Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 05-26-04, Memorial, St. Philip Neri

From: Acts 20:28-38

Speech of Farewell to the Elders of Ephesus (Continuation)

(Paul said to the elders of the church,) [28] "Take heed to yourselves
and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you guardians,
to feed the church of the Lord which he obtained with his own blood.
[29] I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among
you, not sparing the flock; [30] and from among your own selves will
arise men speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after
them. [31] Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did
not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. [32] And now
I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to
build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are
sanctified. [33] I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel.
[34] You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities,
and to those who were with me. [35] In all things I have shown you that
by so toiling one must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord
Jesus, how he said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

[36] And when he had spoken thus, he knelt down and prayed with them
all. [37] And they all wept and embraced Paul and kissed him,
[38] sorrowing most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they
should see his face no more. And they brought him to the ship.

Commentary:

28. Using a metaphor often found in the New Testament to describe the
people of God (Ps 100:3; Is 40:11; Jer 13:17), Paul describes the
Church as a flock and its guardians or bishops ("episcopos") as
shepherds. "The Church is a sheepfold, the sole and necessary gateway
to which is Christ (Jn 10:1-10). It is also a flock, of which God
foretold that he would himself be the shepherd (cf. Is 40:11; Ex
34:11f), and whose sheep, although watched over by human shepherds, are
nevertheless at all times led and brought to pasture by Christ himself,
the Good Shepherd and prince of shepherds (cf. Jn 10:11; l Pet 5:4),
who gave his life for his sheep (cf. Jn 10:11-16)" (Vatican II, "Lumen
Gentium", 6).

In the early days of the Church the terms "priest" and "bishop" had not
yet become defined: they both refer to sacred ministers who have
received the sacrament of priestly Order.

The last part of the verse refers to Christ's sacrifice: through his
redeeming action, the Church has become God's special property. The
price of Redemption was the blood of Christ. Paul VI says that Christ,
the Lamb of God, took to "himself the sins of the world, and he died
for us, nailed to the Cross, saving us by his redeeming blood" ("Creed
of the People of God", 12).

The Council of Trent speaks of this when it presents the Redemption as
an act of "his beloved Only-begotten, our Lord Jesus Christ,
who...merited justification for us by his most holy Passion on the wood
of the Cross and made satisfaction for us to God the Father" ("De
Iustificatione", 7).

30. Errors derive not only from outsiders: they are also the product of
members of the Church who abuse their position as brethren and even as
pastors, leading the people astray by taking advantage of their good
will. "It is of this that John writes, 'They went out from us, but they
were not of us' [1 Jn 2:19]" (St Bede, "Super Act Expositio, ad loc".).

31. "Here he shows that he actually taught them and did not proclaim
the teaching once only, just to ease his conscience" (Chrysostom, "Hom.
on Acts", 44). Paul did not avoid the pastoral work which fell to him;
he set an example of what a bishop should be. "Those who rule the
community must perform worthily the tasks of government. [...] There
is a danger that some who concern themselves with others and guide them
towards eternal life may ruin themselves without realizing it. Those
who are in charge must work harder than others, must be humbler than
those under them, must in their own lives give an example of service,
and must regard their subjects as a deposit which God has given them in
trust" (St Gregory of Nyssa, "De Instituto Christiano").

32. "It is not right for Christians to give such importance to human
action that they think all the laurels depend on their efforts: their
expectation of reward should be subject to the will of God" ("ibid".).

33-35. "The teachings of the Apostle of the Gentiles [...] have key
importance for the morality and spirituality of human work. They are an
important complement to the great though discreet gospel of work that
we find in the life and parables of Christ, in what Jesus 'did and
taught' " (John Paul II, "Laborem Exercens", 26).

This saying of our Lord (v. 35) is not recorded in the Gospels.

36. For Christians every situation is suitable for prayer: "The
Christian prays everywhere", Clement of Alexandria writes, "and in
every situation, whether it be when taking a walk or in the company of
friends, or while he is resting, or at the start of some spiritual
work. And when he reflects in the interior of his soul and invokes the
Father with unspeakable groanings" ("Stromata", VII, 7).

37. They kiss Paul to show their affection for him and how moved they
are. This is not the liturgical "kiss of peace". In the East kisses are
a common expression of friendship and good manners like handshaking in
the West.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: John 17:11b-19

The Priestly Prayer of Jesus (Continuation)

(Jesus lifted his eyes to heaven and said, ) [11b] "Holy Father, keep them in
thy name, which thou has given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.
[12] While I was with them, I kept them in thy name, which thou hast given
me; I have guarded them, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition,
that the scripture might be fulfilled. [13] But now I am coming to thee;
and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled
in themselves. [14] I have given them thy word; and the world has hated them
because they are not of the world. [15] I do not pray that thou shouldst
take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil
one. [16] They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. [17]
Sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth. [18] As thou didst send me
into the world, so I have sent them into the world. [19] And for their sake
I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth.

