The saint we celebrate today is Philip Neri, who was born in Florence, Italy in 1515. He lived in the tumultuous era of the Protestant Reformation. Many of the faithful of the modern world are drawn to him because he is the 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 (his joy) 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. He did in Rome in 1595 at the age of 79. His example of engaging people in the Gospel message is something we can emulate 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.
Today, we hear the famous saying: “But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” There was a lady at St Richard who used to drive all of the way from the small town of Lena, Mississippi to attend the mass at St Richard in Jackson every Sunday morning at 8:00 am. That is an almost 50 mile drive each way. She would arrive in last row of pews in the church at least half an hour before mass to pray and to prepare. She told me that Father Ben Martinez used to often jokingly quote this Scripture passage to her before mass, telling her that the first would be last, and the last would be first, since she was all the way in the last pew in the church without fail.
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