Monday, August 1, 2016

Aug 1 - Homily for Today

+ 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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