ST ALPHONSUS LIGUORI

St Alphonsus Liguori [1696-1787] Bishop, founder of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer [Redemptorists] and Doctor of the Church. Born into a noble family in the kingdom of Naples, Alphonsus was a child prodigy, receiving his Doctorate in Law from the university of Naples by the age of 16. Practising law by the age of 21, he was one of Naples' leading lawyers. Publicly humiliated in a high profile case, Alphonsus turned his back on the legal profession, and on hearing an interior voice inviting him to leave the world, resolved to follow a religious vocation. Ordained priest in 1726, Alphonsus laboured for six years preaching in missions throughout Naples.

In 1732 he founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, dedicated to the service of the Redeemer and the most abandoned souls, through missions, spiritual exercises and renewals, with houses established in England [1848] and Ireland [1853]

FROM A TALK BY ST ALPHONSUS
"To Live well, To Love God....... In order always to live well, we must store up deeply in our minds certain general maxims about eternal life: Everything in this life, whether it be joy or sorrow, passes away, but in eternity nothing passes away. What good is all the greatness of this world at the hour of death? All that comes from God, whether it be adverse or prosperous, all is good and is for our own welfare. We must leave all to gain all. There is no peace to be found without God. To love God and save one's soul is the one thing necessary. We need be afraid of nothing but sin. If God is lost, all is lost.  He who desires nothing in this world is master of the whole world. He who prays is saved, and he who does not pray is lost."