Able to commit to a weekly time to pray for vocations?
Our Guild has committed to praying for priestly and religious vocations for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Please take a minute to sign up below. We will present our prayer commitments for the coming year as a Spiritual Bouquet to Archbishop Nelson Perez during the Christmas season.
End of Year Appeal
Next week is #GivingTuesday. Please consider supporting our Guild with an end-of-year donation.
We have been blessed–our membership is growing, student participation has increased, attendance at our events is growing, and we launched a new website. Five scholarships were funded for students to attend the CMA Bootcamp, a week-long immersion in Catholic spirituality, bioethical principles, and leadership training. We’ve added new benefits for our members, including:
- access to the National Catholic Bioethics Center publications and resources
- consultants for questions of ethics and conscience, and
- the rollout of a special “classified ad” page on our website to support members looking for “good help”—for all of these, we are grateful.
Upcoming Events
Advent Pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. Rita of Cascia, December 14th
Join our CMA Students and St. John Neumann Guild members
When: Sunday, December 14th 10 AM Mass, Shrine open after Mass
Where: 1166 S. Broad Stree,t Philadelphia, PA On street parking available
Pilgrimage to the National Shrine of St. John Neumann
Celebrate the patron saint of our Guild and the last week of the Jubilee Year of Hope 2025.
When: Sunday, January 4, 2026. Mass at 12:30 PM. Reception with refreshments following Mass. There will be time available to venerate the body of St. John Neumann which lies beneath the altar in the lower church and to visit the Shrine & Museum that chronicles the life of this great saint.
Where: Church of St. Peter the Apostle, 1019 N Fifth St, (5th St & Girard Ave) Philadelphia, PA 19123. Parking available on the premises. Come early, as this event is likely to attract many pilgrims. Guild members can congregate in the pews on right side of the church—there are no reserved seats.
Special graces offered during the Holy Year
The Shrine of St. Rita and The National Shrine of St. John Neumann are two of several designated pilgrimage sites within the Philadelphia Archdiocese during the Jubilee Year of Hope, which ends on January 6th, 2026. A plenary indulgence can be obtained as a result of this pilgrimage visit, if the following conditions are met (cf. https://www.usccb.org/resources/Indulgence_Vatican_Bollettino.pdf for additional info):
- Be truly repentant and free from any attachment to sin
- Receive the Sacrament of Penance
- Receive Holy Communion on the day of the pilgrimage
- Pray for the intentions of the Holy Father.
Tomb of St. John Neumann
Save These Dates in 2026—more info to come. Check neumannguild.org under Events
Bucks County Mass & Reception for St. John Neumann CMA Guild Members
Sunday, February 22nd at 12 noon
St. John Neumman CMA Guild Picnic
Sunday, May 3rd
An Advent Reflection of HOPE
In anticipation of World Day of the Sick last February, Pope Francis offered a reflection for the suffering—and those who care for them. While Advent is a time of hope, it can be a stressful time for clinicians as the illness season ramps up and cross coverage can be lean. The late Holy Father’s words can encourage us and help us see the connections between suffering and hope.
We are celebrating the 33rd World Day of the Sick [on February 11, feast of Our Lady of Lourdes] in the Jubilee Year 2025, in which the Church invites us to become “pilgrims of hope.” The word of God accompanies us and offers us, in the words of Saint Paul, an encouraging message: “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5); indeed, it strengthens us in times of trial.
Places of suffering are frequently also places of sharing and mutual enrichment. How often, at the bedside of the sick, do we learn to hope! How often, by our closeness to those who suffer, do we learn to have faith! How often, when we care for those in need, do we discover love! We realize that we are “angels” of hope and messengers of God for one another, all of us together: whether patients, physicians, nurses, family members, friends, priests, men and women religious, no matter where we are, whether in the family or in clinics, nursing homes, hospitals or medical centres.
We need to learn how to appreciate the beauty and significance of these grace-filled encounters. We need to learn how to cherish the gentle smile of a nurse, the gratitude and trust of a patient, the caring face of a doctor or volunteer, or the anxious and expectant look of a spouse, a child, a grandchild or a dear friend. All these are rays of light to be treasured; even amid the dark night of adversity, they give us strength, while at the same time teaching us the deeper meaning of life, in love and closeness (cf. Lk10:25-37).
Dear brothers and sisters who are ill or who care for the suffering, in this Jubilee you play an especially important part. Your journey together is a sign for everyone: “a hymn to human dignity, a song of hope” (Spes Non Confundit, 11). Its strains are heard far beyond the rooms and beds of health facilities, and serve to elicit in charity “the choral participation of society as a whole” (ibid.) in a harmony that is at times difficult to achieve, but for that very reason is so comforting and powerful, capable of bringing light and warmth wherever they are most needed.” (Rome, Saint John Lateran, 14 January 2025)
