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| Image of St. Philip posted by Marlon. Probably from the Pharr Oratory. |
The Manual of the Little Oratory, the websites of various Oratories around the United States, and the Constitutions of the Oratory make it clear that voting is a normal aspect of Oratorian life. I realized recently that it was a bit ironic that the newest Oratory of Pontifical Right to be established is located in Washington, D.C., a part of the United States well-known for its inability to vote for Congressional representatives in the House or Senate (thankfully). In a discussion I had with Fratellino about what the acrostic for the D.C. Oratory's version of "True Sons of Philip" should spell out, I suggested The Little Oratory, Columbia. On the other hand, Fratellino suggested the much more humourous The Little Oratory, Can't Vote. Taking Fratellino's concept, here is one suggestion.
True sons of Philip, raise
Heav’nward your strain of praise,
Ever rejoicing in God, as he taught;
Learn from St Philip still
In body, mind and will
Truly our Lord to serve, counting self as naught.
Songs therefore let us bring,
Praises to Jesus sing,
Now and for ever our Lord and our God. (2)
Trust in St Philip’s prayers,
Let him relieve our cares,
Ease for us gain in temptation and stress.
Once we his aid invoke
Riven is Satan’s yoke
And we are stronger our Saviour to bless.
(Refrain)
Turn, as St Philip bade,
Often to Mary’s aid,
Refuge and help she refuses to none;
Years have not dimmed her power
Come now and ev’ry hour
All grace she wins us by prayer with her Son.
(Refrain)
Never shall we despair
Triumphant, we declare
Victory over sin with the Spirit's love;
Out with all sadness here,
Take on St. Philip’s cheer
Evermore till we rule with the Saints above!
(Refrain)
The lines for "C" and "A" in the third verse are identical to the Cardiff Oratory's acrostic, while the "O" in the final verse is identical to the one found in Oxford's acrostic. We here in San Diego certainly look forward to whatever D.C. decides to write for their version of this great Oratorian hymn, but I hope they enjoy our rendition as well!
As the Cardiff Oratory explains, the hymn was originally written as an acrostic, spelling out The Little Oratory in London. Adaptations for each Oratorian House in Britain modify the last eight lines of the song (i.e., the last third of the third verse and the whole six lines of the fourth verse). The refrain acrostic spells out S.P.N. (St. Philip Neri).
At Cardiff, these last eight lines spell out Caerdydd (the Welsh name for the city), while Oxford's lines spell out in Oxford. The verse-writer at Oxford dealt with the difficulty of the letter "X" by referring to St. Francis Xavier, one of St. Philip's role models (as well as one of the four Spaniards he shares his canonization date with). Since the Brothers in San Diego were received into St. Philip's family at London, Chorus Breviarii is accustomed to singing the original in London version. However, somewhere in Fratellino's archives, there may still exist a copy of an acrostic for San Diego written over a decade ago.
Now, we ought to charge Marlon with writing one for Pharr if they develop a sizeable Little Oratory out in Texas.
