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. (1913). This lifelong friendship aided Alphonsus, as did his association with a mystic, Sister Mary Celeste. 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". where the Hosts were buried. To follow an opinion in favour of liberty without weighing it, merely because it is held by someone else, would have seemed to Alphonsus an abdication of the judicial office with which as a confessor he was invested. On 6 April, 1726, he was ordained deacon, and soon after preached his first sermon. He founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (the Redemptorists). He who ruled and directed others so wisely, had, where his own soul was concerned, to depend on obedience like a little child. [4], Liguori learned to ride and fence but was never a good shot because of poor eyesight. More than once he faced assassination unmoved. St. Alphonsus Liguori, the Prince of Moral Theologians, was one of the greatest preachers in Church history. His intercession healed the sick; he read the secrets of hearts, and foretold the future. It was only after his death, as he had prophesied, that the Neapolitan Government at last recognized the original Rule, and that the Redemptorist Congregation was reunited under one head (1793). But before he called a witness the opposing counsel said to him in chilling tones: "Your arguments are wasted breath. A year of trouble and anxiety followed. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited. He was ordained on December 21, 1726, and he spent six years giving missions throughout Naples. She became known in religion as Sister Maria Celeste. Neapolitan students, in an animated but amicable discussion, seem to foreign eyes to be taking part in a violent quarrel. A fearful commotion arose. When we cannot make it to daily Mass, however, we can still make an Act of Spiritual Communion. Alphonsus was preaching missions in the rural areas and writing. Psychologically, Alphonsus may be classed among twice-born souls; that is to say, there was a definitely marked break or conversion, in his life, in which he turned, not from serious sin, for that he never committed, but from comparative worldliness, to thorough self-sacrifice for God. The fifth book has two treatises "De Actibus Humanis" and "De Peccatis"; the sixth is on the sacraments, the seventh and last on the censures of the Church. But he was a man of genuine faith and piety and stainless life, and he meant his son to be the same. 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. Shrines were built there and at St. Agatha of the Goths. With Don Carlos, or as he is generally called, Charles III, from his later title as King of Spain, came the lawyer, Bernard Tanucci, who governed Naples as Prime Minister and regent for the next forty-two years. [5], By May 1775, Alphonus was "deaf, blind, and laden with so many infirmities, that he has no longer even the appearance of a man", and his resignation was accepted by the recently crowned Pope Pius VI. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Paul T. Crowley. Corrections? But Alphonsus's director, Father Pagano; Father Fiorillo, a great Dominican preacher; Father Manulio, Provincial of the Jesuits; and Vincent Cutica, Superior of the Vincentians, supported the young priest, and, 9 November, 1732, the "Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer", or as it was called for seventeen years, "of the Most Holy Saviour", was begun in a little hospice belonging to the nuns of Scala. " Wonderful worship experience ". About Liguori Publications But in spite of his infirmities both Clement XIII (1758-69) and Clement XIV (1769-74) obliged Alphonsus to remain at his post. 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. At the age of sixteen, on 21 January, 1713, he took his degree as Doctor of Laws, although twenty was the age fixed by the statutes. A pure and modest boyhood passed into a manhood without reproach. St. Louis, MO 63106 | parish130@archstl.org | Tel: (314) 533-0304. The foundation of all subsequent lives is the Della vita ed istituto del venerabile Alfonso Maria Liguori, of ANTONY TANNOIA, one of the great biographies of literature. Alphonsus Liguori, Saint, b. at Marianella, near Naples, September 27, 1696; d. at Nocera de' Pagani, . Falcoia, hearing of this, begged his friend to give a retreat to the nuns of his Conservatorium at the same time. He became very popular because of his plain and simple preaching. It was this which made him the prince of moral theologians, and gained him, when canonization made it possible, the title of "Doctor of the Church". At the worst, it was only the scaffolding by which the temple of perfection was raised. In a civil action a serious preponderance of evidence gives one side the case. In September of the next year he received the tonsure and soon after joined the association of missionary secular priests called the "Neapolitan Propaganda", membership of which did not entail residence in common. Alphonsus returned to his little cell at Nocera in July, 1775, to prepare, as he thought, for a speedy and happy death. Other personal friends of Alphonsus were the Jesuit Fathers de Matteis, Zaccaria, and Nonnotte. said Alphonsus somewhat piqued. When the Saint began to hear confessions, however, he soon saw the harm done by rigorism, and for the rest of his life he inclined more to the mild school of the Jesuit theologians, whom he calls "the masters of morals". 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. Saint Alphonsus De Liguori Usage Public Domain Topics Blessed Virgin Mary, Miracles, Apparitions, Conversion, Saints, Rosary, Sin, Repentance, Catholic Collection opensource Language English Stories from St Alphonsus De Liguori, which he culled from various sources, which can be seen in the larger work, "The Glories of Mary". Filingeri, was made Archbishop of Naples, the Saint would not write to congratulate the new primate, even at the risk of making another powerful enemy for his persecuted Congregation, because he thought he could not honestly say he "was glad to hear of the appointment." Visiting the local Hospital for Incurables on August 28, 1723, he had a vision and was told to consecrate his life solely to God. 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. Theabbot of that monastery soon after visited it, and attempted to reform it, but he didnot succeed; and one day he saw a great number of demons entering the cells of all thenuns except that of Jane, for the heavenly mother, before whose image he saw herpraying, banished them from that. He fell into a clairvoyant trance at Arienzo on 21 September, 1774, and was present in spirit at the death-bed in Rome of Pope Clement XIV. 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. His very confessor and vicar general in the government of his Order, Father Andrew Villani, joined in the conspiracy. It is the following of Jesus as a community of disciples, aware that we are sent to be a clear . When he was preparing for the priesthood in Naples, his masters were of the rigid school, for though the center of Jansenistic disturbance was in northern Europe, no shore was so remote as not to feel the ripple of its waves. The poor advocate turned pale. First Station: Jesus Is Condemned to Death V. We adore you, Christ, and we praise you. