The Oxford Oratory is a vibrant centre of Catholic life. Our church is open every day: join us for Mass, pop in for some quiet prayer, or come and discover more at one of our groups. Our historic church of St Aloysius has been a key feature in the lives of the city’s Catholics for 150 years, attracting people of all ages and from every walk of life. We use beauty to raise hearts and minds to God, faithful to the traditions of St Philip Neri and St John Henry Newman.

Friday 13 September 2024

First Mass celebrated in the Relic Chapel after the repairs were complete. The work by Cliveden Conservation makes us very excited about what they will be able to do with the decoration of our sanctuary…

#oxfordoratory

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Thursday 12 September 2024

The Relic Chapel ceiling received the finishing touches this week. You wouldn’t believe there was a hole in the ceiling just a few weeks ago. The decoration is as good as new (or should that be old?) after it was damaged by a leak.

#oxfordoratory

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Wednesday 11 September 2024

Maxim-ising Our Spiritual Life (9)

Today’s maxim from St Philip probably requires a bit of explanation for most modern readers, since it speaks of a world that, in many ways, no longer exists.

The discipline and other like things ought not to be practised without the leave of our confessor; he who does it of his own mind, will either hurt his constitution or become proud, fancying to himself that he has done some great thing. (11 September)

The ‘discipline’ refers not to the practice of self-control but the knotted cords made popular in the Middle Ages that were used for scourging one’s own back. (Images of desperate penitents whipping themselves often illustrate accounts of the Black Death.) By St Philip’s time, this had become something that was widely accepted as the norm for truly devout people, especially when combined with rather extreme fasts. Fortunately for us, such practices have largely fallen out of fashion again in recent centuries — though the temptation to take on extreme penances can still arise in other forms.

St Philip understood that this kind of outward religious practice risks making us pharisees, performing great works of piety just for show, and neglecting the far more important task of mortifying the intellect. Very often, people want to take on extreme fasts that make them unable to fulfil their ordinary duties, when in fact it would be more helpful to them to spend more time in prayer, to give alms, or simply to try to be more patient with their friends, families and colleagues.

To mortify one passion, no matter how small, is a greater help in the spiritual life than many abstinences, fasts, and disciplines. (31 January)

Common sense and St Philip’s straightforward understanding of human nature underlie his advice. He knew that we are not always the best judges of what is good for us, and the more important virtue of humility can save us from problems of our own creation. Bodily penances can do us real lasting physical harm — so they should be treated with extreme caution.

It is generally better to give the body rather too much food than rather too little; for the too much can be easily subtracted, but when a man has injured his constitution by the too little, it is not so easy to get right again. (26 June)

The devil has a crafty custom of sometimes urging spiritual persons to penances and mortifications, in order that by going to indiscreet lengths in this way, they may so weaken themselves as to be unable to attend to good works of greater importance; or be so intimidated by the sickliness they have brought upon themselves as to abandon their customary devotions, and at last turn their backs on the service of God. (27 June)

St Francis de Sales illustrates this teaching of St Philip with the example of Balaam, the pagan prophet summoned to curse Israel by their enemies (Numbers 22). While riding to perform his curse, Balaam’s donkey stopped three times in an attempt to save its rider’s life. But Balaam beat the donkey each time. Finally, God caused the donkey to speak to Balaam and ask, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” (Num. 22:28) Balaam punished the innocent donkey for his own faults; we risk punishing the body unfairly in the same way.

It was Balaam who did wrong, but he beat the poor ass, who was not to blame. It is often so with us. A woman’s husband or child is ill, and forthwith she has recourse to fasting, the discipline, and hair shirt, even as David did on a like occasion. But, dear friend, you are smiting the ass! you afflict your body, which can do nothing when God stands before you with his sword unsheathed. Rather correct your heart… Or, again, a man falls often into fleshly sins, and the voice of conscience stands before him in the way, rousing him to a holy fear. Then recollecting himself, he begins to abuse his flesh for betraying him, he deals out strict fasts, severe discipline, and the like, to it, and meanwhile the poor flesh might cry out like Balaam’s ass, “Why smitest thou me? It is you yourself, O my soul, that are guilty. Wherefore do you force me into evil, using my eyes, and hands, and lips for unholy purposes, and tormenting me with evil imaginations? Entertain only good thoughts, and I shall feel no unholy impulses; frequent none save pious people, and I shall not be kindled with guilty fire. You cast me yourself into the flames, and bid me not to burn! you fill my eyes with smoke, and wonder that they are inflamed!”

