May 26: Saint Philip Neri
He was always devoted to humility, and always shrank from honors; and when even the highest ecclesiastical dignities were more than once offered to him, he very firmly refused them. , The Breviary tells us about this saintly addict. His addiction was humility. Let us learn from him that our only devotion should go to God and not to worldly good, to which we are all addicted. Some of us are devoted to alcohol, others to sugar and still other to television. You can tell what our addiction is by what we devote our time to. How much time do we devote to God?
Saint Philip said: for one who truly loves God, there is nothing more difficult and painful than to remain alive. Of course, he was not counseling suicide, but advising us that this is not our true home. When we truly love someone, we want to be with them and if we are separated, then we suffer greatly. Since we should love God with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength, we should feel the pain of
separation from Him while we are imprisoned here on earth.
PRAYER: Saint Philip, teach me the holy addiction to God, so that I may feel the pain of separation from God. Amen.
