The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/010526.cfm On this twelfth day of Christmas, Fr. Matthew Tomeny, MIC reflects on the memorial of St. John Neumann—a man small in stature but immense in his love for Christ and His people. Born in Bohemia and ordained at a time when Europe had more priests than it needed, St. John Neumann heard a different call: to bring the Sacraments to Catholics scattered across a young and growing America.

In today’s homily, Fr. Matt offers a sobering reminder: a nation cannot survive spiritually if its people abandon truth. As Catholics, we are called not only to believe the faith, but to study it, to guard it, and to allow it to shape our daily lives. The Church teaches that the Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of Truth” (John 14:17), and when we invite Him into our hearts, He strengthens us to love what is good, reject what is false, and persevere through every trial. This is why the Catechism says that life in Christ transforms the whole of our existence (CCC 1691).