Redemptorists are especially proud of St. Alphonsus Liguori. We honour him as the founder of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. On November 9th, 1732, he gathered with a small group of priests and committed his life to preaching the gospel to the abandoned and the poor. He was already 36 years of age, and had been a priest for almost 6 years. A remarkable series of events had led him to this moment.
Alphonsus was the first-born son of a noble family in Naples. He had three brothers and four sisters. His father encouraged him to pursue a career as a lawyer, and provided him with the best education. His mother taught him to pray and nurtured a strong relationship with God in his life.
As a brilliant young lawyer, he practiced for eight years before he lost his first case. That failure had a profound effect on him. After the initial disillusionment, he felt God calling him to serve Jesus in the poor as a priest. Despite opposition from his family, he was ordained and became a well-known and popular preacher. He was the toast of the capital city!
Later, a holiday in the mountains above the beautiful Amalfi coast brought Alphonsus face to face with the great need of so many shepherds and poor farmers who had no one to bring them the gospel and the sacraments. Slowly, he began to understand that God was calling him to take up this task himself – and to establish an order of priests and brothers who would carry it on.
As Alphonsus took up this mission, he found himself converted more and more from an image of God as judge to an experience of God as friend and Redeemer. It was his deep conviction that God’s love is greater than any human sin which gave him so much confidence in his preaching. It was this conviction that God really wants to save every person which made the Sacrament of Reconciliation so much part of his ministry.
At the age of 66, Alphonsus became a bishop. He took up this new task with the same energy he had given to this whole life. As bishop, he became more aware than ever that the structures of society often perpetuate poverty and injustice. With the people of his diocese, he suffered through famine and want, and he saw the effects of slavery and prostitution. He realized that it is not enough to call individuals to a personal conversion – Christians must also work to convert sinful structures in society.
Alphonsus characterized each of these moments of which I’ve spoken as ‘conversion’.
There are so many people who have never heard the gospel as Good News. Alphonsus recognized this. He longed to go to the foreign missions. Although he was never able to do so himself, many later Redemptorists did realize that desire. But Alphonsus also met many people in Christian Italy who did not know the gospel and whom he called to a ‘first conversion’ through evangelization. Pope John Paul II reminded us that there is still need for this ‘new evangelization’ in our day.
Alphonsus recognized his own sinfulness – and he preached the need for conversion from sin. The Sacrament of Reconciliation occupied an important place in his personal life and in his preaching to others.
Because his image of God as judge was converted into an experience of God as friend and Redeemer, Alphonsus knew that God calls everyone to this same conversion. Prayer and love for neighbour will bear fruit in a deeper relationship with God and others.
Alphonsus always remained close to people – he shared their suffering and pain. This experience taught him the importance of conversion as a community experience. Christians are called to convert the structures of society to justice, peace and the common good.
The life and example of St. Alphonsus Liguori continue to inspire Redemptorists. I hope that St. Alphonsus will also inspire you in your own journey towards God and neighbour.
Bishop Michael Brehl, CSsR
DevotionsTV Homily, 2006
