As I was looking at the calendar of saints these past few days, our liturgical calendar is filled with a lot of great luminaries of our Church. Sunday, July 30, is the feast day of St Peter Chrystologus, a great preacher, the Bishop of Ravenna, Italy, and Doctor of the Church from the 4th century. Then, yesterday, was the feast day of St Ignatius of Loyola who lived in the 16th century in the era of the Protestant Reformation. Ignatius is the founder of the Jesuits and author of the influential Ignatian spiritual exercises. Then, today, we have St Alphonsus Liguori, who lived in the 18th century and who is also a doctor of the Church. Liguori studied law at the young age of 16. After a very successful law career, he decided to become a priest at the age of 27. He started his priesthood working with the poor and marginalized youth of the city of Naples, Italy. Soon afterwards, he founded the congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, commonly known as the Redemptorists. For several years, we had members of the Redemptorist congregation working in Hispanic ministry in the Delta in our Diocese. This congregation specialized in preaching and teaching in the slums of the cities and other poor areas. From his experiences in ministering the poor, he developed a moral theology that had great influence in the Church. Liguori was named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius IX in 1871.
In light of St Alphonsus Liguori and his theology, psalm 103 stood about to me, as the refrain proclaims: “The Lord is kind and merciful.” The psalmist goes on to say that: “The Lord secures justice and the rights of all the oppressed….Merciful and gracious is the LORD, slow to anger and abounding in kindness.” I came across a quote of St Alphonsus Liguori that seems to reflect the spirit of today psalm: “God never rejects a humble and repentant heart.” When we have done wrong, we need to go to God for help in humility and faith. Let the intercession of St Alphonsus Liguori help us to be kind and merciful today. May St Alphonse’s help us stay on the right path.
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