Philip Romolo Neri, sometimes referred to as the Second Apostle of Rome after Saint Peter, was an Italian Catholic priest who founded the Congregation of the Oratory, a society of secular clergy dedicated to pastoral care and charitable work. Neri's spiritual mission emphasized personal holiness and direct service to others, particularly through the education of young people and care for the poor and sick. His work played a significant role in the Counter-Reformation
As prescribed by Saint Neri, I posted one maxim per day starting with the one for September 27, 2024. This page shall contain Saint Philip Neri's Maxim of the Day for 1Q2025. Power of Prayer
Just like there are levels of worship, there are levels of prayer:
—Purgative Way—
1. Vocal Prayer
2. Mental Prayer
3. Affective Prayer
4. Acquired Recollection
Bridge: Dark Night of the Senses
—Illuminative Way—
5. Infused Contemplation
6. Prayer of Quiet
Bridge: Dark Night of the Soul
—Unitive Way—
7. Simple Union
8. Conforming Union
9. Transforming Union
1. Vocal Prayer
2. Mental Prayer
3. Affective Prayer
4. Acquired Recollection
Bridge: Dark Night of the Senses
—Illuminative Way—
5. Infused Contemplation
6. Prayer of Quiet
Bridge: Dark Night of the Soul
—Unitive Way—
7. Simple Union
8. Conforming Union
9. Transforming Union
How to Pray: the Ladder of Monks
Lectio Divina, “Divine Reading”, refers to an approach to prayer and scripture reading practiced by monastics since the early Church.
In the 11th century, a Carthusian prior named Guigo formalized how to pray in a letter written to a fellow religious. This letter is known as The Ladder of Monks and describes a four-runged ladder to Heaven, each rung being one of the four steps in his method of prayerful scripture reading:
Lectio (reading): An attentive, slow, repetitious recitation of a short passage of scripture.
“looking on Holy Scripture with all one’s will and wit”
Meditatio (meditation): An effort to understand the passage and apply it to my own life.
“a studious searching with the mind to know what was before concealed”
Oratio (prayer): Engaging or talking with God about the passage.
“a devout desiring of the heart to get what is good and avoid what is evil”
Contemplatio (contemplation): Allowing oneself to be absorbed in the words of God as the Holy Spirit draws us into His presence through scripture.
“the lifting up of the heart to God tasting somewhat of the heavenly sweetness”
“looking on Holy Scripture with all one’s will and wit”
Meditatio (meditation): An effort to understand the passage and apply it to my own life.
“a studious searching with the mind to know what was before concealed”
Oratio (prayer): Engaging or talking with God about the passage.
“a devout desiring of the heart to get what is good and avoid what is evil”
Contemplatio (contemplation): Allowing oneself to be absorbed in the words of God as the Holy Spirit draws us into His presence through scripture.
“the lifting up of the heart to God tasting somewhat of the heavenly sweetness”
Father Mark-Mary's Rosary in a Year Podcast applies the lectio divina in several episodes
Maxims For MARCH 2025
31. A most excellent means of keeping ourselves pure, is to lay open all our thoughts, as soon as possible, to our confessor with the greatest sincerity, and keep nothing hidden in ourselves.
Confess James 5:16
30. In order to begin well, and to finish better, it is quite necessary to hear mass every day, unless there be some lawful hindrance in the way.
29. The devil generally makes use of the weaker sex when he wishes to cause us to fall.
28. In the matter of purity there is no greater danger than the not fearing the danger: when a man does not distrust himself, and is without fear, it is all over with him.
27. To be without pity for other men’s falls, is an evident sign that we shall fall ourselves shortly.
26. One of the most efficacious means of keeping ourselves chaste, is to have compassion for those who fall through their frailty, and never to boast in the least of being free, but with all humility to acknowledge that whatever we have is from the mercy of God.
25. Our sweet Christ, the Word Incarnate, has given Himself to us for everything that was necessary for us, even to the hard and ignominious death upon the cross.
24. We ought to fear and fly temptations of the flesh, even in sickness, and in old age itself, aye, and so long as we can open and shut our eyelids, for the spirit of incontinence gives no truce either to place, time, or person.
