What is an Oratory?
"Cast yourself into the arms of God and be very sure that if he wants anything of you, He will fit you for the work and give you strength."
Saint Philip Neri
From Rome to Red Bank
The Oratory of St. Philip Neri is a community of priests and brothers who live, pray and work together as a community of brothers and friends after the spirit and rule of St. Philip Neri and the first Oratorians. The nature of the Oratory is found in its name, it is a place of prayer. Though we are very active in various apostolates, the heart of our life and work is prayer.
Canonically, the Congregation of the Oratory is a Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Rite. There is no Superior General or Provincials. Each house is self-governing and is directly answerable to the Holy Father.
Like the Benedictines, Oratorians live a life of stability, which means that they are not subject to transfer from one house or location to another. They remain in the same location and in the same self-governing community for life.
The Oratory was founded in the 16th Century by one of the great saints and heroes of the counter-reformation, Saint Philip Neri. He was born and raised in the city of Florence. At the prompting of his father, he left Florence sometime between his 16th and 18th year in order to build a future working for his uncle's business.
Saint Philip lived and worked with his uncle for about a year or so. The town where they resided was at the base of the great Benedictine Monastery, Monte Cassino. During that time, he often visited the small and uniquely beautiful chapel of the Most Holy Trinity above the harbor of Gaeta. And there, the Lord continued to speak to his heart.
And so, turning away from worldly pursuits, he left his uncle's home but did not return to Florence. In fact, he would never return to his hometown. Instead, enlivened with a burning desire to dedicate his life completely to Christ, he set out for Rome. There he would begin the great work of re-evangelizing the center of the Church which had sunk spiritually and morally to deeper and deeper lows. This he did as if by accident. In his own simple, humble and unassuming way he won hearts, minds and souls for Christ and His Church.
His work began as a laymen, coming to Rome in his late teens and praying in the hiddenness of the Roman catacombs amid the graves of saints and martyrs. Daily he would go out to serve the sick, the poor and those traveling to Rome on pilgrimage. To these endeavors were added his walks through the streets to encounter the people. He spoke to the shopkeepers, the youth on the streets and whoever he encountered and in those moments, with his characteristic humor and charm, he shared the faith with them and imparted to them some of the fire which burned within his heart for God.
Originally his plan was to stay in Rome for a short time until he could make his way to become a missionary to India. That was his great desire. However, after gathering with a group of friends to read the letters from Saint Francis Xavier, the great Jesuit missionary and evangelist, Saint Philip inquired with a Carthusian monk about what he should do. Should he go to India, stay in Rome or did God have something else in mind for him? After some prayer, this monk and mystic came back with his answer, "Philip, Rome will be your India." And so that is what happened. Trusting in God's providence, Rome became Saint Philip's mission territory. This is why he is also known as the Second Apostle to Rome.
In his thirties, his spiritual director convinced him to be ordained a priest and soon after, others followed in his footsteps. Over time, the Secular Oratory grew organically from the simple meetings and catechesis he held in his room. Eventually his room could no longer accommodate this burgeoning group and they had to move to bigger and bigger rooms. In time, from these gatherings and the work of Father Philip and his companions, other men joined with the desire to become priests and to follow in the path begun by St. Philip. In time, this would become the Roman Oratory, a community that, for many reasons, was a first of it's kind in the Church. This community would live the evangelical councils but solely for the sake of love - without vows or oaths, but rather each day choosing in love to live like our Lord.
What was Saint Philip's secret? In one word it was joy. Saint Philip was known for his great joy, in fact one of his titles is the Patron Saint of Joy. He was known also for his great sense of humor, keen intellect and ability to read people and situations and know just the right thing to say or do to draw someone to the heart of Jesus. It was his sweetness and sometimes his firmness that drew men and women in.
With all the amazing things Saint Philip accomplished, he was no great planner. Things seemed to happen almost as if by accident. Yet, it is easy to see, from the vantage point of history, that God's hand was directing all that happened in his life and the life of the Oratory. In his own life time, new oratories began to pop up throughout Italy. And in time, there would be Oratories throughout the world.
It was in the 19th century that the first Oratories were established in the English speaking world. This came to pass through the two great English Oratorians, Saint John Henry Newman and Father Faber who established the Birmingham Oratory and the London Oratory.
However, the first oratories in the Americas date much much earlier. The first being established in Puebla, Mexico in 1669. And now today, in the new millennium, during the year of the 500th Anniversary of the birth of our great saint, Philip reached out and called to us and so we began our own little chapter in the life of the Oratory, here in Red Bank, New Jersey.