of St. John Neumann. In setting out on this path anew, we are guided by today’s Scriptures.
Humility
In the Gospel, we met the Pharisee and the publican, a tax collector. Both came to the temple area to pray. In his prayer, the Pharisee proclaimed his own righteousness before God. He told God that he was better than everyone else, especially the tax collector. The tax collector, for his part, kept his distance, humbly begging God for mercy. Jesus condemned the pride of the Pharisee while extoling the humility of the tax collector.
St. John Neumann, while not a tax collector, was a man of deepest humility. In fact, humility was the hallmark of his life. He wanted no honors and did not cling the honors that were given him. The only thing that mattered to him was the Church’s mission, a mission that included empathy for those who are in need. In his humility and detachment, John Neumann constantly placed himself at the service of those in need.
Humility is at the heart of the Church’s mission. No matter how large a community may be, no matter how active, it nonetheless depends entirely on the Lord. Its members do not boast of their own accomplishments but rather give thanks to the Lord what he is doing in their midst. The prayers for the dedication of a church make it clear: the church is where God shows us his favor, lavishes his mercy upon us, and gives us the strength for the mission entrusted to us. Those prayers also remind us that humility and empathy travel together. Let us embrace anew the humility of St. John Neumann, for that is key to the fruitfulness of this church’s mission in the years ahead.
Zeal
Our reading from St. Paul’s 2nd Letter to Timothy brims with zeal for the Gospel. Facing martyrdom, Paul looks back on his ministry; in all honesty he can say: “I have competed well. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.” Few Scripture passages describe St. John Neumann better than those words. He left his beloved family in Bohemia to come to America, not knowing what the future would hold. At first he served as a diocesan priest in the Archdiocese of New York but eventually discerned a vocation to the Redemptorists. He travelled and preached far and wide, especially to German-speaking parishes, and always with the great zeal. In 1852 he became the Bishop of Philadelphia where he remained close to the people entrusted to his care, spending himself completely for them, or to echo St. Paul’s words, ‘pouring himself out like a libation’.
The anniversary of your church’s dedication is indeed a graced opportunity for this parish community to be renewed in zeal, a zeal like that of St. Paul and like that of St. John Neumann for bringing the Gospel to those who have not yet taken it to heart, especially the unchurched and Catholics who no longer practice the faith. Just as St. John Neumann left no stone unturned, so let this community be unmatched in its missionary outreach.
Love for the Poor and the Young
The Book of Sirach tells us today that “the Lord is not deaf to the wail of the orphan, nor to the widow.” The Responsorial Psalm proclaimed, “The Lord hears the cry of the poor.” Surely St. John Neumann took those words to heart in his ministry. He was close to the poor and the suffering, personally generous to them, and always looking for ways and means to better their lot in life. So too, he was close to immigrant families seeking to educate their children. As Bishop of Philadelphia, he opened many parishes and schools, and indeed organized the first Catholic school system in the United States. To put it another way, in his ministry as priest and bishop, St. John Neumann addressed the very real needs of the communities he served.
The expansiveness of his ministry is an index of the scope of the mission of this church that bears his name. This community of faith is called to embrace poor, the immigrant, and those who lack life’s necessities, whether they be near or far. So too, this community in so many ways supports Catholic education, especially St. Mary’s Elementary and High Schools, who carry forward a ministry near and dear to St. John Neumann’s heart.
Rededication
Let us then celebrate the anniversary of this church’s dedication by celebrating the humility, zeal, and pastoral love of St. John Neumann. And allow me to thank you most sincerely for the humility, zeal, and love for those in need that characterizes this community of faith. Through his intercession, may we rededicate ourselves to the mission of this community of faith, worship, and service, to the glory of God and for the salvation of souls. And may the Lord bless us and keep us always in his love!