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. His infirmities were increasing, and he was occupied a good deal with his writings. In December, 1724, he received minor orders, and the subdiaconate in September, 1725. [9], In 1729, Liguori left his family home and took up residence at the Chinese Institute in Naples. The days were indeed evil. He was a lawyer, not only during his years at the Bar, but throughout his whole life--a lawyer, who to skilled advocacy and an enormous knowledge of practical detail added a wide and luminous hold of underlying principles. He remained thunderstruck for a moment; then said in a broken voice: "You are right. His works have gone through several thousand editions and have been translated into more than 60 languages. Whenthey had withdrawn into another room, the appearance of the youth changed, and Heshowed Himself crowned with thorns, His flesh torn, and said to her: Prayers in Times of Sickness Disease & Danger, True Devotion to Mary (St. Louis de Montfort), The Glories of Mary (St. Alphonsus Liguori), A young nobleman was reading one day, while at sea, an obscene book, in which he. 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. As he did not die till 1808 (his work appeared in 1799) he was a companion of the Saint for over forty years and an eyewitness of much that he relates. Saint Alphonsus Liguori: Doctor of the Church - TAN Books He was baptized two days later in the church of Our Lady of the Virgins, in Naples. Had it happened a few years later, the new Government might have found the Redemptorist Congregation already authorized, and as Tanucci's anti-clerical policy rather showed itself in forbidding new Orders than, with the exception of the Society of Jesus, in suppressing old ones, the Saint might have been free to develop his work in comparative peace. Revelations from God, the Saints, and the Angels through the Miracle of Saint Joseph, started in 1967 and continuing to this day. Alphonsus, however, was unflagging in his efforts with the Court. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, Copyright 2022 Catholic Online. Mary of Liguori - Traduo em portugus - Reverso Context No doubt Thomas Falcoia had for some time hoped that the ardent young priest, who was so devoted to him, might, under his direction, be the founder of the new Order he had at heart. Saint Alphonsus Liguori. He called his system Equiprobabilism. Printable Catholic Saints PDFs Soon after this the boy began his studies for the Bar, and about the age of nineteen practised his profession in the courts. St. Alphonsus appeared a miracle of calm to Tannoia. So bent was it in the beginning, that the pressure of his chin produced a dangerous wound in the chest. [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. In 1749, the Rule and Institute of men were approved by Pope Benedict XIV, and in 1750, the Rule and Institute of the nuns. He spent several years having to drink from tubes because his head was so bent forward. 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. The English translation in the Oratory Series is also rather inadequate. New York: Robert Appleton Company. "Alphonsus was of middle height", says his first biographer, Tannoia; "his head was rather large, his hair black, and beard well-grown." He was fervent about using common words in . He started again, recruited new members, and in 1743 became the prior of two new congregations, one for men and one for women. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The dissensions even spread to the nuns, and Sister Maria Celeste herself left Scala and founded a convent at Foggia, where she died in the odour of sanctity, 14 September, 1755. 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. Alphonsus Liguori | Saints Resource Confident that some special sacrifice was required of him, though he did not yet know what, he did not return to his profession, but spent his days in prayer, seeking to know God's will. I have been mistaken. [16] The 21,500 editions and the translations into 72 languages that his works have undergone attest to the fact that he is one of the most widely-read Catholic authors. In early manhood he became very fond of the opera, but only that he might listen to the music, for when the curtain went up he took his glasses off, so as not to see the players distinctly. [10] He was proficient in the arts, his parents having had him trained by various masters, and he was a musician, painter, poet and author at the same time. The chapels were centres of prayer and piety, preaching, community, social activities, and education. 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. In addition, he published many editions of compendiums of his larger work, such as the "Homo Apostolicus", made in 1759. 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 spent the next few years in recasting this work, and in 1753 appeared the first volume of the "Theologia Moralis", the second volume, dedicated to Benedict XIV, following in 1755. Many Miracles are wrought through the intercession of Alphonsus. The saints are not inhuman but real men of flesh and . Cavalieri, himself a great servant of God. St. Alphonsus tell us: "Modern heretics make a mockery of wearing the Scapular, they decry it as so much trifling nonsense." Yet many of the popes have approved and recommended it. He was canonized in 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius IX in 1871. 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. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads. A justly celebrated life is the Vie et Institut de Saint Alphonse-Marie de Liguori, in four volumes, by CARDINAL VILLECOURT, (Tournai, 1893). St. Alphonsus Mary de Liguori, Doctor of the Church . The Saint had four houses, but during his lifetime it not only became impossible in the Kingdom of Naples to get any more, but even the barest toleration for those he had could scarcely be obtained. The third book deals with the Ten Commandments, the fourth with the monastic and clerical states, and the duties of judges, advocates, doctors, merchants, and others. So indeed it proved. Vague rumours of impending treachery had got about and had been made known to him, but he had refused to believe them. It would be a sacrilege to say otherwise." There are many editions of the Saint's Moral Theology; the best and latest is that of P. GAUDI, C.SS.R. Alphonsus suffers great interior trials. The latest life, BERTHE, Saint Alphonse de Liguori (Paris, 1900, 2 vols. An interesting series of portraits might be painted of those who play a part in the Saint's history: Charles III and his minister Tanucci; Charle's son Ferdinand, and Ferdinand's strange and unhappy Queen, Maria Carolina, daughter of Maria Teresa and sister of Marie Antoinette.