In 1725, while still a novice, she had a series of visions in which she saw a new order (apparently of nuns only) similar to that revealed to Falcoia many years before. He started again, recruited new members, and in 1743 became the prior of two new congregations, one for men and one for women. Saint Alphonsus Liguori | EWTN He was fervent about using common words in . Infidelity and impiety were gaining ground; Voltaire and Rousseau were the idols of society; and the ancien rgime, by undermining religion, its one support, was tottering to its fall. said Alphonsus somewhat piqued. To all his administrative work we must add his continual literary labours, his many hours of daily prayer, his terrible austerities, and a stress of illness which made his life a martyrdom. The Spirituality of St. Alphonsus Liguori | The Divine Mercy Not many details have come down to us of Alphonsus's childhood. He finally agreed to become a priest but to live at home as a member of a group of secular missionaries. Resuming the General Audiences after the summer break the last was held on 27 June in the Vatican the Pope . On 6 April, 1726, he was ordained deacon, and soon after preached his first sermon. The "Moral Theology", after a historical introduction by the Saint's friend, P. Zaccaria, S.J., which was omitted, however, from the eighth and ninth editions, begins with a treatise "De Conscientia", followed by one "De Legibus". He died on August 1 at Nocera. Traditional Stations of the Cross by St. Alphonsus Liguori St. Alphonsus Liguori, in full Saint Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori, Alphonsus also spelled Alfonso, (born September 27, 1696, Marianella, Kingdom of Naples [Italy]died August 1, 1787, Pagani; canonized 1839; feast day August 1), Italian doctor of the church, one of the chief 18th-century moral theologians, and founder of the Redemptorists, a Shop St. Alphonsus Marie Liguori. 1. You have overlooked a document which destroys your whole case." Shrines were built there and at St. Agatha of the Goths. ), was published by P. KUNTZ, C.SS.R., director of the Roman archives of his Congregation. In theology Liguori is known as the principal exponent of equiprobabilism, a system of principles designed to guide the conscience of one in doubt as to whether he or she is free from or bound by a given civil or religious law. He often writes as a Neapolitan to Neapolitans. It has a tendency at every moment to deflect, and if it does deflect from the right path, the greater the momentum the more terrible the final crash. In 1762 he was appointed Bishop of Sant'Agata dei Goti. In 1734, however, it was reconquered by Don Carlos, the young Duke of Parma, great-grandson of Louis XIV, and the independent Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was established. Alphonsus had still one final storm to meet, and then the end. He thought his mistake would be ascribed not to oversight but to deliberate deceit. St. Alphonsus Liguori - Tumblar House Catholic Books He knew how to reach ordinary people who had limited education and very real needs. In vain those around him and even the judge on the bench tried to console him. The Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano took place in the 8th century: a Basilian monk, who had doubted the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist, was celebrating Mass, and at the consecration, saw that the Host had changed into flesh. An Act of Spiritual CommunionA Daily Catholic Prayer - Learn Religions In February, 1775, however, Pius VI was elected Pope, and the following May he permitted the Saint to resign his see. He founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, known as the Redemptorists, in November 1732. The priest was Alphonsus. "The life of St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori" (1855)John Murphy & Co., Baltimore, 1855, "Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori", St. Alphonsus Liguori Parish, Peterborough, Ontario, The life of St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, Bishop of St. Agatha of the Goths and founder of the Congregation of the Holy Redeemer, Tannoja, Antonio (d. 1808), John Murphy & Co. (1855), "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Alphonsus Liguori", "Alphonsus Maria de Liguori", Saint Alphonsus Mary de Liguori Parish, Makati City Philippines, "1st English Translation of St. Alphonsus Liguori's Moral Theology", https://www.avemarialynnfield.org/sites/g/files/zjfyce466/files/2021-01/Stations-of-the-Cross-St-Liguori.pdf, Liguori, Alphonsus. But when the question was put to the community, opposition began. I therefore repeat: If the divine teaching authority of the Church, and the obedience to it, are rejected, every error will be