So, brethren, rejoice in the Lord, not in the world. That is, rejoice in the truth, not in wickedness; rejoice in the hope of eternity, not in the fading flower of vanity. That is the way to rejoice. Wherever you are on earth, however long you remain on earth, the Lord is near, do not be anxious about anything.
From a sermon by Saint Augustine, Office of Readings, Memorial of St. Philip Neri, 26 May
Thank you, dear God our Father in giving us a joyful saint whose feast we celebrate today, St. Philip Neri. Of course, every saint must be a joyful one but St. Philip exuded with so much joy in serving you among the poor and the sick that according to stories, two of his ribs were found broken after his death because his heart grew with so much joy and love for Jesus Christ among the people he served!
Whatever that means, we believe in the great joy you must have given St. Philip Neri and all the saints in serving you; as St. Augustine mentioned in his homily, to rejoice in you is to rejoice in truth not in lies and wickedness; and to rejoice in eternal life not in temporal that is momentary.
Much of the world has remained the same, meaning we still have a lot of work to do in your name; like St. Paul, give us the perseverance, and the sense of humor of St. Philip Neri to keep preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ most specially in places and among people we least expect to accept it for you yourself, O God is filled with humor: who would have thought except you, Lord, that the sinful city of Corinth would become one of the leading cities in the spread of Christianity than the sophisticated Athens?
Keep us faithful to you, dear Jesus, never to lose your sense of humor in doing your work for you always write straight crooked lines! This is part of your riddle to your disciples about your coming Pasch and departure as well as our coming situation, "you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices, you will grieve but your grief will become joy" (Jn.16:20).
May we always rejoice in you, Lord Jesus. Amen.
