The Relevance of the works of St Alphonsus Liguori

The name of this holy Doctor of the Church had come to me many times over the years yet I have never truly come to appreciate his contribution to the Church militant. It was only after listening to the awesome sermons of Fr Isaac Mary Relyea, a Franciscan whom I would consider the St Jerome of our times, that I came to know more about the moral theology of St Alphonsus Liguori. In his own day, St Alphonsus was considered by the laxed to be rigorous and by the rigorous to be laxed. Truly this Bishop of the Church, a man of prayer, penance and humility was with the church as opposed to the rigorous Jansenist heretics and those who wished to lax the Church’s teachings on morality and piety. Blessed Pope Pius IX declared him a Doctor of the Church in 1871. The Church teaches that his opinions on moral theology can lead no soul into error. It was only after reading the moral works of St Alphonsus that the Curé of Ars became a great preacher, excelling all French priests of his own time. It was also only after reading the works of St Alphonsus that Padre Pio became a good confessor. How much more can we sinners profit from his writings! St Alphonsus Liguori, pray for us and enlighten us all with the teachings which thou hast defended so thoroughly throughout thy life.

The works of St Alphonsus Liguori can be found on e-book format here.