St. Philip Neri — Filled With Joy
By Michael Vu, FOCUS missionary at UF
When I ask someone how they are doing, I almost always get the same response: “I’m good, but I’m tired.” Sometimes instead of “tired,” I’ll hear “stressed” or “busy.” This has become such a commonplace answer that people seldom give it a second thought, but I have to wonder whether or not this is an acceptable reality for us to live in. Tiredness, busyness, and stress are all inevitabilities, yes. Are we willing, though, to accept them as intrinsic characteristics of our lives?
In the last chapter of his letters to the Philippians, Paul writes as follows:
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you.”
There is no ambiguity in the message Paul is trying to convey here.
Our lives are meant to be lived in joyful patience towards the world; in faithful prayer to God; in pursuit of beauty, goodness, and truth; and in the imitation of discipleship.
Of course, the Saints whom we venerate are stellar examples set before us. However, there is one Saint in particular who stands out to me as a particularly excellent illustration of what it means to live a life in love with Christ:
The patron Saint of joy, St. Philip Neri.
He was a man of contradiction. On the one hand, Philip Neri experienced the Lord in such a profoundly contemplative way. He loved to pray, and he longed for ever-growing, ever-deepening intimacy and communion with God in the silence and solitude of prayer. On the other hand, Philip Neri was an immensely beloved member of any community he was invited into. He loved to serve, and he fervently desired to encounter whomever was present to him.
But there is in fact a reason that he is the patron Saint of joy.
Regardless of who he was with or where he was, Philip Neri was determined to live life to the fullest. He carried in his heart and soul an overabundance of cheer and brought laughter to anyone and everyone whom he met. He never feared making a fool of himself in front of others. Above all else, he never allowed himself to be bogged down by the weight of the broken world around. Here was a man — a Saint — who truly understood what it meant to “have no anxiety about anything.”
“We are not Saints yet, but we, too, should beware. Uprightness and virtue do have their rewards, in self-respect and in respect from others, and it is easy to find ourselves aiming for the result rather than the cause. Let us aim for joy, rather than respectability. Let us make fools of ourselves from time to time, and thus see ourselves, for a moment, as the all-wise God sees us.”
This post is part of our ongoing Saints campaign series in November. If you are interested in writing for our blog, please contact rhc@catholicgators.org with an idea or draft of your post.