Commentary:

11-19. Jesus now asks the Father to give his disciples four
things--unity, perseverance, joy and holiness. By praying him to keep
them in his name (v. 11) he is asking for their perseverance in the
teaching he has given them (cf. v. 6) and in communion with him. An
immediate consequence of this perseverance is unity: "that they may be
one, even as we are one"; this unity which he asks for his disciples is
a reflection of the unity of the three divine Persons.

He also prays that none of them should be lost, that the Father should
guard and protect them, just as he himself protected them while he was
still with them. Thirdly, as a result of their union with God and
perseverance they will share in the joy of Christ (v. 13): in this
life, the more we know God and the more closely we are joined to him,
the happier will we be; in eternal life our joy will be complete,
because our knowledge and love of God will have reached its climax.

Finally, he prays for those who, though living in the world, are not of
the world, that they may be truly holy and carry out the mission he has
entrusted to them, just as he did the work his Father gave him to do.

12. "That the scripture might be fulfilled": this is an allusion to
what he said to the Apostles a little earlier (Jn 13:18) by directly
quoting Scripture: "He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me"
(Ps 41:10). Jesus makes these references to Judas' treachery in order
to strengthen the Apostles' faith by showing that he knew everything in
advance and that the Scriptures had already foretold what would happen.

However, Judas went astray through his own fault and not because God
arranged things that way; his treachery had been taking shape little by
little, through his petty infidelities, and despite our Lord helping
him to repent and get back on the right rode (cf. note on Jn 13:21-32);
Judas did not respond to this grace and was responsible for his own
downfall. God, who sees the future, predicted the treachery of Judas
in the Scripture; Christ, being God, knew that Judas would betray him
and it is with immense sorrow that he now tells the Apostles.

14-16. In Sacred Scripture "world" has a number of meanings. First, it
means the whole of creation (Gen 1:1ff) and, within creation, mankind,
which God loves most tenderly (Prov 8:31). This is the meaning
intended here when our Lord says, "I do not pray that thou shouldst
take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the
evil one" (v. 15). "I have taught this constantly using words from
holy Scripture. The world is not evil, because it has come from God's
hands, because it is his creation, because Yahweh looked upon it and
saw that it was good (cf. Gen 1:7ff). We ourselves, mankind, make it
evil and ugly with our sins and infidelities. Have no doubt: any kind
of evasion from the honest realities of daily life is for you, men and
women of the world, something opposed to the will of God" ([St] J. Escriva,
"Conversations", 114).

In the second place, "world" refers to the things of this world, which
do not last and which can be at odds with the things of the spirit (cf.
Mt 16:26).

Finally, because evil men have been enslaved by sin and by the devil,
"the ruler of the world" (Jn 12:31; 16:11), the "world" sometimes
means God's enemy, something opposed to Christ and his followers (Jn
1:10). In this sense the "world" is evil, and therefore Jesus is not
of the world, nor are his disciples (v. 16). It is also this
pejorative meaning which is used by traditional teaching which
describes the world, the flesh and the devil as enemies of the soul
against which one has to be forever vigilant. "The world, the flesh
and the devil are a band of adventurers who take advantage of the
weakness of that savage you bear within you, and want you to hand over
to them, in exchange for the glittering tinsel of a pleasure--which is
worth nothing--the pure gold and the pearls and the diamonds and rubies
drenched in the life-blood of your God-Redeemer, which are the price
and the treasure of your eternity" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 708).

17-19. Jesus prays for the holiness of his disciples. God alone is the
Holy One; in his holiness people and things share. "Sanctifying" has
to do with consecrating and dedicating something to God, excluding it
from being used for profane purposes; thus God says to Jeremiah:
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I
consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations" (Jer 1:5).
If something is to be consecrated to God it must be perfect, that is,
holy. Hence, a consecrated person needs to have moral sanctity, needs
to be practising the moral virtues. Our Lord here asks for both things
for his disciples, because they need them if they are to fulfill their
supernatural mission in the world.

"For their sake I consecrate myself": these words mean that Jesus
Christ, who has been burdened with the sins of men, consecrates himself
to the Father through his sacrifice on the Cross. By this are all
Christians sanctified: "So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in
order to sanctify the people through his own blood" (Heb 13:12). So,
after Christ's death, men have been made sons of God by Baptism,
sharers in the divine nature and enabled to attain the holiness to
which they have been called (cf. Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 40).

American Cathlic's Saint of the Day

May 26, 2004

St. Philip Neri

(1515-1595)

Philip Neri was a sign of contradiction, combining popularity with piety against the background of a corrupt Rome and a disinterested clergy, the whole post-Renaissance malaise.

