St. Philip Neri, Newman's Patron

Today is the feast of St. Philip Neri, Blessed John Henry Newman's patron and model as an Oratorian. His feast this year comes soon after Pentecost and Trinity Sunday. This homily describes the "personal Pentecost" that Philip Neri experienced and its effects:

To depict this special quality that people experienced in their contact with him, St Philip is often described in art, poetry and prayers as having a heart of fire. But this is not merely a metaphor. During his lifetime many people noticed that he seemed always to be warm; he was often flushed, and would walk around with his cassock unbuttoned at the chest, even in the middle of winter. Not only that, but several of his disciples reported that his heart used to beat violently when he prayed or preached, sometimes enough to shake the bench on which he was sitting. Some people could hear his heart beating across the room, and others experienced unspeakable peace and joy when he embraced them and held their heads to his breast. Typically of St Philip, although so many people witnessed this incredible warmth and palpitation of his heart, no one knew where it came from, until St Philip was on his deathbed. There he told one of his favourite disciples, Father Pietro Consolini, who waited until he himself lay dying, early in 1643, before he revealed the secret of St Philip’s personal Pentecost.

Over a period of about ten years, while St Philip was in his twenties and still a layman, he used to spend many nights in prayer, either on the porticos of Roman churches, or in the catacombs, the underground burial places of the martyrs outside the walls of the City. On the vigil of Pentecost in 1544, St Philip was praying in the Catacombs of Saint Sebastian, on the Via Appia, as he had done many times, and asking God to give him the Holy Spirit. As the night passed, St Philip was suddenly filled with great joy, and had a vision of the Holy Spirit, who appeared to him as a ball of fire. This fire entered into St Philip’s mouth, and descended to his heart, causing it to expand to twice its normal size, and breaking two of his ribs in the process. He said that it filled his whole body with such joy and consolation that he finally had to throw himself on the ground and cry out, “No more, Lord! No more!”

This mystical experience was a defining moment in St Philip’s life. But he did not make much of its extraordinary nature, and he would not want us to do so either. “As for those who run after visions,” he would say, “we must lay hold of them by the feet and pull them to the ground by force, lest they should fall into the devil’s net.” Rather, its importance lay in the fact that, from that moment on, St Philip was convinced and constantly aware of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in him and through him. This mystical experience of the Spirit gave him great confidence in living his vocation, and carrying out what he saw to be his special mission. He was sure that he had received the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and this assurance set him free to bear the Spirit’s fruits.

Therefore, Blessed John Henry Newman called his patron a “vessel of the Holy Spirit” and the homily goes on to use commentary from Newman and others to highlight the gifts of the Holy Spirit in St. Philip Neri's life. Read the rest there.

St. Philip Neri, pray for us! Blessed John Henry Newman, pray for us!

New Oratorian Saint: Joseph Vaz

Reading St. Joseph Vaz's story after Pope Francis canonized him during his visit to Sri Lanka, I could not help but note the similarity of his covert mission to that of the English missionary priests of the sixteenth century. The Oxford Oratory has this biography of him, noting that he, like Blessed John Henry Newman, was the founder of the Oratory movement in his native country, India, and St. Joseph Vaz was inspired by St. Philip Neri:

St Philip’s missionary zeal was not lost on Joseph, who became increasingly concerned with the plight of the Church on the island of Ceylon. No priest had been able to minister there for fifty years, because of restrictions imposed by the Dutch rulers of the island, who proscribed Catholicism, and spared no efforts in trying to draw Catholics away from their faith. Joseph felt that something must be done, and so he set off on foot with only two companions, first, for the south of India and then, if God willed, Ceylon. It seemed madness: the distance, the lack of means, his ignorance of the languages, the danger of trying to evade the Dutch blockade. But no-one could dissuade him, and in 1686 he landed at Jaffna, on the coast of Ceylon.

But difficulties he had encountered on the journey took their toll: he fell gravely ill, and was abandoned by one of his two companions. In time he recovered, and began trying to establish contact with those Catholics who lived hidden in the area of Jaffna. Eventually he was able to discover a few, and these first discoveries soon led to more. So in spite of the ever-present danger of arrest and death, there began a regular apostolate of reconciling those who had fallen away from their faith, encouraging and ministering to the faithful, and gaining converts. Going about his duties dressed as a beggar, keeping his needs to the barest minimum, for nine years Joseph travelled around the island, engaged in his missionary work. Often the Dutch were hot on his trail but he repeatedly evaded them, enhancing his reputation as one under the special protection of divine providence.

His underground ministry, in disguise and on the run has many other parallels, including 20th century Mexico, etc. As Pope Francis said in his homily at the canonization Mass:

Blessed Vaz, said the Holy Father in his homily, “like countless other missionaries in the history of the Church … responded to the Risen Lord’s command to make disciples of every nation. By his words, but more importantly, by the example of his life, he led the people of this country to the faith which gives us 'an inheritance among all God’s holy ones'. In St Joseph we see a powerful sign of God’s goodness and love for the people of Sri Lanka. But we also see in him a challenge to persevere in the paths of the Gospel, to grow in holiness ourselves, and to testify to the Gospel message of reconciliation to which he dedicated his life”.

“St Joseph Vaz continues to be an example and a teacher for many reasons, but I would like to focus on three”, he continued. “First, he was an exemplary priest. Here today with us are many priests and religious, both men and women, who, like Joseph Vaz, are consecrated to the service of God and neighbour. I encourage each of you to look to St Joseph as a sure guide. He teaches us how to go out to the peripheries, to make Jesus Christ everywhere known and loved. He is also an example of patient suffering in the cause of the Gospel, of obedience to our superiors, of loving care for the Church of God.

Like ourselves, St Joseph Vaz lived in a period of rapid and profound transformation; Catholics were a minority, and often divided within; there was occasional hostility, even persecution, from without. And yet, because he was constantly united with the crucified Lord in prayer, he could become for all people a living icon of God’s mercy and reconciling love”.

St. Joseph Vaz, pray for us!