St Alphonsus Liguori

Yesterday (August 1) was the feast day of St Alphonsus Liguori. Founder of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (the Redemptorists) he was a moral theologian, prolific writer, doctor of the Church and bishop. The Redemptorists were a group of priests who lived in common and carried on missionary work in the rural areas and slums of cities of Italy. They also fought the errors of Jansenism, which preached excessive moral rigorism. St. Alphonsus said, “the penitents should be treated as souls to be saved rather than as criminals to be punished.”

St. Alphonsus’s life, like most saints, was not without its deep troubles. He suffered physical pains from rheumatism and by the end of his life could only drink through a straw so bent over from the affliction was he. He also was troubled by excessive guilt over the smallest issues relating to sin. However, he was a gifted writer and preacher, converting many with his sermons and books. He published nine editions of Moral Theology during his lifetime. You may be most familiar with his The Way of the Cross, used in many Churches during Lent to pray the Stations of the Cross.

He died in 1787, was beatified in 1816 and canonized in 1839. Pope Pius IX declared him a doctor of the Church in 1871. St Alphonsus followed Christ’s teachings and His sufferings during his life and was rewarded with the beatific vision for eternity. Perhaps St Alphonsus’s teachings and writings will help us follow in the same path. St. Alphonsus, pray for us.