Sin of incontinence, or sins committed because of a lack of self-control, include the sins of wrath, lust, and gluttony, but not fraud, which is considered an even worse sin than these.
23. We must never trust ourselves, for it is the devil’s way first to get us to feel secure, and then to make us fall.
22. In order to preserve their purity, young men should frequent the Sacraments, and especially confession.
21. When fathers have given their sons a good education, and put everything clearly and distinctly in train for them, the sons who succeed them, and continue to follow the road marked out for them, will have the advantage of seeing their family persevere in holy ways, and in the fear of God.
20. Young men should be very careful to avoid idleness.
19. It is God’s custom to interweave human life with a trouble and a consolation, at least, of an interior sort, alternately.
18. Let them also avoid nourishing their bodies delicately.
17. If young men would preserve their purity, let them avoid bad company.
16. If young men wish to protect themselves from all danger of impurity, let them never retire to their own rooms immediately after dinner, either to read or write, or do anything else; but let them remain in conversation, because at that time the devil is wont to assault us with more than usual vehemence, and this is that demon which is called in Scripture the noonday demon, and from which holy David prayed to be delivered.
15. Without prayer a man will not persevere long in spirituality; we must have recourse to this most powerful means of salvation every day.
14. We may ask a spiritual alms even corporally, by going first to the church of one Saint, and then to the church of another, to make our petition.
13. The best remedy for dryness of spirit, is to picture ourselves as beggars in the presence of God and the Saints, and like a beggar, to go first to one saint, then to another, to ask a spiritual alms of them with the same earnestness as a poor fellow in the streets would ask an alms of us.
12. If in times of dryness in prayer we make acts of humility, self-knowledge, protestations of our own inability to help ourselves, and petitions for God’s assistance, all this is real and substantial prayer.
11. We must not leave off our prayers be cause of distractions and restlessness of mind, although it seems useless to go on with them. He who perseveres for the whole of his accustomed time, gently recalling his mind to the subject of his prayer, merits greatly.
10. We must pray incessantly for the gift of perseverance.
9. Let women remain indoors, and look after their families, and not be desirous of going into public.
8. A diligent charity in ministering to the sick, is a compendious way to the acquisition of perfect virtue.
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| 1 Corinthians 13:13 |
7. The wisdom of the Scriptures is learned rather by prayer than by study.
If you have never read the Bible, but want to know what is in it, take one minute and read the Our Father: it's a paraphrase
And if you want more detail, just read the Rosary. It's a compendium.
6. It is good for a man to go from prayer rather with an appetite and desire to return to it, than satiated and weary.
5. To leave our prayer when we are called to do some act of charity for our neighbor, is not really a quitting of prayer, but leaving Christ for Christ, that is, depriving ourselves of spiritual sweetnesses in order to gain souls.
4. The sweetness which some experience in prayer, is milk which our Lord gives as a relish to those who are just beginning to serve Him.
3. A man ought never to think he has done any good, or rest contented with any degree of perfection he may have attained, because Christ has given us the type of our perfection, in putting before us the perfection of the Eternal Father. Be ye perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect.
2. When a spiritual person feels a great calmness of mind in asking anything of God, it is a good sign that God either has granted it, or will do so shortly.
1. We must never pray for a favor for anyone, except conditionally, saying, “If it please God,” or the like.
"There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done." All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock it is opened. - C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce
February 2025
29. When a person goes to communion, he ought to follow the same spirit he had in prayer, and not be casting about for new meditations.
28. We must exercise the spirit which God gives us in prayer, and follow that; so that, when, for example, it inclines us to meditate on the Passion, we must not wish to meditate on some other mystery.
27. We can never arrive at the contemplative life, if we do not first exercise ourselves laboriously in the active life.
26. The true preparation for prayer consists in the exercise of mortification; for he who wishes to give himself up to prayer without mortification, is like a bird wishing to fly before it is fledged.
25. A most excellent means of learning how to pray is to acknowledge ourselves unworthy of such a benefit, and to put ourselves entirely into the hands of the Lord.
