Lectio et Oratio: Recent Episodes
Fr Michael Eades of the Toronto Oratory
St Philip Neri in the 16th century would gather those each day who were desirous of seeking Christian perfection. He would read from a spiritual book and then discourse on the meaning of what was read. This podcast (and the nightly prayer group from which it springs) seeks to carry on St Philip’s method of helping people become holy, even saints, in their own homes.
Where was St John Henry educated?
After his private boarding school, he went to Oxford. Newman's time at Oxford shaped the rest of his life. Through the people he met, he was directed towards his life's mission as an educator and father of souls.
When did St John Henry Newman experience a profound first conversion?
In 1816, during his summer vacation. Due to his father's failed business, St John Henry had to stay at his boarding school during the summer. Through reading, conversations, and prayer, Newman's life was transformed that summer. He was only fifteen. He became convinced of the presence and reality of God and his own soul. He began to love the Athanasian Creed. The religious direction of his life was set.
When did Newman live?
The nineteenth century. Born in 1801, Newman died in 1890. He witnessed great intellectual changes. One of the keys to Newman's writings is his effort to explain the relationship between faith and reason. How can we believe what we cannot fully understand? How can we believe what we cannot prove? St John Henry wanted to defend the value of the faith of the most simple believer. He wanted to show how faith in Christ is reasonable and mysterious.
When did St John Henry become a Catholic?
This small book is Meriol Trevor and Leonie Caldecott's little biography of St John Henry Newman. Newman is being proposed as a Doctor of the Church by bishops from all over the world. His image is used by this prayer group as their logo. His life and teachings will inspire us.
Did Mother see her life in special relation to Mary?
Yes, she especially wanted to live with the Risen Christ as Our Lady did. She looked on Mary not only as the model of humility as Our Lady of Sorrows, but also as the Queen of Heaven. Mary could teach her how to be joyful.
Did Mother have a special love for humility?
Yes. She really wanted God to be all in all. She wanted to live for Him alone. She wanted to be completely under his Power. Therefore, she did not care what people said or did to her if He was glorified.
Did Mother practice penances and mortifications?
Yes. Exterior ones. Interior ones. She also accepted the great torture within her soul for the love of Jesus.
Did Mother have success in following a plan of life and keeping her resolutions?
Yes. But her notes for the ninth day also show her prudence and her flexibility in keeping her rules. Mother Teresa knew how to live out the true spirit of her plan of life.
How did Mother Teresa set up a plan of life?
With great clarity, courage and supernatural outlook. We read about the eighth day of her 1959 retreat, based on the notes that Jesus made her give to him. These notes on the eighth day are incredibly revealing about Mother’s effort to find God.
Did her fellow MCs realize the extent of her interior torments?
No. Her closest collaborators did not know. They saw the fruitfulness of her work. They saw her joy. They saw her prayer. They had no idea of the intense interior trial of her heart. They did not know that her intimacy with Christ had been veiled in Mother’s own sense that God was absent.
What made Mother Teresa unique among God's saints?
The length of her interior darkness; the way she grasped the "'painful thirst' in the Heart of Jesus for the poorest of the poor." Her special way of sharing in Christ’s own thirst on the Cross.
What made Mother comfortable and quiet in hospital?
Her Hindu doctor could not explain it. But when the priests brought the box to the room, Mother, even in her greatest final illnesses would be quiet and calm. The doctor told the priests, bring her the box. What box was he talking about? The tabernacle.
Did Mother take advice in her later years?
Yes. In 1995, she made a trip to the USA. When she was in Charlotte, she met her old friend Bishop Curlin. They spoke about her interior emptiness. She liked the advice he gave her.
Did anything change as she got closer to death?
Her letters got shorter. One of Mother’s great tasks as Superior was communication with all the houses and various leaders in the Church. She also had much personal correspondence to keep up with among those who loved her. As she got closer to death, her correspondences were more brief. She loved to tell people to make “something beautiful for God.”
How did Mother live towards the end of her life?
Like a simple sister. She was still the Superior General, but she did not give herself exemptions. She was up early. She was the first to the chapel. She washed the dishes. She lived a humble life.
As Mother Teresa got closer to the end of her life, did she continue to be helped by priests?
Yes. In fact, one of the most inspiring helps she received in 1993 was through the writings of the Pope himself, the Bishop of Rome. Around the same time, she received her last letter from her long time spiritual director, Fr Van Exem, S.J.
What did Mother Teresa do about the 1990 US-Iraq war?
She prayed. She pleaded. She wrote a letter to George Bush and Saddam Hussein. She went to Iraq and opened a house there. Her reaction to being in the Middle East is remarkable.
How many words did Mother Teresa use to summarize the Gospel?
Five. You-did-it-to-me. She took these words from St Matthew's Gospel. Our Lord said that he will separate the sheep from the goats based on these five words. As a Mother and a teacher, St Teresa of Calcutta found ways to plant this truth deep into the hearts of her followers.
How did Mother react after she got her pacemaker?
She kept going strong! This medical procedure coincided with the fall of the iron curtain. Suddenly formerly Communist countries were open to missionaries. Mother visited and brought her sisters. What she found was an intense hunger for God.
Did Mother long to hear the voice of Jesus again?
Yes. On September 10, Mother Teresa had her inspiration day. In a way similar to St Paul, she heard Christ speak to her. He asked her repeatedly to bring His light to the slums. Years later, a priest was told by Christ to give her a message. Mother’s reaction is very interesting!
How did Mother keep going? She loved. Her life is a witness to the primacy of love. Despite all feelings, she chose to follow the path she knew pleased Jesus.
Did Mother ever consult priests in North America about her interior darkness?
Yes. She was close friends with a priest and later bishop of Charlotte, William Curlin. Bishop Curlin testified especially to her sense of being far from God even when praying before the Blessed Sacrament.
Why did Mother Teresa long to open so many house in the world?
To conquer the world for love. She wanted to place a tabernacle in all these countries so that she and her sisters could bring Jesus everywhere. She wanted Our Lord to be loved. Mother longed to hand on to others the One she loved with all her heart. The secret to being a missionary is one’s own love for Christ.
What did Mother Teresa discover was worse than physical disease?
The feeling of being unloved and unwanted. The more Mother travelled, the more she discovered different kinds of sufferings. She had begun the work of the Missionaries of Charity with the poorest of the poor in Calcutta. She wanted to quench the thirst of Christ in these poor. Christ was in them thirsting to be loved. But Mother gradually realized that even those with the worst physical diseases are not the greatest sufferers.
Did Mother Teresa see good in others?
Absolutely! She was amazed at what God was doing in others. She saw the gifts that her beloved Lord gave to others. In her own spiritual poverty, in our sense of being unwanted, she was led out of herself. She was led to rejoice in the good she found. And she had a special gift for discerning the gifts God gave others.
What did Mother especially admire in others?
Understanding love. Mother Teresa never separated truth and love. Love normally depends on knowledge. We cannot love what we do not know. But once we know someone, we can grow in our understanding of the person. We can understand better what motivates the person, for example. We can better understand how to help someone. Mother loved the phrase, understanding love. It captured the fact that our love for others, our willing good to others, in rooted in understanding of the person.
Did Mother Teresa think we need human support?
Yes. She especially thought we needed the help of prayers from others. She begged for prayers. She prayed for others. But also she knew that we needed encouragement. She understood that Christ is our great support, but Christ acts through our fellow members of the Mystical Body.
What comparison did Mother use for understanding our sufferings?
A kiss. She said that the sufferings that Christ allows are signs of his love. They are like kisses from him that show us how much he cares for us.
How did Mother handle the increasing number of crowds that wanted to see her?
With prayer. She felt the crowds in places like Philadelphia were a huge cross. She did not enjoy the publicity, the police, the speeches. But she begged God to give her the grace to accept everything with a smile. She even compared these smiles at Jesus to the difficulties spouses have in dealing with the trials of their marriage.
To what did Mother like to compare herself in relation to Christ?
An oil lamp. He is the light of the world. She never wanted to think of herself as an independent light. Her light was from Him. But she did think that she would be able by her fidelity to keep oil in the lamp so that Christ could shine through her.
What did her life in the 1970s look like?
Incredibly peaceful and serene. In the 1960s she had especially made her peace with her darkness and isolation. But in the 1970s her forgetfulness of self, her complete focus on the Lord grew and grew. Peace of soul is the result of being one with God.
Where did Mother Theresa keep all her awards and special honours?
In a cardboard box. She won the noble prize. She was honoured by so many countries. But the awards did not matter to her except insofar as they helped her serve the poor.
How did Mother react when she met a new person?
It depends. Mother lived in the presence of God. She could assess a situation very quickly. She could form a judgment of a person’s good qualities with little time spent. With the help of the Holy Spirit, she tried to treat each person as God wanted her to do so.
What was her prayer like?
Uncompromising. Full of intercession. Mother Teresa was incredibly faithful to her times of prayer, especially her holy hour. She could be flexible with the time and place. But she knew He wanted her there. And so she answered His call. Her prayer was sometimes simply the bringing before Him of the faces she had met on the streets.
How did Mother Teresa described the year 1967?
She said it was a “hard and sad time of fight for the faith.” Even though the Second Vatican Council (1962-5) was meant to enliven the faith of the whole Church and urge the Church on in her missionary work, the years after the Council, like the years after many Councils, were times of great controversy. Mother saw these years as one of purification. She counselled clinging to the living Christ. But where? In the Eucharist.
In 1969, what did Mother feel?
As confusion in the Church seemed to grow, Mother’s zeal burned brighter. Zeal is an effect of divine love. Love becomes zeal when it sees obstacles in its way. Zeal wants to remove obstacles to the growth of divine love. And Mother wanted to light the light of divine love in every human heart.
Can Christ’s thirst be satiated?
Yes. He thirsts for human persons to love Him. Christ is the head of the Church. He is our God and Lord. He thirsts for us to be happy. Our happiness is found only in Him. And Mother Teresa wanted to please Christ by bringing others into friendship with Him. But Christ also thirsts for love in his body, the Church. Christ is present in his members, the members of the Church. Mother wanted to quench the thirst for love and being cared for and being wanted in the souls in whom Christ dwells. And this calling to satiate Christ’s thirst is something that each of us can respond to with love. What if we are the only one doing so? What if others are not doing so. Then let us be the one! How many people were quenching Christ’s thirst for love Nazareth after the annunciation? One! Mary.
Did Mother have doubts?
She never doubted God. She never doubted his goodness. But why then was she in such darkness? She doubted her own response to His goodness. She had difficultly knowing whether she loved Him. She was feeling unloved by Him. But her own state of soul is not revealed to us in the Revelation of Christ. Her own spiritual state was a matter of conjecture from the fruits she experienced. Mother Teresa had rock solid faith in the Lord. She had trouble discerning her own response. This was very painful to one who loved Him so deeply and who knew Him to be infinitely loveable.
What kind of advice did Mother Teresa sometimes ask for?
What books to read. The Missionaries of Charity are required to do spiritual reading each day. They had many books in their library. But Mother Teresa often found it hard to know what to read. And so she asked advice. Spiritual reading is important!
Why did Mother Teresa not want people to be sad for her?
God was doing something great. As her spiritual fathers grasped her interior suffering, they sometimes expressed sorrow for her state. Mother Teresa was very firm. Do not be sad for me, she insisted.
Where was the first house opened outside India?
Venezuela. Mother Teresa now was friends with the Papal nuncio, the official representative of the Holy Father. She wrote him about the events in Venezuela. She told him of two men they found eaten up with worms. As they nursed the men back to health, one man asked for a cigarette. Mother reached in her bag and produced two packs of the finest cigarettes! A rich man had given them to her in the morning. This event made Mother very happy at God’s providential love for his poor.
How did the Lord treat Mother Teresa when the Society was officially approved by the Pope?
With profound interior pain. The Lord seemed to Mother Teresa to pour out his mercy on her Society while withdrawing from her his holy hand of sweetness. There seemed to be some proportion between his mercies to the sisters and Mother’s own sense of being unloved. As she shared in Christ’s thirst on the Cross, God was doing great things through her.
How did Mother react when the Vatican asked for the historical origins of the Society and how did react to Sisters leaving the Society?
With humility. When the Missionaries of Charity applied for pontifical status as a worldwide religious order directly under the Pope, Mother Teresa did not put her own call forward in detail. She did not want to be the centre of consideration. She always wanted the Society to be judged by the work they were doing for Christ and His poor.
With deep pain. Mother Teresa loved all the Sisters who were part of this Society. She loved them with a supernatural love. She loved them with a motherly love. As a mother suffers when she sees her children hurting, so Mother felt great sorrow when two sisters left the Missionaries of Charity. We do not know the circumstances. Mother seems to have thought that a mistake was made somewhere. Perhaps they were not treated well. Mother not only felt sorrow, she wanted to learn from this painful event.
How did Mother Teresa live Lent?
She wanted to give Christ a free hand. She wanted to share in his pains so that she could enter more fully into his love. At the same time, Mother Teresa taught her sisters during Lent. She passed onto to others the fruit of her own prayer and suffering.
How did all this suffering and teaching bear fruit? In 1963, Mother Teresa looked to a new moment in the life of her community. They applied for an even more permanent status in the law of the Church (canon law). They wanted to be of Pontifical rite. This means that they are directly approved by the Pope and under his guidance. They will no longer be simply of diocesan rite, under the guidance of one local bishop. They will be able more easily to spread all over the world!
What other advice did the Archbishop give Mother?
In dealing with her sense of God's absence, her sense that He did not want her, her sense of her own rejection, the Archbishop encouraged Mother to be a cheerful giver. He encouraged her to smile. But he also helped her see the ways in which this suffering caused a radical purification of her soul and prepared her and others for greater union with God.
When did the Archbishop begin to understand Mother's interior darkness?
In February 1956, Archbishop P
We read about the monthly reports Mother had to write to the Archbishop. We read about the permissions she kept having to ask for from the Archbishop, a successor of the Apostles. How we need faith in Christ's union with His Church. How we must pray to be obedient like Christ was, not only to his heavenly Father, but to Joseph and Mary on earth!
What really prompted Mother Teresa to start her new order?
Reading about an American Saint: Mother Cabrini. She asked herself: why cannot I not do for India what she did for America? In this Mother Teresa reminds us of St Ignatius of Loyola. He was inspired to lead a more way of life by reading about St Dominic and St Francis. Why not be like them?
Can God seem to be doing one thing, but really doing something else?
Yes. We see an instance of this Divine way of acting in the life of Mother. He calls her back to Calcutta. People around her think it is for her to teach again. But there is a deeper mystery at work.
What was the reaction of Mother's spiritual director to her disclosing what happened to her in Darjeeling?
Ignore it. Fr Van Exem first tried to tell Mother Teresa not to think about what she had heard from Christ. He wanted to test her obedience. He wanted her to be silent and pray. She had many things to do in her current vocation. If this vision was really from God, Mother would be obedient.
What did Mother first do after her retreat?
She went to see her spiritual director. She believed that obedience was the true path to divine blessing. She wanted the protection of the Church.
How did Mother's secret vow change her daily life?
She tried to do everything for Jesus out of love. Big or small, it did not matter. All things could be for Him, if done with love.
Why does God sometimes bring light and darkness into our spiritual lives?
The diversity of the divine action is part of his remarkable artistic production of the mystical Body of Christ. God knows how to combine light and darkness in ways that produce the most beautiful saints. But even more beautiful is the whole collection of his followers. Come Holy Spirit. Help us trust.
Why does God sometimes allow us to fail in living up to our own ideals?
Our sanctity does not fundamentally rest on our own efforts, but on Him. He is the ultimate source of our holiness. He wants us to learn that He alone is our Rock.
Why is the chisel and hammer so useful for understanding the spiritual life?
The block of marble cannot tell what it is being made into by the artist. It knows the feeling of each blow of the hammer. It feels, if it could speak, that something is being taken away. And yet, God is at work making something beautiful.
What do we especially need to follow in the spiritual life?
The inspirations of the Holy Spirit. We need to learn about how he attracts us to various actions. We need to learn how to be faithful to his motions. The Holy Spirit is sanctifying us and others through us.
What is the basis for spiritual peace and joy?
