Saint Alphonsus Liguori’s Story
Moral theology, Vatican II said, should be more thoroughly
nourished by Scripture, and show the nobility of the Christian
vocation of the faithful and their obligation to bring forth fruit
in charity for the life of the world. Alphonsus, declared patron
of moral theologians by Pius XII in 1950, would rejoice in that
statement.
In his day, Alphonsus fought for the liberation of moral
theology from the rigidity of Jansenism. His moral theology,
which went through 60 editions in the century following him,
concentrated on the practical and concrete problems of
pastors and confessors. If a certain legalism and minimalism
crept into moral theology, it should not be attributed to this
model of moderation and gentleness.
At the University of Naples, Alphonsus received a doctorate in
both canon and civil law by acclamation, at the age of 16, but
he soon gave up the practice of law for apostolic activity. He
was ordained a priest, and concentrated his pastoral efforts on
popular parish missions, hearing confessions, and forming
Christian groups.
He founded the Redemptorist congregation in 1732. It was an
association of priests and brothers living a common life,
dedicated to the imitation of Christ, and working mainly in
popular missions for peasants in rural areas. Almost as an
omen of what was to come later, he found himself deserted
after a while by all his original companions except one lay
brother. But the congregation managed to survive and was
formally approved 17 years later, though its troubles were not
over.
Alphonsus’ great pastoral reforms were in the pulpit and
confessional—replacing the pompous oratory of the time with
simplicity, and the rigorism of Jansenism with kindness. His
great fame as a writer has somewhat eclipsed the fact that for
26 years he traveled up and down the Kingdom of Naples
preaching popular missions.
He was made bishop at age 66 after trying to reject the honor,
and at once instituted a thorough reform of his diocese.
His greatest sorrow came toward the end of his life. The
Redemptorists, precariously continuing after the suppression
of the Jesuits in 1773, had difficulty in getting their Rule
approved by the Kingdom of Naples. Alphonsus acceded to the
condition that they possess no property in common, but with
the connivance of a high Redemptorist official, a royal official
changed the Rule substantially. Alphonsus, old, crippled and
with very bad sight, signed the document, unaware that he had
been betrayed. The Redemptorists in the Papal States then put
themselves under the pope, who withdrew those in Naples
from the jurisdiction of Alphonsus. It was only after his death
that the branches were united.
At 71, Alphonsus was afflicted with rheumatic pains which left
incurable bending of his neck. Until it was straightened a little,
the pressure of his chin caused a raw wound on his chest. He
suffered a final 18 months of “dark night” scruples, fears,
temptations against every article of faith and every virtue,
interspersed with intervals of light and relief, when ecstasies
were frequent.
Alphonsus is best known for his moral theology, but he also
wrote well in the field of spiritual and dogmatic theology.
His Glories of Mary is one of the great works on that subject,
and his book Visits to the Blessed Sacrament went through 40
editions in his lifetime, greatly influencing the practice of this
devotion in the Church.
Reflection
Saint Alphonsus was known above all as a practical man who
dealt in the concrete rather than the abstract. His life is indeed
a practical model for the everyday Christian who has difficulty
recognizing the dignity of Christian life amid the swirl of
problems, pain, misunderstanding and failure. Alphonsus
suffered all these things. He is a saint because he was able to
maintain an intimate sense of the presence of the suffering
Christ through it all.
Saint Alphonsus Liguori is the Patron Saint of:
Theologians
Vocations
