“Devil does not bring sinners to Hell with their eyes open: he first blinds them with the malice of their own sins. He thus leads them to eternal perdition. Before we fall into sin, the enemy labours to blind us, that we may not see the evil we do, and the ruin we bring upon ourselves by offending God. After we commit sin, he seeks to make us dumb, that, through shame, we may conceal our guilt in confession.” – Alphonsus Liguori

Charles Johnston is a father and husband in Phoenix, Arizona. His conversion journey has taken years, as he felt God pulling him toward His Church but he resisted until he couldn’t take it anymore. He gave in and fell in love with His Church.  He blogs for ‘Now that I’m catholic.wordpress.com’.

In this episode, Charles talks about St. Alphonsus Liguori and his work in the field of moral theology

He explains:
-How Alphonsus turned to God after he lost his first case as a lawyer.
-His teachings on a loving God
-The stages of sin
-Differences between mortal and venial sin

How to Flee from Sin?

St Alphonsus was Bishop, Doctor of the Church, and the founder of the Redemptorist Congregation. He was born in at Marianella, near Naples, Italy as Alphonsus Marie Antony John Cosmos Damien Michael Gaspard de Liguori on September 27,1696,

Alphonsus was the eldest of seven children. He was raised by a devout mother of Spanish descent. Educated at the University of Naples, he received his doctorate at the age of sixteen. By age nineteen he was practicing law and saw the transitory nature of the secular world.

While visiting the local Hospital for Incurables on August 28, 1723, he had a vision and was told to consecrate his life solely to God. He was ordained on December 21, 1726, and he spent six years giving missions throughout Naples. In April 1729, Alphonsus went to live at the “Chiflese College,” founded in Naples by Father Matthew Ripa, the Apostle of China.

Here he discovered more than thirty thousand uninstructed men and women and four hundred indifferent priests. For thirteen years Alphonsus fed the poor, instructed families, reorganized the seminary and religious houses, taught theology, and wrote. His austerities were rigorous, and he suffered daily the pain from rheumatism that was beginning to deform his body.

Alphonsus Liguori Advises us to Flee from Sin

He died peacefully on August 1,1787, at Nocera di Pagani, near Naples as the Angelus was ringing. He was beatified in 1816 and canonized in 1839. In 1871, Alphonsus was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius IX.

His writings on moral, theological, and ascetic matters have survived through the years, especially his Moral Theology and his Glories of Mary.  He is the patron of confessors, moral theologians, and the lay apostolate.

Source: Catholic.org

Here’s a book written by St. Alphonsus himself to help you on your journey to holiness.

Have you considered being a redemptorist? If you’re considering a vocation, do consider this order. I’ve been praying for this order since I was fourteen and only pray that more vocations may come to this order. Their ministry has changed my life.