24. The religious state is indeed the highest, but it is not suitable for all.
23. A man without prayer is an animal without the use of reason.
22. An excellent method of preserving ourselves from relapsing into serious faults, is to say every evening, “To-morrow I may be dead.”
21. There is nothing the devil fears so much, or so much tries to hinder, as prayer
20. The greatest help to perseverance in the spiritual life is the habit of prayer, especially under the direction of our confessor.
Those who scoff at the power of prayer- like the scientists at the New York Times, reject Sacred Scripture and deny the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
Not only did Jesus teach his disciples how to pray the pater noster (Our Father,) Jesus himself as a child, learned to pray from his earthly father.
19. He who does not go down into hell while he is alive, runs a great risk of going there after he is dead.
18. Beginners in religion ought to exercise themselves principally in meditation on the Four Last Things.
Where The Four Last Things are death, judgment, heaven, and hell
17. We must die at last
"the day is closer than when we first believed" Romans 13:11
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16. There is nothing good in this world: Vanitas vanitatum, et omnia vanitas.
“Vanitas vanitatum, et omnia vanitas” is a Latin phrase that means "vanity of vanities, all is vanity". It appears in the Bible in the book of Ecclesiastes. The phrase is often used to remind people that worldly possessions and pursuits are ultimately empty.
“Vanitas vanitatum, et omnia vanitas” is a Latin phrase that means "vanity of vanities, all is vanity". It appears in the Bible in the book of Ecclesiastes. The phrase is often used to remind people that worldly possessions and pursuits are ultimately empty.
15. When a man is in an occasion of sin, let him look what he is doing, get himself out of the occasion, and avoid the sin.
14. Let a man always think that he has God before his eyes.
13. Let a man frequent the holy Sacraments, go to sermons, and be often reading the Lives of Saints.
12. There is nothing more to the purpose for exciting a spirit of prayer, than the reading of spiritual books.
If you have never read the Bible, but want to know what is in it, take one minute and read the Our Father: it's a paraphrase
And if you want more detail, just read the Rosary. It's a compendium.
11. Every one ought to give in readily to the opinion of another, and to argue in favor of another and against himself, and take things in good part.
10. We must always remember that God does everything well, although we may not see the reason of what He does.
9. We must accept the adversities which God sends us without reasoning too much upon them, and we must take for granted that it is the best thing which could happen to us.
8. When a man is freed from a temptation or any other distress, let him take great care to show fitting gratitude to God for the benefit he has received.
7. Cheerfulness strengthens the heart and makes us persevere in a good life; wherefore the servant of God ought always to be in good spirits.
Scientifically, empirically and anecdotally, Catholics are a happier lot.
6. Tears are no sign that a man is in the grace of God, neither must we infer that one who weeps when he speaks of holy and devout things necessarily leads a holy life.
5. Perfection does not consist in such outward things as shedding tears and the like, but in true and solid virtues.
4. He who always acts under obedience, may rest assured that he will not have to give an account of his actions to God.
3. A man should force himself to be obedient, even in little things which appear of no moment; because he will thus render the practice of obedience in great matters easy to himself.
2. Devotion to the Blessed Virgin is actually necessary, because there is no better means of obtaining God’s graces than through His most holy mother.
Dispelling Myths About Mary, Mother of God
Many so-called Christians poke fun at Catholics' veneration, some would say infatuation with the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God.
1. He who wishes to be wise without the true Wisdom, or saved without the Savior, is not well, but sick - is not wise, but a fool
January 2025
31. To mortify one passion, no matter how small, is a greater help in the spiritual life than many abstinences, fasts, and disciplines
30. A man who leads a common life under obedience, is more to be esteemed than one who does great penance after his own will.
29. In dealing with our neighbour, we must assume as much pleasantness of manner as we can, and by this affability win him to the way of virtue.
You can catch more flies with sugar than a barrel of vinegar. Saint Francis de Sales.
You can catch more flies with sugar than a barrel of vinegar. Saint Francis de Sales.