At an early age, he abandoned the chance to become a businessman, moved to Rome from Florence and devoted his life and individuality to God. After three years of philosophy and theology studies, he gave up any thought of ordination. The next 13 years were spent in a vocation unusual at the time—that of a layperson actively engaged in prayer and the apostolate.

As the Council of Trent was reforming the Church on a doctrinal level, Philip’s appealing personality was winning him friends from all levels of society, from beggars to cardinals. He rapidly gathered around himself a group of laypersons won over by his audacious spirituality. Initially they met as an informal prayer and discussion group, and also served poor people in Rome.

At the urging of his confessor, he was ordained priest and soon became an outstanding confessor, gifted with the knack of piercing the pretenses and illusions of others, though always in a charitable manner and often with a joke. He arranged talks, discussions and prayers for his penitents in a room above the church. He sometimes led “excursions” to other churches, often with music and a picnic on the way.

Some of his followers became priests and lived together in community. This was the beginning of the Oratory, the religious institute he founded. A feature of their life was a daily afternoon service of four informal talks, with vernacular hymns and prayers. Giovanni Palestrina was one of Philip’s followers, and composed music for the services.

The Oratory was finally approved after suffering through a period of accusations of being an assembly of heretics, where laypersons preached and sang vernacular hymns! (Cardinal Newman founded the first English-speaking house of the Oratory.)

Philip’s advice was sought by many of the prominent figures of his day. He is one of the influential figures of the Counter-Reformation, mainly for converting to personal holiness many of the influential people within the Church itself. His characteristic virtues were humility and gaiety.

Comment:

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

Quote:

Philip Neri prayed, "Let me get through today, and I shall not fear tomorrow."

Wednesday May 26, 2004 Seventh Week of Easter

Reading (Acts 20:28-38) Gospel (St. John 17:11b-19)

Recall yesterday that as Jesus began His high priestly prayer, which is the very last thing at the Last Supper that He was doing before He went out to the garden to suffer and prepare Himself for His crucifixion, He said specifically that He did not pray for the world; and it is very evident why, because the world has been turned over to Satan. Jesus Himself even called Satan “the prince of this world”. So this world (that is, the evil in the world, the whole thing that is not Christian) has been turned over to the devil. And when Our Lord tells us that He has given us His word and people have hated us because of His word, it is because the devil is the one who is going to incite people against the truth. Yet, at the same time, He tells us we have been consecrated in truth because the Word of God is truth. The Second Person of the Trinity, the Person of Jesus Christ is the Word of God, the Word spoken by God through the prophets, through the evangelists, and through the various individuals who have written the Word of God in Scripture, divinely inspired as they were. All of these points are truth. And, as we know, the truth that is contained in Sacred Scripture – the truth Who is the Person of Jesus Christ – goes completely contrary to the ways of the world. They do not accept the truth because they have chosen falsehood; they have chosen darkness instead of light. Therefore, the way things operate is that when you bring the light into the darkness they have to try to destroy the light. They have two choices. They can either accept the light, rejoice in it, and convert; or they will destroy the light because they have chosen darkness. But again, when we read right at the beginning of Saint John’s Gospel, he tells us, The light came into the darkness, but men preferred darkness to light. That is the way of the world.

So when we stop to look at the problems not only within the world but within the Church right now, none of us should be surprised. The world hates the Church; the world hates the truth; the world hates Jesus Christ Who is the truth. And the world is going to do everything possible to extinguish the light because those who are worldly have chosen the darkness instead of the light. Their consciences are being seared by the light; therefore, they want it gone. Saint Paul, for instance, tells all the priests from Ephesus, I know that after I am gone savage wolves are going to come and they will not spare the flock. Even from your own number there are some who are going to be raised up who will lead people astray to try to take them with themselves.

One of the devil’s tricks, of course, is to just try to water down the truth. Not reject it entirely because he knows that anybody who is trying to live the truth is not going to accept it if it is completely rejected, so he just waters it down and makes it a little more palatable. He basically says to us, “That’s fine. You can believe most of the truth, but you don’t need to believe this. You can reject that. God gave you your own mind, use it! You don’t need to be obedient to some man in Rome. Who does he think he is anyway? Use your brain!” We have all heard the nonsense, and tragically there are many who fall right into it.

