Vatican City, 26 May 2015 (VIS) –
This year marks the fifth centenary of the birth of St. Philip Neri
(Florence, 25 July 1515 – Rome 26 May 1595), known as the “apostle
of Rome” and founder of the Congregation of the Oratory that, as
Pope Francis writes in a letter addressed to the procurator general
Fr. Mario Alberto Aviles, is characterised by “an intense and
joyful spiritual life: prayer, listening and conversation on the Word
of God, preparation to receive the sacraments in a dignified way,
formation for Christian life through the history of the saints and
the Church, and works of charity for the benefit of the poorest”.
The Holy Father, joining with those who
commemorate the figure and the work of this saint, who spent sixty
years of his life in Rome, remarks that thanks to the apostolate of
St. Philip, commitment to saving souls “was restored as a priority
in the Church's activity, and it was newly understood that pastors
must stay with their people to guide them and sustain them in their
faith. Philip was a guide for many people, announcing the Gospel and
dispensing the Sacraments. In particular, he dedicated himself with
great passion to the ministry of Confession, up to the evening of his
last day on earth. His concern was that of constantly following the
spiritual growth of his disciples, accompanying them in the
bitterness of life and opening up to Christian hope. … His
spiritual paternity shines through all his work, characterised by
trust in people, by his rejection of gloomy and sombre tones, by his
spirit of festivity and joy, by his conviction that grace does not
restrain nature but instead heals, strengthens and perfects it”.
The Apostle of Rome also remains as “a
shining model of the permanent mission of the Church in the world.
The perspective of his approach to others, bearing witness to all the
love and mercy of the Lord, can constitute a valid example for
bishops, priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful. From the very
first years of his presence in Rome, he undertook an apostolate of
personal relations and friendship, as the ideal route to opening up
to the encounter with Jesus and the Gospel. … He loved spontaneity,
shunned artifice, chose the most enjoyable methods to educate in
Christian virtues, and at the same time offered a healthy discipline
that implied the exercise of will to welcome Christ in the fabric of
one's life. His profound conviction was that the path to sanctity was
based on the grace of an encounter with the Lord, accessible to any
person … who welcomes him with the wonder of children”.
“The permanent state of mission of
the Church requires that you, the spiritual children of St. Philip
Neri, do not settle for a mediocre life; on the contrary, in the
school of your Founder you are called upon to be men of prayer and
witness to draw people to Christ”, concludes the Pope. “In our
times, especially in the world of the young who were so dear to Fr.
Philip, there is a great need for people who pray and who know how to
teach others to pray”.
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