St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop, Confessor and Doctor of the Church
S. Alfonsi Mariæ de Ligorio Episcopi Confessoris et Ecclesiæ Doctoris
FeastWhite
Understanding the Day
Season
Time After Pentecost
Week
Week 11 of Time After Pentecost
Rank
Feast
This day falls in Ordinary Time after Pentecost, a season when families focus on the ongoing life and growth of the Church guided by the Holy Spirit. In the older traditional ranking, this celebration is a “Double,” which in plain language means it is a clearly observed feast with its own prayers and readings; it is more prominent than a simple memorial but not as high as a solemnity. There is no octave or vigil attached here, so the observance is celebrated on the named day itself. The celebration matters because it honors one of the Church’s pastors and doctors whose example of pastoral care, doctrinal teaching, and holiness can inspire Christian family life and service.
Daily Prayer
The Introit for this day has not yet been generated.
Weekly Prayer
Weekly prayer content will appear here once it is scheduled.
Weekly Formation
Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving
Three Eminent Good Works to Overcome Our Sinfulness
Prayer
Prayer raises the mind and heart to God in adoration, thanksgiving, repentance, and petition. As a work of penance it turns the sinner back toward God, acknowledges dependence on grace, and joins personal needs to the honor owed to Him.
Fasting
Fasting is the willing restraint of food or other lawful satisfactions for a spiritual purpose. It disciplines bodily appetite, expresses sorrow for sin, and strengthens prayer when practiced with humility rather than display.
Almsgiving
Almsgiving is the gift of money, goods, time, or practical assistance to those in need or to works of charity. It makes repentance fruitful in mercy, loosens attachment to possessions, and recognizes Christ’s claim in the poor.
Saint & Feast
Principal celebration
Alphonsus Liguori
St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop, Confessor and Doctor of the Church
Italian Catholic bishop (1696–1787)
Born
1696-09-27 · Naples
Died
1787-08-01 · Pagani
Alphonsus Maria de Liguori was an Italian Catholic bishop and saint, as well as a spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philosopher, and theologian. He founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, known as the Redemptorists, in November 1732.
No Church history reflection has been prepared for this date yet.
Catechism
Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Beatitudes are central to Jesus' teaching, representing God's promises and guiding us toward the Kingdom of Heaven, which fulfills our innate desire for happiness. They reflect Christ's character and illuminate the Christian way of life, offering hope and blessings even amidst trials. For Catholic families, the Beatitudes encourage a shift in perspective, inviting them to prioritize love for God above material wealth and worldly success, thus fostering a life rooted in faith and moral integrity. By embracing these teachings, families can discern how to use earthly goods in a manner that aligns with divine principles, ultimately leading to eternal life and communion with God.
¶ 1720
The New Testament uses several expressions to characterize the beatitude to which God calls man: - the coming of the Kingdom of God; - the vision of God: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" - entering into the joy of the Lord; - entering into God's rest:
¶ 1721
God put us in the world to know, to love, and to serve him, and so to come to paradise. Beatitude makes us "partakers of the divine nature" and of eternal life. With beatitude, man enters into the glory of Christ and into the joy of the Trinitarian life.
Pope Stephen I was the Bishop of Rome from 12 May 254 to his death on 2 August 257. He was later canonized as a saint and some accounts say he was killed while celebrating Mass.
Such beatitude surpasses the understanding and powers of man. It comes from an entirely free gift of God: whence it is called supernatural, as is the grace that disposes man to enter into the divine joy.
¶ 1723
The beatitude we are promised confronts us with decisive moral choices. It invites us to purify our hearts of bad instincts and to seek the love of God above all else. It teaches us that true happiness is not found in riches or well-being, in human fame or power, or in any human achievement - however beneficial it may be - such as science, technology, and art, or indeed in any creature, but in God alone, the source of every good and of all love:
¶ 1724
The Decalogue, the Sermon on the Mount, and the apostolic catechesis describe for us the paths that lead to the Kingdom of heaven. Sustained by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we tread them, step by step, by everyday acts. By the working of the Word of Christ, we slowly bear fruit in the Church to the glory of God.
¶ 1725
The Beatitudes take up and fulfill God's promises from Abraham on by ordering them to the Kingdom of heaven. They respond to the desire for happiness that God has placed in the human heart.
¶ 1726
The Beatitudes teach us the final end to which God calls us: the Kingdom, the vision of God, participation in the divine nature, eternal life, filiation, rest in God.
¶ 1727
The beatitude of eternal life is a gratuitous gift of God. It is supernatural, as is the grace that leads us there.
Baltimore track
Baltimore Catechism No. 3
Lesson 19 — On Confession
Q. 822.Who are religious?
A.Religious are self-sacrificing men and women who, wishing to follow more closely the teachings of Our Lord, dedicate their lives to the service of God and religion. They live together in societies approved by the Church, under a rule and guidance of a superior. They keep the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, and divide their time between prayer and good works. The houses in which they dwell are called convents or monasteries, and the societies in which they live are called religious orders, communities or congregations.
Q. 823.Are there any religious communities of priests?
A.There are many religious communities of priests, who, besides living according to the general laws of the Church, as all priests do, follow certain rules laid down for their community. Such priests are called the regular clergy, because living by rules to distinguish them from the secular clergy who live in their parishes under no special rule. The chief work of the regular clergy is to teach in colleges and give missions and retreats.
Q. 824.Why are there so many different religious communities?
A.There are many different religious communities (1) because all religious are not fitted for the same work, and (2) because they desire to imitate Our Lord's life on earth as perfectly as possible; and when each community takes one of Christ's works and seeks to become perfect in it, the union of all their works continues as perfectly as we can the works He began upon earth.