Look at how many Catholics contracept. Look how many have sterilized themselves. Look at how many refuse to go to Confession. How often do we hear the foolish statement: “God doesn’t care if I go to church every Sunday. He’s certainly not going to condemn me to hell just for skipping one Sunday Mass, is He?” On and on and on it goes. “It’s okay to live together before you get married. After all, it’s just like buying a car – you’ve got to take it for a test drive.” How stupid. But this is the nonsense that many, many people who call themselves Catholic have bought into. They just simply water it all down. Of course, they will all be very quick to tell you, “Of course I believe in God! I don’t reject God. I don’t reject the Church.” But what have they done? They have rejected the truth of God. They have rejected the teaching of the Church. And the Lord says, Whoever accepts Me, accepts Him Who sent Me. He says the same thing of the Church: Whoever receives you receives Me, and whoever does not receive you does not receive Me. It is the same position that these people have taken. They have rejected the truth. They have rejected Jesus, they have rejected His Church, but they can keep saying that they believe. It is a matter that they believe Jesus “might” be God, but they certainly do not believe everything He teaches. This is the way the wolves have been raised up, and it is the way they have destroyed the faith of many, many people.

Satan is very smooth. He knows that if he just simply appeared and said, “Leave the Church. Reject the whole thing,” he would not get very far; so he just picks a couple of points, points that he knows where people are going to be weak, points that he knows he can pick at until finally we are going to be convinced that it sounds like a pretty good idea. That is what we need to be very careful of. Remember what Scripture tells us about Satan, that he is the most subtle of all the creatures God created. We are not going to outsmart him, but we have the grace of God. We can pray. We can immerse ourselves into Jesus Christ and in His truth.

Jn 17:11-19
#	Douay-Rheims	Vulgate
11	And now I am not in the world, and these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name whom thou hast given me: that they may be one, as we also are.	et iam non sum in mundo et hii in mundo sunt et ego ad te venio Pater sancte serva eos in nomine tuo quos dedisti mihi ut sint unum sicut et nos
12	While I was with them, I kept them in thy name. Those whom thou gavest me have I kept: and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition: that the scripture may be fulfilled.	cum essem cum eis ego servabam eos in nomine tuo quos dedisti mihi custodivi et nemo ex his perivit nisi filius perditionis ut scriptura impleatur
13	And now I come to thee: and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy filled in themselves.	nunc autem ad te venio et haec loquor in mundo ut habeant gaudium meum impletum in semet ipsis
14	I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them: because they are not of the world, as I also am not of the world.	ego dedi eis sermonem tuum et mundus odio eos habuit quia non sunt de mundo sicut et ego non sum de mundo
15	I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from evil.	non rogo ut tollas eos de mundo sed ut serves eos ex malo
16	They are not of the world, as I also am not of the world.	de mundo non sunt sicut et ego non sum de mundo
17	Sanctify them in truth. Thy word is truth.	sanctifica eos in veritate sermo tuus veritas est
18	As thou hast sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.	sicut me misisti in mundum et ego misi eos in mundum
19	And for them do I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.	et pro eis ego sanctifico me ipsum ut sint et ipsi sanctificati in veritate

FEAST OF THE DAY

Saint Philip Neri was born in Florence, Italy, in 1515. As a child Philip
began to develop an intense relationship with the Lord and always
tried to avoid every sin, a habit he maintained until his death. As a
youth, Philip was sent to a wealthy uncle to become his heir. Philip
did not want this type of life and traveled to Rome to study. After
completing his studies, Philip devoted himself to visiting and praying
with people in the hospital. Eventually this ministry grew into a
religious order of called the Congregation of Priests of the Oratory,
which was founded by Philip in 1575.

Although Philip had completed studies that would allow him to be
ordained, he decided not to get ordained until his confessor urged
him to do so. At the age of 36 Philip was ordained to the priesthood
and began to minister to the faithful through the Sacraments. Philip
was best known for his talents as a confessor and his devotion to the
Mass. He often spent whole days in the confessional hearing
confession and was graced with the ability to read souls and see sins
that were being held back. He used this ability to help convert many
hardened sinners and bring them back to a state of grace.

During his life, Philip was known for his joyful attitude and his simple
spirit. His greatest joy came from celebrating the Eucharist; he often
fell into raptures at the great joy and grace from celebrating this
Sacrament. Philip died at the age of eighty in 1595. He was
proclaimed a saint by Pope Gregory XV in 1622.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

O God, seeing you are so infinitely lovable, why have you given us
but one heart to love you, and this so little and so narrow? -St. Philip
Neri

TODAY IN HISTORY

1232 Pope Gregory IX sent the first Inquisition team to Aragon in
Spain, after turning its details over to the Dominicans the previous
year.

TODAY'S TIDBIT

The Congregation of Priests of the Oratory, also called Oratorians
and abbreviated CO, were founded in 1575 to promote holiness of
priestly life and foster effective preaching. This order has more than
550 members and has houses across the world.

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray, through the intercession of St. Philip Neri, for all people
who are receiving care in hospitals. Please pray especially for all
who have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses.

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