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| Depth of God's Love |  | | When we suffer, we don't just come to understand the pain of Christ's cross more, we come to understand the depth of God's love for us: that he would endure such pain for us—in our place. We have a God who endured death so we would never have to do so. | | |
St. Philip Neri
(1515-1595)
 Philip Neri was a sign of contradiction, combining popularity with piety against the background of a corrupt Rome and a disinterested clergy, the whole post-Renaissance malaise. At an early age, he abandoned the chance to become a businessman, moved to Rome from Florence and devoted his life and individuality to God. After three years of philosophy and theology studies, he gave up any thought of ordination. The next 13 years were spent in a vocation unusual at the time—that of a layperson actively engaged in prayer and the apostolate. As the Council of Trent (1545-63) was reforming the Church on a doctrinal level, Philip's appealing personality was winning him friends from all levels of society, from beggars to cardinals. He rapidly gathered around himself a group of laypersons won over by his audacious spirituality. Initially they met as an informal prayer and discussion group, and also served poor people in Rome. At the urging of his confessor, he was ordained a priest and soon became an outstanding confessor, gifted with the knack of piercing the pretenses and illusions of others, though always in a charitable manner and often with a joke. He arranged talks, discussions and prayers for his penitents in a room above the church. He sometimes led "excursions" to other churches, often with music and a picnic on the way. Some of his followers became priests and lived together in community. This was the beginning of the Oratory, the religious institute he founded. A feature of their life was a daily afternoon service of four informal talks, with vernacular hymns and prayers. Giovanni Palestrina was one of Philip's followers, and composed music for the services. The Oratory was finally approved after suffering through a period of accusations of being an assembly of heretics, where laypersons preached and sang vernacular hymns! (Cardinal Newman founded the first English-speaking house of the Oratory three centuries later.) Philip's advice was sought by many of the prominent figures of his day. He is one of the influential figures of the Counter-Reformation, mainly for converting to personal holiness many of the influential people within the Church itself. His characteristic virtues were humility and gaiety.
Philip Neri prayed, "Let me get through today, and I shall not fear tomorrow."
 Saint of the DayLives, Lessons and FeastBy Leonard Foley, O.F.M.; revised by Pat McCloskey, O.F.M.
Daily Prayer - 2015-05-26 Presence Dear Lord as I come to you today
Fill my heart and my whole being
with the wonder of Your presence Freedom If God were trying to tell me something, would I know?
If God were reassuring me or challenging me, would I notice?
I ask for the grace to be free of my own preoccupations
and open to what God may be saying to me. Consciousness At this moment Lord I turn my thoughts to You. I will leave aside my chores and preoccupations. I will take rest and refreshment in your presence Lord. The Word of God To keep the law is a great oblation,
and he who observes the
commandments sacrifices a peace offering.
In works of charity one offers fine flour,
and when he gives alms he presents his sacrifice of praise.
To refrain from evil pleases the LORD,
and to avoid injustice is an atonement.
Appear not before the LORD empty-handed,
for all that you offer is in fulfillment of the precepts.
The just one's offering enriches the altar
and rises as a sweet odor before the Most High.
The just one's sacrifice is most pleasing,
nor will it ever be forgotten.
In a generous spirit pay homage to the LORD,
be not sparing of freewill gifts.
With each contribution show a cheerful countenance,
and pay your tithes in a spirit of joy.
Give to the Most High as he has given to you,
generously, according to your means.
For the LORD is one who always repays,
and he will give back to you sevenfold.
But offer no bribes, these he does not accept!
Trust not in sacrifice of the fruits of extortion.
For he is a God of justice,
who knows no favorites. R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Gather my faithful ones before me,
those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice."
And the heavens proclaim his justice;
for God himself is the judge.
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Hear, my people, and I will speak;
Israel, I will testify against you;
God, your God, am I.
Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always."
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Offer to God praise as your sacrifice
and fulfill your vows to the Most High.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God."
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God. R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Peter began to say to Jesus,
'We have given up everything and followed you."
Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.
But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first."
Listen to audio of this reading
Watch a video reflection
Some thoughts on today's scripture - I reflect on this exchange as St Peter might have done at the end of his life. What has it meant to me to follow Jesus? What have I given up? What was my hundredfold, in the way of joy, contentment, peace of soul?
Conversation Begin to talk to Jesus about the piece of scripture you have just read. What part of it strikes a chord in you? Perhaps the words of a friend - or some story you have heard recently - will slowly rise to the surface of your consciousness. If so, does the story throw light on what the scripture passage may be trying to say to you? Conclusion Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be,
world without end.
