MAY 26, 2020 : MEMORIAL OF SAINT PHILIP NERI, PRIEST

Memorial of Saint Philip Neri, priest
Lectionary: 298

Reading 1ACTS 20:17-27

From Miletus Paul had the presbyters
of the Church at Ephesus summoned.
When they came to him, he addressed them,
“You know how I lived among you
the whole time from the day I first came to the province of Asia.
I served the Lord with all humility
and with the tears and trials that came to me
because of the plots of the Jews,
and I did not at all shrink from telling you
what was for your benefit,
or from teaching you in public or in your homes.
I earnestly bore witness for both Jews and Greeks
to repentance before God and to faith in our Lord Jesus.
But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem.
What will happen to me there I do not know,
except that in one city after another
the Holy Spirit has been warning me
that imprisonment and hardships await me.
Yet I consider life of no importance to me,
if only I may finish my course
and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus,
to bear witness to the Gospel of God’s grace.

“But now I know that none of you
to whom I preached the kingdom during my travels
will ever see my face again.
And so I solemnly declare to you this day
that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you,
for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God.”

Responsorial Psalm68:10-11, 20-21

R.    (33a)  Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R.    Alleluia.
A bountiful rain you showered down, O God, upon your inheritance;
you restored the land when it languished;
Your flock settled in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided it for the needy.
R.    Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R.    Alleluia.
Blessed day by day be the Lord,
who bears our burdens; God, who is our salvation.
God is a saving God for us;
the LORD, my Lord, controls the passageways of death.
R.    Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R.    Alleluia.

AlleluiaJN 14:16

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I will ask the father
and he will give you another Advocate
to be with you always.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelJN 17:1-11A

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said,
“Father, the hour has come.
Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,
just as you gave him authority over all people,
so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.
Now this is eternal life,
that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
I glorified you on earth
by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.
Now glorify me, Father, with you,
with the glory that I had with you before the world began.

“I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.
They belonged to you, and you gave them to me,
and they have kept your word.
Now they know that everything you gave me is from you,
because the words you gave to me I have given to them,
and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you,
and they have believed that you sent me.
I pray for them.
I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me,
because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours
and everything of yours is mine,
and I have been glorified in them.
And now I will no longer be in the world,
but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.”

For the readings of the Memorial of Saint Philip Neri, please go here.

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/052620.cfm

Meditation: "This is eternal life - to know the Father the only true God"

In his Last Supper discourse with his beloved disciples Jesus speaks of his glory and the glory of his Father. What is this glory? It is the cross which Jesus speaks of here and the willing offering of his life for us. How does the cross reveal this glory? In the cross God reveals the breadth of his great love for sinners and the power of Jesus' redemptive sacrifice which cancels the debt of sin and reverses the curse of our condemnation (Romans 8:1). Jesus gave his Father the supreme honor and glory through his obedience and willingness to go to the cross for our sake. In times of defense the greatest honor belongs not to those who fought and survived but to those who gave the supreme sacrifice of their own lives for their fellow citizens.The Lord Jesus freely and willingly offered up his life out of obedience to his Father and love for us.

Jesus reveals the glory of God to us
Jesus speaks of the Father bringing glory to the Son through the great mystery of the Incarnation - the eternal Word who became flesh for our sake (John 1:14) - and the Cross of Christ which won for us pardon, freedom, and new life in the Holy Spirit. God the Father gave us his only begotten Son to set us free from slavery to sin, guilt, and condemnation. His sacrificial death brings us new life - the abundant life of peace and joy which God wishes to share with each one of us. There is no greater proof of God's love for each and every person on the face of the earth than the Cross of Jesus Christ. In the cross we see a new way of love - a love that is merciful, sacrificial, and generous beyond measure.

Jesus offers abundant life without end
Jesus offers us eternal life. What is eternal life? It is more than simply a life without end or an eternal state of being. Science and medicine look for ways to extend the duration of human life - but God offers us something vastly greater and more surpassing than a simple extension of physical life. Eternal life is qualitative more than quantitative. To have eternal life is to have the very life of God within us. When we possess eternal life we experience here and now something of God's majesty, glory, and holiness which he shares with us. Through the gift and working of the Holy Spirit, God fills us with the abundant fruit of his peace, joy and love.

We can know God personally
Jesus also speaks of the knowledge of God. Jesus tells his disciples that they can know the only true God. Knowledge of God is not simply limited to knowing something about God, but we can know God personally and be united with God in a personal relationship of love and friendship. The essence of Christianity, and what makes it distinct from Judaism and other religions, is the personal and experiential knowledge of God as our eternal Father - the one who knew us before creation (Ephesians 1:4 and Romans 8:29) and who knit us in our mother's womb (Psalm 139:13 and Jeremiah 1:5). Jesus makes it possible for each of us to personally know God as our Father. To see Jesus is to see what God is like.