Introduction to the Devout Life III.23

Bodily penances are not always wrong — Our Lord told us that we will have to fast at times, and it has always been the custom of the Church to do so. But bodily penances can only do so much, and are certainly no shortcut to holiness. The quickest path to sanctity is to face the challenges we are presented with, rather than creating our own, and overcome them for the love of God. 


These reflections are sent out each Wednesday to all those on our mailing list. Click here to sign up to our mailing list, and receive our Sunday E-newsletter and these reflections straight to your inbox.
Wednesday 4 September 2024

Interested in becoming Catholic?

Our weekly classes exploring the Catholic faith begin in October. We began running this series of classes last year, and they’ve been hugely popular. We already have a good number of people signed up for our next set — come and join them! You don’t need to have made any firm decisions before coming to classes. Speak to any of the Fathers after Sunday Mass or learn more here: tinyurl.com/oratory4924

#oxfordoratory

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Wednesday 4 September 2024

September Music

Sunday 1 September Solemn Mass 11:00
22nd Sunday of the Year
Missa de la Batalla escoutez Guerrero
Domine in auxilium meum Scarlatti
O nomen Jesu Ferrabosco
Prelude in Eb Major BWV552 Bach

Sunday 8 September Solemn Mass 11:00
23rd Sunday of the Year
Missa Quasi cedrus Esquivel
Quasi cedrus exaltata sum Lassus
Salve Regina Esquivel
Paean Howells

Sunday 15 September Solemn Mass 11:00
24th Sunday of the Year
Missa Inter vestibulum Guerrero
Sanctificavit Moyses Palestrina
Salve Regina Poulenc
Präludium in C BuxWV 137 Buxtehude

Sunday 22 September Solemn Mass 11:00
25th Sunday of the Year
Missa ad fugam Palestrina
Quam pulchri sunt Victoria
Nisi Dominus Carissimi
Allegro vivace from Symphonie V Widor

Sunday 29 September Solemn Mass 11:00
26th Sunday of the Year
Kyrie ‘Le Roy’ Taverner
Western Wind Mass Sheppard
Ardens est cor meum Dering
O sacrum convivium Sweelinck
Fantasia in G minor BWV 542i Bach

Wednesday 4 September 2024

Maxim-ising Our Spiritual Life (8)

One of St Philip’s early biographers, Fr Bacci, tells of a young man who came to Fr Philip for help. His was a difficult case:

He could not by any means be persuaded to forgive an injury which he had received. The Saint did all he could to induce him, but his heart seemed only to get harder than ever. One day, seeing that no other means were of any avail, he took a crucifix, and said to him very briskly, “Look at this, and think how much Blood our Lord has shed for the love of you; and he not only pardoned his enemies, but prayed the Eternal Father to pardon them also. Do you not see, my poor child, that every day when you say the Our Father, instead of asking pardon for your sins, you are calling down vengeance upon yourself?” When he had said this, he ordered him to kneel down, and repeat after him a prayer to the crucifix, in which the Saint by exaggerating the hardness and obstinacy of his heart, showed clearly to him what a grievous sin he was committing. The youth obeyed and knelt down, but trying to repeat the prayer, he could not pronounce a word, but began trembling all over. He remained a long time in this state, and at last getting up, he said, “Here I am, Father, ready to obey you; I pardon every injury I have ever received; your Reverence has only to order me to make what satisfaction you please for my sin, and I will do it directly,” which promise he faithfully fulfilled.

While we sing of Philip as “the Saint of gentleness and kindness”, we should not forget that, when occasion demanded it, he could be quite fierce, especially when the good of souls was at stake. Like Our Lord himself, he would speak of the reality of hell and the equally real danger of our ending up there, should we fail to shape our lives by the precepts of the Gospel and keep the commandments of Christ. All Philip’s ministry was directed to the one end of drawing souls to Christ the Saviour and leading them to a bright eternity, life in God, or heaven. If we fail to let ourselves be transformed by the grace of God, we cannot grow in holiness. So, the young man who found it impossible to forgive was jeopardising his eternity by refusing to follow the example of the one he called Lord, who had prayed for the forgiveness of his murderers as he hung on the cross. St Philip knew this and needed to communicate this truth to the youth, managing to do so in that somewhat dramatic manner.

