Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Of
St. Alphonsus Liguori
(1696-1787)
A Prayer
O my Glorious and well-beloved patron, Saint Alphonsus, thou who didst toil
and suffer so abundantly to assure to men the fruits of the Redemption, behold
the miseries of my poor soul and have pity on me. By thy powerful
intercession with Jesus and Mary, obtain for me true repentance for my sins
together with their pardon and remission, a deep hatred of sin and strength
evermore to resist all temptations. Share with me, I pray, at least a spark of
that fire of love wherewith they heart did ever burn; and grant that, following
thy example, I may make the will of God the only rule of my life. Obtain for
me likewise a fervent and lasting love of Jesus, and a tender and childlike
devotion to Mary, together with the grace to pray without ceasing and to
persevere in the service of God even to the end of my life, that so I may finally
be united with thee in praising God and most holy Mary through all eternity.
Amen
In sweetest harmony
Such soothing lullaby,
That slumber o’er the infant eyelids crept,
And Jesus closed his lovely eyes, and slept.
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Hymns.
From the Passion Of Jesus Christ
The Soul.
The Redeemer.
The Soul.
The Redeemer.
HYMNS.
From The Holy Eucharist
Holy Communion.
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Untitled Poem by St Alphonsus Liguori from Thursdays with the
Blessed Sacrament 1922
HYMN.
“I will lead her into solitude, and will speak to her heart”.—Osse 2:12
He has so enamoured me
Of His heavenly charity,
That no earthly goods inspire
Aught of love or vain desire.
St. Alphonsus, loving Father of the poor and sick, all your life you devoted
yourself with charity towards those who suffer sickness. I invoke you as the
patron of those who suffer with arthritis, since you were afflicted with this
disease in your lifetime. Look with compassion on me in my suffering. Full of
confidence in your intercession, I come to you for help in my present need
(mention your intention here). Amen.
Prayer of St. Alphonsus to Jesus Christ, to Obtain His Holy Love
O Mother of beautiful love, my advocate and refuge, Mary, who art of all
creatures the most beautiful, the most loving, and the most beloved of God,
and whose only desire it is to see him loved! ah, by the love thou bearest to
Jesus Christ, pray for me, and obtain for me the grace to love him always, and
with all my heart! This I ask and hope for from thee. Amen.
My God, I love Thee above all things, and in all things, with my whole soul,
because Thou art worthy of all love!
St. Alphonsus Liguori's Rule of Life
as Outlined in His "Way of Salvation and Perfection"
(very appropriate to practice especially during the Lenten Season)**
Rule 1:
Every morning upon arising pray the following prayer:
O my God, I adore You, I love You with all my heart and I thank You for
all Your gifts, in particular for preserving me through the night. I offer You all
that I shall do or suffer throughout this day, in union with the actions and the
sufferings of Jesus and Mary. I intend to avoid every offense against You, but
I ask that You extend Your protection to me so that I may continue to love
You. Most Holy Mary, take me under your protection. My guardian angel and
patron saints, come to my aid. Amen.
Rule 2:
As soon after arising and praying the above prayer, make a half-hour
meditation in order to assist you in persevering in the grace of God throughout
your day.
Rule 3:
Attend daily Mass if at all possible. If you cannot attend every single day, go
as often as possible throughout the week. We participate in the Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass to honor God, thank Him for His gifts to us, atone for the
punishment due to our own sins, and to obtain Divine Graces. Before Mass,
during your time of prayer and reflection, pray:
Eternal Father, in this Mass, I offer Jesus Christ, with all the merits of His
Passion. I honor Your majesty. I thank You for all the gifts that You have
given me. I attend this Mass because of my sins and the sins of all the living,
and of those who have died in Your Grace. I pray for the graces necessary for
salvation. Amen.
Rule 4:
Read a spiritual book for half an hour, or at least for 15 minutes each day.
Reading the lives of the saints in particular helps us develop hope in God's
mercy and love. Aside from webmaster: Always be careful of the author and
publishing company--take great care to choose literature that is in conformity
to Magesterium of the Roman Catholic Church.
Rule 5:
Every day possible, make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament. Attending
Benediction and Eucharistic Adoration is preferred, but in these times, many
Catholic churches do not have Perpetual Adoration due to crimes against the
faith and danger of sacrilege to the Blessed Sacrament. Just dropping into a
chapel or church where there is tabernacle hosting Our Lord in the Holy
Eucharist is actually sufficient.
