Friday, July 21, 2023

It is the 21st of July, 2023. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

Hang around church history long enough, and you will come across the great composers of oratorios- these are like religious operas. Written by the likes of Handel and Bach, these are elaborate musical pieces written not for worship but instead for performances adjacent to the church. When the church banned opera, its members could still enjoy an oratorio, but where did these come from?

Oratorios became a tradition with a much-beloved figure in the Catholic Church in the 16th century, a man who, like the Protestant Reformers, saw corruption in the church hierarchy and spent his life as a kind of urban missionary in Rome- he was St. Philip Neri. He was born on this, the 21st of July in 1515.

Neri was born in Florence to minor nobility, he was sent to work with a relative near the monastery at Monte Cassino. There, observing the monks, he devoted himself to prayer and abandoned the idea of taking over the family business. In 1533, with no money and his father's house having burned down, he traveled to Rome, where he decided to live amongst people who he believed had turned from the true practice of Christianity. He would not become a priest, instead earning a living as a tutor while evangelizing in the city or praying on the Appian way and in the catacombs.

In 1535 he began formal studies with philosophy, the Sapienza in Rome, and theology amongst the Augustinians at their monastery in Rome. While successful, he decided against an academic post. He would remain a lay evangelist in the city. He met Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier. Neri would encourage many of those he converted to join their Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). Philip thought he might be called to overseas missions. Interested in India, he was told by his friends that his work was too valuable in Rome and that he was called there- he listened and stayed.

In 1548 he decided to make it official, and he and a confessor founded the Confraternity of the Most Holy Trinity. Confraternities were popular attempts to encourage service to the church without the rigors of monastic life. A confraternity was a lay institute- no orders were taken, but religious services would be performed- in the case of Neri, it was tending to the pilgrims who came to Rome and the sick who were released from the hospital who had no money are anywhere to go.

In 1551 he relented against his refusal to enter the priesthood and was formally ordained. He continued work in Rome, organizing his band of followers to perform acts of mercy but also frequent religious services- often in irregular places. And these were more than just services, they would include food and music and conviviality. In 1574 he began to hold these services in an Oratory built for him. Hence, the religious music performed- not necessarily for a mass but with a religious theme was called “Oratorios.” In 1575 they were officially recognized as an order- as the Congregation of the Oratory (today known as the Oratorians). It was and is an order much like Philip- known for works of service and sometimes unorthodox practices for religious orders. For example, the only rule was that the brothers must eat together and practice some kind of spiritual exercise. Philip was also known for his good humor, and while he himself lived something of an ascetic life, he did not require it of others. He attempted to stay out of the fray of Reformation/Counter-Reformation battles- above politics, he believed his call was to care for the poor and evangelize the lost. His popularity often had churches calling for his services, most of which he would decline and send a fellow brother. He was known as “the 2nd Apostle of Rome” and as the “Amabile Santo”- the “lovable saint.” He died on May 26th, 1595, at the age of 80. His sainthood was swift,  he was beatified in 1615 and canonized as St. Philip Neri in 1622

The last word for today comes from Hebrews 6:

16 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 21st of July 2023, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man whose favorite Philips include Neri, Roth, Collins, and Puxatawny, he is  Christopher Gillespie. 

The show is written and read by the son of a Philip. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.