26 May 2017 - Philip Neri - Friday of the 6th week of Easter - Homily - Acts 18:9-18

     Our journey of faith is not always easy.  It can have a lot of ups and downs, twists and turns, struggles and challenges.  Even though we have our own struggles and challenges on our journey of faith, it's still difficult for me to imagine all the obstacles that Paul faced on his journey.  We hear a lot about Paul’s journey of faith in our readings from the Acts of the Apostles during the Easter season. Paul eventually died a martyr for the faith in Rome.  Yet, in the midst of his ups and downs and the periods of imprisonment that he endured, he also received a lot of encouragement from the Lord along the way.  Today, we hear of a vision that Paul received from the Lord one night while he was in Corinth, how the Lord encouraged him to continue in his ministry and to not remain silent.  Paul remained in Corinth for a year and a half, preaching the Good News to the community there.

      The saint we celebrate today is Philip Neri, who was born in Florence, Italy more than 500 years ago.  It amazes me to hear about the great saints who lived in the tumultuous time of the Protestant Reformation, those who were contemporaries of Philip Neri, such as John of Avila, Frances de Sales, Ignatius of Loyola, Teresa of Avila, Frances Xavier, and John of the Cross. It struck me that three of our youth being confirmed at our parish this year chose Philip Neri as their patron saint for that sacrament, primarily because they saw him as a patron saint of joy.  One priest described Philip Neri in this way: “Philip radiated joy. If we had encountered him on the street, we could see it coming a mile away. He had a ready laugh, a great sense of humor and profound holiness." Leaving Florence at 18 years old to go to Rome, on fire with the joy of the Gospel, he engaged people he met with the Word of God and the teachings of the Church.  After founding a group of lay people who welcomed pilgrims to Rome, Philip became a priest himself and then founded an order of priests called the Congregation of the Oratory.  Philip Neri’s model of engaging people in the Gospel message is something we can use in our modern era when we are called to a new evangelization.  Through the reality of our lives, through sharing our faith and witnessing to others, we are called to bring the Gospel joy to others.