Rule 6:
Every evening, make an examination of conscience, asking God for His
forgiveness and mercy, and the spiritual strength to resist temptation in the
future. Pray an act of Faith, Hope, and Charity.
Rule 7:
Frequent devout reception of the sacraments of reconciliation and the Holy
Eucharist is recommended. Before your confession, pray:
I thank You, O my God, for having waited for me until now. I hope, through
the merits of Your Son Jesus Christ, for the pardon of all my sins. I am sorry
for them, and repent of them with my whole heart. By my sins, I have lost
heaven and have deserved hell. Above all I am grieved, to the depths of my
being, and hate and detest my sins more than all evils, because they have
offended Your infinite goodness. I would rather die than offend You any more.
Amen.
Rule 8:
It is wise to choose a good confessor and to follow his guidance in spiritual
matters and even in temporal matters of importance. St. Philip Neri also
taught: "Let those who desire to advance in the way of God put themselves
under the direction of an enlightened confessor, and let them obey their
director as they would the Voice of God. Whoever does this may feel assured
that they will never have to render an account to God of what they choose." St.
Alphonsus Liguori agrees with St. Philip Neri, and that this teaching conforms
to the words of Jesus in the Bible: "Whoever listens to you, listens to Me." (Lk
10:16)
Rule 9:
When you are tempted, do not trust yourself, and do not trust all the good
resolutions and promises that you have made, but rely solely on Divine
assistance. Have immediate recourse to God and the Blessed Mother. God
readily supplies the strength that we need to all that ask; the person who fails
will fall prey to the evil enemy.
Rule 10:
If you commit a venial sin, make an act of love and of contrition to renew your
firm purpose of amendment to avoid such near occasions of sin in the future,
and then continue on with your day in the peace that comes from believing in
God's mercy.
Rule 11:
In all the sufferings of life, such as illness, loss, and persecution, always be
aware of the necessity of resigning yourself to the will of God and reflect on
these words: "God wills it, and so I will it also." Every person has to endure
some sort of suffering during their lifetimes, whether they accept it or not; and,
if they resist it, by their impatience, they suffer even more greatly.
Rule 12:
Be very careful to observe a tender and obvious devotion to our most holy
Mother Mary, by performing each day some exercise of piety in her honor.
Upon arising daily, pray three Hail Marys in honor of her spiritual purity,
imploring her to keep you from all sin. Pray the rosary, her litanies, and read
something--regardless of whether it's a chapter or a few lines--about the
Blessed Virgin. Attend the First Saturday Masses if at all possible and make
novenas in honor of her feast days. Especially honor and invoke Our Lady in a
special way at Christmas, Pentecost, and the feast days of our Patron Saints.
Rule 13:
Say a daily prayer to Jesus Christ to obtain His holy love and mercy:
O God of my soul, I hope in Thy goodness that Thou hast pardoned all my
offenses against Thee, and that I am now in a state of grace. I thank Thee for it
with all my heart, and I hope to athank Thee for all eternity. I know that I have
fallen, because I have not had recourse to Thee when I was tempted, to ask for
holy perseverance. For the future, I firmly resolve to recommend myself
always to Thee, and especially when I see myself in danger of again offending
Thee. I will always fly to Thy mercy, invoking always the most holy names of
Jesus and Mary, with full confidence that when I pray Thou wilt not fail to
give me the strength which I have not of myself to resist my enemies. This I
resolve and promise to do. But of what use, O my God, will all these
resolutions and promises be, if Thou dost not assist me with Thy grace to put
them in practice; that is, to have recourse to Thee in all dangers? Ah, Eternal
Father! Help me, for the love of Jesus Christ; and let me never omit
recommending myself to Thee whenever I am tempted. I know that Thou dost
always help me when I have recourse to Thee; but my fear is, that I should
forget to recommend myself to Thee, and so my negligence will be the cause
of my ruin, that is, the loss of Thy grace, the greatest evil that can happen to
me. Ah, by the merits of Jesus Christ, give me grace to pray to Thee; but grant
me such an abundant grace that I may always pray, and pray as I ought!