endorsed and must be tolerated. by S. HORNER (Edinburgh, 1858); VON REUMONT, Die Carafa von Maddaloni (Berlin, 1851, 2 vols. These form the first book of the work, while the second contains the treatises on Faith, Hope, and Charity. This has recently been translated into English with additions and corrections (Dublin, 2 vols., royal SVO); DUMORTIER, Les premihres Redemptoristines (Lille, 1886), and Le Phre Antoine-Marie Tannoia (Paris, 1902), contain some useful information; as does BERRUTI, Lo Spirito di S. Alfonso Maria de Liguori, 3 ed. He had a tender charity towards all who were in trouble; he would go to any length to try to save a vocation; he would expose himself to death to prevent sin. But, before relating the episode of the "Regolamento", as it is called, we must speak of the period of the Saint's episcopate which intervened. He was a man of strong passions, using the term in the philosophic sense, and tremendous energy, but from childhood his passions were under control. Castle, H. (1907). St. Alphonsus Liguori, the Prince of Moral Theologians, was one of the greatest preachers in Church history. Daily Reading for Sunday, March 5th, 2023, Continue reading about St. Alphonsus Marie Liguori, Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting: The Three Pillars of Lent. From his earliest years he had an anxious fear about committing sin which passed at times into scruple. His perseverance was indomitable. Alphonsus Liguori, Saint | Catholic Answers He was not afraid of making up his mind. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. He was born Alphonsus Marie Antony John Cosmos Damien Michael Gaspard de Liguori on September 27,1696, at Marianella, near Naples, Italy. MLA citation. R. Testa, the Grand Almoner, even to have his Rule approved. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If any reader of this article will go to original sources and study the Saint's life at greater length, he will not find his labour thrown away. In old age he was more than once raised in the air when speaking of God. St. Paul of the Cross (1694-1775) and St. Alphonsus, who were altogether contemporaries, seem never to have met on earth, though the founder of the Passionists was a great friend of Alphonsus's uncle, Mgr. The wine had changed into blood; clotted and separated into 5 different sized clots. The experience and teaching of St Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori regarding the Eucharist was in line with the Pope's invitation to Christians to persevere in their most important duty: to proclaim to humanity the great mystery of God's love, especially visible in the Eucharist. To prevent the ship going to pieces on the rocks, it has need of a very responsive rudder, answering to the slightest pressure of Divine guidance. For three days he refused all food. Deposed and excluded from his own congregation, Alphonsus suffered great anguish. This occurred twice. The impulse to this passionate service of God comes from Divine grace, but the soul must correspond (which is also a grace of God), and the soul of strong will and strong passions corresponds best. The cause of this was "regalism", the omnipotence of kings even in matters spiritual, which was the system of government in Naples as in all the Bourbon States. Addeddate His father opposed the plan, but after two months (and with his Oratorian confessor's permission), he and his father compromised: he would study for the priesthood, but not as an Oratorian, and would live at home. He continued to live with the Redemptorist community in Pagani, Italy, where he died on 1 August 1787. Other personal friends of Alphonsus were the Jesuit Fathers de Matteis, Zaccaria, and Nonnotte. Cavalieri, himself a great servant of God. He was thinking of leaving the profession and wrote to someone, "My friend, our profession is too full of difficulties and dangers; we lead an unhappy life and run risk of dying an unhappy death". Alphonsus was a lawyer, and as a lawyer he attached much importance to the weight of evidence. Alphonsus Liguori | Saints Resource "You have founded the Congregation and you have destroyed it", said one Father to him. In December, 1724, he received minor orders, and the subdiaconate in September, 1725. On 23 October of the same year, 1723, the Saint put on the clerical dress. March 1, 1907. But before he called a witness the opposing counsel said to him in chilling tones: "Your arguments are wasted breath. [11], Liguori was consecrated Bishop of Sant'Agata dei Goti in 1762. His system of moral theology is noted for its prudence, avoiding both laxism and excessive rigour. The eighteenth century was not an age remarkable for depth of spiritual life, yet it produced three of the greatest missionaries