His warning is clear:

He who continues in anger, strife, and a bitter spirit, has a taste of the air of hell. (6 August)

On a lighter note, Fr Bacci records the story of Antonio Fantini, one of Philip’s penitents:

...who on one occasion was troubled by a gentleman’s servant who used to pass under the window and behave in a manner very displeasing to Antonio, who warned him to leave off, or he should repent of it. The servant, however, continuing to act as before, Antonio in a fit of anger inwardly resolved to assassinate him. He remained in this intention three days, when a feast came on which he had always gone to confession and communion without fail. He did violence to himself, therefore, and went to the holy father, and kneeling down, he told him all the behaviour of the servant and his own resolution to murder him. When the Saint heard it all, he merely put his hand on Antonio’s head, and said laughingly to him, “Go away; God be with you; this is nothing;” and at the very instant, Antonio, who had come distracted with trouble, felt himself all at once filled with joy and light-heartedness, and the temptation wholly gone. Nay, when he met the servant, he was not conscious of the slightest movement of anger towards him; and what is even more remarkable, the servant never passed in front of his house again.

Of course, there are some offences that are hard to forgive, wounds that cut deep and will take time to heal, requiring a good deal of prayer for the will to forgive, even to want to begin to forgive. Other things, as St Philip observed, are not perhaps so bad as we might imagine, and we need the grace to see that and hear him say to us: “God be with you; this is nothing.”

We are celebrating the launch of our new edition of St Philip’s Maxims this summer by exploring some of those maxims together each week.


These reflections are sent out each Wednesday to all those on our mailing list. Click here to sign up to our mailing list, and receive our Sunday E-newsletter and these reflections straight to your inbox.
Wednesday 28 August 2024

Maxim-ising Our Spiritual Life (7)

An important element of the Exercises of the Oratory — the set of prayers and devotions St Philip devised for his followers — was the reading of the lives of the saints, or spiritual books written by saints. One of the sermons that followed would be based on what was read, or at least, was to contain references and quotations from the saints. In fact, as St Philip tells us this week:

It is very useful for those who minister the word of God, or give themselves up to prayer, to read the works of authors whose names begin with S, such as Saint Augustine, Saint Bernard, &c. (28 August)

Fr Manni, an early Oratorian, says that this is not to learn from the saints “how to work miracles, but how to avoid sin, to submit themselves to the divine law, to bear adversity with fortitude, to hold the world in contempt and to yearn for eternal life.”

The saints are our friends in heaven, who, close as they are to Our Lord in glory, can make intercession for us, asking for the graces we need in this life. But they are also examples for us — not only how to live as faithful disciples, but examples of how God works in men and women to make them holy. They are models for us of lives totally open to grace. And as models and examples they encourage us in our own pilgrimages on earth: after all, if Christ could make saints out of an Augustine or a Jerome, then he can make one out of me.

We do not read the lives of the saints or their writings just for information, no matter how interesting. We read these things to grow in our own relationship with the Lord and to become saints ourselves. Another maxim of St Philip’s states:

To get good from reading the Lives of the Saints and other spiritual books, we ought not to read out of curiosity, or skimmingly, but with pauses; and when we feel warmed, we ought not to pass on, but to stop and follow up the spirit which is stirring in us, and when we feel it no longer then to pursue our reading. (4 August)

The Holy Spirit inspired the saints in their deeds, but also in their thoughts and words. There is holy wisdom, therefore, in such writings, that can inspire us and transform us if we ponder them. The slow reading of Scripture, lectio divina, in which we mull over the words, waiting to see what the Holy Spirit wishes us to take from them, can be used when reading spiritual writings too: not as divine revelation, but as an opportunity we give the Spirit to inflame us with the same fire with which he inflamed the saints. Fr Manni recommended the study of the lives and writings of the saints so that “everyone might be able to say, ‘I have now a thought in my heart which was once in the heart of a saint.’”

We are celebrating the launch of our new edition of St Philip’s Maxims this summer by exploring some of those maxims together each week.