O my Mother Mary, whenever I have had recourse to thee, thou hast obtained
for me the help which has kept me from falling! Now I come to beg of thee to
obtain a still greater grace, namely, that of recommending myself always to
thy Son and to thee in all my necessities. My Queen, thou obtainest all thou
dost desire from God by the love thou bearest to Jesus Christ; obtain for me
now this grace which I beg of thee,-----namely, to pray always, and never to
cease praying till I die. Amen.
Prayer to be said Every Day, to Obtain the Graces Necessary for Salvation
Eternal Father, Thy Son hast promised that Thou wilt grant us all the graces
which we ask Thee for in His name. In the name, therefore, and by the merits
of Jesus Christ, I ask the following graces for myself and for all mankind.
And, first, I pray Thee to give me a lively faith in all that the holy Roman
Church teaches me. Enlighten me also, that I may know the vanity of the
goods of this world, and the immensity of the infinite good that Thou art;
make me also see the deformity of the sins I have committed, that I may
humble myself and detest them as I ought and, on the other hand, show me
how worthy Thou art by reason of Thy goodness, that I should love Thee with
all my heart. Make me know also the love Thou hast borne me, that from this
day forward I may try to be grateful for so much goodness. Secondly, give me
a firm confidence in Thy mercy of receiving the pardon of my sins holy
perseverance, and, finally, the glory of Paradise, through the merits of Jesus
Christ and the intercession of Mary. Thirdly, give me a great love towards
Thee, which shall detach me from the love of this world and of myself, so that
I may love none other but Thee, and that I may neither do nor desire anything
else but what is for Thy glory. Fourthly, I beg of Thee a periect resignation to
Thy will, in accepting with tranquillity sorrows, infirmities, contempt,
persecutions, aridity of spirit, loss of property, of esteem, of relatives, and
every other cross which shall come to me from Thy hands. I offer myself
entirely to Thee, that Thou mayest do with me and all that belongs to me what
Thou pleasest. Do Thou only give me light and strength to do Thy will; and
especially at the hour of death help me to sacrifice my life to Thee with all the
affection I am capable of, in union with the sacrifice which Thy Son Jesus
Christ made of His life on the Cross on Calvary. Fifthly, I beg of Thee a great
sorrow for my sins, which may make me grieve over them as long as I live,
and weep for the insults I have offered Thee, the Sovereign Good, Who art
worthy of infinite love, and Who hast loved me so much. Sixthly, I pray Thee
to give me the spirit of true humility and meekness, that I may accept with
peace, and even with joy, all the contempt, ingratitude, and ill-treatment that I
may receive. At the same time, I also pray Thee to give me perfect charity,
which shall make me wish well to those who have done evil to me, and to do
what good I can, at least by praying, for those who have in any way injured
me. Seventhly I beg of Thee to give me a love for the virtue of holy
mortification, by which I may chastise my rebellious senses and cross my self-
love; at the same time, I beg Thee to give me holy purity of body, and the
grace to resist all bad temptations, by ever having recourse to Thee and Thy
most holy Mother. Give me grace faithfully to obey my spiritual Father and all
my Superiors in all things. Give me an upright intention, that in all I desire and
do I may seek only Thy glory, and to please Thee alone. Give me a great
confidence in the Passion of Jesus Christ, and in the intercession of Mary
Immaculate. Give me a great love towards the most Adorable Sacrament of the
Altar, and a tender devotion and love to Thy holy Mother. Give me, I pray
Thee, above all, holy perseverance, and the grace always to pray for it,
especially in time of temptation and at the hour of death.
O Mary, Mother of God, pray to Jesus for me! So I hope; so may it be!
O INCARNATE WORD, Thou hast given Thy Blood and Thy Life to confer
on our prayers that power by which, according to Thy promise, they obtain for
us all that we ask. And we, O God, are so careless of our salvation, that we
will not even ask Thee for the graces that we must have if we should be saved!
In prayer Thou hast given us the key of all Thy Divine treasures; and we,
rather than pray, choose to remain in our misery. Alas! O Lord, enlighten us,
and make us know the value of prayers, offered in Thy name and by Thy
merits, in the eyes of Thy Eternal Father. I consecrate to Thee this my book;
bless it, and grant that all those into whose hands it falls may have the will to
pray always, and may exert themselves to stir up others also to avail
themselves of this great means of salvation.
Lord have mercy on us. Christ have mercy on us. Lord have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O
Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.
--FINIS--
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