26 May 2026 (Tuesday) | Saint Philip Neri, Priest on Tuesday of week 8 in Ordinary Time | Memorial of Saint Philip Neri, Priest | Saint Philip Neri, Priest Obligatory Memorial

26 May 2026 (Tuesday)

Saint Philip Neri, Priest on Tuesday of week 8 in Ordinary Time.

Memorial of Saint Philip Neri, Priest.
Saint Philip Neri, Priest Obligatory Memorial.

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:

First Reading: 1 Peter 1: 10-16
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 97(98):1‐4 ℟. 2a
Gospel acclamation: Alleluia: Matthew 11: 25
Gospel: Mark 10: 28-31
Liturgical year 2026 (Cycle A/II)
Liturgical color: White.

First Reading : 1 Peter 1:10‐16

(Reader) A reading from the first Letter of Saint Peter.

It was this salvation that the prophets were looking and searching so hard for; their prophecies were about the grace which was to come to you. The Spirit of Christ which was in them foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would come after them, and they tried to find out at what time and in what circumstances all this was to be expected. It was revealed to them that the news they brought of all the things which have now been announced to you, by those who preached to you the Good News through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, was for you and not for themselves. Even the angels long to catch a glimpse of these things.
  Free your minds, then, of encumbrances; control them, and put your trust in nothing but the grace that will be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. Do not behave in the way that you liked to before you learnt the truth; make a habit of obedience: be holy in all you do, since it is the Holy One who has called you, and scripture says: Be holy, for I am holy.

(Reader) The Word of the Lord.
(All) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 97(98):1‐4 ℟. 2a

The Lord has made known his salvation.
Sing a new song to the Lord
  for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
  have brought salvation.
The Lord has made known his salvation.
The Lord has made known his salvation;
  has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
  for the house of Israel.
The Lord has made known his salvation.
All the ends of the earth have seen
  the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
  ring out your joy.
The Lord has made known his salvation.

Gospel acclamation: Alleluia: Matthew 11: 25
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
25 Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
20. Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was to come, he gave them this answer, 'The coming of the kingdom of God does not admit of observation 21. and there will be no one to say, "Look, it is here! Look, it is there!" For look, the kingdom of God is among you.' 22. He said to the disciples, 'A time will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of man and will not see it. 23. They will say to you, "Look, it is there!" or, "Look, it is here!" Make no move; do not set off in pursuit; 24. for as the lightning flashing from one part of heaven lights up the other, so will be the Son of man when his Day comes.25. But first he is destined to suffer grievously and be rejected by this generation. (Luke 17: 20-24).

Gospel : Mark 10:28‐31

(Reader) A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark.
(All) Glory to you, O Lord.

At that time Peter began to tell Jesus, ‘What about us? We have left everything and followed you.’ Jesus said, ‘I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not be repaid a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land – not without persecutions – now in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life. ‘Many who are first will be last, and the last first.’

(Reader) The Gospel of the Lord.
(All) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

For our reflection today:

The life of the Saint.
The Saint of the day presents a daily calendar of Saints remembered by the Church. The pages feature the stories of the great witnesses of Christian life through the centuries, lighting our way on our journey of faith.

St. Philip Neri, priest, Founder of the Congregation of the Oratory 26 May

In the “peripheries” of the city center.

When Philip Neri arrived in Rome in 1534, it was as if a light were lit in the darkness of misery that nestled amidst the glories of the Ara Pacis and the lustrous travertines of the noble palaces. The center of the city had the dirty face of the outskirts, and Philip would go and get a small room, in San Girolamo in via Giulia. By day, even before he was ordained a priest, his kind face and happy heart led those who met him to the warmth of God, to which warmth he added some bread when he was able - or a caress on the forehead, a whispered comfort, to those who complain about the pallets of the Hospital of the Incurables. At night, a soul of fire, Philip, lost in a dialogue so intimate with God that he could make his bed on the steps of a church or even atop the stone of a catacomb.

Always smiling.

This, recalls Pope Francis in his Message marking the 500th anniversary of St. Philip Neri’s birth, made him a “passionate proclaimer of the Word of God”. This was the secret that made him a “chiseler of souls”. “His spiritual fatherhood,” Francis observes, “His spiritual fatherhood shone through all of his work, characterized by trust in people, by spurning dark and dreary colours, by a festive spirit and joy, by the conviction that grace does not quell nature but heals it, strengthens it and perfects it.” Quoting St. Philip’s biographer, Pope Francis goes on in that Message to say, “He approached in a simple fashion, now this one, then that one, and everyone quickly became his friend." Pope Francis adds, “He loved spontaneity, avoided artifice, chose the most entertaining ways to educate in Christian virtue. At the same time he proposed a healthy discipline which entailed the exercise of willingness to receive Christ concretely into one’s life.”

The Hour of the Oratory.

Many of those, who thus came to know Philip, wanted to do ashe did. Thus, did the “Oratory” come into being, among the fetid hovels perfumed day by day by a charity made of flesh and  - not a project drawn on paper and dropped from above as a cold almsgiving. “Thanks also to the apostolate of St Philip,” writes again Pope Francis, “the commitment to the salvation of souls returned to be a priority in the Church’s action; it was again understood that Pastors must be with the people in order to guide them and support them in the faith.” Philip himself became a pastor, after ordination to the the priesthood in 1551, though he never changed his lifestyle. With time, a first community took shape around him, the cell of the future Congregation of the Oratory that in 1575 received the blessing of Pope Gregory XIII.

“Be lowly”

“My sons, be humble, be lowly: be humble, be lowly,” Fr. Philip would say again and again, reminding his charges that, to be children of God, “It is not enough to honor superiors, but we must honor our equals and the inferiors, and try to be the first to give honor.” Also striking, especially from a soul as contemplative as Mary at the feet of Jesus, the spirit of Martha living in his heart, which we see when he says, “It is better to obey the sacristan and the porter when they call, than to remain in one’s room at prayer.” Philip Neri, the third Apostle of Rome, closed his eyes in the early hours of May 26, 1595. The dynamism of his love has never gone out. 

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Pelayan Atasan Tertinggi / Most High Servant,
Yesus, Maria, Yusuf Pelayanan Kasih / Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love 
(Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)

My vocation is Blessed and Saints.

"I am the most humble of all the Saints in Heaven" Mary, Mother of God."

"I am the handmaid of the Lord, said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me."

Mother Mary is the most humble Saint in Heaven and she is also the Mother of God for us all
(Luke 1:38)