A pure heart. A pure heart is one that seeks God's will alone. A pure heart alone desires that all things be loved and desired in relation to God. Where can we find this pure heart, this heart set purely on God's will? In Bethlehem, from the Christ child. He offers us a pure heart, His own heart!
What troubles our faith in this state of abandonment?
Our five senses. As we try to live by pure faith, our eyes and ears, our sense of touch, and our taste all seem to point in another direction. We seem to be missing certain satisfactions. What we believe does not seem to match what we are are seeing around us. But faith is of things unseen! Have courage!
What makes abandonment to divine Providence possible?
The theological virtues. From our side, we are able to surrender to God because he has infused these powers, these virtues, into our souls. Faith allows us to recognize God's presence and action. Hope allows us to rely on Him, to want Him, beyond all feeling. Love allows us to be One with Him. Love allows us to have His will as our will.
What is necessary for our being conformed to God's plan for us?
Docility. Abandonment. Living in the present moment. Each of us is meant to be a unique artistic production produced by God the Father. He has in mind His Son, His Word, through whom we were created. He is making us like unto Him by all He allows to happen to us.
Do we have to be learned and eloquent to become saints?
No. Holiness is not in the intellect as much as in the will. God's love is at work. Our task to be willing to follow His lead.
Is it still possible to become a saint in modern times?
Yes. De Caussade tries to persuade us that saints can still exist. Sanctity is not limited to the time of the Apostles. There is one road to holiness: the will of God. God's will is still being made manifest in his divine operations. By our fidelity to that will, no matter the evil around us, we can become holy.
Why is gaining knowledge through experience so important?
This was the one way in Christ gained knowledge. We are imitating Him. Unless we experience certain things, we will never be able to communicate them to others. Unless we go through certain things, we will never be able to understand those God sends us. And God unites people in this life. God sends people into our lives whom we are supposed to help.
What is the purpose of all that happens to us?
God has one desire: to unite us to Himself. God is Love and wills to share His life with us. God only created the world because he wanted to unite us with His Son in the deepest possible unity. Through the Son, we are brought into communion with the Father. To make this sharing in the love of the Father and the Son possible, we receive the Holy Spirit. God has made us to be Temples of the Holy Spirit, the eternal Love flowing between the Father and the Son.
How can God's will be so glorious when so many of us treat His will so badly?
Think back to Christ's life. He did all things well. He went about doing good. And yet, how was he received? Even those closest to him, his Twelve, argued at the Last Supper who was the greatest. Ten of the Twelve fled at his arrest. Should we be surprised that God's will continues to be treated badly?
Does God speak to us in the Sacred Scriptures or the events of everyday life?
In both ways! God has said in His Word, Christ himself, all that He has to say to us. That divine revelation is transmitted to us in the Sacred Scriptures and Sacred Tradition. But the same Lord creates all things through His Word. God's creation and his action in history is his original way of speaking. By faith in Christ, we are able to interpret what God is saying moment by moment. Christ is the key. Faith in Christ unlocks these mysteries.
Where does eternity meet time?
In the present moment. Think of eternity as a line and time as a rotating circle. Where does a line meet the edge of the circle? At one point. The present moment is where time and eternity meet. We must live not in the past or the future, but now. Here God is speaking to us. Here our duties and the inspirations of God show us His will.
What if events are ugly and hide God's beauty?
Faith can penetrate below the surface of things. More is happening in history and our lives than the senses can discern. God is infinite and mysterious. If God the Son is present in the small Christ child, if he can make Himself present under the appearances of bread and wine, he can act when and where he wants.
If God's action is always at work in the world, how do we recognize it?
By faith. Faith, St Paul says, is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things unseen. God's actions are unseen, invisible. Faith allows us to be sure that despite appearances, God is at work in this and that situation. Even when others mean to hurt us, God can bring good out of the situation.
Is God's activity involved with every event in history?
Yes, God's providence extends as far as his causality, St Thomas tells us. All things are held in being by God. All things act through his enabled them to act. There is nothing that happens that God does not in some way allow. He is not the cause of sin. But he allows such things to bring some great good out of the evil.
What is the secret to sanctity?
Union with the will of God. God knows what He is doing. He is the craftsman; we are his handiwork. We have to will what He wills for us. We have to say "fiat" to all that he asks of us and all he allows us to suffer.
Can we become holy if we neglect our duties of our state in life?
No. God first and foremost asks us to be faithful in small things. We have to be faithful in all the responsibilities of our state in life. He will give us special inspirations. He will ask things beyond our normal duties. But we must walk before we can run. Let us be faithful in what our state requires of us. Let us do all these duties with love.
What will faithfulness to God's will bring?
Besides perfection, faithfulness brings peace of soul. Peace arises from things being in order, in their proper place. We want to be in line with the order God has established. If we try to act outside his will, we will never find true peace.
Is reading, even spiritual reading, sometimes bad?
Reading in itself is good. But everything must be read at the right time and in the right way. De Caussade insists that reading for mere curiosity or outside of God's will for us can actually darken our minds. Spiritual reading is one of the greatest things we can do. But let us read what God really wants us to read.
In what does perfection consist?
Perfection consists in our wills being united with God's will. Perfection does consist in our fully understanding why God wills what he wills. Perfection does not consist in the mere studying of how God acts. We want to have God acting in us. We want to cooperate with God's action. Mere theories about how water quenches thirst will not help our actual thirst after a long and hot day. We want to pray and not just know about prayer.
In what does sanctity consist?
The active fulfillment of our duties before God and the passive acceptance of all He allows. De Caussade makes this fundamental distinction for understanding our spiritual lives. We must seek to do all that God asks. But then he also leads us to a loving acceptance of the actions of His Providence.
Is this active and passive practice beyond our strength?
No. We have the ability to do what God asks and to accept what he sends. We have this ability by His grace. We simply must do what is in our power. He will take care of the rest.
What is the sacrament of the present moment?
The term used by the Abandonment to Divine Providence to express the grace available to us in the duty of each moment. A sacrament is an outward sign of in inward and invisible grace. The seven sacraments are signs that communicate God's life to us. But the present moment in all its ordinariness, the duty of this moment, is a sign of God's will that can bring us inward grace.
How does God speak to us today?
God has spoken to us through His Son. In his Son he made known all that He is and all His plans for our salvation. But the guidance that God wants to give us and the things he wants to say to each one of us can also be considered in light of God's hidden actions in history. All that happens during the day is somehow allowed by God. What do the events of the each day tell us? How do they relate to what God has said in his Son's Life, Death, and Resurrection? Where is the Holy Spirit in our daily life. All of these questions are taken up in this book.
How did Br Lawrence prepare for death?
We read about his faith and his loving abandonment into the hands of God. He prepared for death as he lived. He kept before his mind the truth about God. He lived by the truth of God's love and goodness. Whatever God allowed, Br Lawrence accepted out of love.
Do we need a Magisterium for guarding the faith of the Church?
Yes. Br Lawrence lived by faith, a faith that accepted all that God revealed. What God revealed has been transmitted to us in writing (sacred Scripture) and orally (Tradition). But this faith once delivered to the saints must be authentically interpreted and guarded by the living teaching authority of the Church (Magisterium), that is by the Pope and the Bishops in communion with him. Let us love living in the Church and pray for our leaders.
If God gave us a choice to live longer or to go to heaven, what should we choose?
Br Lawrence was once asked this question. He had a burning love of God. He experienced in the life something very close to heaven itself. He also faced terrible trials of an interior kind especially. His response might surprise us. He said that he would leave this decision up to God.
What was most important to Br Lawrence?
The will of God. His biographer says that Br Lawrence had so much been transformed by divine love that it was as if his own will had been replaced by God's will. Love took him out of himself. Love made Him live in God. That love made God's will and God's wishes the most important aspect of his life.
Is loving God the secret to the practice of the presence of God?
Yes. Even more than the use of the understanding, the activity of love makes us live in God's presence. Living in His presence is not so much a matter of thinking and considering as it is of loving and willing what God wills. We can live in the presence of God by seeking to everything for love of Him and making a good effort to avoid what displeases God.
Did Br Lawrence's prayer change over time?
Yes. He began by making many and various acts of the presence of God. He gradually began to live more simply in God's presence. His whole day became one simple act of being with God and in conversation with Him.
What virtue does Br Lawrence especially teach us?
A sincere and open heart to others. In the work, the Ways of Br Lawrence, Fr Joseph de Beaufort adds more biographical material not covered in the Eulogy. The Ways shows us the great virtues of Br Lawrence. Far from being harsh and aloof. Br Lawrence was someone people could talk to about anything. He was a great listener. What was his secret? He lived by faith, which is our listening to God's own speaking about himself. By faith, we truly hear and accept what God says about himself. Having accepted the truth about God, Br Lawrence was able to accept the truth about all those made in the image of God.
What virtue does Br Lawrence especially teach us?
A sincere and open heart to others. In the work, the Ways of Br Lawrence, Fr Joseph de Beaufort adds more biographical material not covered in the Eulogy. The Ways shows us the great virtues of Br Lawrence. Far from being harsh and aloof. Br Lawrence was someone people could talk to about anything. He was a great listener. What was his secret? He lived by faith, which is our listening to God's own speaking about himself. By faith, we truly hear and accept what God says about himself. Having accepted the truth about God, Br Lawrence was able to accept the truth about all those made in the image of God.
Why is Br Lawrence so important?
His great example. We begin the short biography of Br Lawrence that was written in 1692. In the opening note, the author sets Br Lawrence before us as a model of how to combine action and contemplation.
How does one arrive at the practice of the presence of God?
Three means are crucial. In chapter 6, Br Lawrence lays out the main ways to arrive at the loving awareness of God's presence. The first is purity of life, that is, chastity and being sincere. The second is the actual practice of the presence of God. We must strive to remember God, however briefly, before we do things. But we also must turn our minds to him during our actions. Finally, we must turn to him at the completion. This practice is hard and should not discourage us. It will bear fruit. The third means is the mortification of the senses. We must not allow ourselves to satisfy all our desires for seeing and touching and eating and hearing. We must deny ourselves in things when God asks us to do so. We must be faithful to God in trying to practice self-denial if we want Him to be generous with us in prayer.
How can we truly live in God's presence?
When he gives us a gentle loving awareness of himself. In chapter 5 of the Spiritual Maxims, Br Lawrence gives various descriptions of what this being in the presence of God is like. But the most fundamental aspect of these descriptions is that our living in the presence of God is a gift. This awareness of his presence must be asked for from God.
Are there different ways to be in union with God?
Yes, in chapter four, Br Lawrence lays out three meaning of union with God: habitual, virtual, and actual. Habitual union depends on being in a state of grace. If we are in a state of grace, we are always in union with God! But this union can become more intense when we begin an action in union with God. Even as this action continues, we remain in virtual union with God by virtue of the good beginning. Virtual union does not require our constant awareness of God. Finally there is the perfect actual union that arises as God gives Himself to us in a dark and gentle knowledge of himself. This leaves us with a love for Him that embraces God even as we struggle to understand what He is in Himself. We love Him in this cloud of unknowing.
How do we adore God in this life?
By recognizing Him for what He is and recognizing what we are. He is seeking those who adore Him in spirit and in truth. He dwells in our inmost heart, in our soul, in our spirit, the high point of the soul. To adore Him within also requires that we recognize the truth about God.
What is the most important aspect of the spiritual life?
In the second chapter on Spiritual Maxims, Br Lawrence stresses the need to turn to God within our souls at various points in the day. Nothing is as valuable as turning in adoration to the God who dwells in our souls. We do not have to spend much time with Him; but every time we withdraw from all creatures to be with Him, we give Him great joy.
What is the first spiritual maxim?
Seek to accept all that God sends. Do not be surprised when he allows trials and difficulties. Christ, the Son of God, faced obstacles and trials. These are no sign of a lack of love from God our Father. God is trying to perfect our faith, hope, and love. He wants to make us depend on Him alone.
How do we cling to God in this life?
Faith, Hope, and Charity. Nothing is more important in this life than knowing God by faith, relying on Him by hope, and being one with Him in divine love. These theological virtues have God (Theos in Greek) as their object and source. God is the one we believe, trust, and love. He infuses these virtues, these excellences, these readinesses, into our soul. But to grow in these virtues, we need humility. We need to rely on God"s grace. Tonight Br Lawrence tells us how God purifies us and makes our faith, hope, and love stronger.
Last episode, we read about the need to speak to God in all the perplexing moments of life. The practice of the presence of God is not something disconnected from the rest of our life. We live as we pray. We pray as we live. Prayer arises from the present moment. Prayer arises from everyday life. The present is where time meets eternity, where humanity meets God.
We read about the need to seek the union with God in the ordinary events of life. By doing his will through a loving obedience, we find ourselves close to Him. Union with God depends on love. Love involves doing the will of the one we love. The more we live with God, the more we seek His grace, the more we can do His will.
What is the true foundation of our search for God?
Faith, Hope, and Charity. In letter 12, Br Lawrence highlights some graces he was given before he realized the importance of the practice of the presence of God. If we are searching for God, we must know that He is already searching for us. We want God by his own gifts, especially the gifts of faith and hope. Without faith, it is impossible to please God, St Paul writes. By faith we know how great and powerful God is. By hope, we want to be in a relationship of love with God. By love, we prefer that love to all other things. The practice of the presence of God is built on faith in God"s presence, hope in his help, and love for the one who dwells in our heart.
Should we always pray to have a trial taken away?
No. In letter 11, Br Lawrence distinguishes between a trial and the way we endure the trial. Br Lawrence does not always ask for the trial to be taken away but rather for the strength to bear this trial for as long as God wills. Br Lawrence has some very special trials, trials that he shares with other saints. The greater the holiness, the greater the trials God allows his servants to endure. But he never allows us to be tested beyond the strength He gives us.
Why would God ever allow us to lose a loved one?
To make more room for Him. In letter 10, Brother Lawrence discusses the death of a beloved friend. He tries to console the person left behind. He points his friend to God. In the face of great loss, there is one thing to do: turn to God. Live in his presence. Open oneself to his Love.
Do I have to pray in a church?
In letter 9, Br Lawrence dispels the idea that we have to be in church to pray. He wants us to make a little church, a little chapel, an oratory in our hearts. There we can be with God.
What is the beginning of the practice of the presence of God?
Thinking of God. In letter 8, Br Lawrence encourages a nun whom he knows well to try and think of God during the day. We cannot hope to love Him and want to be with him during the day without thinking of him. The more we love Him, however, the more we will want to think of him. The goal is not simply to think of God, but to lean on Him for the daily help we need to avoid spiritual dangers. To live in a way that pleases God, we must have his assistance. The more we ask, the more He assists us. The more we live with God, the more we will ask.
What should we be on guard against during our time of mental prayer?
Long discourses. In letter 7, Br Lawrence warns us about making long discourses. He says that they encourage distractions. Br Lawrence is encouraging a much simpler kind of prayer. He is encouraging us to focus less on ourselves and more on God. The kind of prayer is he is discussing is hard to understand without some experience of it. The soul is meant to rest in a loving knowledge of God's presence. The soul is not being asked to make long speeches about all its problems. Be still and know that I am God.
If we feel our life is in danger, physically or spiritually, what should we do?
Send up little prayers to God like arrows. In letter 6, Br Lawrence encourages a woman that God can raise us up from allowing us to be cast low. We need to continually send up little prayers to God. We need to remember Him, however briefly. Such advice is especially important for a young soldier friend. His little prayers in the midst of his dangers is very pleasing to God. So will our prayers in our spiritual combat.
What is the treasure we are looking for in the spiritual life?
General loving knowledge of God's presence. In Letter 5, Br Lawrence identifies this general loving knowledge of God with the treasure hidden in the field mentioned by Christ in a parable. We should go and sell all we have and buy that field. The treasure is the secret and loving contemplation of God that God gives us in prayer. We can search for God and we must do so. But in time God gives himself to us more and more. When this general loving knowledge, this awareness of the presence of God, becomes more regular, we have found the treasure. Or rather, God has given us the treasure.
What will we sometimes feel towards the practice of the Presence of God?
