Background
Philip Neri was born in Florence on July 21, 1515, the son of a lawyer. As a boy, Philip befriended the Dominicans at the convent of S. Marco.
(The Maxims and Sayings of St. Philip Neri - Daily Devotio...)
The Maxims and Sayings of St. Philip Neri - Daily Devotions The book inspires with the wisdom of the great saint, the "apostle of Rome", Philip Neri, founder of the Oratorians.
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Philip Neri was born in Florence on July 21, 1515, the son of a lawyer. As a boy, Philip befriended the Dominicans at the convent of S. Marco.
In 1532 or 1533 he went to San Germano (Cassino) to learn business under the tutelage of an uncle, but, repelled by commercial affairs and feeling a pronounced desire for a life of close union with God, he left San Germano after a few months and went to Rome. There he studied philosophy and theology at Sapienza University and Sant'Agostino. He made friends easily and met regularly with some of them at the church of S. Girolamo della Carità for discussion, prayer, and the reception of Holy Communion.
S. Girolamo became his home for 32 years. On May 23, 1551, after 18 years in Rome, Philip was ordained a priest. His room, the center for the intimate and prayerful meetings, became known about 1554 as the "Oratory. " Philip, who dreaded formalism and loved spontaneity, gave his little groups a definite character. Scripture readings, short commentaries, brief prayers, and hymns were the usual program. Giovanni Palestrina wrote much of the musical setting for the scriptural texts, the motets, and the laudi spirituali, which gave rise to the term "oratorio. " This kind of apostolate suffered under the stern pontificates of Paul IV and Pius V. But Philip numbered among his friends some of the great saints of the age: Charles Borromeo, Francis de Sales, Felix of Cantalice, Camillus de Lellis, and Ignatius of Loyola. As more priests became his followers, Philip, who did not wish a tightly organized group united by religious vows, created a congregation of secular priests living in community. In 1575 Pope Gregory XIII approved the Congregation of the Oratory. Philip's famous walks especially won him the title Apostle of Rome.
In 1575 S. Maria in. Vallicella became the Oratorians' church. Philip moved there in 1583, and there he died on May 26, 1595.
St. Philip Neri is known as the Apostle of Rome. With his distinctly joyous and personal manner, he was one of the influential figures of the Catholic Reformation. His special contribution was the creation of the Congregation of the Oratory.
Philip Neri was beatified by Paul V in 1615 and canonized by Pope Gregory XV in 1622. His memorial is celebrated on 26 May. His body is venerated in the Chiesa Nuova ("New Church") in Rome.
(The Maxims and Sayings of St. Philip Neri - Daily Devotio...)
Quotations:
"Cast yourself into the arms of God and be very sure that if he wants anything of you, He will fit you for the work and give you strength. "
"We are not saints yet, but we, too, should beware. Uprightness and virtue do have their rewards, in self-respect and in respect from others, and it is easy to find ourselves aiming for the result rather than the cause. Let us aim for joy, rather than respectability. Let us make fools of ourselves from time to time, and thus see ourselves, for a moment, as the all-wise God sees us. "
"Do not grieve over the temptations you suffer. When the Lord intends to bestow a particular virtue on us, He often permits us first to be tempted by the opposite vice. Therefore, look upon every temptation as an invitation to grow in a particular virtue and a promise by God that you will be successful, if only you stand fast. "
"There is nothing the devil fears so much, or so much tries to hinder, as prayer. "
"The best way to prepare for death is to spend every day of life as though it were the last. "
"To preserve our cheerfulness amid sicknesses and troubles, is a sign of a right and good spirit. "
"He who wishes for anything but Christ, does not know what he wishes; he who asks for anything but Christ, does not know what he is asking; he who works, and not for Christ, does not know what he is doing. "
"Humility is the safeguard of chastity. In the matter of purity, there is no greater danger than not fearing the danger. For my part, when I find a man secure of himself and without fear, I give him up for lost. I am less alarmed for one who is tempted and who resists by avoiding the occasions, than for one who is not tempted and is not careful to avoid occasions. When a person puts himself in an occasion, saying, I shall not fall, it is an almost infallible sign that he will fall, and with great injury to his soul. "
"The best remedy for dryness of spirit, is to picture ourselves as beggars in the presence of God and the Saints, and like a beggar, to go first to one saint, then to another, to ask a spiritual alms of them with the same earnestness as a poor fellow in the streets would ask an alms of us. "
"The Lord grants in a moment what we may have been unable to obtain in dozens of years. "
"The greatness of our love of God must be tested by the desire we have of suffering for His love. "
"He who is unable to spend a long time together in prayer, should often lift up his mind to God by short prayers. "
"We must sometimes bear with little defects in others, as we have, against our will, to bear with natural defects in ourselves. If we wish to keep peace with our neighbor, we should never remind anyone of his natural defects. "
Surrounded by a laughing and joking group, he penetrated all corners of the city, radiating gaiety by his simple friendship and playful wit. Beneath his external life were the deep foundations of an intense spirit of prayer and love for the priestly offices of hearing confessions and offering the Massachussets For hours at a time, he received an abundance of unusual supernatural gifts when he was wrapped in ecstasy.
