04 July 2009

The Maxims and Sayings of St. Philip Neri

JULY.

1. We ought to make no account of abstinences and fasts, when there is self-will in the matter.

2. Our Blessed Lady is the dispenser of all the favours which the goodness of God concedes to the Sons of Adam.

3. In seeking for counsel it is necessary sometimes to hear what our inferiors think, and to recommend ourselves to their prayers.

4. A man ought never to say one word in his own praise, however true it may be, no, not even in a joking way.

5. Whenever we do a good work, and somebody else takes the credit of it, we ought to rejoice, and acknowledge it as a gift from God. Anyhow, we ought not to be sorry, because if others diminish our glory before men, we shall recover it with all the more honour before God.

6. Let us pray God, if He gives us any virtue or any gift, to keep it hidden even from ourselves, that we may preserve our humility, and not take occasion of pride because of it.

7. We ought not to publish or manifest to every one the inspirations which God sends us, or the favours He grants us. Secretum meum mihi! Secretum meum mihi!

8. In order to avoid all risk of vain-glory, we ought to make some of our particular devotions in our own rooms, and never seek for sweetnesses and sensible consolations in public places.

9. The true medicine to cure us of pride, is to keep down and thwart touchiness of mind.

10. When a man is reproved for anything, he ought not to take it too much to heart, for we commit a greater fault by our sadness than by the sin for which we are reproved.

11. They who when they have got a little devotion think they are some great one, are only fit to be laughed at.

12. Humility is the true guardian of chastity.

13. When a man has fallen he ought to acknowledge it in some such way as this: “Ah, if I had been humble I should not have fallen!”

14. We ought to be pleased to hear that others are advancing in the service of God, especially if they are our relations or friends; and we ought to rejoice that they share in whatever spiritual good we may have ourselves.

15. In order the better to gain souls, in visiting the sick, we ought to imagine that what we do for the sick man we are doing for Christ Himself; we shall thus perform this work of mercy with more love and greater spiritual profit.

16. He whose health will not permit him to fast in honour of Christ and our Blessed Lady, will please them much more by giving some alms more than usual.

17. Nothing is more dangerous for beginners in the spiritual life, than to wish to play the master, and to guide and convert others.

18. Beginners should look after their own conversion and be humble, lest they should fancy they had done some great thing, and so should fall into pride.

19. If we wish to help our neighbour, we must reserve neither place, hour, or season, for ourselves.

20. Avoid every kind of singularity, for it is generally the hot-bed of pride, especially spiritual pride.

21. A man must not, however, abstain from doing a good work merely to got out of the way of a temptation to vain-glory.

22. The love of God makes us do great things.

23. We may distinguish three kinds of vain-glory; the first we may call mistress; that is, when vain-glory goes before our works, and we work for the sake of it: the second we may call companion; that is, when a man does not do a work for the sake of vain-glory, but feels complacency in doing it: the third we may call servant; that is, when vain-glory rises in our work, but we instantly repress it. Above all things never let vain-glory be mistress.

24. When vain-glory is companion, it does not take away our merit; but perfection requires that it should be servant.

25. He who works purely for the love of God, desires nothing but His honour, and thus is ready in every thing either to act or not to act, and that not in indifferent matters only, but even in good ones; and he is always resigned to the Will of God.

26. The Lord grants in a moment what we may have been unable to obtain in dozens of years.

27. To obtain perfectly the gift of humility, four things are required: to despise the world, to despise no person, to despise one’s self, to despise being despised.

28. Perfection consists in leading captive our own will, and in playing the king over it.

20. A man ought to mortify his understanding in little things, if he wishes easily to mortify it in great ones, and to advance in the way of virtue.

30. Without mortification nothing can be done.

31. We ought to hope for and love the glory of God by means of a good life.