Come and Worship
This summer at St. Philip Neri we will be engaged in worship of the Lord that is centered in the Liturgy of the Church and the rich spirituality of spontaneous praise and charismatic gifts. With the liturgy of the church in Evening Prayer and Adoration, we will experience the Lord’s presence coming to us in psalms of praise and listening to the word of the Lord in Sacred Scripture.
Our praise is with the psalms of the Church, found in Sacred Scripture, songs of joy and with the spontaneous expression of our hearts and minds. Praise is prayer through which we marvel at the wonders of God. We praise because it is our vocation. “Our happiness in eternity will consist in praising God….” (St. Augustine). Part of entering into praise is what St. Augustine called “jubilation” or “singing in tongues.” He describes this as our own words are not enough to express in words the sentiments that please God. So we praise him with “jubilant” singing or singing in tongues.
The fruit of spontaneous prayer is an increase in fraternal charity. Praise, while expressing our love for God also increases our fraternal bonds. We grow in a new awareness of the spirituality of communion as brothers and sisters in Christ. Ultimately, this new awareness helps us grow in mutual attention towards one another and availability towards the poorest and most wounded.
Praise also brings out numerous charisms by invoking the Spirit. One such charism is prophecy. This is not “fore-telling” the future but words expressed from the heart of God that encourage, build up and exhort the assembly to become more open to God working in our midst now.
There is also a time of listening to the word of God in Sacred Scripture in the presence of the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Exhortation and teaching will also be part of our gatherings.