In this state of exclusion he lived for seven years more and in it he died. In addition, he published many editions of compendiums of his larger work, such as the "Homo Apostolicus", made in 1759. The Neapolitan stage at this time was in a good state, but the Saint had from his earliest years an ascetic repugnance to theatres, a repugnance which he never lost. Not less remarkable than the intensity with which Alphonsus worked is the amount of work he did. This is a historic Catholic Church in mid-town St. Louis. 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. See also HASSALL, The Balance of Power (1715-89) (London, 1901); COLLETTA, History of the Kingdom of Naples, 1734-1825, 2 vols., tr. In 1950 he was named patron saint of moralists and confessors by Pope Pius XII. He came from a wealthy family in Naples, Italy, and had every advantage in life from the moment he was born in 1696. St. Alphonsus, after publishing anonymously (in 1749 and 1755) two treatises advocating the right to follow the less probable opinion, in the end decided against that lawfulness, and in case of doubt only allowed freedom from obligation where the opinions for and against the law were equal or nearly equal. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. ), was published by P. KUNTZ, C.SS.R., director of the Roman archives of his Congregation. So the Saint was cut off from his own Order by the Pope who was to declare him "Venerable". While the continual intensity of reiterated acts of virtue which we have called driving-power is what really creates sanctity, there is another indispensable quality. His own prayer was perhaps for the most part what some call "active", others "ordinary", contemplation. Pius VI, already deeply displeased with the Neapolitan Government, took the fathers in his own dominions under his special protection, forbade all change of rule in their houses, and even withdrew them from obedience to the Neapolitan superiors, that is to St. Alphonsus, till an inquiry could be held. First Station: Jesus is condemned to death, Saint of the Day for Saturday, March 4th, 2023, Sixth Station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus, Eighth Station: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem. His system of moral theology is noted for its prudence, avoiding both laxism and excessive rigour. Alphonsus was a devoted friend of the Society of Jesus and its long persecution by the Bourbon Courts, ending in its suppression in 1773, filled him with grief. The latest life, BERTHE, Saint Alphonse de Liguori (Paris, 1900, 2 vols. Alphonsus Liguori, CSsR (27 September 1696 1 August 1787), sometimes called Alphonsus Maria de Liguori or Saint Alphonsus Liguori, was an Italian Catholic bishop, spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philosopher, and theologian. God, however, intended the new institute to begin with these nuns of Scala. In the minutes it was His best plan would have been to consult the Holy See, but in this he had been forestalled. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Pardon me, my God. He was fervent about using common words in . In 1732 he founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, or the Redemptorists, at Scala. In 1762 he was appointed Bishop of Sant'Agata dei Goti. Alphonsus, having got so much, hoped to get a little more, and through his friend, Mgr. [7] It was there that he began his missionary experience in the interior regions of the Kingdom of Naples, where he found people who were much poorer and more abandoned than any of the street children in Naples. 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". According to him, those were paths closed to the Gospel because "such rigour has never been taught nor practised by the Church". Yet, to take anger alone, though comparatively early in life he seemed dead to insult or injury which affected himself, in cases of cruelty, or of injustice to others, or of dishonour to God, he showed a prophet's indignation even in old age. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:Herbermann, Charles, ed. Testa, the Grand Almoner, even to have his Rule approved. In 1749, the Rule and Institute of men were approved by Pope Benedict XIV, and in 1750, the Rule and Institute of the nuns. The Ceremonies of the Interment.
. Mary of Liguori - Traduo em portugus - Reverso Context Pope Benedict XIV gave his approval for the men's congregation in 1749 and for the women's in 1750. St. Alphonsus Liguori was a bishop and moral theologian living and preaching in Naples in the eighteenth century. It is remarkable that only 25 years after the Scapular vision, Blessed Pope Gregory X was buried Could he have been what an Anglo-Saxon would consider a miracle of calm, he would have seemed to his companions absolutely inhuman. Suddenly he found himself surrounded by a mysterious light; the house seemed to rock, and an interior voice said: "Leave the world and give thyself to Me." Learn interesting facts and tidbits about the beloved St. Patrick. St. Alphonsus Liguori. He opposed sterile legalism and strict rigourism. Even the baleful shadow of Voltaire falls across the Saint's life, for Alphonsus wrote to congratulate him on a conversion, which alas, never took place! Very few remarks upon his own times occur in the Saint's letters. He did not, as in the past, ask for an exequatur to the Brief of Benedict XIV, for relations at the time were more strained than ever between the Courts of Rome and Naples; but he hoped the king might give an independent sanction to his Rule, provided he waived all legal right to hold property in common, which he was quite prepared to do. While affecting to treat the novice with severity and to take no notice of her visions, the director was surprised to find that the Rule which she had written down was a realization of what had been so long in his mind. His perseverance was indomitable. Saint Alphonsus Liguori | Franciscan Media Alphonsus was what we call a "gifted" student today. Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) was a Neapolitan who founded the Redemptorist Order of priests, a congregation dedicated to providing parish missions, especially to the poor in rural areas. This was in 1780, when Alphonsus was eighty-three years old. He is said never to have refused absolution to a penitent. He was declared "Venerable", 4 May, 1796; was beatified in 1816, and canonized in 1839. MIRACLES RELATED BY ST. ALPHONSUS LIGUORI from his book The Glories of Mary Some persons, boasting of being free from prejudices, take great credit to themselves for believing no miracles but those recorded in the holy scriptures, esteeming all others as tales and fables for foolish women. Blessed Clement Hofbauer joined the Redemptorist congregation in the aged Saint's lifetime, though Alphonsus never saw in the flesh the man whom he knew would be the second founder of his Order. A fearful commotion arose. "Let us have it." Neapolitan students, in an animated but amicable discussion, seem to foreign eyes to be taking part in a violent quarrel. It is true that theologians even of the broadest school are agreed that, when an opinion in favour of the law is so much more probable as to amount practically to moral certainty, the less probable opinion cannot be followed, and some have supposed that St. Alphonsus meant no more than this by his terminology. The foundation faced immediate problems, and after just one year, Alphonsus found himself with only one lay brother, his other companions having left to form their own religious group. An English translation in five volumes is included in the 22 volumes of the American centenary edition of St. Alphonsus's ascetical works (New York). [9], In 1729, Liguori left his family home and took up residence at the Chinese Institute in Naples. After practicing law for eight years, he was ordained a priest in 1726. Saint Alphonsus Liguori. In 1762, there was no escape and he was constrained by formal obedience to the Pope to accept the Bishopric of St. Agatha of the Goths, a very small Neapolitan diocese lying a few miles off the road from Naples to Capua. The German life, DILGSKRON, Leben des heiligen Bischofs und Kirchenlehrers, Alfonsus Maria de Liguori (New York, 1887), is scholarly and accurate. On 3 October, 1731, the eve of the feast of St. Francis, she saw Our Lord with St. Francis on His right hand and a priest on His left. In fact, in the beginning, the young priest in his humility would not be Superior even of the house, judging one of his companions, John Baptist Donato, better fitted for the post because he had already had some experience of community life in another institute. Deposed and excluded from his own congregation, Alphonsus suffered great anguish. In 1723, he decided to offer himself as a novice to the Oratory of St. Philip Neri with the intention of becoming a priest. When he heard from her of the devotion of the Rosary, which she practiced, and the letter she had received, he ordered all the others to repeatit, and it is related that this monastery became a paradise. A religious founder, consummate theologian, and holy man of God, Saint Alphonsus never failed to utter a stirring word that draws out a lively penitence and redoubled dedication to the work of God from his congregation. Vol. 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. Description [ edit] The book was written at a time when some were criticizing Marian devotions, and was written in part as a defense of Marian devotion. [4] He was ordained on 21 December 1726, at the age of 30. Filangieri forbade any change of rule and removed Falcoia from all communication with the convent. Indeed, apart from those who become saints by the altogether special grace of martyrdom, it may be doubted if many men and women of phlegmatic temperament have been canonized. In the year 1747, King Charles of Naples wished to make Alphonsus Archbishop of Palermo, and it was only by the most earnest entreaties that he was able to escape. Matters remained thus for some years. Alphonsus Mary Antony John Cosmas Damian Michael Gaspard de' Liguori was born in his father's country house at Marianella near Naples, on Tuesday, 27 September, 1696. This document gives you the case." St. Alphonsus Liguori - Tumblar House Catholic Books [4] When he was 18, like many other nobles, he joined the Confraternity of Our Lady of Mercy, with whom he assisted in the care of the sick at the hospital for "incurables". Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. "I know his obstinacy", his father said of him as a young man; "when he once makes up his mind he is inflexible". [10] He tried to refuse the appointment by using his age and infirmities as arguments against his consecration. Novena for the Holy Souls in Purgatory - Learn Religions (1913). Alphonsus was lawyer, founder, religious superior, bishop, theologian, and mystic, but he was above all a missionary, and no true biography of the Saint will neglect to give this due prominence. In 1762 he was appointed Bishop of Sant'Agata dei Goti. There are many editions of the Saint's Moral Theology; the best and latest is that of P. GAUDI, C.SS.R. The boy was bright and quick beyond his years, and made great progress in all kinds of learning. It happened that Alphonsus, ill and overworked, had gone with some companions to Scala in the early summer of 1730. [2] Moreover, he heard an interior voice saying: "Leave the world, and give yourself to me."[5]. St. Alphonsus does not offer as much directly to the student of mystical theology as do some contemplative saints who have led more retired lives. His father, already displeased at the failure of two plans for his son's marriage, and exasperated at Alphonsus's present neglect of his profession, was likely to offer a strenuous opposition to his leaving the world. Some persons, boasting of being free from prejudices, take great credit to themselvesfor believing no miracles but those recorded in the holy scriptures, esteeming all others. Even where he is not that, he may generally be trusted, as he was a Boswell in collecting facts. The answer is that God kept him humble by interior trials. Here St. Alphonsus teaches that those who refuse to bow to the will of God only double their afflictions. 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. It was comparatively late in life that Alphonsus became a writer. Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! The family was of noble lineage, but the branch to which Liguori belonged had become somewhat impoverished. A strong defender of the Catholic Church, Liguori said: To reject the divine teaching of the Catholic Church is to reject the very basis of reason and revelation, for neither the principles of the one nor those of the other have any longer any solid support to rest on; they can then be interpreted by every one as he pleases; every one can deny all truths whatsoever he chooses to deny.