A unity of love that endures forever
In Jesus Christ we see the perfect love of God - a God who cares intensely and who yearns over men and women, loving them to the point of laying down his life for them upon the Cross. Jesus is the revelation of God - a God who loves us completely, unconditionally and perfectly. Do you hunger to know God personally and to be united with the Father in his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, through the unity of the Holy Spirit who dwells with us? The Lord Jesus invites each of us to enter more deeply into a personal relationship of love and oneness of mind, heart, and spirit with the eternal Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who created us in love for love.

"If only I possessed the grace, good Jesus, to be utterly at one with you! Amidst all the variety of worldly things around me, Lord, the only thing I crave is unity with you. You are all my soul needs. Unite, dear friend of my heart, this unique little soul of mine to your perfect goodness.You are all mine; when shall I be yours? Lord Jesus, my beloved, be the magnet of my heart; clasp, press, unite me for ever to your sacred heart. You have made me for yourself; make me one with you. Absorb this tiny drop of life into the ocean of goodness whence it came." (Prayer of Francis de Sales, 1567-1622)

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Eternity will be ours when faith sees, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"We are distanced from eternity to the extent that we are changeable. But eternal life is promised to us through the truth. Our faith, however, stands as far apart from the clear knowledge of the truth as mortality does from eternity. At the present we put faith in things done in time on our account, and by that faith itself we are cleansed. In this way, when we have come to sight, as truth follows faith, so eternity may follow on mortality. Our faith will become truth, then, when we have attained to that which is promised to us who believe. And that which is promised to us is eternal life. And the Truth - not that which shall come to be according to how our faith shall be, but that truth that always exists because eternity is in it - the Truth then has said, 'And this is life eternal, that they might know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.' When our faith sees and comes to be truth, then eternity shall possess our now changed mortality." (excerpt from ON THE TRINITY 4.18.24.34)

www.dailyscripture.net

TUESDAY, MAY 26, JOHN 17:1-11a
(Acts 20:17-27; Psalm 68)

KEY VERSE: "I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do" (v.4).
TO KNOW: Jesus was about to complete the work his Father had given him. His "hour" had come, the moment for him to fulfill his mission on earth through his passion, death and resurrection. Jesus is the High Priest who offered himself as a victim for the salvation of the world. He would bring glory to God through his saving death, and God would in turn glorify him. Jesus had come into the world to reveal the true nature and character of God. He prayed that those who believed that he was the one sent by his Father would share eternal life with him. Jesus asked the Father to protect his followers from all evil. He prayed that the Church would be united in love and demonstrate the oneness that he has with the Father.
TO LOVE: Is there someone who needs my prayers for protection from evil?
TO SERVE: Risen Lord, help me to participate in your work on earth.

Memorial of Saint Philip Neri, priest

Philip Neri founded the Confraternity of the Most Holy Trinity. When he began to preach, he had many converts. In 1550 he considered retiring to the life of a solitary hermit, but he received visions that told him his mission was in Rome. He entered the priesthood in 1551. He heard confessions by the hour and could tell penitents their sins before they confessed them. Pope Gregory XIV tried to make him a cardinal, but Philip declined. His popularity was such that he was accused of forming his own sect, but he was cleared of this baseless charge. He founded the Congregation of the Oratory, a group of priests dedicated to preaching and teaching, but suffered from accusations of heresy because of the involvement of laymen as preachers. In later years he was beset by several illnesses, each of which was cured through prayer. In 1594, when he was in an agony of pain, the Blessed Virgin appeared to him, and he was cured. Philip died in 1595 and was canonized by Gregory XV in 1622.

http://www.togetherwithgodsword.com/commentaries-on-the-daily-gospel-of-the-mass.html

Tuesday 26 May 2020

Acts 20:17-27. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth – Psalm 67(68):10-11, 20-21. John 17:1-11.

‘For me, life is not a thing to waste words on – provided I have carried out the mission the Lord Jesus gave me.’

The first reading describes Paul’s affectionate farewell to the elders of Ephesus. He recalls how he spent his time with them when he preached conversion from sin and faith in Jesus Christ. As he fears the end of his life is drawing near, all he wants is to finish his mission of spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ, even though it might hasten his death. Finally, he kneels down with them and prays.

Prayer is the best way we can commemorate his great apostolic example and gain strength to follow him by spreading the Good News. Send forth your Spirit, O Lord, and we shall be created, and you will renew the face of the earth. Father, make us feel more urgently the call to work for the salvation of all people. Give us courage, send us strength. Help us to experience your presence sending us out on mission.

http://www.pray.com.au/gospel_reflection/tuesday-26-may-2020/

Saint Philip Neri

Saint of the Day for May 26

(July 21, 1515 – May 26, 1595)

 

The Madonna Appearing to Saint Philip Neri | Sebastiano Conca

Saint Philip Neri’s Story

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, Philip 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, Philip was ordained a priest and soon became an outstanding confessor himself, 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 Philip’s 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!

