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. Yesterday, was the feast day of St Ignatius of Loyola from the 16th century from the Basque Country in Spain and the founder of the Jesuits. Today, we honor St Alphonsus Liguori from the 18th century. Liguori studied law at the young age of 16. After a successful law career, he became a priest at the age of 27. He started his priesthood working with the poor and marginalized youth in Naples, Italy. Soon afterwards, he founded the congregation of the Redemptorists, which specializes in preaching and teaching in poor cities and neighborhoods. 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.
Our Gospel today speaks about the judgment that will take place with God. I came across a quote of St Alphonsus Liguori that relevant to this judgment: “God never rejects a humble and repentant heart.” Yes, when we have done wrong, we need to go to God for help in humility and in faith. We always have the chance to repent on our journey here on earth. We unite our prayers with the prayers of St Alphonsus Ligouri today.
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