Philip Neri: The Fire of Joy

By Paul Turks and Paul Türks

Book Overview

Translated by Daniel UtrechtA major biography of Philip Neri for the 400th anniversary celebrations of the life of this saint. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0818907487
• ISBN13: 9780818907487
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Alba House
• Length: 174 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 0.5" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

Philip Neri, a saint with a sense of humor

Oh, you have to read this. Philip Neri was such a remarkable man, and this book captures him well. Like St Francis of Assisi, he was full of the joy of life, and he tended to turn everything into a joke. When Philip came to Rome in 1534 the city had recently been sacked and morals were at a true low. A vision of St John the Baptist led Philip to understand "that his place was to be the stark solitude and poverty of the desert. But his desert should be in the midst of Rome" p 38. Philip organized musical outings on Sundays which included talks about God and, frequently, one of Philip's practical jokes. For example, when Cardinal Sforza's white dog left the Cardinal to follow obstinately at Philip's heels, Philip had the wealthy and proud Tharugi carry the dog about on a pillow. To continue with the joke, when the dog finally died Tharugi wrote a sonnet "celebrating his liberation from the dog" (p 51). Philip always stressed love of neighbor and treating the world as silly and vain. When one of the many people who flocked to him asked to wear a hair shirt, Philip suggested he should, but on the outside of his clothing.

One of the best biographies of St. Philip Neri avaliable.

This excellent biography of St. Philip Neri presents a complete portrait of the great 16th century "Apostle of Rome", St. Philip Neri. Rather than stressing the excessive asceticism of the time, St. Philip emphasised the great love and mercy of God, thus bringing back many people to the practise of the faith and and inspiring many to lead holy lives. It presents the reader with a picture of St. Philip, a man both on fire for the Lord and a saint with an immense sense of humour. This is one of the best biographies of St. Philip that I've found and I reccommend it highly.