These reflections are sent out each Wednesday to all those on our mailing list. Click here to sign up to our mailing list, and receive our Sunday E-newsletter and these reflections straight to your inbox.
Wednesday 21 August 2024

Maxim-ising Our Spiritual Life (6)

He who wishes to advance in spirituality, should never slur over his defects negligently without particular examination of conscience, even independent of the time of sacramental confession. (21 August)

At school one of our science masters had had a brief stint as a professional sportsman before taking up teaching. During some international contest he visited what was then Yugoslavia and picked up a bit of communism which made him somewhat cynical towards religion (to put it mildly). Catholics came in for particular ridicule, especially the idea of confession: “Catholics can do what they like and then just go to confession and everything is fine.” That is not an uncommon view of the sacrament — that we can commit whatever sins we like and then just be told it’s alright. We know this to be false, of course, because confession requires not only the confession of sins, but contrition and a firm purpose of amendment — not an “Oh dear, that was awful, but can everything be fine now?” but instead “By my sins I have forfeited the friendship of God, I am sorry, truly I am, and with the help of his grace I really will, really will try, really am resolved, never to do it ever again, so help me God.”

If you have been to confession at the Oratory of late, you might have noticed a stack of booklets in the confessionals. This is a marvellous text full of useful advice for those who go to confession regularly by one Fr Henri-Charles Chéry O.P. They are there, free, for people to take away (another reason to come to confession!) and so to be helped with how to make a good confession. Fr. Chéry points out that we go to the sacrament not to enumerate our sins, but to confess them. We are there to seek the forgiveness of God and the grace of conversion, not simply to rattle off an exhaustive list. On the whole, if our conscience is well formed, we know our sins. We know what those things are which at that moment stand between us and God.

At least we should know. This is why the Church recommends to us that each night before going to bed we should make a good examination of conscience, looking over the day which has passed and seeing if and how and why we have had the misfortune to sin, and then to make an act of contrition, really to be sorry for them and resolve to avoid them, especially on the morrow. It is not always a pleasant thing to look at our soul in the mirror of our conscience. We can excuse ourselves, “Well, I’ve not killed anyone” — it is a good thing that we are not, most of us, serial killers but just not killing people isn’t exactly what God asks of us. “Well, yes I might have gossiped a bit but at least I’m not like Aunt Joan who is always stealing things” but God isn't going to ask us about whatever Aunt Joan has or has not been up to when we stand before him at the end. The real and proper examination of our conscience allows us to see, in fact, where we still need God’s grace to live in us. If we know our sins, and are honest about them before God, then we know what our work is — what we need to try to overcome, where we stand in particular need of God's grace.

Our Christian life can never be reduced to simply not sinning. We are called to be saints, called to be not just ‘un-sinful’, but to be men and women of virtue. So when we examine our conscience we do not come to think just “Oh dear!” much less “Oh well, never mind” but we see rather what virtues we need to work on and then with the help of God’s grace get on with cultivating them.

“The great thing,” Saint Philip used to say, “is to become saints.” And a proper examination of conscience is indispensable for becoming one.

We are celebrating the launch of our new edition of St Philip’s Maxims this summer by exploring some of those maxims together each week.


These reflections are sent out each Wednesday to all those on our mailing list. Click here to sign up to our mailing list, and receive our Sunday E-newsletter and these reflections straight to your inbox.
Saturday 17 August 2024

Congratulations to Daniel who was baptised last week. #oxfordoratory

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Thursday 15 August 2024

Maxim-ising Our Spiritual Life (5)

Where we come from can sometimes be a good indication of what we are like: our manners, our way of viewing the world, our habits, even our way of speaking. As my mother might sometimes say of my father, “You can take the man out of the Whiterock, but you can’t take the Whiterock out of the man!” But it can also be a compliment — “You are a credit to your parents” and so on. It might also be the case that we can be marked, understood, and even judged by the place that we are headed.

