St Philip didn’t leave his sons a detailed rule of life to follow in the way that St Benedict or St Augustine did. Instead, the life of St Philip himself is meant to be our example.
But that’s quite hard when you think about it — so much of what St Philip did is impossible for us to copy, when we remember that his heart was enlarged with the Holy Spirit, and that he performed so many miracles, even raising the dead.
Today’s saint, Blessed Anthony Grassi of the Oratory in Fermo, set himself the task of becoming as much like St Philip as possible, with the result that in the end, he even began to look like him. But he managed to identify which elements of St Philip’s life are essential for us to copy…and which we can’t even try, unless God decides to grant us the same gifts he gave to St Philip.
“O Lord, hear our prayer and arouse in your Church that Spirit by which your priest blessed Antony unceasingly promoted peace among men and the beauty of your house. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
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