The doctor and apostle of prayer. St. Alphonsus - 03

The manner of life which Alphonsus thenceforth adopted, during the two years he lived at Naples as a secular priest and as a member of the Congregation of the Propaganda in Naples, is described in glowing terms in the Bull of his canonization. These are the words of the Supreme Pontiff, Gregory XVI.: "Having received Holy Orders and been raised to the dignity of the priesthood, he applied all his energies to extend on every side the glory of God, to sow the seeds of virtue in the minds of men, and to pluck up the roots of vice. Persuaded that the labours of an apostle cannot be productive of abundant fruit unless he teach as well by example as by words, it became the chief object of his care to exhibit himself by the practice of every kind of virtues 'as a minister of God' and a 'dispenser of His mysteries'. Of chastity, which he had long since consecrated by vow to God, he was ever the most watchful guardian, incessantly exerting all the powers of his mind, and employing every movement of his body to preserve it free from the slightest stain. To attain this object with perfect security he dedicated that virtue with filial confidence to the care of the Mother of God. With so vehement an impulse of love was he carried towards God, that his attention was unceasingly fixed upon Him, and nothing seems to have afforded him pleasure but to think and speak of God. Since the love of God so ardently inflamed him, it is easy to conclude that he cherished a fervent charity for his neighbour. No toil, no trouble was spared by him in order to recall men steeped in vice and wickedness to the loving embraces of God. It was his constant occupation to visit the hospitals for the purpose of assisting the sick, and of aiding, by his presence, those in particular who were in immediate danger of death. Moved by the same charity, he used to hear confessions with the greatest patience, and to spend in the performance of that office not only whole days, but also a considerable part of the night. Hence, too, was he in the habit of addressing from the pulpit his crowded audience in strains of such fervid language as to conquer and break down the obstinacy of the most abandoned sinners. He exhibited to them the foul baseness of the crimes which had so hardened their hearts, and aroused in their minds so lively a feeling of sorrow that they were moved to tears, and on many occasions filled the sacred edifice with their sobs and lamentations." Such are the words of Gregory XVI.

This admirable zeal for souls was, in union with his love for Jesus, the characteristic virtue of Alphonsus. It already showed itself in the very beginning of his priestly life in such a manner as to foreshadow what he would be in the future—the great apostle of the poor and of the country people. It is true that he readily bestowed his time and his labour on all kinds of men; yet it was the poor and the abandoned who were ever the special objects of his care. This can be seen from the work which he effected among the Neapolitan day-labourers and porters. After he had been ordained deacon he used to bring those poor men together at certain times into an appointed place, and then exhort them to the love of Jesus Christ. And when the number of his hearers gradually increased, he dispersed them through the town in different assemblies, arranging everything so that the members might urge on one another to the practice of every virtue. Such was the origin of the famous Institution of the "Chapels," which has lasted in Naples up to the present day, and which has been the means of salvation to countless numbers of workmen. But Alphonsus did not confine himself to the poor of Naples only; his burning zeal spread itself beyond the limits of the city. In his compassion for the country people, he went through the fields, and villages, and hamlets, preaching the word of God, so that to him might aptly be applied the words of Scripture: The spirit of the Lord is upon me: wherefore he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the contrite of heart (Luke iv. 18).