Repugnance in our emotions. Spending long periods in what can feel like idleness is not satisfying to our emotions. Our emotions want stimulation. We tend to want to feel like we are being useful. But as God leads us into this more hidden prayer, this general loving awareness of God and his presence and his action, we will be content to be alone with the One we know loves us. We will sit for long periods keeping our attention on Him. Part of our human nature will rebel. We will have to do violence to that part of ourselves. We have to make time for this prayer. We have to make ourselves stick in the chapel. Such steadiness in our prayer requires effort, but that effort is the fruit of God's grace. Let us pray for the grace to be faithful.
Why should we seek to practice the presence of God?
God wants it. Br Lawrence is convinced that the shortest way to holiness is continual conversation with God, the practice of the presence of God. He knows that this loving knowledge is a great gift. But he advises us not to seek this gift primarily for ourselves. We must seek it out of love for God, to please him, to fulfill his will.
Last episode, we read a long letter to a spiritual director. Br Lawrence went through a ten year period of trials and anxieties before he began to regularly live in a general loving awareness of God's presence. This awareness was the result of trying from the beginning to live in God's presence and to practice mental prayer, especially meditation on the four last things and the life of Christ.
Does the practice of the presence of God take time and effort to develop?
Yes! In a letter to a spiritual director Br Lawrence describes the growth of his prayer life after he became a Carmelite friar. The Lord does not always give us an easy time. He leads us to himself by trials and aridities. What is most important is faith and perseverance. The Lord gives himself to those who seek Him.
What is one of the most fruitful of spiritual practices?
The practice of the presence of God. In Letter 1 (of 16 that survive), Brother Lawrence speaks of himself in a veiled way and his practice of living as often as he can in an awareness of God"s presence. Not a priest, but a simple lay brother in a Carmelite monastery, Br Lawrence became known throughout Europe for his simple wisdom. He spent fifty years cooking, fixing broken sandals, and praying much. Throughout the day, he tried to keep himself before the Lord. And his methods have been handed down to us.
Should we examine our conscience before receiving Holy Communion?
Yes! Thomas a Kempis provides a fairly comprehensive examination of conscience in chapter 7. He points out areas of improvement that will touch everyone's lives. He encourages us to be sorry in general for our sins, to be sorry in particular for our daily faults, and to confess to the Lord how wayward our passions are. Of course, if we have serious sins on our souls, we need to go to the sacrament of Confession. "If you forgive the sins of any," Jesus told the Apostles, "they are forgiven."
In chapter 6, Thomas a Kempis prays for the Lord to show him a brief exercise for preparing for Holy Communion. He begs the Lord to show him the right way to dispose his heart before this great moment. Inspired by this chapter, St Philip Neri used to prepare for Communion in this way: "Lord, I am ready, as far as I am concerned, to do all the evil in the world, if you do not help me." Humility and confidence in God's help!
Are there great benefits from frequent reception of Holy Communion?
Yes! Thomas a Kempis lays out some of the advantages of frequent reception of the Eucharist. He continues to lay out how the Eucharist is a remedy for so many of our faults. But he also highlights how it is the true means to being one with Christ in love.
Are there great benefits from frequent reception of Holy Communion?
Yes! Thomas a Kempis lays out some of the advantages of frequent reception of the Eucharist. He continues to lay out how the Eucharist is a remedy for so many of our faults. But he also highlights how it is the true means to being one with Christ in love.
In book 4, chapter 3, Thomas a Kempis stresses how the Eucharist is a remedy for our tendency to sin, our proclivity to sin. Baptism takes away original sin and all actual sins. Confession takes away sins committed after baptism. The Eucharist is Christ Himself. It contains the power to take away all sins. But it was not given to us as the means of forgiving serious sin. The Eucharist is a remedy against sin, however. It excites us to charity. By this charity, we are able to overcome and resist the pull to sin. The Eucharist keeps us from committing certain sins!
In chapter 2, Thomas a Kempis wants to awaken a wonder in us for the Eucharist. Among his many points he stresses the connection between the Eucharist and the Annunciation. We should be a filled with wonder each day at Mass as the Word becomes flesh as Our Lady was on the day he first entered her Womb.
In chapter 1, Thomas a Kempis begins his great discussion of the Holy Eucharist. Book 4 is dedicated to the Holy Eucharist. How we need this saving food. How it makes present in every time and place the Lord of Lords both in his humanity and his divinity. What mercy. What love.
On what can we truly rely in this life?
Our Lord alone. Thomas a Kempis does not deny that friends and books can be of help. But when Our Lord is not standing beside us, no one else can truly give us peace or comfort. This advice about turning to Christ alone is the final advice of book 3 of the Imitation of Christ.
In chapter 58 Thomas a Kempis speaks about the need to limit our desire to understand things that are beyond us. Two things are singled out as dangerous for us to seek to understand. The first is the ultimate reason why certain trials occur. The Lord gives us some understanding, but what he wants more than are academic discussions of his ways of acting is a loving acceptance of his mysterious will. The second issue to avoid speculating about is the relative greatness of the saints. In heaven, they do not compare themselves to each other. They are too busy lost in the life of the Trinity, too busy loving and being loved. Let us imitate them even now.
In chapter 57 Thomas a Kempis talks about the situation when we are spoken to in a sharp and hurtful way. Often this will happen after we have made a mistake. We will be tempted to be discouraged by such a stinging rebuke. But Thomas a Kempis encourages us to take such things in stride. Let us not be too worried about what people think of us and say about us. Let us seek to truly do the will of the Lord. Let us ask for the grace to care more what the Lord thinks.
In chapter 56, Thomas a Kempis draws our attention to the need to deny ourselves if we want to follow the Lord. Christ's life must be the main study of our life. By encountering Christ in the Scriptures and in the Eucharist, we receive the grace to put his teachings into practice. How we need to encourage each other. How we need to remember why we have undertaken a life of prayer. We live for Christ.
In chapter 55, Thomas a Kempis distinguishes the corruption of human nature from the power of God's grace. Because of original sin, our nature has evil propensities, which draw us to sin. One of the consequences of original sin is the lack of order in the powers of our soul. Our nature is not totally corrupt. We still have a longing for God, but uncontrolled self-love so often makes us forget the primacy of God. We forget that our true selves are only found in him. But along side our tendency to sin is the dynamic power of God's grace that inspires us and leads us to live like God. We need God's grace at the beginning of every good work, during every good work, and at the completion of every good work. Apart from Christ and his grace, we are nothing in the supernatural order.
In chapter 54, Thomas a Kempis makes 17 brief points about the distinction between nature and grace. He draws our attention to the opposition in how grace works and how nature works. In the end, grace is the principle of living for God and all our efforts to deny ourselves. Grace is what keeps our souls aimed at heaven. Grace inspires not to count the cost of following Christ. Grace makes us willing to give up all that keeps us from holiness of life. What is grace? A supernatural gift, a light, help that God gives to enable us to live as his adopted children. Grace introduces us into the intimacy of the divine life, the life of the Trinity.
Does God's wisdom and worldly wisdom mix?
No. Thomas a Kempis points out that God's wisdom in our souls makes us give up anything and everything that stands in the way of our union with Him. There is something radical about what God's love will ask of us. The wisdom of the world always makes us think that we can make this life what is most important. In the end this world passes away. In the end, our relationship with the Lord is what matters. The great thing is to die to oneself and live for God.
What should we think we deserve from God: consolation or punishment?
Based on all our personal sins: punishment. Thomas a Kempis lays out some reasons why we deserve punishment for our sins. To deserve is to be owed something. What do all our sins and infidelities deserve? What is due to us for turning from God? Punishment is not something primarily externally imposed. Punishment especially arises from the disorder of our actions. When we act contrary to what we are, made in the image of God, children of God, called to glory, then there are consequences that are painful. Painful consequences that follow bad actions and make up for the disorder of the action are called punishments.
Thomas a Kempis gave us good advice on how to act when our longed for spiritual desires and prayer seem to escape us. He wants us to have the proper expectations about the Christian life. Much of the time we will not feel great desires for holiness. We will not be lost in contemplation. But we must ask the Lord to help us use our time well. We must busy ourselves with good and humble work.
Thomas a Kempis encourages us to turn to God in all our troubles. We will face troubles. We will face interior troubles and exterior troubles. Our hope cannot be in ourselves or any other mere man. Yes, God makes use of human instruments. Yes, Christ acts through his servants. But it is Christ, God the Son, in whom we must place boundless trust. He cannot deceive or be deceived.
Thomas a Kempis speaks to us about heavenly promises. He put before us the true glory of heaven. He wants us to think about heaven and what peace will be there so that we will desire it. The will desires what the mind, the intellect presents to it as worthy of love. Let us ponder heaven more and more. At the same time, we must be willing to fight for heaven. Our fight is against ourselves, our fallen nature. But the Lord is at our side to give the victory.
What is the difference between eternity and our time in this world?
This life has many sufferings and changes. In this reading, Thomas a Kempis lays out many of the differences between the eternal life we long for and our life here below. Part of this chapter is an effort to encourage us to persevere in the fight. He admits his own constant distractions in prayer. He admits many of his own struggles. Let us take heart!
We read about the need to bear all troubles for the sake of Christ. Having told us the secret to making the trials of this world more sweet, Thomas a Kempis urges us on with considerations of what heaven is like. The more we ponder the joy, the freedom, the peace of heaven, the more we will long for heaven in our hearts.
We read about how to react to stinging comments from others. This chapter especially is useful for those who have a disordered concern for impressing other people. Thomas a Kempis helps us recognize the source of our excessive sadness upon receiving criticism.
Thomas a Kempis warns us about putting too much trust in human beings. Christ alone is to be fully trusted. He alone will never let us down. Yes, we all need to be trusted. Yes, we can trust others. But in the end, we are trustworthy when we are close to Christ.
We read about trying to focus less on outward things and more to what pleases God within our hearts. How we need to know what things take away our peace of mind. How we need to be careful in what we think about, what we read about, and what we talk about. Our main concern is being concerned with God and His will for our lives.
We read about the danger of useless and worldly learning. Thomas a Kempis longs for his readers to study their own hearts. He does not want us to study and learn just to be able to tell others about created realities. Such study is not bad in itself. What does it matter, however, if we know all about the stars and nothing about our own motivations. What if we know everything about the human body, but nothing about how the soul truly works? How we need to know how to direct our lives to eternity!
We read about the true source of peace of heart. We cannot make our peace of heart depend on one particular human person. Yes, we need friendships. Yes, we need one another's help. But friendship and human love cannot be sustained without the grace and love of Christ Jesus. He not only saves us from sin, but He saves our loves by his divine love.
We read about the need to despise worldly honours. Such honours are meant to recognize human excellence. Honours are not bad in themselves. But Thomas a Kempis is urging us onto holiness. He wants us to view all honours of this life in light of God. If we are to be honoured, how much more must God be honoured? If I want real appreciation, I must find it in God.
Does a human being have goodness in himself?
Yes and no. In this reading, Thomas a Kempis draws our attention to the constant tendency in our hearts to evil. He stresses what we are when we forget and ignore God. At the same time, he shows us the proper balance. He shows us what we are with God's help. Thus we have a capacity to be helped by God. He has made us for Himself. He has made us to share in the divine life of the Most Holy Trinity.
Would it be wise to renounce one's own will in trivial things?
Often it is. In this reading Thomas a Kempis explains why even in small things self-renunciation is valuable. Our affections are so unstable that we often get thrown off course by small acts of self-indulgence. We think it is no big deal. We do this or that little thing. Before we know it, we are way off course! The devil knows this too. He loves to make us unfaithful in small things. This is why we need Christ. This is why we must entrust all our affairs to his power and love.
What should be our way of acting in times of trouble?
Asking God for help! In this reading, Thomas a Kempis stresses the need for interior freedom amidst all of our outward activity. He stresses that we must guard our hearts from the slavery of various outward compulsions. We want to make use of every situation to draw closer to eternal life. This means that in difficult situations we must not judge by the standards of this world, but to judge in light of God. We never are left on our own to deal with our troubles. God is the real secret to bearing well the dangers of this life.
We read about the goal of a close and happy friendship with Christ. How we must pray and long and strive for the power to break free of our self-seeking. The main enemy of our interior freedom is our egoism, our self-will. Even when we are set free from all kinds of sins, we discover a deeper hidden source of sin: self-seeking. But friends do the will of their great Friend.
We read about how vain the judgements of men are. Vain means empty, pointless, unreliable. We should want to be like St Paul and be all things to all men. We should want to please people in the Lord. But we cannot please everyone. We cannot avoid people thinking badly of us and speaking badly of us. There are times to be silent in the face of criticism and times to break silence. In all situations, our eyes must be on the Lord who has the power to save us and to defend us. He knows all things. He is to be trusted.
We look at Thomas a Kempis' teaching on the necessity of the spiritual combat for our whole life. We think that one day we will get to the point where temptations will cease. We are partly right. That day without temptations is in heaven. But we cannot seek heaven or expect the life of heaven to be perfectly realized in this world. Trials, desolations, troubles will be our lot here below. But the Lord is with us. He turns these to our sanctification and our glorification in heaven.
We read about the importance that the eternal Word, the Son of God, our incarnate Lord has in our lives. He is our all. He is our God. He alone can make certain situations sweet and joyful. And in the end, everything turns sour if He is not involved. Who can make us love Him properly? Who can make us delight in Him and find our true consolation in Him? He can! He sends us the Holy Spirit. Let us not try to love God the Son by our own power. "No one can come to me," Jesus said, "unless the Father draws him." How does the Father draw us to the Son? By the Holy Spirit. "No one can say the Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit." (1 Cor 12:3).
Should we be surprised that our emotions fluctuate so much in our spiritual lives?
No. In thisreading, Thomas a Kempis explains the various changes our hearts feel from one moment to the next. He speaks of the inconstancy of our hearts. Our hearts are not constant in their good feelings and good resolutions. So quickly we pass from being cheerful to being depressed, from being peaceful to being upset. How we need to keep our gaze fixed on the Lord amidst the storms.
We read about the importance of God's will. The only thing permanent in this world is God's will. What we do in accord with His will lasts forever. But to do his will, we need to desire His will. And to desire his will requires grace from God. Let us ask for the grace to want to be faithful. Becoming faithful in all things is the work of our whole lives. Let us not be impatient with God’s timetable and the work of our sanctification.
If we want to become contemplatives, to find God in prayer, what must we do?
Guard against unruly impulses. In this reading, Thomas a Kempis distinguishes the Creator from the creature. He helps us to see that our spirits, the high part of our souls, the part in which we are open to God, can be blocked by our constant ignoring of God. If we focus on creatures apart from God, we stop the upward movement of our souls. God wants us for himself. He wants to be All in All to us. This chapter highlights the deep connection between our prayer life and our daily life. "We live as we pray and we pray as we live."
When we are feeling down and depressed, should we think that God had abandoned us?
No! In this chapter, Thomas a Kempis portrays Christ speaking to someone who is discouraged and feeling low. Our Lord assures such persons that our feelings are not a good guide to our true state. We are often closer to God than we might think. And God knows how to allow our spirits to sink lest we get puffed up by mistaken notions of our own spiritual greatness. This is a very encouraging chapter for those who face interior difficulties.
In distress and time of trouble, what should we do?
Call on the Lord. In this reading, Thomas a Kempis shows us what to do when times of trouble seem to entrap us. He directs us to turn to the Lord in prayer. He offers us the kinds of prayers we should especially say. Above all, we need to seek to accept His will.
In chapter 28, Thomas a Kempis encouraged us to look for peace within ourselves. This inward turn is not turning to ourselves but to the One who dwells in our hearts. By our baptism, we have becoming dwelling places of God in the Spirit. Christ and His Father have made their dwelling place in our hearts. The danger is that we look for our affirmation and self-worth primarily from the outside, from the words and actions of other human beings. Yes, we need human help and encouragement. But the true source of our peace and self-worth is found in God.
In chapter 27, Thomas a Kempis warns us about the danger of bad self-love. Bad self-love tries to create a private set of concerns for which God is not involved. We tend to thing of ourselves as isolated individuals rather than as members of a vast Body, the Body of Christ. We have been inserted into a share of God"s own life. We must seek above all to be filled with God's wisdom.
In chapter 26, Thomas a Kempis speaks of the need to ask God to make certain things "sour" to our hearts. If there are things we really do not need or things that hurt us or things that take us away from true peace, let us ask the Lord to make them distasteful to us. Let us ask for the Lord to change our preferences of heart. What used taste so sweet can now taste sour! This kind of change will help us avoid those unnecessary and even sinful matters. Thomas a Kempis is so balanced in this chapter.
