All You Holy Men, Pray for us!

This month we celebrate the feasts of two Apostles, St. Philip and St. James on May 3rd. It is the anniversary of the dedication of the sixth century Roman church bearing their names (now called the Church of the Twelve Apostles).  St. Philip was of Bethsaida, in Galilee, and called by our Saviour to follow him on the day after St. Peter and St. Andrew.  St. Philip is eighth in the Apostolic list of the Roman Canon.  St. James is not the author of the epistle bearing his name and is also known as “James the Lesser.”  Scripture tells us little about James; the most important thing we know for certain is that he responded to the call of Jesus as one of the twelve “to make disciples of every nation.” (Mt 28:19)

Saint Matthias, also an Apostle, was chosen after the death of Jesus Christ. He was the substitute for Judas Iscariot who had betrayed Jesus Christ and later committed suicide. The bible says he was chosen by lot.  He was suited for apostleship by the experience of being with Jesus from his baptism, witnessing the Resurrection, to His ascension. He must also have been suited personally, or he would not have been nominated for so great a responsibility.  His feast day is May 14th.

The feast day of Saint Dominic Savio, a wonderful hero for young people today is May 6th.  He is the patron saint of choirboys. This teenage saint's way to holiness was to live the spirituality that was shared with him by St. John Bosco and his Salesians, basically a life lived simply by doing the everyday duties of life in an extra ordinary way:  He tells us "Ask Jesus to make you a saint. After all, only He can do that. Go to confession regularly and to Communion as often as you can."

May 26th is the feast day of St. Philip Neri (called the apostle of Rome).  He dedicated his life to saving young people from the power of evil. For this, he was in charge of founding the Oratory in Rome, where spiritual readings, religious songs, and works of charity were carried out continuously. He stood out for his great love for all those in need and for his spirit of joy. He is the patron of Joyful Hearts.