Philip Neri, whose feast is May 26th, helped rejuvenate the Catholic church in the city of Rome following the Protestant reformation in the 16th century. He’s an important example of the way reform takes place in the church.
Philip came to Rome as a young man, became a priest, and fell in love with the city’s history, its churches and holy places. He roamed the catacombs of St. Sebastian where early Christians were buried and was a regular guide for pilgrims searching for their roots. He promoted pilgrimages to the great churches of St.Peter’s, St.Paul outside the Walls, St. Lawrence, St. Sebastian, Holy Cross, St. John Lateran and St. Mary Major, which are still the major pilgrim churches of the city.
Philip was also a familiar figure on the Roman streets where he engaged ordinary people, especially the young, with cheerfulness and simple conversation. People listened to him and he listened to them. He made people aware of the beauty and joy of an ancient faith.
Philip inspired saints like Ignatius Loyola, Charles Borromeo and Pius V.
In his day Protestants were turning to history to back up their claims against the Catholic Church. At the same time Philip encouraged Catholic scholars and historians like Caesar Baronius to look into the history of their church with fairness and accuracy. Baronius said of him: “I love the man especially because he wants the truth and doesn’t permit falsehood of any kind.” He supported Galileo: “The bible teaches the way to go to heaven, not the way the heavens go.”
In promoting an honest study of church history and archeology Philip was influential in helping the Catholic Church examine its traditions and roots. At a time when fierce controversy between Protestants and Catholics was the norm, Philip brought gentleness, cheerfulness and friendship and a search for truth to Christian reform. He believed reform would best come about by showing the beauty of faith in art, music and tradition. He was an unassuming man. A biographer said “ his aim was to do much without appearing to do anything.”
He died in Rome on May 26, 1595, at eighty years of age.
The great Christian scholar John Henry Newman, attracted to Philip Neri, entered the religious society he founded, the Oratorians.
Here’s one of his prayers I like: ” Let me get through today, and I won’t worry about tomorrow.”
God our Father, you are continually raising to the glory of holiness those who serve you faithfully.In your love, hear our prayer: let the Holy Spirit inflame us with that fire with which, in so admirable a way, he took possession of Saint Philip’s heart.Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.Amen.
Today Passionists throughout the world celebrate the Feast of the Glorious Wounds of Christ. They are glorious wounds, marks of risen life, not of death. They are bathed in the light of the Resurrection. When Jesus showed his wounds to his disciples after he had risen, they “rejoiced at the sight of the Lord.”
The death of these three missionaries in 1929 came as North and South America were turning from their own continents to the world beyond. China was the first destination for American efforts. The tragedy shocked the Americas, where interest in China was high among American Christians.
The Victor's Place 