of the Church, St. Leonard of Port Maurice, St. Paul of the Cross, and St. Alphonsus Liguori. The days were indeed evil. In 1949, the Redemptorists founded the Alphonsian Academy for the advanced study of Catholic moral theology. (Rome, 1896). To supplement this, God allowed him in the last years of his life to fall into disgrace with the pope, and to find himself deprived of all external authority, trembling at times even for his eternal salvation. Here he laid his sword before the statue of Our Lady, and made a solemn resolution to enter the ecclesiastical state, and furthermore to offer himself as a novice to the Fathers of the Oratory. Tannoia, also, through some mental idiosyncrasy, manages to give the misleading impression that St. Alphonsus was severe. Most were in favour of accepting, but the superior objected and appealed to Filangieri, Falcoia's colleague in establishing the convent, and now, as General of the "Pii Operarii", his superior. If in some things Alphonsus was an Anglo-Saxon, in others he was a Neapolitan of the Neapolitans, though always a saint. St. Alphonsus Liguori was an Italian Catholic bishop, spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philosopher, and theologian. Again, we have a friendship of thirty years with the great Venetian publishing house of Remondini, whose letters from the Saint, carefully preserved as became business men, fill a quarto volume. He said: "I have never preached a sermon which the poorest old woman in the congregation could not understand". Corrections? He was canonized in 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius IX in 1871. The rudder is humility, which, in the intellect, is a realization of our own unworthiness, and in the will, docility to right guidance. He was crushed to the earth. His friend the Grand Almoner betrayed him; his two envoys for negotiating with the Grand Almoner, Fathers Majone and Cimino, betrayed him, consultors general though they were. The crisis arose in this way. The Glories of Mary ( Italian: Le glorie di Maria) is a classic book in the field of Roman Catholic Mariology, written during the 18th century by Saint Alphonsus Liguori, a Doctor of the Church . Saint Alphonsus Liguori: Doctor of the Church - TAN Books She was told to write it down and show it to the director of the convent, that is to Falcoia himself. For thirteen years Alphonsus fed the poor, instructed families, reorganized the seminary and religious houses, taught theology, and wrote. Very few remarks upon his own times occur in the Saint's letters. The other was not to be long delayed. Pardon me, my God. Alphonsus left the Hospital and went to the church of the Redemption of Captives. Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1969), p. 99, Appendix to his work on the Council of Trent, Saint Alphonsus Liguori, patron saint archive, St. Alphonsus 'Rock' Liguori Church (St. Louis), "St. Alphonsus Liguori, Our Founder", Redemptorists, Baltimore Province, Tannoja, Antonio. St. Alphonsus Liguori Catholic Church is known far and wide as "The Rock." The parish is staffed by the Redemptorists, making history in 1922 when it began the weekly novena in honor of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. A centenary edition, Lettere di S. Alfonso Maria de'Liguori (ROME, 1887, 3 vols. Fearful temptations against every virtue crowded upon him, together with diabolical apparitions and illusions, and terrible scruples and impulses to despair which made life a hell. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Eight times during his long life, without counting his last sickness, the Saint received the sacraments of the dying, but the worst of all his illnesses was a terrible attack of rheumatic fever during his episcopate, an attack which lasted from May, 1768, to June, 1769, and left him paralyzed to the end of his days. [2][3], He was born in Marianella, near Naples, then part of the Kingdom of Naples, on 27 September 1696. [5] He founded the Evening Chapels, which were managed by the young people themselves. Even if there be some exaggeration in this, for it is not in an advocate's power always to be on the winning side, the tradition shows that he was extraordinarily able and successful. A companion, Balthasar Cito, who afterwards became a distinguished judge, was asked in later years if Alphonsus had ever shown signs of levity in his youth. In the end the Rule was so altered as to be hardly recognizable, the very vows of religion being abolished. About the year 1722, when he was twenty-six years old, he began to go constantly into society, to neglect prayer and the practices of piety which had been an integral part of his life, and to take pleasure in the attention with which he was everywhere received.