For St Philip, although at once the most Florentine of men (or so he is called), he was also to be judged by that fact he was clearly a citizen of heaven. He had heaven daily before his eyes, measured all things by their relation to that heavenly goal and cultivated in his life a longing for heaven that was a kind of homesickness. His last blessing to his sons at his death, Fr Faber imagines, was “One half from earth, one half from heaven…just as his life had been. One half in heaven, one half on earth, of earthly toil and heavenly mirth: a wondrous woven scene!” No surprise, then, that he should have as one of his maxims — and probably often quoted by his spiritual children — “The true servant of God acknowledges no other country but heaven.” (16 August)

That longing for heaven, that homesickness, that desire for a return to a place we have been promised and not yet seen, is a peculiar mark of the Christian. To long for somewhere is to live as if we are already there, to be shaped by our longing for it. It is a kind of refusal to let go of it. And when we think of heaven, well, the refusal to let go of it should fill our lives with the qualities of that place — “earthly toil and heavenly mirth: a wondrous woven scene!” In another hymn, which has a lovely poetic expression of what heaven is like, we are invited to view it as a place which is, “all jubilant with song, and bright with many an angel, and all the martyr throng; the Prince is ever with them; the daylight is serene.” We too are invited to be jubilant with song, to be conscious of the merits and our closeness to the saints and to have the Lord, the Prince, ever with us, in the midst of our life. If he is, a measure of that heavenly serenity is ours, a serenity that can handle whatever the world throws at us.

Today we keep a sublime feast of one who is the most serene in the face of the difficulties of the world, our Blessed Lady. Her Assumption, body and soul, into heaven is testament to the totality of her belonging to that place. Just as her life was shaped by her trust in God’s promises, just as it was united to her divine Son, so her life was formed by the place where all this would lead her: heaven.

Life in the world can sometimes make us feel that putting heaven first in our life, or acknowledging no other country but heaven, is asking a lot of us. But when we think about it, why would we want any other country? Acknowledging heaven as our only country brings with it the assurance, joy, comfort and hope that we need in this passing life. It helps us treat others with the dignity and love that is becoming of fellow citizens of that place, and it helps us see that trials are certainly passing and that heaven is eternal and so whatever life throws at us, we can get through it until that day when, with Our Lady, at the feet of her Divine Son, we are reigning too in that happiness that knows no end.


These reflections are sent out each Wednesday to all those on our mailing list. Click here to sign up to our mailing list, and receive our Sunday E-newsletter and these reflections straight to your inbox.
Wednesday 7 August 2024

Maxim-ising Our Spiritual Life (4)

St Philip’s sayings and teachings were originally delivered in Italian, and perhaps a few in Latin, and so when translated into English — by Fr Faber and by others — difference have sometimes crept in. Each translator has to decide how to translate a particular word or phrase. One of this week’s maxims (August 6) has come down to us in two slightly different versions:

There is no time for sleep, for Paradise is not made for sluggards.

and

We have no time to go to sleep here, for Paradise is not made for poltroons.

A “sluggard” is a lazy or slothful person; a “poltroon” is an old-fashioned word for “coward”. Both versions display the simple, practical and effective common-sense of our Saint, and both are perhaps strong medicine for some us who might be looking forward to rest, recreation and laziness over the summer holidays.

St Philip began his ministry among the young men of Rome, who had too much money to need to work for a living, and not enough to keep them occupied. To keep them out of mischief, Philip gathered them for holy recreation, the sacraments, prayer, visiting churches, spiritual conferences, sacred concerts, works of mercy, picnics in the Roman hills. He was even known to run races with them — anything to keep them busy and away from sin, knowing that when we don’t have anything good to do, we often end up doing bad things instead.

Sloth is a dangerous vice that “crushes all the virtues”. We can put in much time and effort developing the virtues but if we neglect to preserve them through laziness then what good has that effort done us? The virtues are like muscles: the more we exercise them the stronger they become. The more we practice kindness, patience, charity, prayer, the more we become kind, patient, charitable and prayerful. Rest and recreation are necessary for our physical and mental health — and therefore our spiritual health — but when we waste precious time sleeping-in, slouched on the sofa or doom-scrolling on our mobile phones, our acquired virtues grow weak and flabby. An early disciple of St Philip’s, Fr Giovanni Matteo Ancina, brother of the more famous Blessed Juvenal Ancina, advised that in order to avoid idleness, “we should read a little, pray a little, and labour a little, that so the hours may pass happily”. 

Often it takes more than just effort to get up and do something good — it takes some courage. The “heroic virtue” to which we are called as potential saints does not only mean martyrdom or giving up all we have or preaching the Gospel to the ends of the earth. It takes real courage to tackle a bad habit or besetting sin we might have. It is not easy to visit or call someone we find a bit difficult, or stop and talk to the beggar on the street. There is bravery in deciding to give more in charity when we don’t have very much to spare. Setting the alarm clock a few minutes earlier and actually getting out of bed when it rings to start the day in prayer might not seem that impressive, but it can be truly heroic on a cold, dark morning.