What is the solid foundation for peace of mind?
Patience, humility, gentleness. There are practices, deliberate actions, that lead to peace, great peace. But these practices lead to peace of mind by building up virtues, stable dispositions of soul for good actions. The more we seek the lowest place the more we grow in humility. The more we seek to do the will of others the more we grow in gentleness. The more we hold ourselves back from the anger and revenge we desire the more we grow in patience. In this reading we think more about how true peace of mind involves growth in these virtues.
What is the sin of excessively seeking to know things about others?
Curiosity. There is a good desire to know that is at the root of all wisdom. There is also a harmless curiosity about why things are as they are. But then there is the disordered, harmful, excessive desire to know things, especially about others. In this reading, Thomas a Kempis explains why such sinful curiosity actually harms us and why its roots are often in vain glory.
Last episode we read about the causes of great peace in the soul. Notice how the four pieces of advice relate us to the following: other people, ourselves, the things of this world, and God. 1) By seeking to do the will of others, we have peace with them. 2) In not seeking more but rather less of this world's goods, we have harmony with the other creatures as being in the right relation to them. 3) In not seeking higher places, we are at peace with ourselves. We live within ourselves, our own limits. 4) In always praying and desires God"s will to be accomplished in ourselves, we are at peace with God.
Is there anything we can do to help our hearts be full of great peace?
We read about four basic tips for growing in peace. These tips all have to do with the desires of our heart. Peace arises from desires being ordered, directed to what is truly good. When we want what we should want, great peace follows. Among these tips, there is one that is most important: praying to do God's will.
We read about God's manifold blessings. If we want to grow in God's love, we must ponder his blessings. St Philip used to tell people that when we fail to consider all that God does for us, we chill His love in our hearts. At the same time, considering God's blessings helps us to avoid speaking about ourselves in a boastful way. St Philip learned the lessons of this chapter. Very rarely did he ever say, I said or I did. St Philip and Thomas a Kempis want us to speak about ourselves in ways that are necessary for our salvation, the salvation of others, and the glory of God.
Will our hearts fully rest in the gifts of God?
No. Our hearts will only rest fully in the Giver of all these great spiritual gifts. In this reading, Thomas a Kempis presents a dialogue between Christ and his disciple regarding the true object of all our longing. Our hearts are made for Christ, the eternal Wisdom of the Father. He alone can set us free from our selfishness and loneliness.
We read about the need to acknowledge our own weaknesses. We are so apt to sin. The Church speaks of this tendency to sin as concupiscence. We want to do what is right. We know what is right. And yet we keep putting ourselves in situations where our ability to resist temptation is so small. How frail we are. But how powerful the Lord is!
We read about the need to bear injuries well. Patience develops in our souls as we face trials and difficulties. The person who truly wants to become patient like Christ must face many such trials. Patience is a crown that is won at a great price. The secret is to remember that others have even more trials and that God's Providence guides all things. Let us not focus so much on secondary causes of our sufferings. Let us think of the Primary Cause of all things who works all things for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
We read the need we have to keep Christ's example before our eyes if we wish to be patient. The patience we long to possess is not some kind of abstract excellence. Our patience will look like Christ's. Our patience is in fact a share in his own patience. Patience emerges in the midst of sorrows. Christ is the man of sorrows. We must think about Him as sorrows happen to us.
We read about the need to think of things from God's perspective. The path to patience requires us to think a great deal about how things happen as they do. But if we only have a human approach to the events of our life, we will miss the many wonderful things God is doing. God wants us to have our minds fixed on His will. We knows what He is doing. He knows what plans He has for us.
Where should we seek our true comfort amidst the trials on this life?
In God. Thomas a Kempis has warned us against seeking comforts in this life apart from the will of God. He was warned us about loving the things of this world only insofar as they lead us to our true happiness in the Lord Jesus. When we follow His will, we begin to taste in this life the fruits of the Holy Spirit, especially, love, joy, peace, and patience. There are true comforts in this life, comforts that arise from the Lord Himself. In today"s reading, we will hear about how to seek the comforts of the Lord.
We read about the need to be careful about our desires. Due to original sin, not all of our desires are from the Holy Spirit. Not all the sudden inspirations are from above. We have to sift through our desires. We have to consult the Lord as to whether He really wants this or that activity from us. His food was to do the will of His Father in Heaven. Our food must be to do the will of the Lord Jesus. Through Him, we are brought to the Father in the Holy Spirit.
In trying to understand ourselves, what must we keep in mind?
God's assessment of things. In this reading, Thomas a Kempis puts before God's perspective on our good qualities. Instead of being our own judges, let us ponder what God in all his infinite wisdom will say about us. The Lord does give us gifts of grace that transform us. Christ enables us to cooperate in our own salvation and those of others. But as we reflect on any good qualities the Lord had given us, we have to remember all the ways we constantly depend on God lest we over estimate our own excellence and want to manifest our own excellence to others.
We read about the need to obey. Thomas a Kempis makes the case for obedience in light of Christ himself. If He submitted himself to human persons, we can do so too. We should not try to ponder humility and obedience apart from Christ. Christ shows us what God can do in the hearts of those who seek Him.
Will there ever be a time in our spiritual lives when all trials and sufferings will end?
Not really, not in this life. Thomas a Kempis puts before us the importance of the virtue of patience. But he wants to make sure that we realize that the patience the Lord wants from us is consistent with trials and pains. In fact, he insists that we should never think that we will ever fully escape such situations. The patience He wills us to have is a patience in the midst of trials. No human person, even persons totally given to pleasures in this life, is without trials. But the Lord stands by us.
We read about the need to sift and govern our our hearts. Thomas a Kempis insists that our desires need to be held back, kept in check. Because of original sin, we have a tendency to desire things more than we should and at times that are bad. We cannot live purely by our own likes and dislikes. We must seek to bring our desires in line with God"s will. And then there are times when we absolutely have to deny ourselves certain desires of the body. The body is not evil. Pleasure is not evil. But there are moments in our lives when we a choice for God and our vocation must be made. Such moments are moments of grace, moments when the Lord protects us and strengthens us.
What does Our Lord promise us even in this life?
Joy. In this reading, Thomas a Kempis explains why there is joy in the Lord's service. I came, Christ said, that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete. The labours and service we offer Christ is not drudgery. There is a spiritual joy, a resting in the good, that he promises his friends.
What is the origin and end of all things?
The Lord God. In this reading, Christ speaks to us about the secret to true happiness: Himself. In so far as all things were created through Him, all things find their meaning in relation to Christ Jesus, the eternal Word. Not only is Christ as God the origin of all things, He is also the end, the goal. All things were made for Him. All things find their fulfillment in Him.
What should we do when we discover how little humility is in our hearts?
Ask the Lord to turn us back to Himself. In tonight"s reading, Thomas a Kempis proposes various considerations for understanding true humility. He shows how love for God and humility are interrelated. He also offers suggestions for growing in humility.
We read about what to do when the flame of devotion seems to be going out. How should we react when our spiritual lives do not match our expectations? How should we respond to our own lack of determination? Patience, humility, resignation.
We read about the various tests that God allows those who love him to undergo. Thomas a Kempis calls these the tests of true lovers. The Lord wants us to love Him with a pure love. These tests can take on many different forms. Let us not be surprised. Let us look to the example of the saints.
Will the love of God change our lives?
We read about the effects of divine love in our lives. When we begin to love Christ, such love overflows into many aspects of our lives. Being in love with God changes the way we look at everything. Life only truly begins when loving Christ becomes the most important aspect of our life. In the evening of life, a saint has said, we will be judged by our love. The goal of our lives is to become loving persons, sharing in God’s own way of loving.
Besides our regular time alone with the Lord, what else is necessary for a deep life of prayer?
Living humbly before Him. In this reading, Thomas a Kempis stresses the need to live in the right way. We pray as we live and we live as we pray. We cannot expect the Lord to give Himself to us and to speak words of consolation in prayer if we fail to honour Him during the day.
We read about the importance of asking Christ for things. Even in his lifetime, Our Lord heard and answered prayers made to him. Our Lord spent much time listening and talking to people. Book III teaches us, in the way it is written, that living in conversation, dialogue, with the Lord is absolutely necessary.
Is the human heart content only to hear the prophets speak?
No. Our hearts long to hear God speak to us. Our hearts long to hear the Word of the Lord in the flesh. Thomas a Kempis distinguishes the effects of the words of Moses and the other prophets from the effects of Christ Himself. He alone gives the strength to follow the path of God. Our hearts are restless until they rest in Him.
We begin book III of the Imitation of Christ. We read about the way Christ speaks inwardly in the heart. As we grow in his friendship, we learn to discern the still small voice of the Lord as he speaks through the conscience, the peaceful ideas in our minds, and the gentle movements of our hearts. We begin to know the signs of his peace and joy. All of our self-denial, all of our efforts to deny ourselves, and all our willingness to pick up the Cross have a goal: closer union with Christ. We say No to ourselves in order to say Yes to Christ. His friendship is the great Attraction.
Why is the Cross a Royal road?
Christ walked this road. In this reading, Thomas a Kempis explains why our carrying our own cross is a royal road. A road is royal that a King walks. To walk a royal road is to follow the steps of the king. Christ has shown us the path that leads to his Father in heaven. We must not be afraid to carry our Cross. There is no other road that Christ walked. There is no other road that leads to heaven.
What is the true path to heaven and holiness?
Carrying our Cross. In this final chapter of book II, Thomas a Kempis places before us all the advantages that come from carrying our crosses. He wants us to understand the true glory of sharing in Christ's cross. He wants us to understand that the power of Christ's own Cross enters our lives through the crosses we have to carry.
We read about the fewness of those who actually want to carry the Cross. In particular, Thomas a Kempis points us to the main reason we try to avoid the Cross: our bad self-love. We tend to love ourselves, not with true self-love, not as God loves us, that is, in relation to Christ. But we tend to love ourselves as isolated from Christ.
We read about the importance of gratitude, thanksgiving. The more grateful we are, the more disposed we are to receive more graces from God. Being ungrateful renders us unable to receive graces from God. God wants us to recognize what he has done for us. He wants us to make a response of love for his gifts of love. How? By joining ourselves to the human models of gratitude, Jesus and Mary.
Why does Christ "mix things up," sometimes consoling us and sometimes seemingly withdrawing consolation from us?
To encourage us and to humble us. In this chapter, Thomas a Kempis explains why Christ allows us to go through periods of spiritual dryness, lacking all consolation. He explains why God also gives us comforts, consolations. Thomas a Kempis explains how we are to act in both times. His advice in this chapter is incredibly useful and has been of great influence on later saints, like St Philip and St Ignatius of Loyola. May we profit from this golden chapter!
What does Christ especially offer us?
His friendship. In this reading, Thomas a Kempis describes the advantages that Christ's friendship offers us. He describes the comfort, strength, and peace that we experience from his presence and his voice within us. Thomas a Kempis helps us understand our own experience of turning to outward things apart from the will of God. We seem to lose contact with the Lord. We pull away from being close friends with him. Our love for Christ must lead us to do the will of this greatest of friends. We love nothing with the absolute love we show to Christ. We love Christ in everything by following His will in all we do.
Is there any object to whom we can give our hearts completely?
Yes, Jesus. In this reading, Thomas Kempis proposes that there is only one object in this world that can be loved above all things. There is only One who will never let us down. There is One in whom all the love of our heart is designed to go towards. This is the One whom St Thomas the Apostle touched. This is the One he called, "My Lord and My God."
Will the approval of other human beings ever give us true satisfaction?
No. In this reading, Thomas a Kempis tries to persuade us about the emptiness of mere human approval. He wants to persuade us of the great value of having a clear conscience. Conscience is the voice of God echoing in our minds. When God approves our actions, we have true satisfaction of heart.
We read about the danger of criticizing others and finding fault with others. Instead of staying at home and seeing our own faults we waste time, lose peace, and forget about God. We go out and set ourselves up as the judge of others. How little evidence we truly have for our judgments! If only we believed more and more in the greatness and infinity of God!
How do we make progress in our relationship with God?
Purity of mind and singleness of intention. In this reading, Thomas a Kempis shows us the kind of intention we need as we approach God. We must have in mind His will and our neighbour's good. But having this intention requires us to have a pure heart. So many things depend on the state of our affections. The world "seems" to us as our heart desires. Our heart influences our judgments of the world. How we need the Lord to purify our hearts.
We read about the important of peace of heart. We cannot have peace with others if we are not at peace with ourselves. Having a good conscience, being right with God, is a gift. But having peace of heart is only the foundation. Being a truly peaceable person requires us to put up with all kinds of people, not only the ones who are kind to us. How do we find the way to be at peace with very difficulty people? Much grace!
What is a real sign of spiritual growth?
Considering others as better than ourselves. In this reading, The imitation urges us not to worry so much what other people think of us. He tries to persuade us that it does not matter so much whether this or that person agrees or disagrees with us. Is God on our side or not? In fact, is it not sometimes very valuable for our spiritual lives when human beings neglect us?
We read the long opening chapter of book 2 of The Imitation of Christ. Thomas a Kempis puts before us the main goal of book 2: interior union with Christ. We are not just imitating Christ from the outside. We want to have a taste of his own interior states. We want to Be like Christ within so that we can act like he acted.
What is the one model we need for the whole of our spiritual lives?
Christ Crucified. We read about how Christ on the Cross shows us the perfect example of every good and holy kind of action. As we try to figure out how to live, we must keep our eyes on the Lord of glory, nailed to the Cross. Chapter 25 is the final chapter in book 1. The general theme of this chapter is our need for zeal. Zeal is an effect of divine love. Zeal makes us eager to get rid of hinderances to holiness. What are we zealous for? What should be our main concern? Doing God's will in all its manifestations so as to grow in spiritual perfection, Christian holiness.
What will matter to us at the moment of death when we face judgment?
Our love for God. In this chapter, Thomas a Kempis tries to persuade us to think of our life in light of eternity. He wants us to consider what follows death, namely, judgement. We will have to give an account of our entire life. We will not be able to take anything from this world with us except the good deeds we have done out of charity. In addition to encouraging us to ponder this judgement, Thomas a Kempis wants us to understand that the punishments of hell are worse than anything in this life.
What should we ponder each day?
Our death. In chapter 23, Thomas a Kempis tries to persuade us of the advantages of thinking about the day of our death. He tries to show how short this life is. He shows how foolish it is to assume we will live a long life. He wants us to value this life for its main purpose: preparing us for eternity.
What should we think about this life?
A gift from God and A Misery due to sin. In chapter 22, The Imitation paints a very clear picture of our fallen condition. The main objective is to encourage us to stand strong in the face of disappointments. Every life, even the life of the most famous people, has difficulties. Then we must also consider all the sufferings caused by our sins. Truly this life cannot be all there is. Truly this life will not make us fully happy. Let us beg the Lord for the grace to run the race that is set before us.
Besides wanting to be close to God, what other inward disposition should we pray for, especially in Holy Week?
Holy Sorrow. In chapter 21, Thomas a Kempis places before us our need to pray for the fear of the Lord. Why? The fear of the Lord, the Psalms teach, is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Fear of the Lord has different degrees. But building on our faith in God's goodness, fear makes us feel REVERENCE towards God. Fear makes us afraid of sinning because we do not want to be separated from His love. From this fear of the Lord, we grow to hate our sins and all the ways we block out His mercy. This holy hatred leads us to a holy sorrow, a true sadness at sin.
What are some of the best means of growing in intimacy with our Creator?
Learning to love solitude. In this episode's reading, Thomas a Kempis stresses the need to love being along with Jesus. Once again he is first and foremost talking to monks and priests. But he lays down principles that are crucial for all those who want to live in greater familiarity with the Lord. What is clear is that this chapter is the fruit of experience. When he speaks of the remorse and regret for forgetting about God"s will and just trying to have a good time, his words suggest that Thomas a Kempis is writing from what he knows first hand. He is passing on to us what he had learned about the best use of one"s time.
Can people in the world profit from knowing how a monk should live?
Yes! We read about advice for the daily life of a monk. But really the advice is very general advice that almost all people can follow. What is especially useful is his suggestions for what to do every morning (resolutions) and evening (taking account of the day's behaviour). We should never forget that lay people for centuries have been reading and profiting from this masterpiece.
