Every 26th of May turns out to be the feast day of St. Philip Neri and he is known as the patron saint of joy, because he was convinced that cheerfulness should be a mark of those who follow Christ.
St. Philip Neri is someone who loved jokes, and he enjoyed playing tricks, and without doubt this good humor was at least part of the reason that he was such a popular reformer, who was able to unite people of different views in a common love for Our Lord.
So, below are five quotes from the fun-loving saint so as to help us live in better spirits.
- Be frequent in reading the lives of saints for inspiration and instruction.
- Cheerfulness strengthens the heart and it also helps us to persevere. It’s the obligation of a servant of God to always be in good spirits. Charity and cheerfulness, or charity and humility, should always be our motto.
- Do not hate any one. God doesn’t come where there is no love for our neighbors.
- He who walks in anger, strife, and a bitter spirit has a taste of the air of Hell.
- Our enemy, the devil, who fights with us so as to vanquish us, wants to disunite us in our houses, and to breed quarrels, dislikes, contests and rivalries because as we are fighting with each other, he would come and conquer us and makes us securely his own.