Not wasting the time we have been given, and having the courage to do good even when it is difficult, these are essential elements of our growth in holiness. We are not saved by our efforts and good works: we are saved through faith in Christ by the free gift of a loving God — but as St James reminds us, our faith is shown by our works.

We are celebrating the launch of our new edition of St Philip’s Maxims this summer by exploring some of those maxims together each week.


These reflections are sent out each Wednesday to all those on our mailing list. Click here to sign up to our mailing list, and receive our Sunday E-newsletter and these reflections straight to your inbox.
Saturday 3 August 2024

August Music

Sunday 4 August Solemn Mass 11:00
18th Sunday of the Year
Missa Brevis in D Mozart
Nisi Dominus Carissimi
Ave verum corpus Carissimi

Sunday 11 August Solemn Mass 11:00
19th Sunday of the Year
Missa Simile est regnum caelorum Victoria
Super flumina Babylonis Palestrina
Gratias agimus tibi Bach
Toccata in F BWV540i Bach

Thursday 15 August Solemn Mass 18:00
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Missa Assumpta est Maria Palestrina
Vidi speciosam Victoria
Salve regina Howells
Fuga sopra il Magnificat BWV 733 Bach

Sunday 18 August Solemn Mass 11:00
20th Sunday of the Year
Missa brevis Gabrielli
Ave virgo sanctissima Guerrero
Salve Regina Lassus

Sunday 25 August Solemn Mass 11:00
21st Sunday of the Year
Mass for four voices Byrd
O quam suavis Byrd
Ave verum corpus Byrd

Wednesday 31 July 2024

Maxim-ising Our Spiritual Life (3)

Mortification is not a concept much in favour these days. To some, it is a reminder of the days when bodily austerities were taken to extremes: the taking of the discipline, or very severe fasts. These practices were once the norm, but today, the business of mortification is, if practised at all, somewhat less punishing. But mortification is indeed necessary, for the opposite is self-indulgence.

St Philip, practised the means of mortification, customary in his day, and reminded his disciples:

Without mortification nothing can be done. (30 July)

Furthermore, he would add, “where there is no great mortification there is no great sanctity.” (4 Nov)  All the same, the kind of mortification he sought to encourage was ‘interior’ rather than corporal. He said: “Oh, how I like those little mortifications that are seen by nobody, such as rising a quarter of an hour sooner, rising for a little while in the night to pray!” You may recall the story of Philip’s friend, Alberto, who asked his permission to wear a hair-shirt, which permission the saint denied him, telling him that he could do so only if he wore it over his clothing. This Alberto did, enduring the endless ribbing of his friends and others, who teased him mercilessly as he cheerfully went about Rome, clad in his weird attire. “Look, here comes Berto of the hair-shirt!”

A phrase Philip was fond of repeating to his friends (which he had taken from Thomas Kempis) was Amare nesciri — “to love to be to unknown.” This injunction lies at the heart of his sense of mortification. For him, the important thing was not to punish the body through long fasts and arduous asceticism. Of far greater value was the mortification of the razionale, that proud and self-important reason common to us all. How often would he say to his penitents, “The sanctity of a man lies in the breadth of three fingers,” (5 Nov) and pointedly lay those fingers on his forehead. You can see this gesture illustrated in the mural above the sacristy door in our church.

The peculiar practical jokes, the daily confessions, the severe and thankless workload he imposed on his sons — everything tended to mortify the intellect and cultivate humility, which was the virtue most dear to him. And for St. Philip, humility found its greatest expression in “loving to be unknown.”

Another saying, which comes to us through his disciple Fr Pietro Consolini, is Vita communis, mortificatio maxima (Community life is the greatest mortification). This is why the saint chose not to leave his Oratorians with any mortifications or penances other than those prescribed by the Church. He understood that living with others brings with it its own challenges and opportunities to practice interior mortification, by suffering with patience and goodwill, the difficulties which will inevitably arise in everyday life. In Philip’s view, it was not necessary to add anything more than that.

