St. Philip Post- Part Three
Catacombs of San Sebastiano
It was during this time, with Philip spending his days and nights in service and prayer, that one of the great events of his life occurred. One of his favorite places to pray was the Catacombs of San Sebastiano, where he could withdraw from the busy pace of the city above and also be reminded of the lives of the early Christians. On Pentecost, 1544, while Philip was immersed in prayer in the catacombs, he had a mystical experience in which a ball of fire appeared and went down his throat to his heart. He then felt this fire within him, and his heart seemed to be expanding to hold it. While this was very much an experience of the spirit, it had marked physical aftereffects, including an inner heat which astonished many, and heartbeats which, when Philip was at prayer or otherwise spiritually moved, were audible to bystanders, sometimes to the point of making the room shake.
St. Philip Neri Quotes:
"He who runs away from one cross will meet a bigger one on his road."
"In the matter of purity there is no greater danger than not fearing the danger: when a man does not distrust himself,
and is without fear, it is all over with him."
"Not everything which is better in itself is better for each man in particular."
"Fathers and mothers of families should bring up their children virtuously, looking at them rather as God's children rather than
their own; and to count life, and health, and all they possess, as loans which they hold from God."
Catacombs of San Sebastiano
It was during this time, with Philip spending his days and nights in service and prayer, that one of the great events of his life occurred. One of his favorite places to pray was the Catacombs of San Sebastiano, where he could withdraw from the busy pace of the city above and also be reminded of the lives of the early Christians. On Pentecost, 1544, while Philip was immersed in prayer in the catacombs, he had a mystical experience in which a ball of fire appeared and went down his throat to his heart. He then felt this fire within him, and his heart seemed to be expanding to hold it. While this was very much an experience of the spirit, it had marked physical aftereffects, including an inner heat which astonished many, and heartbeats which, when Philip was at prayer or otherwise spiritually moved, were audible to bystanders, sometimes to the point of making the room shake.
St. Philip Neri Quotes:
"He who runs away from one cross will meet a bigger one on his road."
"In the matter of purity there is no greater danger than not fearing the danger: when a man does not distrust himself,
and is without fear, it is all over with him."
"Not everything which is better in itself is better for each man in particular."
"Fathers and mothers of families should bring up their children virtuously, looking at them rather as God's children rather than
their own; and to count life, and health, and all they possess, as loans which they hold from God."
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