28. In order to be perfect, we must not only obey and honor our superiors; we must honor our equals and inferiors also.
27. It is not enough to see that God wishes the good we aim at, but that He wishes it through our instrumentality, in our manner and in our time; and we come to discern all this by true obedience.
If you believe in the power of prayer
26. When tribulations, infirmities, and contradictions come, we must not run away in a fright, but vanquish them like men.
25. The most beautiful prayer we can make, is to say to God, “As Thou knowest and willest, O Lord, so do with me.”
Choosing to believe the New York Times or Padre Pio, largely determines whose will is more important; yours or God's? As C. S. Lewis writes: "There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done." All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it.
24. The good works which we do of our own will, are not so meritorious as those that are done under obedience.
23. Our Blessed Lady ought to be our love and our consolation.
Those who scoff at the power of prayer- like the scientists at the New York Times, reject Sacred Scripture and deny the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
22. In order to be really obedient, it is not enough to do what obedience commands, we must do it without reasoning upon it.
21. Obedience is the true holocaust which we sacrifice to God on the altar of our hearts.
Note: The Rosary is a portable temple
20. Let persons in the world sanctify themselves in their own houses, for neither the court, professions, or labour, are any hindrance to the service of God.
19. When the devil has failed in making a man fall, he puts forward all his energies to create distrust between the penitent and the confessor, and so by little and little he gains his end at last.
18. Before a man chooses his confessor, he ought to think well about it, and pray about it also; but when he has once chosen, he ought not to change, except for most urgent reasons, but put the utmost confidence in his director.
17. There is nothing which gives greater security to our actions, or more effectually cuts the snares the devil lays for us, than to follow another person’s will, rather than our own, in doing good.
16. They who really wish to advance in the ways of God, must give themselves up into the hands of their superiors always and in everything; and they who are not living under obedience must subject themselves of their own accord to a learned and discreet confessor, whom they must obey in the place of God, disclosing to him with perfect freedom and simplicity the affairs of their soul, and they should never come to any resolution without his advice.
15. Obedience is a short cut to perfection.
14. The name of Jesus, pronounced with reverence and affection, has a kind of power to soften the heart.
13. Men should often renew their good resolutions, and not lose heart because they are tempted against them.
12. A man should keep himself down, and not busy himself in mirabilibus super se.
This phrase comes from Psalm 131:1 in the Vulgate Bible, where the Psalmist says "Non est exaltatum cor meum, neque oculi mei superbios, neque ambulavi in mirabilibus super me" which means "My heart is not haughty, nor are my eyes lofty, nor do I walk in proud things too wonderful for me."
This phrase comes from Psalm 131:1 in the Vulgate Bible, where the Psalmist says "Non est exaltatum cor meum, neque oculi mei superbios, neque ambulavi in mirabilibus super me" which means "My heart is not haughty, nor are my eyes lofty, nor do I walk in proud things too wonderful for me."
11. He who wishes to be perfectly obeyed, should give but few orders.
10. If God be with us, there is no one else left to fear.
9. God has no need of men
Why NPR's CEO Katherine Maher says that Truth is hazardous to progressive goals?
8. Spiritual persons ought to be equally ready to experience sweetness and consolation in the things of God, or to suffer and keep their ground in drynesses of spirit and devotion, and for as long as God pleases, without their making any complaint about it.
7. Let no one wear a mask, otherwise he will do ill; and if he has one, let him burn
6. He who wishes for anything but Christ, does not know what he wishes; he who asks for anything but Christ, does not know what he is asking; he who works, and not for Christ, does not know what he is doing.
5. It is well to choose some one good devotion, and to stick to it, and never to abandon it.
4. Happy is the youth, because he has time before him to do good.
3. We must not be behind time in doing good; for death will not be behind his time.
LORD, let me know my end, the number of my days,that I may learn how frail I am.
To be sure, you establish the expanse of my days; indeed, my life is as nothing before you.
Every man is but a breath. Psalm 39
2. Nulla dies sine linea: Do not let a day pass without doing some good.
1. WELL! when shall we have a mind to begin to do good?
