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Gospel: Mark 10:28-31
Peter began to say to Jesus,
“We have given up everything and followed you.”
Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.
But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Imagine spending the entire day walking around in public, running errands, speaking with colleagues, picking up the kids from school, with your clothes turned inside out.
Or showing up to work wearing clown-sized shoes.
Or shaving only half of your beard.
Or walking into church jumping up and down shouting for joy.
These things sound ridiculous to us.
If people saw me walking around with a half-shaved beard or clown-sized shoes, then I’m sure they would burst out in laughter. Some would probably think, “Dear God, Father has lost his mind!”
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Today we celebrate the life of a priest who did these things on purpose.
Saint Philip Neri is the patron saint of joy and humor. He was a man who laughed constantly and motivated others to do the same.
Oddly enough, the more comical he was, the holier and humbler he became.
But Philip wasn’t simple a jokester. He balanced his sense of humor with intense periods of prayer, eating meager meals, visiting the sick, and striking up conversations with people, slowly introducing them to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.
A few years after his priestly ordination, Philip founded a religious order, commonly known as the Oratorians, who followed his rule of life.
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One of Philip’s biographers once wrote of him, “Philip was all things to all men… When he was called upon to be merry, he was so; if there was a demand upon his sympathy, he was equally ready…”
May the Lord grant us the grace to live our lives accordingly – rejoicing with those who rejoice, weeping with those who weep, and, above all, the grace to poke fun at ourselves, counteracting our pride, and spreading a little joy along the way.
Saint Philip Neri, pray for us.
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Image credits: (1) Delta Dental of Illinois (2) Called to More, YouTube (3) Be the Reason Someone Smiles Today line jounals, Amazon