Clothing of Br Giles
On August 11, the Very Rev. Provost Paul Pearson clothed Br Giles in the habit of St Philip, and he thus began his noviciate at the Toronto Oratory.
Br. Giles was born in Sudbury in 1999, and attended Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College where he obtained a Bachelor of Catholic Studies. He returned to his alma mater in 2022 and began to work as the College’s Facilities Officer in 2023. During this time he continued to develop his maintenance and trades experience. Desiring to serve the Lord in the vocation of lay-brother, Br. Giles found his home in the Toronto Oratory and was clothed as a novice on April 11th, 2024. His interests include anything involving power tools, camping, and the casual study of early Franciscan spirituality.
The following is the Father’s address on the occasion.
Clothing of Br Giles (August 11, 2024)
When Saint Philip saw the secularization of the Rome of his day, he didn’t respond with new teaching or new ecclesiastical structures. There are many truths that needed to be reaffirmed and many parts of the Church that required reforming. Those things were necessary, but they would never be enough. His approach was to examine the core of our faith, to return to basics. It is with good reason that St John Henry Newman referred to Philip as a “man of primitive times.” Teaching wouldn’t solve the problems the Church was facing if people didn’t follow it and live their lives accordingly. Even the sacraments could only help people if they actually received them—regularly and fruitfully. How could these external things transform the souls and lives of Christians? What was missing?
Saint Philip’s solution wasn’t primarily intellectual or institutional—it was profoundly personal. There, deep within the human heart, was where the battle would be won or lost. He saw that our hearts needed to be receptive of these truths and these graces. If they were treated as special gifts for a few select souls, the Church would not thrive and her saving mission would be thwarted. He was convinced that holiness was the calling of every Christian, a calling that needed to be believed, but also embraced. He wanted to show people, by word and example, that holiness was accessible, that is was desirable. It was his special mission to draw people to a deep and abiding commitment to personal holiness.
He began his work in the streets and in small groups. But he realized that, if we were to persevere in this commitment, we would need support. We would need the example of people like us. People needed to see that they could do this. Once they saw it with their own eyes, they would be drawn. But they had to see it first, and recognize that it was possible for them.
He gathered his first followers around himself, not only to support them, but so that they could be a support to others. As Saint Philip’s maxim for the 3rd of December, the feast of the great missionary, Saint Francis Xavier, says: “Give me ten men who are really detached from the world and wish for nothing but Christ, and I have the heart to believe I could convert the world with them” (3/12). If the faithful could have a living and accessible model for the Christian life, many would be drawn.
As Philip gathered people around him, people who would become the first Oratorians, they were men dedicated to this project of holiness. They wanted to follow Saint Philip’s guidance and be inspired by his example along the way. That was the charism of the original rather loosely structured foundation, and it remains the driving force behind the success (or the failure) of Oratories. This commitment to personal holiness makes our houses thrive and gives power to our works of evangelizing. I suppose that this means that personal holiness is in fact something more than merely personal—it is very public and transformative. It might be expressed in small and hidden ways, what Saint Francis de Sales will later call the “little virtues,” but there is nothing little about it. It is something we share with our parishioners and seminarians, but it is also something we share with one another.
The Pax at ordination ceremonies is something I’ve always found moving. It seems a sacramental way of saying “I have a hand in this man’s priesthood; I take a personal responsibility to support this vocation, this person.” The Pax at a clothing ceremony seems to function in the same way. It is more than an empty show or a formalized greeting. It is an expression of a commitment, a commitment to persevere in the life we have undertaken and to support this new novice as he enters into our life. Like the promises of parents and godparents at a baptism, it asks us to rededicate ourselves to our promises, to live our life not only for ourselves, but for the sake of those around us. It is a sign that we can depend upon one another as fellow pilgrims on the journey towards heaven who will encourage each other along the way, by word and example.
Whether we are at the beginning of our Oratorian life like Cassidy, soon to become Brother Giles, or have served and persevered for many years—regardless of our strength or capacities—each one of us can provide this example of dedication to Saint Philip’s way, to a life of service and charity. We cannot be too young, too old, too tired, or too busy to be committed to living a life motivated by a desire for holiness. And this life we live is not merely for ourselves, but provides an example and support to those around us.
Brother Giles, we welcome you to our life and to our house. We offer you our full support, but we expect that same dedicated example from you. We all need it. We cannot do this alone. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).