|
| |
Guest Sermon By
Mar
Frederick
Catholicos, Eastern Rite Bishop
Reformed Catholic Church
26th May is The feast day of our Patron Saint
St Philip Neri
SAINT PHILIP NERI, CONFESSOR—1515-1595
Feast: May 26
Philip Neri was born in Florence in the year 1515, one of four children of the
notary Francesco Neri. The mother died while the children were very young, her
place being filled by a capable stepmother. From infancy Philip had a docile,
merry disposition. They called him "Pippo buono," "good little Phil," for
he was a dutiful, attractive, cheerful lad, popular with all who knew him.
At
eighteen Philip was sent to the town of San Germano, to live with a childless
kinsman who had a business there and would be likely to make Philip his
apprentice and heir. It is hard to imagine anyone with less aptitude for
business than Philip. Soon after his arrival he had a mystical experience which
in after years he spoke of as his "conversion," and which radically
changed his life. He left his kinsman's house, to set out for Rome without money
or plan, trusting entirely to God's providence. In Rome he found shelter under
the roof of a former Florentine, one Galeotto Caccia, a customs official, who
offered him an attic and the bare necessaries of life, in return for which
Philip was to give lessons to Caccia's two small sons. Under his tutoring the
little boys improved rapidly in all respects, according to their grateful
mother. This promised well for Philip's future human relationships. Indeed, as
we shall see, he had a natural talent for bringing out the best in people of all
ages and conditions.
Except for the hours he devoted to his pupils, Philip seems to have passed his
first two years at Rome as a recluse, spending much time in prayer in his bare,
uncomfortable attic. He ate frugal meals of bread, water, and a few olives or
vegetables. It was a period of intense preparation, and at its dose he emerged
from obscurity with his spirit strengthened, his resolve to live for God
confirmed. He now took courses in philosophy and theology at the Sapienza and at
St. Augustine's monastery. For three years he worked so hard that he was
considered an unusually promising scholar. Then, quite suddenly, moved by some
inner prompting, he put an end to classes and studying, sold most of his books,
and launched on a mission to the people of Rome.
Religion was at a low ebb in the
papal city, which had not yet recovered from the atrocious depredations of the
German and Spanish armies of 1527, a decade earlier. There were also grave
abuses within the Church, and although they had long been recognized, too little
was being done to cure them. Elections to the Sacred College were controlled by
the Medici family,[1] with the result that the cardinals, with a few notable
exceptions, were princes of the state, worldlings who thought in terms of power
and politics, rather than men dedicated to God and the Church. The enthusiasm
for classical writers and the tendency towards scepticism, fostered by the
humanists of the Renaissance, had gradually substituted pagan for Christian
ideals in Italian intellectual circles. Indifference and luxury, if not
corruption, were rife among the clergy, many of whom allowed their churches to
fall into disrepair, seldom said Mass, and completely neglected their flocks.
Little wonder that the laity were lapsing into cynicism and disbelief ! To fill
the people of Rome with new ardor, to re-evangelize the city, became Philip
Neri's life work.
He
began in the most direct way possible, making acquaintances on street corners
and in the public squares, where people were inclined to loiter. At first he
interested himself especially in the young Florentines who were employed in the
banks and shops of the busy Sant'Angelo quarter near the Vatican. He has been
compared to Socrates for the way he could seize on opportunities for engaging in
conversation and then lead his hearers on by questions and suggestions to
consider a better way of life. His warm friendliness and lively sense of humor
would quickly catch the attention of passersby, and once caught, they found it
difficult to break away. By this warm, personal approach he gradually prevailed
on many to give up their careless way of life. His customary question, "Well,
brothers, when shall we begin to do good?" soon brought a response, provided he
led the way. Losing no time in converting good intentions into action, he would
take them to wait on the sick in the hospitals or to pray in the Seven Churches,
one of Philip's own favorite devotions. His days were wholly given up to others,
but towards evening it was his habit to retire into solitude, to spend the night
in a church porch or in the catacombs beside the Appian Way, gathering strength
for another day's work.
