Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori (Bishop and Doctor of the Church-Homily for Tuesday of the 17th week in ordinary time 1st August 2023

Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori (Bishop and Doctor of the Church-Homily for Tuesday of the 17th week in ordinary time

Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori (Bishop and Doctor of the Church). 

Exodus 33:7-11; 34:5b-9,28. Psalm 103:6-7,8-9,10-11,12-13. Matthew 13:36-43. 

                    

In the first reading, we hear of how intimate the relationship of Moses with God is to the extent that "The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend" (Exo.33:11).                    

How intimate is our relationship with God? We can only be intimate with God if we commune with Him regularly through prayer supported with righteousness.                           

It is this intimacy that the disciples of Jesus had with him that enabled them to approach him in today's Gospel to explain to them the parable of the wheat and weeds.                                        

The focus of the explanation is the separation of the good and the evil at the end of time. The parable suggests that before that final separation at the end of time, good and evil will exist together in the world, in the Church, and within each of us. The weeds and the wheat will grow together. There will be a final separation that will be done by God. It is not in our position to make that separation here on earth.       

The parable is a reminder that hell is real. Just as the weeds are collected and burnt, so shall it be on the close of ages. All evil doers will be thrown into the fiery furnace where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Life is too short, enjoy it, do not forget that eternity is too long, prepare for it.      

We celebrate the memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori, who saw the shortness and nothingness in this world and gave up a worldly career for the service of God. He was born in Naples, Italy, in 1606. He earned degrees in civil law at the age of sixteen and Canon law. Shortly after, he was admitted to the Neapolitan bar. In 1723, he lost a case, and God made use of his disappointment to wean his heart from the world. In spite of all opposition, he now entered the ecclesiastical state. He was ordained a priest in 1726.                                          

He was an outstanding apostle of the poor, an untiring writer and preacher, as well as a merciful confessor. He founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemtorists) to evangelise the poor. When he was appointed bishop, he worked hard for the good of the people entrusted to him. His intimacy with God was so strong, and he tells us, "He who prays most receives most."                                       

Few saints have laboured as much, either by word or writing, as St. Alphonsus. His last years were characterized by intense suffering, which he bore with resignation. He died on August 1, 1787. He was chosen to be the patron of moral theologians since he excelled in a special way in the field of moral theology and helped the Church to take a more evangelical attitude towards sinners.       

Through the intercession of St. Alphonsus, may God grant us the grace to realise the shortness of life and work towards making eternal life in heaven through Christ our Lord. Amen.