To whom can we look for human inspiration?
The saints who have gone before us! We read an exhortation to order the example of the ancient holy men who followed Christ so bravely and prayerfully. St Philip Neri, for example, was called, "man of primitive times." Why? He longed to have contact with the saints of the early Church. He longed to love God the way they did. So can we!
Why should one become a monk?
To seek God and to save one's soul. This episode's reading describes what life in a monastery or community is like. The description might not appear at first to be useful for people in the world. But there are many lessons for everyone in this reading. What is the way to true peace in this world? Self-abasement out of love of Jesus.
What is the Lord's frequent ways of helping us grow in patience?
The faults of other people. We will receive instruction on the best way to react to the mistakes and sins of those around us. The Imitation gives us reasons to welcome the faults of others in terms of our own spiritual growth. The book then tackles a couple of our favourite objections to putting up with others. The Imitation helps us see our inconsistencies and hypocrisy in how demanding we can be of others.
What matters most to God in our actions?
The charity behind the action. Charity means divine love. "Charity is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). Charity enables us to prefer God to all other things and to love all things on account of God who made them. The great commandment of Christ is to love one another as He loves us.
What does our hidden self-seeking and personal preferences often make us form?
Hasty estimates of situations and people. Instead of waiting for all the evidence to appear and to make a fair assessment, we often too quickly form an estimation of others. We rush to criticize. Thomas a Kempis warns us in chapter 14 about some of the hidden motivations for such estimates. He helps to uncover some of reasons we lack objectivity.
We read the long and wonderful chapter on the value of temptations for the spiritual life. Among the points that The Imitation makes is this one: temptations, rightly understood, can help us grow in humility. God even allows us to fall into small sins so that we will grow in our awareness of our inherent weakness. If we are so prone to fall through small temptations, how much more vigilant do we need to be in regards to more dangerous temptations to more serious sins? All of us will face temptations, some more than others. But all these temptations, these trials, are known and allowed by God for our sanctification. He never allows us to be tempted beyond our strength, the strength that he offers us.
Is it good sometimes to have our own will thwarted?
Yes. The Imitation of Christ discusses some of the reasons why God allows us to go through difficult situations and to have our own desires frustrated. This chapter even discusses why God allows us to undergo more interior trials. God has many things to teach us about this life (an exile) and about ourselves.
Why do we seem to make such little spiritual progress?
Lack of ambition, desire. We read about The Imitation's advice on growing in holiness. This chapter offers various considerations to help attract our hearts for making up our minds to seek after spiritual progress. In trying to encourage us, Thomas a Kempis also helps us to see ourselves in a clearer light, especially the ways we deceive ourselves about our true state of soul.
Last episode we read about what The Imitation of Christ above all wants us to experience: inward comfort from God. Instead of turning to God for our consolations, we often turn to useless talking. Yes we need friendships. Yes, we need conversations with others. In fact, there is a small virtue called friendliness by which we give delight to others in word and deed. We are supposed to give delight to those with whom we live and interact. We are supposed "to say the good things that men need to hear," St Paul says. May the Lord give us holy discretion to know when to speak and when to be silent so as to commune with the Lord.
What is one of the most common ways to lose the inward comfort of God?
Useless talking. We read about what the Imitation calls useless gossiping. The book does not mean what we commonly mean by gossiping: talking badly about people behind their backs. Gossiping in this chapter means any kind of idle talk, talking that does not serve any good.
We read about the need for obedience to a superior. The chapter is obviously directed primarily to monks. The chapter has excellent advice, however, about the more general temptation to think that we will be happy if we just go somewhere else. How beneficial it is to live a stable life with someone to guide us, with someone under whose direction we can be obedient. How wise it is to seek to live in harmony with others and conform our lives to the common good of a community.
Is there a difference between kindness and being too familiar?
Yes. In this reading, the Imitation of Christ distinguishes the kindness that vowed religious in monasteries owe to all and a dangerous familiarity that can arise. In other words, chapter 8 is directed especially to men who have made public vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. The Imitation warns them about certain dangers of "crossing the line" with various kinds of people whom the Lord is not asking such priests to help. The whole focus of a man's life who is dedicated to God has to be on God and drawing others to God. He must not be too worried about spending time with people that will pull him away from the Lord's humble service. This reading is good for all as a reminder to pray for priests and has some application for all people.
Last episode we read about the dangers of self-conceit, about having a too high opinion of oneself. The biggest reason for avoiding this trap in the spiritual life is that our happiness is not to be found in a creature. Creatures are finite, limited, incomplete. But we are made for the infinite, the unlimited, the perfect. God alone, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will be our happiness. This happiness we will share with others in heaven. But no mere human being will ever make us perfectly happy, including ourselves! No amount of self-admiration will satisfy us, especially when it is not built on truth! We need self-knowledge, but self-knowledge that is rooted in God and our relationship to Him. Riches, famous people, skills, beauty, health can be good, if loved in relation to God. Lord show us you will!
In what should be our true confidence?
In Jesus Christ. In chapter seven, The Imitation of Christ describes various things that human beings like to boast about: wealth, important friends, skills, beauty, health, etc. Are these things really able to give us true self-confidence? How easily they can be lost! The Imitation points us in another direction for true self-confidence. Our Lord said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life."
Last episode we read about the need to moderate our passions. The whole focus of Thomas a Kempis' spirituality is to help us have peace of soul. Without peace of soul, no spiritual growth can happen. The emotions or passions are not good or bad in themselves. The are a vital part of our human nature. Passions or emotions are good or bad depending on their object. May the Lord help us to desire and to fear, to enjoy and to be sad, at the right things, in the right way, at the right time!
In trying to grow closer to Christ what is a common enemy?
Immoderate passions. The word, passions, is from a Latin root meaning to undergo or to suffer. Passions are things that we feel when we encounter something in the world that attracts or repels us. Passions are feelings that "happen to us" as a result of some object that we see or hear or touch or imagine or taste or smell. Thomas a Kempis understanding of the passions of the soul is what we usually speak of at a popular level as emotions. The main passions or emotions are desire, fear, hope, sorrow, anger, joy. Because of original sin our passions or emotions are easily immoderate. They are all over the place swinging from one extreme to another. The Imitation of Christ tries to persuade us to bring these passions under control lest we are led away by their forcefulness from Christ.
We read about Sacred Scripture. Thomas a Kempis has a high view of Scripture as one of the main means for encountering Christ. The Scriptures are made up of many thousands and thousands of words. But in all these words, God is speaking one Word to us, his Son. His Son is the fullness off Divine Revelation, the fullness of God's speaking to us about Himself and His plans. The Scriptures make present Christ himself so that we can enter more deeply into a relationship with Him. But there are many obstacles to the reading the Scriptures in the right light. We must read them with the same inspiration with which they were written. We must read them humbly with the help of the Holy Spirit. Let us hear what the Lord has to say to us!
How does a well formed Christian react to what he hears?
Cautiously. The Imitation of Christ gives a description of how a follower of Christ should approach all the things he or she hears about others. All the wonderful advice that we read in this episode about being cautious and careful in our reactions presumes a profound awareness of how weak and fallen human nature is. How we need to ask the Lord to teach us true wisdom and true knowledge about the world.
Last episode we read about how Christ, true God and true man, is the secret to all true learning. How we need the eternal Word to show Himself to us. How we need to believe that God has a Son, a Word. The true measure of our lives is the degree of charity we have for Christ. All that we accomplish apart from Him and His love counts for nothing eternally. But our relationship with Christ is something that grows and deepens. We are striving to win Christ, to deepen our contact with Him. We are striving by His grace to know more and more His power and mercy.
How is truth best learned?
In the Word, by prayer. Thomas a Kempis understands that God the Son, Jesus Christ, is God's eternal Word made man. Eternally God the Father spoke all that he can speak, all that he can express, in His one Word, His Son. All created things are made through Him. In order to raise up a fallen world, the Son became man. All graces and supernatural truth comes from Him. He is the way to all truth that eternally matters.
Last episode we read about the importance of self-knowledge. The Imitation is especially concerned that we see our true selves in God. When we try to think of ourselves apart from being creatures made by God, creatures who bear the effects of original sin, creatures redeemed by God, and creatures called to eternal blessedness with God, we go astray. Why do we keep trying to think of ourselves by comparison to others? Why do we keep trying to make ourselves feel good by looking down on others? Lord, give us true self-knowledge so that we can give ourselves to You in love.
If we want to imitate Christ, what do we need besides grace?
Self-knowledge. We read about Thomas a Kempis' advice on how to think of oneself. The Imitation is very aware of how easily we try to escape true self-knowledge by seeking after all kinds of other knowledge. We can learn all sorts of things about the world and other people and history and entertainment and sports, etc. But we can fail to know the one who knows all these things.
Last episode we began reading this masterpiece of Christian spirituality, The Imitation of Christ. The book grew out of a group of reform minded Canons Regular of Windesheim at Mount St Agnes near Zwolle. The Imitation begins with the first principle of the spiritual life: imitation of Christ! Christ is our model. The whole meaning of our lives consists in not only imitating Him, but sharing in his own Heart. We cannot imitate Christ without receiving the grace to want to follow Him. God the Father is pleased with one Person: His Son. All who want to be pleasing to God must resemble the Son of God made man. The more we are like Him the more we will be pleasing to God.
What is the most important thing to do in life?
Imitate Christ. As we begin this new book, on the Solemnity of St Joseph, the man who most imitated Christ, we will begin to read Thomas a Kempis' Imitation of Christ. Many saints, for example, St Therese of Lisieux, used to read a chapter every day. She is said to have many parts memorized. This book was used by St Philip himself during his sessions of talking on the book with his disciples. We begin book 1 in this episode, a book dedicated to "practical advice for following Christ." May St Joseph be with us all.
We finish the Life of St Philipby Antonio Gallonio. Gallonio ends the book with a prayer to St Philip. The prayer is traditionally ascribed to Venerable Cesare Baronius. But Gallonio himself may have been the author. The translation of the prayer was done by St John Henry Newman. I pray that it will become one of your favourites. I pray that you will say it so often that you will memorize it. I pray that St Philip will show you his fatherly protection from heaven.
We read about the events in Rome in the Jubilee of 1600. Gallonio ends by recounting the work with pilgrims that the whole of Rome was involved in, including the Pope himself. Why does Gallonio include this section at the end of the book? Is he just flattering the Pope? No. He is trying to show what a transformation Rome experienced from the arrival of St Philip 65 years earlier. The kind of work that St Philip reintroduced into Rome (laymen working in hospitals as volunteers) and the kind of work he introduced (taking care of poor pilgrims) has spread. Gallonio is trying to tell us why St Philip is the Second Apostle of Rome. He is trying to help us understand how God used this humble layman, this late priestly vocation, this simple priest for great good at the heart of the Church.
What was St Philip especially willing to do for the salvation of his neighbour?
Voluntary penances. We read about Fr Gallonio's summary of St Philip's heroic virtues that he does not want to discuss in detail. But the virtue he highlights is St Philip's charity for his neighbour. His longing to reconcile people with Christ led him to take on voluntary penances. St Philip would willingly endure painful things that he did not like as a way of making satisfaction for the sins of others. In and through Christ, as we are one in the mystical Body of Christ, we can help make up for sins. If people are not willing to return to God some sign of sorrow for sin and its effects, we can do so for them.
We read about St Philip's prudence. Prudence is wisdom in practical matters, wisdom in how to achieve a certain goal. True prudence knows the best means to get to heaven and reach holiness. Prudence is both a personal virtue, knowing what one should do for one's own holiness. But there is also prudence in guiding others in the ways of God. St Philip excelled in both. But at the heart of his prudence was his recognition of the uniqueness of each person. Like St Paul, he tried to adapt himself to each person, each unique reflection of God.
What especially drew people to St Philip?
His gentleness. Fr Gallon has told us about St Philip's humility, his prayerfulness, his gift of tears. He tells us about St Philip's gentleness. Our Lord said, "learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart." Christ infused into St Philip his own gentle heart. St Philip was able to moderate his anger to a heroic degree. His gentleness influenced how he dealt with people, especially when they needed correction. His gentleness especially showed in his face. His gentleness was expressed as joy.
Last episode we read about St Philip's special gift of tears. Tears flowed from his sorrow at sin and its effects. But we will see that St Philip combined sadness with cheerfulness. His sadness did not break out into immoderate anger. His sadness did not stop him from having a joyful countenance that drew many people to the Lord's service. St Philip, help us be cheerful in penance!
Why did St Philip weep so much?
The gift of tears. We read about the sadness that St Philip experienced as he pondered the sufferings of Christ, the sins human beings commit, and our great distance from being like Christ. St Philip's subsequent tears were a sign of sympathy, of co-suffering with Christ and others. Tears are a result of solidarity, of being one with others. St Philip wept for the sins of others as though they were his own. And he wept over the sufferings of Christ out of his deep union with Christ. He truly made the interests of Christ his own, or rather, the Holy Spirit gave St Philip this gift. Come, Holy Spirit!
Last episode we read about St Philip's love for prayer. St Philip longed to pray and longer to grow in prayer. In our prayers, we especially must be grateful when we begin to desire to love the Lord more. Such desire is a sign of the virtue of hope at work in our souls!
What was St Philip's most valued activity?
Prayer. We read Gallonio's summary of the high degree of prayer that St Philip obtained. He will stress St Philip's love of God. He will stress St Philip's interest in contemplation. One of the best places to read more about contemplation is the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2709-2719. Contemplation is a "gaze of faith fixed on Jesus, attentiveness to the Word of God, a silent love" (CCC 2724).
Last episode we read about St Philip's poverty. Money is a means, not the end of life. Money cannot make us happy. But God inspired in the heart of St Philip a heroic attitude to money and riches.
What is the second virtue that Gallonio especially identifies in St Philip?
His love of poverty. St Philip was very aware of the dangers of riches for the spiritual life. Like pride, money brings great dangers of self-sufficiency and illusions of importance. St Philip knew that money was meant to be spent for good things, for things that are truly necessary. He understood that necessity includes both what is absolutely necessary, but also what is necessary for a good and fitting life according to one's position. St Philip was never married. He eventually became a priest. He turned down various offers for becoming a wealthy man. Why did he do this? How did he look on money? St Philip wanted to be content with what he truly needed. He wanted his heart free for God. But at the same time, he loved to have money to give away and use for good purposes.
Last episode we finished reading about St Philip's humility. St Philip's humility often took the form of jokes! His sense of humour was used to hide from others his profound wisdom and spiritual gifts. He likes to mingle humour with his serious teaching. St Philip took God very seriously and the search for true holiness. But he did not take himself that seriously. St Philip's humility was rooted in his deep awareness of who God is. He was aware of God the Father's own "humility." St Philip wanted to be content with a loving relationship with Christ Jesus and His mystical body. How we need to pray for faith and understanding and knowledge.
Why did St Philip fear being admired and overly praised?
His humility. We read about St Philip's true desire to be thought little of. Some of St Philip's actions might seem strange to us. He really did not like admiration. He really did not like being thought great. St Philip's actions sprang from the deep inner source, his humility. Christ told us: learn from me for I am gentle and humble of heart. St Philip lived in the truth of God as few ever have.
Last episode we read about St Philip's avoidance of boasting. He knew that vainglory seeks to manifest unnecessarily one's excellence to others. What pride seeks to have, vain glory seeks to show forth. Boasting is one way to gain vain glory, empty glory.
Why did St Philip not boast of founding the Oratory?
He did not intend to found it. St Philip was very aware of how little intention he had in founding the Oratory. He realized very clearly that this was God's work. He realized how little he contributed. St Philip had a strong conviction of the primacy of God's providence and His grace in directing Philip's life.
Last episode began the final section of Gallonio's biography of St Philip. Gallonio begins his discussion of St Philip's virtues by talking about humility. Humility makes one be subject to God out of reverence. Humility is built on faith in God's holiness. But humility also becomes the foundation of the Christian life because it undermines the main obstacle: pride. Humility holds us back from desiring great things that are beyond us. Humility helps us keep in mind our weaknesses and limitations so that we go for the great things that God wants us to go for.
What virtue is the foundation of the spiritual life?
