“Above all, it is necessary to ask of God every morning the gift of perseverance…” (“The Sermons of Saint Alphonsus Liguori”, p.167).
I have been reading a little about the life of Philip Howard.
Philip Howard was an English nobleman who lived in England during the 16th century. The Howard family were extravagantly wealthy, and Philip was indulged because of his wealth and his family’s position at Court. This meant that as a young man Philip Howard was notorious in the English Court for his hedonistic lifestyle and he spent his time gambling, womanising and generally indulging in too much food and alcohol. In short, Philip Howard was a terrible husband to his poor wife and a terrible Christian.
In 1581, Philip decided – on a whim – to attend a debate between several Anglican ministers, and one of the Catholic prisoners who was being held in the Tower of London. The prisoner was called Edmund Campion, and he was a Jesuit priest who would later be known as SAINT Edmund Campion.
The ministers argued their point using books and assistants, placed at their disposal. Saint Edmund was forced to debate relying on his memory alone. However, Saint Edmund’s arguments were so convincing that the Government decided to cancel the debate before the verdict could be read.
Inspired as he was by the arguments that he witnessed in the Tower of London that day and by Saint Edmund, Philip returned to his wife and reconciled with her and together they decided to return to the Catholic faith. When the couple tried to escape England in secret, they were detained, and Philip Howard was arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Ten years later, Philip Howard died in that prison.
For in an instant, he received the inspiration to accept the Holy Will of God.
And I have been imagining the life of Philip Howard locked up as he was in the Tower of London. You see, he was not imprisoned for a day or a week or a year. He was imprisoned for the remainder of his earthly life. That meant that during the final ten years of his life, Philip Howard suffered. He could not visit friends and family (and had limited visits from friends and family – many of whom would have distanced themselves from him to protect their own interests at Court). He would not have lived in luxury with servants and fine foods and wines. He would not have been treated with respect and with dignity. The frivolous life of his youth was gone – replaced with the life of a prisoner.
And I have been thinking about the conviction that he had to endure such a thing – a conviction that was surely inspired by the Holy Spirit. And in “The Sermons of Saint Alphonsus Liguori” at p.167, we are advised, “Above all, it is necessary to ask of God every morning the gift of perseverance, and to beg of the Blessed Virgin to obtain it for you, and particularly in the time of temptation, by invoking the name of Jesus and Mary as long as the temptation lasts. Happy the man who will continue to act in this manner, and shall be found so doing when Jesus Christ shall come to judge him. ‘Blessed is that servant, whom, when his Lord shall come, he shall find so doing’ (Matt. 24:46).”
And I have been thinking about that blessed man Philip Howard – for through his perseverance to the inspiration he received, now, we can call him SAINT Philip Howard
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.