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.

After spending a day hearing confessions and receiving visitors, Philip Neri suffered a hemorrhage and died on the feast of Corpus Christi in 1595. He was beatified in 1615 and canonized in 1622. Three centuries later, Cardinal John Henry Newman founded the first English-speaking house of the Oratory in London.

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Reflection

Many people wrongly feel that such an attractive and jocular personality as Philip’s cannot be combined with an intense spirituality. Philip’s life melts our rigid, narrow views of piety. His approach to sanctity was truly catholic, all-embracing, and accompanied by a good laugh. Philip always wanted his followers to become not less but more human through their striving for holiness.

https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-philip-neri/

Lectio Divina: John 17:1-11a

Lectio Divina

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

1) Opening prayer

Lord our God,
Your Son Jesus Christ
carried out the mission You had given Him,
without fear and in all faithfulness to You.
God, give us a taste
of His sense of mission.
Give us the strength of the Spirit
to speak Your word as it is,
bold and demanding,
without compromising or giving in
to the changing moods and fashions of the day.
And may our lives be like an open book
in which people can read Your word.
We ask You this through Christ our Lord.

2) Gospel Reading - John 17:1-11a

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, just as you gave him authority over all people, so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him. Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began. "I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them. And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you."

3) Reflection

• In today’s Gospel, in tomorrow’s, and the day after tomorrow’s, we will meditate on the words that Jesus addressed to the Father at the moment of His farewell. John keeps these words and puts them in Jesus’ mouth during His last encounter with the disciples. It is the Testament of Jesus in the form of a prayer, also called the Priestly Prayer (Jn 17:1-26).

• Chapter 17 of the Gospel of John is the end of a long reflection by Jesus, begun in chapter 15, on the mission in the world. The communities preserved these reflections in order to be able to better understand the difficult moment that they were going through: tribulations, abandonment, doubts, and persecution. The long reflection ends with the prayer of Jesus for the communities. In it are expressed the sentiments and concerns, according to the Evangelist, Jesus had at that moment in which He was going out, leaving this world, and going toward the Father. With these sentiments and with this concern, Jesus now finds Himself before His Father, interceding for us. Because of this the Priestly Prayer is also the Testament of Jesus. Many people, in the moment when they leave forever, leave some message. Everyone keeps the important words of a father and mother, especially when they are the last moments of life. Keeping these words is like keeping the person. It is a form of respect and of affection.

• Chapter 17 is a diverse text. It is a friendlier one rather than one of reasoning. In order to grasp the whole meaning, it is not sufficient to reflect with the head, with reason. This text has to be meditated upon and accepted in the heart as well. It is a text not so much to be discussed, but to meditate reflect upon. Therefore, do not be worried if you do not understand it immediately. This text demands a whole life of pondering and deepening. Such a text should be read, meditated on, thought, read again, repeated, savored, as one does with a good sweet in the mouth. One turns it over and over in the mouth until it is finished. For this, close your eyes, keep silence within you and listen to Jesus who speaks to you, transmitting in His Testament His greatest concern, His last will. Try to discover which point Jesus insists on the most and which points He considers the most important.

• John 17:1-3: “Father, the hour has come!” It is the long awaited hour (Jn 2:4; 7:30; 8:20; 12:23,27; 13:1; 16:32). It is the moment of the glorification which will take place through the Passion, death and Resurrection. In reaching the end of His mission, Jesus looks back and proceeds to a review. In this prayer, He expresses the most intimate sentiment of His heart and the profound discovery of His soul: the presence of the Father in His life.

• John 17:4-8: Father, they will recognize that I come from You! In reviewing His own life Jesus sees Himself as a manifestation of the Father for the friends whom the Father has given Him. Jesus does not live for Himself. He lives in order that all may have a flash of goodness and love which are enclosed in the name of God which is Abba, Father.

• John 17:9-11a: All I have is Yours and all You have is Mine! At the moment of leaving the world, Jesus expresses His concern to the Father and prays for the friends whom He leaves behind; that they will continue in the world, but they are not of the world. They are of Jesus, they are God’s, and they are signs of God and of Jesus in this world. Jesus is concerned about the people who remain, and He prays for them.

4) For Personal Confrontation

• If you were about to die, what would be the message that you would like to leave to your family and to your community?
• Notice that He is addressing the One He is going to, not those He is leaving. Would this be your way too? Why or why not?
• Many fear death, even though it is just a passing to new life. A large part of the “message” we leave is in how we leave – accepting and at peace or clinging on to this life. Imagine yourself at those moments. What message do you present in those last days or hours? How do you feel while putting yourself in these last moments?

5) Concluding Prayer

Blessed be the Lord day after day,
He carries us along, God our Savior.
This God of ours is a God who saves;
from Lord Yahweh comes escape from death. (Ps 68:19-20)

https://ocarm.org/en/content/lectio/lectio-divina-john-171-11a