Humility. We begin the final section of Gallonio's biography. He takes us through St Philip's most prominent virtues. He begins with humility. We discuss St Philip's love for humility and his sense of dependence on God.
We read about the many miracles that occurred after St Philip was buried, but which were never discussed by Gallonio. Fr Gallonio selected the miracles he did for various reasons. How we need to love the truth. How we need to think about the best way to communicate the truth.
Did St Philip ever help the same nun twice?
Yes. We read about the same nun we read about last night. She lived in Spoleto and was suffering from a terrible eye inflammation. The miracle that occurred is the first one reported based on a picture of St Philip. She touched her eye with his picture. We may not have many first and second class relics of St Philip, but all of us can obtain a picture!
We read about the first miracle this nun from Spoleto experienced by the help of St Philip. She was suffering from a very serious fever and prayed to St Philip. Some of the details of this nun's life remind us of later saints, especially St Gabriel and St Maximilan Kolbe. How we need to remember how connected we are in the Mystical Body of Christ. How we need to remember that the full meaning of our lives will only be clear in heaven!
Who was the youngest person that was helped by St Philip from heaven?
A four year old boy. In July 1597, just over two years after the death and burial of St Philip, this young boy was suffering from a terrible fever. His condition got so bad that he could neither speak nor move for several days. When his mother despaired of his remaining alive, she laid on his head a piece of cloth of St Philip's. The effect and cure were immediate. The joy of his parents were indescribable.
We read about a physician who was cured of a stone in his bladder by the help of St Philip. St Philip was close to many doctors in his life. He showed his love for them even after his death. His friendship with doctors reminds one of another miracle working saint who developed close relationships with doctors, St Andre Bessette. May we never forget that charity, sacred love, continues after this life in heaven. Those that we learn to love here in this life we will love in heaven too.
Did St Philip show any special help to older people who were suffering?
We read about a 75 year old priest who appealed to St Philip in a very serious situation. Like the people in the time of St Peter who used his handkerchief for miracles, so this priest touched his body with a handkerchief of St Philip. Just as the the handkerchief of the original Apostle of Rome worked wonders, so the handkerchief of the second Apostle of Rome does wonders.
We read about a nine year old girl who was suffering terrible bowel problems. She was cured by an apparition of the Mother of God and St Philip. How confident we need to be in the prayers of Our Lady. How confident we need to be to speak to her and her Son about all aspects of our lives. There is nothing they cannot understand about human life. To help us believe this, God sends saints like St Philip. His life shows us how much he cared about human situations and how people could speak to him about all their problems.
Do priests always know their calling from an early age?
No. We read about the origins of a priestly vocation. Ottavio was dying. All medical help had failed. As he awaited death, he thought about St Philip Neri. Ottavio lived in Naples and knew the Oratorians there. But then it came into Ottavio's mind to add to his prayer the promise of becoming an Oratorian, if he recovered. Ottavio did get better. And he kept his word.
We read about a woman with a fever who had suffered this condition for 32 months. We have to remember how in the Scriptures physical ailments are often symbols of spiritual ailments. Christ even cured a paralyzed man as a sign of his ability to forgive sins. Being in a state of mortal sin is like being spiritually paralyzed. Without sanctifying grace, we are unable to move ourselves towards heaven. Other less serious ailments can be symbols of less serious spiritual conditions. We have to be patient with others and with ourselves. Why does God not cure us of our sinful habits more quickly? Why does he allow us to fall again and again? He knows what is best for us and our humility. He knows how easily we take all the credit for our spiritual victories. The Lord knows what is best for our self-knowledge, our humility, and our need to gain experience so as to help others.
Did the miracles of St Philip ever have to do with heart troubles?
Yes. We read about a miracle a mysterious ulcer near a man's heart that caused him incredible pain. The pain was so terrible that the man was unable to rest at all. Every known medicine was tried. Finally the man remembered a very mysterious medicine...the hair of St Philip. Like so many others, this remedy worked. But the miracle actually occurred in two stages.
Last episode we read about a hardworking man who worked for the Oratorians in Palermo. The house there was fairly recently founded. Like every Oratorian community, the Oratory in Palermo is autonomous, self-governing, independent of every other Oratory. Each house is loosely connected to the others by a common way of life established for priests and brothers by St Philip. Each Oratorian community looks to St Philip as their spiritual father. Last episode's miracle shows us that St Philip continues to care for the all those connected with the Oratorians. St Philip loves the smallest helper of his spiritual sons. St Philip wants us all to be saints. He wants us to become perfect in divine love. St Philip wants to help satisfy Christ's thirst for love, his thirst to be shown love in return for his love for us.
Did St Philip ever cure people after his death that he never knew in his lifetime?
Yes. We read about a miracle in Palermo, Sicily. An Oratorian father from Rome had founded a house there. One day in 1596 a servant of that community fell very ill. But for a long time, the idea never occurred to seek the intercession of St Philip. Suddenly the idea occurred to one of the fathers. Let us learn to be docile to the Holy Spirit. He is like the wind; he blows where he wills.
We read about a priest and a nun who were both cured of serious illnesses by the intercession of St Philip. Why does the Lord invite men and women to follow him in perfect chastity? We talk about the way a priest shares in Christ's spousal love for the Church. We talk about a nun's ability to become a bride of Christ and to represent the Church herself. Christ loves the Church as His bride.
Does it matter how we speak to St Philip in heaven?
Yes. We read about an 18 year old woman who suffered a severe eye injury due to the actions of someone else. Her mother tried every remedy. Finally she turned to St Philip. But nothing happened. This made the girl herself begin to pray for herself. Her cure took place after she realized there was a right way to ask St Philip. St Philip seems to care about the dispositions of our hearts.
We read the final chapter in section 17. We are very close to the end of the book. The miracle in tje reading was the healing of a bishop. He took instructions from a very devout lady. He listened to her and was made well. How important it is for the leaders in the Church to listen above all to the Blessed Mother. As the first bishops gathered around Mary as they awaited the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, so every leader in the Church must be close to the Blessed Virgin. Her advice is always the same: Do whatever He, Jesus, tells you (John 2).
Did St Philip ever cure any nuns after he died?
Yes. We read about a nun who began to have breast cancer. She was too ashamed to tell anyone about the lump that was growing. It got larger, but still she was ashamed. Finally, she mentioned something to her confessor. He obtained for her a piece of linen soaked in the blood of St Philip. A great miracle was hoped for. A great miracle was obtained. St Philip even appeared to her in a dream with very familiar words. The story has a great lesson for us about openness with our spiritual fathers!
Did St Philip ever raise a dead child to life?
Yes. We read about a remarkable occurrence. A child was born prematurely. Sadly, the child was dead. The midwife did all she could, all she knew from 35 years of experience. Then she turned to the Blessed Virgin. Nothing happened. Then she did something interesting. She asked St Philip to pray to the Blessed Virgin. This episode's readings continue the ongoing meditation on the Resurrection of Christ in light of the miracles performed by St Philip after his burial.
Did St Philip have compassion on people who have been injured by others?
Yes. We read about a lady who was hit by a carriage. We do not know any details about the person who hit her. But the woman was seriously hurt and suffered a knee trouble for 11 months. How was she eventually healed? What did she do to win St Philip's favour?
How many times did St Philip appear to Drusilla?
Three! We read about the final act in the healing of poor Drusilla. We read in Act II how St Philip first appeared to her while her husband was praying fervently at St Philip's tomb. But when her husband came home, St Philip disappeared. The trouble was that he left the healing incomplete. He healed only part of her injuries. Would St Philip return? Would he complete what he started? Yes.
Did St Philip listen to the prayers of Drusilla's husband?
Yes! We read ACT 2 of the Drusilla drama. She fell from a high place, 7 stories, and hit the brick landing. Her condition was so serious that the doctors assumed she would die. We read about what her husband did when he got the news. May we never forget the power contained in the sacrament of matrimony.
Can St Philip help someone who has fallen from a great height?
Yes! We read about a terrible accident that a woman had in Rome in September 1595. She feel from a huge height and faced horrific injuries. What could be done for her? Part of the power of this story is the lesson it teaches about moral falls of those who had reached a certain sanctity. What should we do when we fall into sin and badly damage our souls?
Did St Philip only help men after he was buried?
No. We read about a couple of women who were healed of dangerous fevers through the intercession of St Philip. Gallonio's account continues to recall our minds to the resurrection of Christ. To whom did Our Lord first appear? Why did the Apostles not believe the women?
Last episode we read about a young man who was saved from sin through a miraculous movement of the reliquary he had hanging around his neck. He also experienced St Philip's voice encouraging him. May St Philip help each of us learn how to control and guide our emotions.
Did St Philip ever perform non-healing miracles after his burial?
Yes. We read about a gentleman who was wearing a chain around his neck with a pouch of St Philip's hair and clothing in it. The young gentleman walked past the house of a lady of ill repute. She invited him to sin. As he was about to consent, the pouch on his chest began to warn him. The Holy Spirit began to speak words of encouragement, get away. With the help of St Philip, the young man did something amazing.
We read about one of Rome's most skilled physicians who was close to death. The doctor had done everything he knew to prolong his own life. He knew how serious his condition was. But this doctor was also a man of faith. When he realized that the God-given science of medicine had no more answers, he turned to God and his Saints. Did St Philip have great respect for the medical profession? Yes. Did he carefully select his doctors? Yes. Did he basically follow the advice of his doctors? Yes. But do doctors have all the answers? No.
What did Fr Marc Antonio Maffa do after his life was spared?
He placed the first plaque on the tomb of St Philip. Fr Maffa wanted to show gratitude to St Philip and so he not only visited the tomb to thank God and St Philip, but he had a testimony placed at the tomb explaining how St Philip's prayers and merits saved his life. What is the best way to give thanks to God for favours received? What lesson does this episode's reading teach about giving thanks to the Risen Christ?
Last episode we read about the dangerous fever that Fr Maffa fell into on August 6, 1595, the feast of the Transfiguration of Christ. Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8, and Luke 9:28-36 all recount this event that occurred several months before Christ died and rose. Our Lord's body and face and clothes were transformed. Theologians tell us that this was a temporary anticipation of the glory of His Resurrected body. Christ allowed the glory of his soul to spill over into his body. Christ's Transfiguration is telling us what last episode's reading was telling us: his Risen power can enter into our world. He gives us glimpses from time to time to encourage us! He can save us from the selfishness and sinful inclinations which seek to destroy us. We can live, through Christ, no longer for ourselves, but for Him and others.
Did Fr Maffa escape one illness only to fall into another?
Yes! We read about a nearly deadly fever that Fr Maffa fell into after St Philip helped with his kidney stones. The date is important, August 6, the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. That event in Our Lord's life was an anticipation of his Resurrected glory. As we have seen the last few nights, these readings of miracles performed after St Philip was buried have a connection with Our Lord's Resurrection. They point to the power Christ has to save us, save us from a life of futility and meaninglessness.
Did St Philip ever help with kidney stones?
Yes! We read about a new problem that St Philip helped a man to overcome: very painful kidney stones. Like many of the miracles performed by the prayers of St Philip in the months just after he died, this miracle was sought after all other remedies for the pain had been tried. Once again, St Philip's prayers achieved the desired result, but not all at once. Patience!
Is it good to make a general confession of one"s sins, looking over one"s whole life, even confessing small sins?
Yes. We read about a priest whom St Philip helped to overcome pains in his arms. The priest was in such a bad situation that he could hardly elevate the host at Mass. He could not vest himself for Mass. Having tried every remedy he could, he finally asked his relative, a disciple of St Philip, for a piece of St Philip's clothing. Instead, he was given some of St Philip's hair. One day God inspired him to make a strange concoction. He drank the St Philip hair tea. And suddenly his arms were better. But before he drank it, he made a general confession. He made a confession of his whole life and his main sinful dispositions. He brought his whole life before the Lord. What a beautiful thing it is to be healed in body and soul.
Do friends always support us?
Not always. We read about a man who was healed of kidney pains and knee pains by the use of 1st and 2nd class relics of St Philip. But then like Job, he faced friends who challenged his faith. They denied the intervention of God. But like Job in the Old Testament, Claudio did not lose faith. God then helped him even more.
Did miracles cease after St Philip was buried?
No. We begin about two weeks of readings relating all the marvellous things that occurred in people's lives who visited the tomb of St Philip shortly after he died. This episode's reading is interesting because a man full of anxiety and concern about a big decision visited the tomb. During his lifetime, St Philip would touch the man's heart and his anxieties would flee. Would St Philip still be able to help him in this way?
Last episode we read about a laywoman in the world who was very close to St Philip. How St Philip wanted people in the world to have a little devotion. How he wanted them to love the Eucharist. How he wanted them to take care of Christ in the poor. St Philip would lead people from the earliest stages of the spiritual life to the heights of divine union. God wants us to see him as a Bridegroom. He belongs to us and we to Him. He is ours and we are His.
Did St Philip's body have a sweet smell after he died?
Yes. This smell of flowers was not evident to all, but only to some. St Philip reserved this for a woman who was especially devoted to the poor. The Lord wants us to be a fragrant offering to his Father. He wants us to be a sweet fragrance that draws others to Himself.
Was there difficulties about where to bury St Philip?
Yes. The Oratorian Fathers planned to bury St Philip in the common burial place that all the Oratorians would make use of after they died. But two powerful cardinals, long time friends of St Philip, persuaded the Oratorians to put St Philip in a more honoured place. The Fathers were reluctant to do so. Would they be treating St Philip as a saint, before the Church had spoken? In the end, they followed the advice of the Cardinals.
We read about three healings that occurred after St Philip died. God saw fit to make us of roses that were touching St Philip's body while it rested on the funeral bier. God also made use of pieces of St Philip's hair. The same Lord who worked miracles by spittle and dirt and the fringe of his garment and the handkerchief of St Peter continued to work miracles through material things. Let us pray for faith. The Word truly became flesh and dwelt among us.
We read about a family that St Philip took an interest in after he died. Three of the four members were suffering from various ailments.They came to visit the body of St Philip. They took his hand and touched the places that were diseased. They were healed. Should we be surprised that God would use the hands of a priest, a deceased priest, to work miracles? Everyday God uses the hands of a priest as his instruments for the greatest miraculous change. A priest takes the bread into his hands as Christ did at the Last Supper. And when he repeats Christ"s words, there in the priest"s hands, the bread is transubstantiated into Christ"s own body.
Last episode we read about the condition of St Philip's heart when the doctors performed the autopsy. In the heart of St Philip, so muscular, so unusual, even enlarged beyond what is normal is some places, God was giving the Church a sign. God sent St Philip to Rome as a living sign of His love for the Church. In 1544, the Holy Spirit visited St Philip in a unique way and supernaturally enflamed and enlarged his heart. St Philip lived with this supernatural heart condition for over fifty years. Let us ask the Lord to fill us with a true love for the Church!
Was St Philip's heart itself unusual?
Yes. The heart as a whole was strong and muscular and larger than normal. Certain parts where twice the normal size. In this episode we hear about the basic parts of the human heart. If the human heart pumps blood to the rest of the body and blood symbolizes divine love being shared through the mystical body of Christ, who are those in the Church that help generate this divine love? Can we be the heart of the Church, helping others to love?
Last episode we read not so much about the heart itself, but the condition of St Philip's ribs and chest that seemed to have made room for this enlarged heart and its supernatural palpitations. May we also make room for growth in divine love. May we not put up any obstacles to allowing God's love to increase!
What strange thing did the doctors discover about St Philip's chest?
A large bulge. During the autopsy, the doctors discovered that two of St Philip's ribs were disconnected from the cartilage. They were arched upwards and formed a kind of dome on his chest over his heart. This strange condition puzzled the doctors. They had never heard St Philip ever complain of any pain. But as they learned more and more about what happened to St Philip in 1544, they formulated several supernatural explanations for his ribs being that way. God was making room for the effect of divine love on Philip's heart.
Last episode we began reading about the autopsy carried out on St Philip on the evening of May 27, 1595. We discussed the peculiar way St Philip's hands kept covering over his private parts. Fr Gallonio suggested a hypothesis for why God willed St Philip's body to act in this supernatural way. Another hypothesis was also discussed related to the supernatural character of purity. Purity, chastity, self-control in matters of sexuality is a gift from above. Let us pray for it!
