00 01/08/2012 15:41


Wednesday, August 1, 17th Week in Ordinary Time
MEMORIAL OF ST. ALFONSO LIGUORI

ST. ALFONSO MARIA LIGUORI (Italy, 1696-1787), Bishop, Confessor, Founder of the Redemptorist Order, Doctor of the Church
Another saint born to nobility, Alfonso was a multi-talented child prodigy who earned a double doctorate in canon and civil law from the University of Naples when he was just 16. By age 21, he owned a law firm and was one of the leading lawyers of Naples. He was also a music lover, especially of opera, and played the harpsichord. The more he got on in the world, the less he liked it. He turned down an arranged marriage, studied theology, and was ordained a priest at age 29. He quickly became known for his simple direct preaching and his kindness and understanding as a confessor, emphasizing moderation and genuine penitence. In his time, Alfonso fought to liberate moral theology from Jansenist rigorism; in fact, his main work on Moral Theology underwent 60 editions in the century following his death. In 1732, he founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (thus, Redemptorists) as a community of priests and brothers dedicated to the imitation of Christ and propagating the Gospel through popular missions, especially among peasants. It took 17 years for their Rules to be approved by Rome. Critics accused them of laxity because of Alfonso's policies on confession. In 1762, Pope Clement XIII named him Bishop of Sant'Agata de Goti, then one of the most corrupt dioceses in Italy. He worked to reform the clergy and revitalize the faithful but resigned in 1775 due to continued failing health (he was virtually immobilized by severe rheumatism). In 1777, shortly after the Jesuits were expelled from Italy in 1773, the Redemptorists were also threatened with disbandment by the Kingdom of Naples. The aging and near-blind Alfonso defended his order personally and obtained royal approval. But he was tricked into signing a revised Rule of the Congregation which suited the King and his anti-clerical government. Seeing the revised Rule, Pope Pius VI condemned it and removed Alfonso as leader of the Order. This afflicted him in the final years of his life, during which 'dark nights of the soul' alternated with ecstasies. He was canonized in 1839. In his lifetime, he wrote 111 works on spirituality and theology - 21,500 editions and translations into 72 languages attest that he is one of the most widely read Catholic authors. He was a Marian devotee whose The Glories of Mary and other Marian works rediscovered the Mariology of Saint Augustine and and other fathers, and represented an intellectual defence of Mariology in the 18th century. In 1882, there was a popular edition of his Sermons for all Sundays of the Year. His prayers and meditations for the Way of the Cross have been the most popular version used throughout the Catholic world. He also wrote the Italian Christmas carol Tu scende dalle stelle, popularized by Pope Pius IX after he translated it from Latin to Italian. Pius IX later proclaimed Alfonso a Doctor of the Church, and in 1950, Pius XII dedicated an encyclical to him.
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/080112.cfm


WITH THE HOLY FATHER TODAY

General Audience - Resuming his catechetical cycle on Christian prayer at the first GA after his official
summer vacation, the Holy Father cited the example of the saint who feast day is celebrated today by the Church -
St. Alfonso Liguori, "founder of the Redemptorists, a great moral theologian and a master of prayer... (who)
teaches us the beauty of daily prayer, in which we open our minds and hearts to the Lord’s presence and receive
the grace to live wisely and well". Because of the crowd size, the Pope held the audience facing the main
plaza of Castel Gandolfo instead of doing it in the internal courtyard.


POPE'S PRAYER INTENTIONS
FOR AUGUST 2011

General intention:
"That prisoners may be treated with justice and respect for their human dignity.”

Missionary intention:
"That young people, called to follow Christ, may be willing to proclaim
and bear witness to the Gospel to the ends of the earth.”