+ One of the most holy bishops and doctors of the Western Church, St
Alphonsus Liguori was born to nobility and its capricious lifestyle, but early
in his adulthood he turned away from it and to religious life. A child prodigy,
Alphonsus was extremely well educated, receiving doctorates in canon and civil law
from the University of Naples by age 16. He had his own legal practice by age
21. He loved music and could play the harpsichord. He declined an arranged
marriage, studied theology and was ordained a priest at age 29. Father
Alphonsus was preacher and a home missioner around Naples, noted for his
simple, clear, direct style of preaching and his gentle, understanding way in
the confessional. He wrote on asceticism, theology and history; he was a master
theologian. In 1732, Fr. Alphonsus founded the Congregation of the most Holy Redeemer (Liguorians; Redemptorists) at Scala, Italy. (This, two years after
founding a similar order for women).
It is no surprise that he was
appointed bishop (diocese of Sant’Agata de’ Goti, Italy), by Pope Clement XIII
in 1762. He worked there to reform the clergy and revitalize the faithful in a
diocese with a bad reputation. He was afflicted with severe rheumatism, and
often could barely move or raise his chin from his chest. In 1775 he resigned
his see due to ill health, and went into what he thought would be a prayerful
retirement. But there was a political issue with the royal government which
claimed that the Redemptorists were covertly carrying on the work of the
Jesuits who had been suppressed in 1773. Calling on his knowledge of the
Congregation, his background in theology, and his skills as a lawyer, Alphonsus
defended the Redemptorists so well that they obtained the king’s approval.
Bishop Alphonsus lived to be 90 years old and now nearly blind knew that he had
done what he vowed to do – never to waste
a moment in working for God and his Church.
The gospel passage today talks
about what happens to salt when it loses
it flavor, it is good for nothing but to be trampled underfoot: St.
Alphonsus in a way used this imagery to deal with a worldly minded priest, who
resisted all attempts to change: ‘he summoned the priest to his study, and when
the priest arrived he found a large crucifix laid on the threshold. When the
priest hesitated to step in, Alphonsus quietly said “Come along, and be sure to trample it underfoot. It would not be the
first time you have placed Our Lord beneath your feet.”
St. Alphonsus Liguori died on
August 1, 1787 at Norcera, Italy of natural causes and for his many writings
and great spiritual classics (including his Stations
of the Cross that became popular to Catholics everywhere in the 20th
century) he was declared Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius IX in 1871.
Let
your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify
your heavenly Father.
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