As the autopsy of St Philip began, what was the most remarkable thing that happened at first?
St Philip's arms kept moving. The four doctors were astounded as they began to undress St Philip. His dead body began to do things that they had never seen. As strange as it sounds, St Philip acted, in a way, as if he were still alive! He seemed to be practicing modesty. The doctors thought the phenomenon to be a sign. Of what was it a sign?
Last episode we read about the events of May 26, 1595. St Philip died early in the morning of May 26, around 1am. The whole day following saw great crowds of people treating the body of St Philip as though it were a precious relic. Rome had been captivated by this simple priest. He was their apostle, the second apostle of Rome. Like St Philip, we too have a mission and a part of the Lord's vineyard to maintain.
Did great crowds of people of every walk of life want to venerate the body of St Philip?
Yes! From the poorest people to the richest people in Rome, men and women, friars and laity, the whole of Rome seems to have stopped by the Chiesa Nuova to honour the body of St Philip on the day he died. The Fathers had laid his body out on the bier for public veneration. What signs of love the people of Rome showed. What are we to make of the crowds and the variety of people who wanted to see the face of St Philip one last time?
What happened at the moment of St Philip's death?
He appeared to various friends. When St Philip died, when his soul and body were separated, he actually appeared in his soul to two nuns and a devout layman. The layman lived 100 miles away from Rome. We read about what happened in those apparitions. We will think about the lesson they teach us!
How did St Philip die?
Surrounded by love and prayers. We finally read about St Philip's actual death. All his spiritual sons were gathered around his bed. Prayers were being offered. Many tears were shed. Even in his death, St Philip shows us many lessons about how to love.
What does St Philip's final hours teach us?
Life is mixed with joys and sorrows. We read about St Philip's final evening before he died. We read about how happy he was. We read about how playful he was. But we also read about the frantic efforts of those close to him to keep him alive.
Last episode we read about St Philip's final day on earth. We saw how many lessons we were taught about the spiritual life from that final day:
- the Mass is most important,
- wake up early,
- take confession seriously,
- the need for friendship,
- the importance of spiritual reading
- the important role of obeying our doctors,
- praying in the morning and evening,
- and being able to be alone with God.
How did St Philip spend his final day on earth?
With joy, but doing very ordinary things. We read about St Philip's last few days on earth, but especially his final one. How much strength he seemed to have. How he said Mass on that final day. How God prepared him for eternity. But even here St Philip left us a lesson on prayer.
Last episode we read about St Philip friendships with certain members of his congregation. Like Our Lord and St John, St Philip loved some of his sons with a special tenderness. But St Philip wanted us to never lose sight of the friendship we can have with the Holy Spirit himself. Confirmation is the pathway to our personal relationship with the Spirit of Love.
Did St Philip's sons always obey him?
No. We read about someone very close to St Philip whom Philip asked to return to Rome three time. Fr Ricci did not follow this advice. What happened in the end to this priest? Are all things lost if we make a mistake?
Last episode we read about one of St Philip's spiritual sons who did not delay in responding to the call of God. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to make us docile and ready to do His will.
Is it important to follow the inspirations of God?
Yes. We read about a very close friend of St Philip's who was traveling away from Rome. He did not want St Philip to die while he was away. One night he became aware that God wanted him to cut his trip short. Would he make it back in time to see St Philip?
We read about St Philip's prediction of his own imminent death. People were convinced that he would live on for years. But he knew he would not. St Philip did not forget his promise to Francesco Zazarra. He called him and told him what his vocation in life was. St Philip shows us that spiritual fatherhood is possible.
We read about the famous night when St Philip received holy viaticum. He was not able to say Mass. His whole community was gathered in his room. When the Holy Eucharist came in the room, St Philip showed a remarkable love for the One he called the Physician of his soul.
We read about the beginning of a very serious illness two weeks before St Philip died. He was given the last rites, confession, anointing of the sick, and holy communion. The Church strengthens us at the end of life like she does at the beginning of the Christian life with baptism, confirmation, and first Communion. Let us pray for a greater love for the sacraments. Let us pray for a holy death.
Could St Philip assist the dying from a distance?
At times. We read tonight about St Philip's awareness that a friend would die. The friend was a doctor. He was barely sick. But St Philip knew that this was what would happen and happen very soon. St Philip promised to assist him. And even though St Philip was far away, he was with him in spirit. But St Philip could also help people by being physically present. He healed the Pope by touching his hand. St Philip knew how to accept what he could not change and what he could.
Last episode we read about St Philip's great zeal for the unity of the Church. During his Mass, St Philip was able to obtain the healing of the Archdeacon of Alexandria who was in Rome to help reconcile his Church with the Holy See. How we should never forget the connection between the Eucharist and the Church. The Eucharist makes the Church. And the Church makes the Eucharist.
Did St Philip have a special zeal for reconciling those raised in heresy to the Church?
Yes. We begin Fr Gallonio"s account of the last year of St Philip"s life. In October of that year, Barsum, the Archdeacon of Alexandria, Egypt came to Rome to be reconciled with the Church. Barsum was raised as a Monophysite Christian, that is, those who confess only one nature in Christ Jesus. This heresy partly arose out of a misunderstanding of the council of Chalcedon. During one of St Philip's long Masses, Barsum was restored to health by being able to sleep. Why is it so fitting that someone be helped to reenter the full unity of the Church through the Mass?
Last episode we read about St Philip seeing various spiritual children go to heaven. He saw their souls in the form of light. How we should ask St Philip to be our spiritual father. How he can still guide people to heaven. St Philip is a master for helping people in the world to seek and to find God. May he help guide each of us to that place of light where he is now with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Did St Philip ever get assurance that his spiritual children were in heaven?
Yes. We read about various visions that God gave to St Philip of the spirits of his deceased spiritual children. St Philip was allowed to know that those he had helped were in heaven. St Philip even used this knowledge to encourage others who were in spiritual danger.
Last episode we read about St Philip's remarkable encounter with the Blessed Virgin Mary a year before he died. God often gives great graces to encourage us. God also tells us things about Our Lady by that grace given to St Philip. Our Lady has a body in heaven. Our Lady has gone before us. There at the wedding banquet of the Lamb she looks down on those in need. Just as she interceded with her son at the wedding at Cana for those in need, so she continues to do so in heaven.
Did the Blessed Virgin Mary ever appear to St Philip?
Yes. We read about what people saw who were with St Philip. No one else saw the Blessed Virgin. But they could tell that St Philip was speaking to her and was hugging her. They also knew from the evidence of what happened next. St Philip went from being on the point of death to being perfectly well.
Last episode we read about St Philip's serious illness a year before he died. We heard about the medical men that were there. We read about the first things that St Philip said to Mary when she appeared to him. St Philip did not think himself worthy. St Philip gives us a lesson about the meaning of the Christmas season. God loves us. He sent his Son to us. His love does not respond in the first place to our goodness. God loves us first.
What kinds of health difficulties did St Philip endure?
Mainly bad fevers. For many years of his life, St Philip suffered for extended periods of high fevers. One year before he died he spent 25 days in a feverish condition. This was followed by a very serious kidney trouble. St Philip was so weakened that everyone thought he was about to die. But then something happened. Someone came to save him. Never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection or sought your intercession was left unaided...
Last episode we read about St Philip's vision of angels after the death of his young penitent Elena Massimi. Elena showed remarkable spiritual maturity. She was very docile to her confessor and very devoted to the Eucharist and the Passion of Christ. Her path to holiness was the path showed by the Magi themselves. The path to Christ consists in following the graces that God gives us. Little by little, the Lord leads us to himself. But we have to follow his inspirations. We have to follow the "star" that he sends us.
Did St Philip have experience directing people who experienced supernatural visions?
Yes. We read about St Philip's young penitent, Elena. She died very young, but rooted her life in the Eucharist and Confession. But she also was given the grace to see saints and angels. St Philip taught her the importance of the love of God.
We read about St Philip handing over the governance of the Oratory to Baronius. St Philip was able to make sure that the Congregation was well run by someone else before he died. Baronius did not think he was capable of this task. But God gave him the grace. God always gives the grace to do what he asks us to do.
Did St Philip ask to resign from being Provost?
Yes. We read about St Philip's decision to resign as the head of the Oratory. We read about his motivations. We read about the efforts to make him change his mind.
Last episode we read about St Philip and prayer. We read about the way the devil tries to get us to stop praying. But there are also temptations from within ourselves and from outside ourselves that seek to keep us from God. We have to pray to want to pray!
Did the devil ever try to stop St Philip from praying?
Yes. We read about a little tactic the devil used to keep St Philip from praying. You might call it a dirty trick! We also read about a young wife who was very sick just after giving birth. Her husband persisted in getting St Philip to visit her. This story helps us see that while the devil tries to hinder prayer, other people can help us get closer to God.
We read about a friend of St Philip with scruples. Scruples are not just doubts or difficulties. Scruples are a spiritual condition that even saints in their early days went through, for example, St Francis de Sales and Bl. Anthony Grassi. Scruples involves seeing evil where there is no evil. A scrupulous person is always afraid that he or she has done something sinful. Scruples will cause a kind of spiritual paralysis. They leave a person without peace. Scruples are a terrible affliction that require, usually, a spiritual father to guide a person through. St Philip was given great graces to help those with scruples. He knew that one of the best remedies is to manifest to others what kinds of thoughts we are having.
When St Philip was sick, did he ever ask some of his penitents to wait until he got better to go to confession?
Yes. We read about a forty day fever that St Philip had. During that time, some of his normal penitents went to other confessors. But there was a group of young men that St Philip asked to wait. He asked them not to confess to another priest, but to be patient. Why would St Philip do this? What lesson can we learn from this on the first day of the year?
We read about St Philip's awareness that death was imminent for certain people. St Philip wanted people to ponder the mystery of death. We know that Christ took upon himself this consequence of original sin and transformed it into the path to his Father in heaven. Let us thank God for any way in which he has helped me appreciate how close our own deaths are.
Does the Pope himself ever baptize people?
Yes. We read about four young men whose uncle, their guardian, became a Christian. The boys were Jewish, but their uncle asked the Oratorians to help educate them. Their eventual baptism took place in a surprising way.
We read about two young women who were sick. One was a nine year old girl with a strange disease on her nose. The other was a consecrated virgin who died suddenly when she was only 21. St Philip was asked by the nine year old girl's mother to help. He did so. When the sister of the consecrated virgin came to St Philip for confession, he told her to go visit her sister at once. No one knew she was even sick. But St Philip wanted her sister to help her at the end. It is true that God often makes his followers to sacrifice being in regular contact with their families. It is true that St Philip himself left his father and mother and gave up having a family of his own to serve the Lord. On the other hand, God called James and John to his service. They were brothers. Peter and Andrew were also brothers. Elizabeth and Mary, Jesus and John the Baptist were relatives. God sometimes calls close relatives to an even higher friendship. What matters in Christ. Our bond with him is primary!
What should one do if seriously tempted to murder?
Go speak to St Philip! On this anniversary of the death of St Stephen, we will read about someone who was planning to murder another person. The potential murdered was actually a priest. He was so set on his plan that he stopped praying his office and saying Mass. But then he had an encounter with St Philip!
We read about a man who was offended, scandalized, by the way St Philip was light hearted. To be scandalized is to be "tripped up" in one's spiritual life. In this case, however, the person should not have been scandalized. He had a very narrow view of what holiness is. He judged St Philip as not being spiritual because he did not conform to his own inexperienced view of the life of grace. St Philip read his soul when he came to confession. He encouraged him to confess all his sins in confession. Come, Holy Spirit, help us be pure in heart to celebrate Christmas!
We read about St Philip's closeness to Pope Gregory XIV and many leading Cardinals. But we saw how magnanimous St Philip was. He was "great (magna) spirited (anima), great-souled." He wanted to do great things for the Lord. He did not consider the favour or men, even Popes, to be truly great. His heart was set on heaven. His heart was set on loving God and living for his glory. Let us pray for the same grace!
Did St Philip ever ask God to allow someone to die?
Yes. So far we have heard about St Philip praying for people who are sick and their getting better. But in this episode we read of a different scenario. There was a woman who was suffering so much that God inspired St Philip to ask for God's mercy. After he prayed, St Philip later had an inspiration. He went back to the woman. And he asked God to allow her soul to leave her body.
Last episode we read about two different priests who were suffering. We read about St Philip's gift of prophecy and healing. These are charismatic graces that are meant for the common good of the Church and to bring people into a living relationship with God. There are special charismatic graces for helping to persuade people of the faith (word of wisdom, word of knowledge, word of faith). There are special charismatic graces for confirming the proclamation of the Gospel (prophecy, miracles, healing, discernment of spirits). And there are charismatic graces for being able to clearly express the faith (tongues, and interpretation of tongues). St Paul mentions these in 1 Corinthians 12. These gifts of the Spirit help the Church to spread faith in Christ. We need to ask God to give his Church these graces. But what are all these gifts without being a friend of God by charity?
Do priests all get treated in the same way by the Lord?
No. We read about two sick priests. One of them was very sick. The doctors had given up on him. The other was not very sick at all and the doctors did not even suspect that his illness was fatal. St Philip was going to visit both. But he made a prediction that surprised everyone. He said that the very sick priest would recover and the barely sick priest would die. His prophecy came true. God's ways are not always our ways. God does not promise his priests that they will avoid sudden deaths. No two souls are led to God in exactly the same way.
Last episode we read about another priest, an Oratorian, a very hard working priest. God allowed him to know the date of his death. Such graces are given through prayer to some. But when Fr Gigli was getting close to death the devil tried to trick him. St Philip became aware and not only prayed for him, but offered Mass for him. During that Mass, the assaults of the devil were dramatically overcome. Great graces and demonic attacks can go hand in hand. Whenever he received a special favour in prayer, a special consolation, St Philip began praying for protection. He knew that some cross was just around the corner.
Are priests who are faithful to their vocation free from attacks from the devil?
No. We read about one of the most faithful of St Philip's original Oratorian priests, Fr Niccolo Gigli. The Lord even let him know the day of his death. But as that day approached, the devil tried various tactics to discourage and dishearten Fr Gigli. St Philip went to pray for him during Mass. While he prayed, loud noises were heard as if boulders were being thrown around. The various Fathers who heard all these things were able to piece together that those sounds were connected with a massive victory over satan in the life of Fr Gigli. We do not know the details of the story. But what we know is this: prayers and the Mass are crucial to our salvation.
Last episode we read about the reaction of the doctors to Manzoli's recovery. We read about Manzoli's own reaction. God willed that Manzoli not die before St Philip. But we know that God therefore allowed Manzoli to witness St Philip's death and to live without him. God knows what is best for each of us. He may take away our loved ones and friends. He may throw us among strangers. Still, in the words of St John Henry, "He knows what he is about."
Did the seeming death of Giovanni Manzoli cause confusion?
Yes. We read about some of the events that occurred while Manzoli was "dying." We read about a whole chain of conversations and communications. People were telling other people that Manzoli had died. Rumours were spreading. But then against all those rumours, St Philip was saying the opposite! Now people were really confused. The whole scene reminds one of the Resurrection accounts in the Gospels!
Last episode we read about just how close Manzoli was to dying. All his doctors and family thought he was dying. People in the room even thought he had died, so quiet and unresponsive was Manzoli. The priest in the room took the word of his family. But, years before, St Philip had been told by God that Manzoli would outlive him. St Philip had told this to Manzoli himself. And so, when words reached St Philip about how imminent death was, St Philip went before the Lord to remind him of his promise. He spent the whole night in prayer. God did as He said, but through the prayers of St Philip. God wills to do certain things precisely through our prayers, our instrumentality.
Yes. We hear about what St Philip did one night in June in the year 1591. A friend of his was very close to death. Everyone thought in fact he had died. But St Philip prayed all night. The Lord himself also prayed all night sometimes. The Lord who loves when we pray heard the prayers of St Philip.
Did St Philip face any opposition in his last years?
Yes. St Philip had a penitent who was very sick. He would visit her everyday and hear her confession and possibly bring her communion. This lady, Lavinia delta Rovere Orsini, was very wealthy. Her pugnacious nephew, Giulio Cesare Colonna, was convinced that St Philip only visited her to be made the heir of her fortune. Giulio was one of the great military families of Rome. And he threatened St Philip and told him to stop visiting. Even St Philip's friends begged him to stop lest he be hurt or even killed. But St Philip went on as he always did. He knew what he was doing was good for Lavinia. He knew he did not want one dime from her. He knew that if he got killed, it would be a blessing!
