August 23rd - Saint Philip Benizi, Servite Priest, Mystic
Saint Philip Benizi was born in Florence on the Feast of the Assumption,
1233. That same day the Order of Servites was founded by the Mother of
God.
As an infant one year old, Philip spoke when in the presence of these new
religious, and announced the Servants of the Virgin. Amid all the
temptations of his youth, he longed to become a Servant of Mary, and it
was
only the fear of his own unworthiness which made him yield to his father's
wish and begin to study medicine. He received the bonnet of a doctor of
medicine at Padua.
After long and weary waiting, his doubts were solved one day by Our Lady
Herself, who in a vision during a Mass in Florence offered in the Servite
Chapel, bade him enter Her Order. Still Philip dared only offer himself as
a
lay brother; and saying nothing of his studies, in this humble state he
strove to do penance for his sins. Two Dominican Fathers traveling with
him
one day recognized the great talents, wisdom and knowledge which he had
succeeded in concealing. They talked to his Superiors, and he was told to
prepare for the priesthood. As a priest he did immense good. He pacified
many dissensions, common among the city-states of those days. One day he
met
a leper, almost naked, and having no money gave him his tunic. When the
leper put it on, he was instantly cured.
Thereafter honors were accorded him in rapid succession; he became General
of the Order and only by flight did he escape elevation to the Papal
throne;
he retired to a grotto in the mountains until the conclave had ended. His
preaching restored peace to Italy, wasted by civil wars. He was sent not
only to various cities of that country but to the Netherlands and Germany,
where he converted many, not without opposition and even a flogging by
rebels. At the Council of Lyons, he spoke to the assembled prelates with
the
gift of tongues. Amid all these favors Philip lived in extreme penitence,
constantly examining his soul before God, and condemning himself as only
fit
for hell.
Saint Philip, though he was free from every stain of mortal sin, was never
weary of beseeching God's mercy. From the time he was ten years old he
daily
prayed the Penitential Psalms. On his deathbed he recited verses of the
Miserere, his cheeks streaming with tears; during his agony he went
through
a terrible contest to overcome the fear of damnation. But a few minutes
before he died, all his doubts disappeared and were succeeded by a holy
trust. He uttered the responses to the final prayers in a low but audible
voice; and when at last the Mother of God appeared before him, he lifted
up
his arms with joy and breathed a gentle sigh, as if placing his soul in
Her
hands. He died on the Octave of the Assumption, 1285.
Reflection: Endeavor so to act as you would wish to have acted when you
stand before the Judge of your eternity. This is the rule of the Saints,
and
the only safe rule for all.
Source: Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on
Butler's Lives of the Saints and other sources by John Gilmary Shea
(Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894).
Saint Quote:
If we have obtained the grace of God, none shall prevail against us, but
we
shall be stronger than all who oppose us.
--St John Chrysostom
Bible Quote:
14 And he found in the temple them that sold oxen and sheep
and doves, and the changers of money sitting. 15 And when
he had made, as it were, a scourge of little cords, he drove
them all out of the temple, the sheep also and the oxen, and
the money of the changers he poured out, and the tables he
overthrew. (John 2:14-15)
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Novena to the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit you who solve all problems, who light all roads so that I
can attain my goal. You, who gave me the divine gift, forget all evil
against me & who in all instances of my life are with me. I want in this
short prayer to thank you for all things & to confirm once again that I
never want to be separated from you even in spite of all material
illusion. I wish to be with you in eternal glory. Thank you for your
mercy toward me and mine.
(Make your request)
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