Saint Philip Neri, Priest The last will be first. (Mark 10:31) A bit of context can help us here. Jesus had just said that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Such an unsettling statement led Peter to worry: If the rich, who are generally thought to be the most successful, the most intelligent, and the hardest working, will find it hard, what chance do I have? I'm just a poor fisherman! Jesus, upon hearing the frustration in Peter's voice, helped clear up his worry. It is precisely those who are "last," those who don't appear to have it all together, who have the best hope of entering the kingdom of God. It's the last, the ones who appear lowly, who are willing to surrender to Jesus. By contrast, those who are content, those who find their primary satisfaction in the world and its accomplishments, won't feel the need for Jesus. Like the rich young man who had just come to Jesus, they will walk away "sad" and unsatisfied (Mark 10:22). This reading shows us that Jesus knows our hearts. He knows our intentions, even if our actions don't always match up. He sees all the little sacrifices that we make for him. Every time you refrain from harsh or angry words, he sees it. Every time you turn aside from temptation, he rejoices. Every time you go out of your way, even a little, to help someone else, he pours out blessings. So take heart! Even if you think you are in the "last" category—passed over, never noticed, not especially heroic, forgotten about—Jesus has you in "first" place. He loves you. He is on your side. He wants nothing more than to welcome you into his kingdom. It's the hidden acts of faith and trust that draw his heart. It's the small decisions to stay close to him that move him. Whenever you feel overwhelmed, you can always turn to him as Peter did and ask, "Do you not see?" He will always respond by encouraging you, just as he did for Peter. "Jesus, thank you for giving me the grace to love and serve you. Help me to trust that you have a place set aside for me in your kingdom." Sirach 35:1-12; Psalm 50:5-8, 14, 23
my2cents:
From today's 5 minutos:
"When Philip Neri was a young man, he started to work in business helping his uncle in the store, but this man said to him "Never will you be a good business man. I would leave you all my inheritance if you stop that habit of prayer." One day, he disappeared from home and went to Rome. There he stayed taking care of the poor and in his apostolate. He would repeat 'You can even split would on my back but just do not sin.' One day a woman came to ask him, very satisifed with self, "Father Philip, I saw myself in the mirror and found myself to be very beautiful. Is it a sin of vanity?" - "Ah" he responded, "no, ma'am. It was just an illusion." He was always friendly and sometimes ironic in the confessional. A high society lady asked him on one occasion, if she could use high heels. He answered smiling "Yes, my daughter, but be careful not to fall." Philip Neri ate little, and slept even less. When on one occasion they advised him to eat better, he responded jokingly "I'm afraid to get fat. I don't want to lose my figure". The more people esteemed him, the less he trusted himself; for this he prayed "Lord, protect me. If you do not help me, this very day I will betray you..." To frown, it takes about 40 or so muscles. To smile, it only takes 14. Smile now, at least to be economical. "
Today's 1st Holy Scripture is from Sirach. One of the 7 books not in protestant bibles, just thrown out, althought they'd been in the bible for 1500 years, or until the time of today's saint, Philip Neri. If it helped someone be a saint, how can it not help us today? This book is coined in some terms as the book of the "Wisdom of Jesus". Today, I was astounded by it's wisdom. I can't repeat it all, but some soundbites, so hard to do thought because it is all soooo GOOOOD!
"To keep the law is a great oblation,
and he who observes the
commandments sacrifices a peace offering."
"To refrain from evil pleases the LORD"
"The just one's offering enriches the altar
and rises as a sweet odor before the Most High."
"With each contribution show a cheerful countenance,
and pay your tithes in a spirit of joy.
Give to the Most High as he has given to you..."
"For the LORD is one who always repays,
and he will give back to you sevenfold.
But offer no bribes, these he does not accept!"
And lastly to end the Holy Scripture we read "For he is a God of justice, who knows no favorites." This book should raise an awareness to all of us, that He does not give "favors" or are you in "God's favor" as many protestant mega churches are teaching through "televangelists". What we are dealing with is gifts, and this is God's gifts. So get rid of the thought of "being in His favor", and realize that God gives Love blindly, had it not been the case, we'd never have conversions, such as Saul to St. Paul and that is just a minor case of the point. And so, we are to give blindly as we read in today's 1st Holy Scripture, with great love which means GREAT FAITH. And this leads to the Holy Gospel today.
But first the Psalms, better known as the "Book of Praises", from it's Hebrew meaning. From it we read "To the upright I will show the saving power of God. "Offer to God praise as your sacrifice and fulfill your vows to the Most High. He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me; and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God." Keep this in mind as the offerings keep coming.
In today's Holy Gospel, the disciples of Christ said they gave up basically their lives, their children, parents, jobs and all the more, and our Lord says all the more is waiting to come, blessings promised. To lose all this means to empty, which means all the more to gain. For the sake of one mother you left, there is 100 waiting for you. For the sake of your handful of children, hundreds are waiting. What does this mean? It means "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." When Jesus says things, He says look higher, look beyond, look into His Heart, His eyes, the Soul pierces the skies. Because our Lord has made a lot of promises, of which we depend on and can only fulfill with faith. But a promise is between two parties. In this case, us, and Him. Notice I did not say "you and Him". Because we are in this together. This is a sacrificial offering then. Because the first things the book of Sirach told us was "To keep the law is a great oblation, and he who observes the commandments sacrifices a peace offering." He keeps His promises and invites us to fulfill our vows, our end of the promise. And the promise is for all. And it ends with Jesus promising more.
More than we can imagine. More than we can even comprehend. More of which we still do not see. But tiny glimpses are made known to the humble and the obedient to His will. And this is a tiny hint of what is to come and being asked of our free will, which reminds me of the verse we read in the first Holy Scripture "In a generous spirit pay homage to the LORD,
be not sparing of freewill gifts." Of these great gifts is the faith.
Do not let it go to waste, nourish it with our Lord, make it grow, it is a promise too, "ask and ye shall receive"
 adrian
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