We read about the beginning of those remarkable Masses that St Philip said in the last years of his life. From the beginning of his priesthood, St Philip had incredible devotion at Mass. The Holy Spirit filled him with spiritual awareness of the depths and power of the Mass. But in the final years of his life, the Holy Spirit seems to have led him even farther into the mystery of the Mass and the mystery of the Mystical Body, the Church. As the time for Holy Communion approached, St Philip would get lost in prayer for 2 hours. The servers eventually got permission to leave and come back later to finish the Mass! And so the Pope gave him permission to have a chapel built next to his bedroom, lest these Masses cause a stir or disruption in the church. Only in heaven will we know what passed in those times of prayer between St Philip and the Lord. Perhaps, like Our Lord himself, St Philip was made aware of all those who would be drawn to heaven through his priesthood. Perhaps he prayed for you and me!
Did St Philip help people not only with physical afflictions but also mental afflictions?
Yes. We will read about how St Philip helped a lady with great anxiety and depression. In a miraculous way, he healed her for the rest of her life. We will also read about how he helped a man with scruples. Scruples is a spiritual affliction that makes us see evil where there is no evil. Scruples makes us very worried about how everything we do is a sin. If St Philip helped people in his own day, he can continue to help people today!
We read about a woman who had some great plans in mind for doing good. But she did not tell anyone. Possibly, she was ashamed of them. Possibly she was afraid of what people would think. She did not want to claim her own desires before others. One day, St Philip surprised her by telling her what she had in mind. How we need to open our hearts to a spiritual friend, both about our struggles and our holy desires.
We read about how St Philip could help people by the touch of his hand. He would bless people on the forehead. This great wisdom of the Church, this wisdom that touch and the senses and human contact matters, has recently been emphasized by those who give therapy to victims of trauma. We are a body and soul unity. Trauma and difficult sadnesses can be helped by the right use of our bodies.
Did St Philip have any unusual saints as friends?
Yes. We will read about what Fr Robinson used to call "closed circuit television" conversations between St Philip and St Catherine de Ricci. We know that they never met in this life; but when she died, St Philip told people all about her. He knew what she looked like. St Philip reminds us of our connection across time and space in the communion of saints, the Church. God has united us to each other as parts of a body are united. Let us not try to live as an island, cut off from each other.
Last episode we read about the procession to the Chiesa Nuova with the relics of St Papias and St. Maurus. Lay people, priests, Cardinals, musicians, servers, artists and many others took part. The Church has great need of many different types of people. What draws us together is Christ and the search for holiness. The really great thing in this world is a saint. A saint takes God seriously and himself or herself not that seriously.
Did St Philip know many of the most powerful people in the Church?
Yes. We will read about the procession of the relics of Saints Papias and Maurus to the new Oratorian church. Gallonio tells us about all the high ranking prelates who were there. We see how much Rome and its leadership had changed since St Philip began his work.
We read about the decision of a Cardinal to give the Oratorians the bodies of early martyrs whose relics had recently been re-discovered. The Cardinal knew this would be welcomed by St Philip. Let us ask for the grace to want to do good to others.
We read about a lay brother who fell from a great height in the church of the Oratorians. He was hanging things for Christmas. Despite the skull fracture, the brother got better without any kind of surgery. The doctors all thought he would die. But they disagreed about how to treat the brother. Good people do not always agree on things. The Church needs many different kinds of people. The Oratory itself needs lay brothers and priests. In the end, this beloved son of St Philip persevered in his vocation to pray, to help with the daily preaching, and the reception of the sacraments.
Did St Philip ever do drastic things to get people's attention?
Yes. We will read about some very drastic, almost violent things St Philip did when he was saving a young girl's life. She was in a coma. God sometimes does drastic things to get our attention too!
Did St Philip celebrate Advent?
Yes. Gallonio speaks of it as the "holy season of Advent." During this season, St Philip performed a mighty miracle. A miracle that combines both words and physical touch. St Philip even pressed a person's hand very strongly before the healing took place. May the Lord convince us that the Word has become flesh. Let us put our trust in Him.
We read about St Philip talking to a woman who was pregnant. She wanted St Philip to baptize the child when it was born. But St Philip knew the child was dead. He had the spirit of prophecy. St Philip had an ability to break very difficult news to people.
We read about St Philip's great interest in helping a man in danger of falling into a sexual sin. St Philip truly cared about people. He even ran the risk of revealing his spiritual gifts in order to help this person. No one knew what was happening. The man never told anyone. St Philip's knowledge of the situation could only come from God.
Did the Fathers of the Oratory ever want another superior than St Philip?
No. We will hear how they basically forced him to accept being the Provost, the Superior, the Father of the Oratory for life. Normally this position lasts three years. St Philip yielded to their wishes, despite his own desires for seclusion and solitude.
We read about St Philip's ability to read a person's soul who had been hiding a very serious sin in confession for a long time. St Philip was not his confessor. The young man had other confessors. But St Philip could tell that something was wrong. Thankfully the young man listened to St Philip and made a confession of his whole life. The truth will set us free!
Last episode we read about how a linen cloth with St Philip's blood healed people even when he was alive. This reminds us of St Peter, the first Apostle of Rome, healing people through his handkerchief in Acts 5. St Philip also was able to know what was troubling a man despite his never having told anyone. When St Philip revealed the issue, the man was amazed and relieved. Finally Philip was able to give a very sick man hope and healing. Take courage, he told him! Each of us needs support. Each of us needs others who can understand us and encourage us. Advent is a time for praying for the virtue of hope!
Did second class relics of St Philip ever work miracles during St Philip's life time?
Yes. We will read about a person who was healed by touching a piece of linen with St Philip's blood on it to the infected part. Why would God work such a miracle? He wanted to convince people that St Philip was a man of God. He wanted to convince people that the Church still possessed holiness.
Last episode we read about how the Oratory spread to other cities in Italy and even to France and Sicily. But the Oratory was very unlike all the other Congregations that had been founded for priests. There was no centralization. Each house, except for a few and for a short time, was independent. They were founded on the Roman model. They were founded with the spirit of St Philip. But each is its own family. A man joins one house, one Oratory, and stays there his whole life. Thus, we try to imitate St Philip who lived in Rome for sixty years.
Did the Oratory spread in only one way?
No. There were several different ways that Oratorians set up new houses in Italy and other parts of the world. But what is interesting is that each house (with a few exceptions) were independent of each other. Each house, each community of Oratorians, is meant to be a small family.
Last episode we read about St Philip and the establishment of the Oratorians in Naples. The way Gallonio discusses this somewhat difficult period of Oratorian history suggests that he is of quite a sanguine temperament. It is possible to see in other Oratorians examples of the other three classic temperaments: Bl Juvenal Ancina (phlegmatic), Baronius (melancholic), and Tarugi (choleric). Temperaments are not bad or good in themselves. They are the basic way we emotionally react to things. All the temperaments have potential down sides and potential upsides. Every temperament has saints! May the Lord help us to become the saints we are meant to be.
Did the Oratory spread to other cities?
Yes, and we will read about how it spread to Naples. God used the sickness of one of the Fathers to open up a new door for St Philip. Through this new opportunity, many new vocations joined.
Last episode we read about St Philip's offer to hear the confession of a dying twelve year old boy. St Philip not only healed his body of the deadly disease, he was also the sacramental instrument in removing the spiritual disease of sin. We talked last night about the importance of confession. We cannot be afraid of doing good. Yes, we may fall. Yes, we may make mistakes. But the Lord is there to raise us up in confession.
What is more important: healing the soul or the body?
The soul. We will read about St Philip healing a young man in body and soul. Like Our Lord, St Philip's bodily healings were a sign of a more important healing, the healing of our souls from sin.
We read about St Philip's great favour with Popes and Cardinals. He was considered by those in charge of the Church to be a man of God. All people, even those who shepherd the Church, need spiritual fathers and confessors.
We read about a young fourteen year old boy who was dying of a terrible fever. For 17 days he had nothing to eat. People were amazed that he was still alive. St Philip was summoned. As he realized that God had heard their prayer, he even joked with his mother. The boy gradually got better. The Lord does not always change situations all at once. He sometimes does his works slowly.
Did the devil ever directly try to assault St Philip?
Yes. We will read about how the devil seems to have appeared to St Philip as though St Philip were actually possessed by the devil. The devil tried to simulate what he sometimes does with possessed people. But St Philip passed through these intense trials too.
We read about St Philip's remarkable freedom of soul in dealing with the most difficult situations of chastity and human embarrassment. St Philip was gifted with remarkable chastity. He was given the true heart of a spiritual father.
Last episode we read about another rather humorous episode in St Philip's life. A woman woke up feeling as though she were being slapped in the face by St Philip. He was telling her what a disgrace it was that she was not letting go of a family feud. By this strange grace, the woman was helped to let go of her anger.
Did those who were miraculously healed always become saints immediately?
No. We will read about Constanza de'Crescenzi's inability to forgive someone. She was one of the ladies that we read about earlier. In 1574, after losing a baby, she was very sick (ch 106. St Philip visited her and told her to be of good cheer. She got better. Six years later, in 1580, she was eight months pregnant and dying of a high fever (ch 120). Once again, St Philip came and healed her. In this episode's reading, Constanza has a different kind of fever, the fever of anger. She will not let a feud die. She keeps nourishing it. In the middle of this sinful attitude, she woke up one night with someone slapping her face. What a disgrace, she seemed to hear St Philip say, keeping up this resentment. St Philip was far away at the time. This strange experience slapped some sense into Constanza!
Last episode we heard about St Philip's big move to the "Vallicella." The Vallicella is the sort name for the church given by Pope Gregory XIII to the Oratorians. The church was called Santa Maria in Vallicella, St Mary in the Little Valley. The church the Oratorians built on the sight, the new Santa Maria got its own nickname, the Chiesa Nuova, the new Church. St Philip finally moved there in November 1583. Why did it take St Philip so long to move? St Philip seems to have been very docile to the Holy Spirit. It seems that he never had a clear command of the Holy Spirit to move. Having been accused in the past of setting himself up as a leader of a sect, he was hesitant to insert himself into the new community life that was going so well without him being there. Even when he moved to the Vallicella, he kept a very humble profile.
What made St Philip move to the the Chiesa Nuova?
The Pope. After living at the same church in Rome, San Girolamo (St Jerome's), since his ordination to the priesthood in 1551, St Philip was commanded by the Pope to move to the house and church where his Oratorians had been living since 1575. We will read about St Philip's humble submission to the Pope and his way of life amidst his sons.
Last episode we read about St Philip's prayers for the dead Paolo Massimo. We read about the 14 year old boy came back to life for about half an hour. According to some accounts, the boy wanted to go to confession. His conversation with St Philip focused on heaven and the glory of heaven. The boy was filled with a desire to be with God, the Best and the Greatest. May we too be filled with faith and hope in the greatness of the Lord.
Did St Philip ever raise someone from the dead?
Yes and no. St Philip would probably say that he never raised anyone from the dead. God raised Paolo Massimo from the dead. But St Philip was the instrument by which this remarkable event took place on 16 March 1583. The Massimo Family still lives in a part of their ancient house. The room where the miracle took place is still in use as a chapel. On March 16, Masses are said all day on the three altars built in Paolo's old room.
Last episode we read about a difference of opinion between St Philip and the other Oratorians regarding the purchasing of a house. The Fathers needed more space. There was a convent next door that they could possibly buy. Convinced that they had no choice, they tried to proceed with the purchase. St Philip, however, thought the idea was based on too much human prudence. There were some other possibilities still about how they would acquire the property. In the end, St Philip was right. Someone else bought the property for the Fathers.
We read about some of the most generous benefactors to the new church and house of the Oratorians. In particular there was interest in building not only the high altar where Mass was celebrated, but also the front of the Church and the back of the church, the apse, where the sanctuary is and the Mass is especially offered. The church itself is holy and is a symbol of the Church of God gathered in that place. The church building and its entrance should remind us of the fact that we are crossing over into a new time and space at Mass. We share in the worship of heaven at Mass. We enter a new time of the liturgy, the time of heaven. While still in this world, we are taken back to the Cross, the empty tomb, and the Ascension. We also are given a share in the life of the saints in heaven as they worship the Lamb of God.
Where did St Philip get the money for this magnificent church and house?
From generous people, especially two brothers. People saw the work that St Philip and his spiritual sons were doing and they wanted to help. Some helped to build the church. Some helped to build the house for the Oratorians. Some helped pay for chapels in the church. Others helped pay for the high altar. St Philip did not have just one major benefactor. Many people gave as they could.
Last episode, we read about two men who were both dying. One was older and St Philip helped him die a holy death. The other was younger and was being attended by his own father who was a physician. This man was saved and lived for twelve more years. Our health and our being healed is often tied up with a much greater plan of the Lord. He knows what is best for our salvation and the salvation of others.
Why did St Philip heal some people and not others?
It is a mystery! St Philip used to say that he knew nothing of miracles. In other words, God alone works the miracles. Philip was his instrument. But St Philip himself did not know why God used him for healing and not others. Nevertheless, St Philip seems to indicate that it is tied up with God"s providence. He knows what is truly best for our salvation, our eternal salvation.
Last episode, we read about a young Oratorian who left the Congregation after returning home to visit his family. The young man was not honest with himself or St Philip. He used his need for a change of air as an excuse. He basically forced St Philip to give him permission. Let us not imitate this young man. Let us humbly and straightforwardly seek to be obedient to our spiritual fathers. Let us put before them our desires and wishes. But let us always be willing to surrender our will to the wisdom of God made known to us through his representatives.
Did St Philip ever foresee that someone would leave the Congregation?
Yes! We read about a young man who went back home to visit his family without St Philip's true blessing. St Philip knew that his vocation to the Oratory was not very firm. He was afraid of the influence his family would have over him. The young man went anyway and did not return. Our Lord warned us that the kingdom of God does not consist in flesh and blood. Sometimes He asks us to make hard decisions.
We read about the invisible help that St Philip gave to a very sick woman. She did not see him until dawn. But he assured her that he had been supporting her all through the night. The Lord gives some saints this gift of being in two places at once (either in body or in spirit) to show us the power of the Lord's own presence. The Lord himself stands at our side to give us strength.
We read about the unique power of St Philip's own heart to dispel temptations to unchastity. Thirty years earlier, St Philip had received that unique grace of seeing the Holy Spirit as a ball of fire enter into his mouth and lodge in his heart. God gave St Philip the special ability to help people drive away very difficult temptations. The point is that we need the Holy Spirit to be saved. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are necessary for our salvation. The devil is too cunning and our fallen human nature is so weak that the Holy Spirit must directly intervene at times.
We read about one particularly difficult temptation that a man was facing regarding a teenager who had to stay with him. The man was doing all he could for the boy, but he experienced very strong feelings of attraction. He could not understand why this was happening when St Philip himself had asked him to help this young man. In the midst of his trials, St Philip appeared and blessed him and the feelings disappeared. The heart of fallen man is an abyss. Who can understand it at times? Only by the grace of the Lord and the help of spiritual friends can we avoid sin. Temptations, unwanted desires, these are not sins. May the Lord keep us from sin. May our strange desires keep us humble and prayerful and vigilant.
We read about St Philip's power to encourage people in times of distress. Various people overcame huge obstacles by remembering his words: be of good heart. Others were delivered from their difficulties at the very moment St Philip spoke to them. Such stories should encourage us to go on. We all need to be encouraged. We all need, above all, the encouragement of the Eucharist!
We read about the solemn opening of the new church, the Chiesa Nuova, in Rome. The pope encouraged many people to go there on the day the Oratorians finally opened their church. Let us pray that St Philip's sons will always help people to pray through reverent liturgies and heavenly sacred music.
We read about St Philip being unable to sleep during an illness. He begged that Holy Communion be brought to him. Fr Tarugi did not want this to be done. He thought St Philip would be even more unable to sleep. Even saints need proper and sufficient sleep. Our Lord himself slept. But in the end St Philip knew what he was talking about. Our Lord can help us get the rest we need. Let us ask him to show us when to sleep and when to rise.