In one of the grottoes along the
Appian Way he had an experience which affected him profoundly. He was praying on
the eve of Pentecost, 1544, when there appeared to him what seemed to be a globe
of fire; it entered his mouth and afterwards he felt a dilation of the heart.
Immediately he was filled with such paroxysms of divine love that he fell to the
ground exclaiming, "Enough, enough, Lord, I can bear no morel" When he
had come to himself and risen up, he discovered a swelling over his heart,
though neither then nor later did. it give him pain. From that day on, under
stress of spiritual emotion, he was apt to be seized with palpitations; at such
times he would ask God to mitigate His visitations lest he should die of love.
In the year 1548, when Philip had
been carrying out his informal mission for some ten years, he founded, with the
help of his confessor, Father Persiano Rossa, a confraternity of poor laymen who
met for spiritual exercises in the church of San Salvatore in Campo. He
popularized the devotion of the Forty Hours,[2] and undertook to provide for
needy pilgrims, a work which led to the building of the famous hospital Santa
Trinita. During the Year of Jubilee of 1575 it cared for no less than a hundred
and forty-five thousand pilgrims. Later it received convalescents also.
Thus by the time he was thirty-four, Philip had accomplished a great deal. His
confessor, however, was convinced that as a priest his work would be even more
effective. Philip's humility made him shrink from taking Holy Orders, but at
last, on May 23, 1551, he was ordained. He went to live with Father Rossa and
other priests at San Girolamo and thereafter carried on his mission mainly
through the confessional. Starting before daybreak and continuing hour after
hour, he sat in the tribunal of penance, while men and women of all ages and
ranks flocked to him. Sometimes he conducted informal discussions with those who
desired to lead a better life, or he would read aloud to them, choosing the
lives of the saints, martyrs, and missionaries. The story of the heroic life and
death of St. Francis Xavier so inspired Philip that he himself considered
service in the foreign mission field: a Cistercian whom he consulted persuaded
him that Rome was to be his Indies.
To accommodate the increasing number
of those who attended Philip's discussions, a large room was built over the nave
of San Girolamo. Several other priests were appointed to assist him. The people
called them "Oratorians" because they rang a little bell to summon the
faithful to prayers in their "oratory." The actual foundation of the
Congregation of the Priests of the Oratory was laid a few years later, when
Philip presented five of his young followers for ordination and sent them to
serve the church of San Giovanni, which had been put in his charge by fellow
Florentines living in Rome. The future cardinal and Church historian, Caesar
Baronius, was among them. Philip drew up for them some simple rules: they were
to share a common table and perform spiritual exercises under his direction, but
they were not to bind themselves to the life by vow or to renounce their
property. The organization grew rapidly, although it met with opposition in
certain quarters. In 1575, the Congregation received the formal approbation of
Pope Gregory XIII, who later bestowed on it the ancient church of Santa Maria in
Vellicella. The building was in a ruinous condition and far too small. Philip
was not long in deciding to demolish it and rebuild on a large scale.
He
had no money, but contributions poured in from his friends, rich and poor. Pope
Gregory and Charles Borromeo gave generously, as did other prominent men.
Cardinals and princes were now among Philip's disciples, though he sometimes
shocked them by his impulsiveness. His desire was always to establish a close,
human bond with others, even though it meant indulging in a wine-drinking
contest, practical joking, or other undignified behaviour. He acted in a jocular
manner to conceal his deep emotion, or to put himself on a level with those
around him. Humility was the virtue he strove most of all to practice, but of
course he could not conceal his extraordinary gifts or sanctity. More than once
he foretold events which later came to pass. He lived in such a state of
spiritual exaltation that at times it was with difficulty that he carried on his
daily labours. Men declared that his face often glowed with a celestial
radiance.
