Homily | May 26, 2026 | Discipleship Demands Everything And Gives More Back | (Episode 136)

Today the church celebrates the feast of St.

Philip Neri.

And there's a line in today's gospel I think every Christian has to wrestle with.

Peter says to Jesus, We've given up everything and followed you.

And Jesus does not deny it.

He does not say, No, Peter, it wasn't that much.

No, he acknowledges the sacrifice.

Following Christ will cost you something.

It cost Peter his boats.

It cost Matthew his tax booth.

It cost Paul his old life.

It cost the martyrs their blood.

And for many of us, it cost comfort.

Why?

Because Christianity is not an add-on to life.

It is a surrender for a new life.

But then Jesus says something extraordinary.

No one has left anything for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will fail to receive a hundred times more.

Notice what Jesus does not promise.

He does not promise ease, he does not promise comfort.

He explicitly says, with persecution.

Sometimes we forget that part.

The gospel gives abundance, but also crosses.

It gives us joy, but also sacrifice.

Gives us a hundredfold, but also Calvary.

And maybe that is why today's saint is so perfect.

Because Saint Philip Neri understood something beautiful.

Holiness is not misery.

Philip Neri was known as the apostle of Rome.

He lived during a very difficult period in church history.

Rome needed renewal.

The church needed saints.

And God sent Philip.

Not a severe saint, not a gloomy saint, a joyful saint.

He laughed, he joked, he played practical jokes, he walked through Rome speaking to young people.

He gathered them, he listened to them, he prayed with them, led them to confession, led them to Christ.

He's famous for saying a joyful heart is more easily made perfect than a downcast one.

I love that.

Because some people think holiness means becoming serious at all times.

Philip would disagree.

He understood that joy is evangelical.

People are attracted to joy.

The saints attract joy.

They do not repel.

And yet underneath all that joy was tremendous sacrifice.

Philip spent long hours in prayer.

He heard confessions for hours.

He gave himself completely to souls.

In fact, his love for God became so intense that during prayer he experienced a mystical enlargement of the heart.

Doctors later discovered broken ribs that has expanded outward because of this expanded heart.

Imagine loving God so much that your heart physically grows.

And then today's first reading hits hard.

Be holy because I am holy.

That is one of the most frightening lines in Scripture.

And one of the most beautiful too.

Because God does not say be successful, be famous, be admired, be comfortable.

No, he says be holy.

That's the goal.

Not merely to be good people and to do good things.

No, be saints.

Maybe this is where Philip Neri helps us.

Because holiness is not becoming less human, it's becoming fully human, fully alive, fully joyful, fully surrendered.

Peter gave up everything.

Philip gave up everything, the saints always do.

And yet none of them would tell you they lost anything.

They all received that hundredfold Jesus promises.

Not necessarily money, not necessarily comfort, but joy, meaning, purpose, Jesus Christ Himself.

And I wonder if that's what some people are searching for without realizing it.

Not more possessions, not more things, not more success, meaning, life that matters, a reason to wake up every day, a fire in the soul.

Saint Philip found it.

Peter found it.

The saints all found it.

They found Jesus Christ.

So I want to end with one of Philip Neri's prayers because I think it's it's one that every Christian should pray.

Here it goes.

Otherwise, Philip will betray you.

I love that prayer because it's humble, it recognizes weakness and it recognizes dependence.

Maybe today that's your prayer.

Lord, watch over me.

Because without you I cannot be holy.

But with you, saints are possible.

Amen.