St Philip would have us love to be unknown and to be humble, because this ultimately draws us closer to Christ, whose own teaching is reflected in that of our saint. We learn not to bite back or bridle at insults, or to seek the highest or most influential positions. We learn not to impose our will, or to insist on having our own way, nor to be too pleased with ourselves when we have done some good. This is humility; this is love. This is the mortification advocated by our Holy Father St Philip and each day, the Lord gives us ample opportunity to live it.

We are celebrating the launch of our new edition of St Philip’s Maxims this summer by exploring some of those maxims together each week.


These reflections are sent out each Wednesday to all those on our mailing list. Click here to sign up to our mailing list, and receive our Sunday E-newsletter and these reflections straight to your inbox.
Wednesday 31 July 2024

There aren’t many communities in the Church that stamp the front of their books with a miniature image of their founder in gold…

The cover of our new edition of St Philip’s Maxims features an image of the saint himself, copied from historic examples in the library of the Roman Oratory.

St Philip left his spiritual children with few rules. Those who wish to follow his path to sanctity are given the pattern of his life for guidance, which is why in the Oratory we get so excited about him personally, and do things like stamping his image in miniature on the front of books.

We are unpacking some of his maxims over the summer in our weekly reflections. Read them on our website, or sign up at tinyurl.com/oratory-reflections

#oxfordoratory

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Tuesday 30 July 2024

Aware that he was in danger of being declared a saint after his death, in an act of humility, St Philip burned all of his writings towards the end of his life. He left no manual of holiness, no written guides to prayer, no summary of his spirituality. But that didn’t prevent those who knew him from collecting together all they could remember of what he had taught them. His early biographies are packed with his simple and effective advice for those determined to make progress in the service of God.

An English edition of St Philip’s maxims for every day of the year was first prepared by Fr Faber of the London Oratory in 1847. We have just reprinted a new edition of Fr Faber’s work, in the same size and style of the Oratory Prayer Book, and with the same attention to detail.

Those sayings of Our Holy Father, which have already shown themselves to be equally effective in 16th century Rome and 19th century England, are now presented with the aim of being as useful in our own day, for those who wish to pursue holiness under the patronage of St Philip Neri.

Available now, priced £8.95, from the Oratory Bookshop or shop.oxfordoratory.org.uk

#oxfordoratory #oratoryshop

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Friday 26 July 2024

Our Lady of Oxford has been uncovered again in time for her feast day tomorrow. The work on the chapel isn’t finished, but it will take some weeks for the plaster to dry enough for the decoration to be reinstated on top. (The altar IS going back when all the work is complete!)

#oxfordoratory

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Thursday 25 July 2024

We have launched an online shop! All you need is a cupboard full of great books, some packaging, a table and Br Ambrose.

Our Oratory Prayer Book is now back in stock, after selling out again earlier this year. You can also pick up our new edition of St Philip’s Maxims, our latest tote bag (now in dark blue) and lots more, shipping all over the world.

shop.oxfordoratory.org.uk

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Wednesday 24 July 2024

Maxim-ising Our Spiritual Life (2)

Occassionally, some of St Philip’s advice gets split over multiple days in the collection of his Maxims, so that we can take our time to understand each part of what he says. This week’s maxims cover the topic of vain-glory:

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. (23 July)

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

This “vain-glory” is a kind of vanity. It is often what causes us to do good things for the wrong reasons. It is the temptation to say “Look at me, aren’t I holy?” Christ holds the Pharisees up for us as a warning against this kind of behaviour:

Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:1–6, 6–18)

There is a great danger that if we do good things just so that others see us doing good, we might think it best not to do them at all. If we are very aware that people see us spending time in prayer or serving the homeless, we might think we should stop those things, to prevent any temptations to pride and vanity from arising.

This, of course, is not what we should do. But what if it is impossible for us to do all these good things in secret, as Christ tells us too? There are some good things we have to do that we can’t hide, not matter how much we might like to.

St Philip, as ever, brings some practical common sense to the problem. We certainly shouldn’t do good purely for the sake of the praise and attention of others. But if we are trying to do work for the love of God and neighbour, and this vain-glory appears in the process as “companion”, we shouldn’t let that put us off our good intentions. As he says, “It does not take away our merit.” But with time, we should work to overcome even these tendencies, so that we can work without thought of what people think about us, instantly repressing the temptation.