By
April, 1577, work on the Nuova Chiesa, or New Church, had advanced sufficiently
for the Congregation of the Oratory to be transferred there. Philip stayed at
San Girolamo for another seven years before he moved to quarters in the New
Church. Although he ate his meals apart from the group, he was far from leading
the life of a solitary. Not only did his spiritual sons have free access to him,
but his room was constantly crowded by others. Rich and poor mounted the steps
that led to his refuge at the top of the house, with its balcony looking over
the roofs of Rome. The Italian people loved and venerated him, and visitors came
from other countries to speak with him. Thus he continued his apostolate when
the infirmities of age prevented him from leading an active life. The College of
Cardinals frequently sought his advice, and although he refrained from becoming
involved in political matters, he broke this rule when he persuaded Pope Clement
VII to withdraw the excommunication and anathema laid on Henry IV of France. In
the words of one of his biographers, "He was all things to all men.... When
he was called upon to be merry, he was so; if there was a demand upon his
sympathy, he was equally ready...." In consequence of his being so
accessible and willing to receive all comers, many went to him every day, and
some continued for the space of thirty, nay, forty years, to visit him very
often both morning and evening, so that his room went by the agreeable nickname
of the "Home of Christian mirth." The tradition of this genial saint was
very much alive two hundred years later, when the German poet Goethe was living
in Rome. He heard so much of Neri that he studied the sources and wrote a highly
appreciative essay about him, entitled, "The Humorous Saint."
Two
years before his death Neri retired from his office of Superior in favour of his
disciple, Caesar Baronius. He obtained permission from the Pope to celebrate
Mass daily in a little Oratory adjoining his room. So enraptured did he become
at such times that it was the practice of those who attended to retire
respectfully at the "Agnus Dei". On the Feast of Corpus Christi, May 25,
1595, Philip was in a radiantly happy mood, and his physician told him that he
had not looked so well for ten years. He alone realized that his hour had come.
All day he heard confessions and saw visitors as usual, but before retiring he
said: "Last of all, we must die." About midnight, he had a severe haemorrhage
and the fathers in the house were called to his bedside. He was dying, and
Baronius read the commendatory prayers, and then besought him to say a parting
word or at least to bless his sons once more. Unable to speak, Philip raised his
hand, and in the act of benediction passed to his reward. He had reached the
ripe age of eighty and his work was done. His body rests in the New Church,
which the Oratorians still serve.[3] Six years later he was beatified; Pope
Gregory XV canonized him in 1622. Even during his lifetime he had received the
title of "Apostle of Rome."
One of the most famous members of the
Oratorian order, Cardinal Newman, wrote[4] of Neri nearly three hundred years
after his death, "he contemplated as the idea of his mission, not the
propagation of the faith, nor the exposition of doctrine, nor the catechetical
schools; whatever was exact and systematic pleased him not; he put from him
monastic rule and authoritative speech, as David refused the armour of his
king.... He came to the Eternal City and he sat himself down there, and his home
and his family gradually grew up around him, by the spontaneous accession of
materials from without. He did not so much seek his own as draw them to him. He
sat in his small room, and they in their gay, worldly dresses, the rich and the
wellborn, as well as the simple and the illiterate, crowded into it. In the
mid-heats of summer, in the frosts of winter still was he in that low and narrow
cell at San Girolamo, reading the hearts of those who came to him, and curing
their souls' maladies by the very touch of his hand.... And they who came
remained gazing and listening till, at length, first one and then another threw
off their bravery, and took his poor cassock and girdle instead; or, if they
kept it, it was to put haircloth under it, or to take on them a rule of life,
while to the world they looked as before.
Scripture for the day
Saturday, May 26, 2007
'Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness
and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a
trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth.
Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is
about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.'
Luke 21:34-36 NIV AMEN.
Mar Frederick
Bishop, Old
Roman Catholic Church in England
Mar
Frederick
Catholicos, Eastern Rite Bishop
Reformed Catholic Church
If you would like to submit a guest Sermon then send to:-
Guest
Sermon Submission
ERCON Reading Fellowship,
Nigeria
Guest Sermon By The Revd
Paul Naumann
Guest
Sermon By The Revd Chris Hicken BA, AD, BBS
Guest Sermon By Patriarch + Mar Martin McGuire
PhD
Guest Sermon By Dr. Khern Steven Oliver DD - The Bishop
Elect of Lutterworth
Serving
Yeshua
International
&
The
Old
Roman
Catholic
Church
in England
Back to Top
|
