Feast of St. Philip Neri

Today is the Feast of St. Philip Neri, one of our school patron saints.  (Our homeschool's name is Sts. Philip Neri and John Vianney Academy)  There are some little reasons and some big reasons that he is one of our patrons.  For one, he is known for his cheerfulness, joy and humor.  One of our school mottos is: 

Cheerfulness strengthens the heart and makes us persevere in a good life. Therefore the servant of God ought always to be in good spirits.

A servant of God!  Through our crosses we must find our joy, keep our humor and ever be filled with cheerfulness (says the forever-big-ol'-grump :D... you see, when you pick a favorite for aspects you desire most, you truly do fine your strength is your weakness and your weakness is your strength!)  And as I was reading about him in this wee hour of the morning I discovered this lovely quote: 

Bear the cross and do not make the cross bear you.

But what is bearing a cross if we do not bear it well? Says the one who bears crosses so poorly.  But as a certain confessor is wont to say, "You aren't an angel."  Oh he got that right!  (the rest of it goes along the lines of being human but I won't digress too far here...)

St. Philip also had a heart that burned with love.  First was a heart that burned with love for God, so much so his heart swelled.  Oh to burn with such love for God!  It's so easy to get caught up in this world,with those we love, with the distractions of daily life... so if we do not strive to make the Presence of God known in every moment we will find Him forgotten, find our sole purpose neglected.  Give each moment as an act of love to Him.  Second was his great love for souls, for others.... not for self.  How can I serve you today?  Could a weak little insignificant soul like me serve you?  How can I make you happy?  How can I make you smile and laugh?

I think I've digress from the reasons I chose him as our patron.  Another little reason is that one of my all-time favortie priests, may he rest in Peace, was ordained on this date. He also had a strong devotion to St. Philip Neri and told me ever so many hilarious stories about St. Philip's wild and crazy sense of humor.  His sense of humor hid his great holiness.  Said priest had a splended sense of humor and one of my grandest memories of him was how he would laugh until he cried.

I also desired that education be a joy not a sorrow.  To learn about God's World, to grow from simple facts to the more complex, to see all from the Eyes of God with great joy and cheerfulness.  So in this I chose our uniform as red (the color of the joy of the martyrs)... and blue (the Blessed Mother's color, but also because khaki gets dirty so easily on my mud puppies hahaha)

I read part of the life of St. Philip and found so many other reasons, unbeknownst to me, that he makes a wonderful patron.  Now I just need a first class relic of him.... oh and of St. John Vianney would be nice too... for in our school. You never know.  Just this past Christmas I just wanted a relic and oddly... God is Odd.... I found one under the tree.  I do like my fancy tickled!

But alas, before I bore my 3 readers with my little delights and musings....

Sufferings are a kind of paradise to him who suffers them with patience, while they are a hell to him who has no patience.

An inner paradise.  What a lovely thought.  Of course I have no patience so.... walk with me to paradise, my friends... cuz I really need someone to hold me up!