Cesare Baronio, one of St Philip’s first disciples, first Father of the Oratory and later Cardinal, trained himself so well in faighting vain-glory that not only was he happy to have his good works go unnoticed, he delighted when others took the credit for things he had done. It is possible to put St Philip’s advice into practice, it just might take us a little time.

We are celebrating the launch of our new edition of St Philip’s Maxims this summer by exploring some of those maxims together each week.


These reflections are sent out each Wednesday to all those on our mailing list. Click here to sign up to our mailing list, and receive our Sunday E-newsletter and these reflections straight to your inbox.
Thursday 18 July 2024

“It was well known in all Rome what a singular gift Philip had of exciting youths to the love of virtue and the desire of perfection. The Father Superior of the Dominicans in the convent of the Minerva repeatedly gave him his novices, that he might take them out where he pleased for recreation, confident of the fruit they would reap from his conversation: nor was he ever disappointed. Sometimes he took them to some agreeable place, where they stopped all day, and dined together on the spot. The holy old man took great pleasure in seeing them eat and be merry; and he used to say, ‘Eat, my sons, and do not have any scruple about it, for it makes me fat to watch you.’” (From the life of St Philip)

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Wednesday 17 July 2024

Maxim-ising Our Spiritual Life (1)

My apologies for the title, which I could not resist. St Philip’s maxim for today is:

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

We often speak of the phenomenon of the “zeal of the convert” which itself is no bad thing at all. It is such an encouragement for those of us who have been Catholics for a long time to see others come to the faith and be on fire with real love for their newfound God. They have found that city of God on the hilltop of the Church which cannot be hidden, that light of Faith which cannot be placed under cover. We are very blessed in the large number of converts who come to the Church here each year and who become such pillars in the life of our community. They bring new perspectives and experiences, but also indeed that great and burning love for Christ which helps us all to rekindle anew our commitment to holiness and our own impression of the reality of our Faith.

There can sometimes, whether in terms of the Faith or the spiritual life in general, be the danger of wishing to run before we can walk. Our Faith is tried in the furnace of perseverance and this is what St Philip realised. This is why the Fathers and Brothers pray each day in Oratory for the gift of perseverance. At the beginning we take baby steps — we need to be held and supported, nourished and guided if we are to run the race for that imperishable crown. We do see in the Church today the danger of self-appointed “experts” and “influencers” who have ideas and opinions on every aspect of the Faith, whilst they seem to have very little grasp of what is really central to living Catholicism. It is not a good thing to proclaim ourselves experts if we can name every cardinal and cite Church documents, but still remain unmoved by the plight of the neighbour we are called to love after the pattern of Christ. We are not, any of us, called to become masters, but to become servants and friends — of God and of our neighbour. We must never seek to point to ourselves, but rather only to Christ. To “love to be unknown” as the great hallmark of Oratorian spirituality has it — “to love to be unknown” so that Christ can be known.

Hence the maxim of St Philip for 18 July:

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.

We cannot give what we do not have. If we really are embarked upon the path of conversion and holiness then others will come to Christ and Church simply because of the influence that our life will have on others. This is what was true for Saint Philip — he sought to bring others to conversion through the influence he could have upon them, through the friendship he made with them, and by his own example — particularly of humility — to bring them to God and to holiness. St John Henry Newman our Cardinal wrote: “It would seem, in fact, that influence, whether secret or open, is the main driving force of the Oratory.”

What influence do we have upon others then — by our conversation, by the way we treat them, what sort of idea do we give them of how a Christian lives by the conduct of our lives? And if we are already adept at making friends and influencing people — do we make them friends of Christ and bring them under his influence? Our Lady is the great model in this: “My soul magnifies the Lord.” For us, who probably always feel as though we are just beginners in the spiritual life, it is first to ask what influence we allow God to have upon us, upon our lives. If he is that influence, that overriding, all consuming force that influences all we are — as he must be — then this alone will draw others to ask why we live differently, and please God, draw them to him who sets the path to Heaven before us.

We are celebrating the launch of our new edition of St Philip’s Maxims this summer by exploring some of those maxims together each week.


These reflections are sent out each Wednesday to all those on our mailing list. Click here to sign up to our mailing list, and receive our Sunday E-newsletter and these reflections straight to your inbox.