Online it is easy to come across many quotes from St Alphonsus about the reality of sin, people going to hell through carelessness and lack of repentance, along with a lot of high emotional prayers to Jesus and Mary. However it is important to understand his writings in the greater context of all his writings, as well as the theological issues in his day which lead to him being declared a Doctor of the Church. That is a teacher of the faith, someone so theological reliable and influential to our understanding of theology that they are upheld as a standard for the Church.
In his time there was widespread ignorance of the faith among many of the peasants and poor people, especially in rural Naples. He saw the lack of catechesis as a huge deficiency for these people on their spiritual life, and so that’s why he founded the Redemptorists. He wanted his Religious Congregation to provide retreats to people in parishes through passionate preaching and devotions to help stir up the faith of people, so they would understand the love of God for them, the reality of sin, and the redemptive power of Jesus. His spirituality was very Christocentric and focused on Jesus the infant in the crib, Jesus crucified on the Cross, and Jesus filled with love present in the Eucharist.
So you can see that spiritual retreats providing powerful sermons for people to understand the reality of sin, the love of Christ, and his redemption for us are all linked. This required good confessors who could pastorally minister to the people to help them repent from sin, and live devout lives of holiness.
However there was a serious lack of formation among the clergy regarding moral theology and the ministry of priests in the Sacrament of Confession. Some priests would only hear the confessions of rich and influential people, while refusing to fear the confessors of poor people. Other priests were so strict in the confessional that they would refuse absolution to many people and berate them for their sins without providing guidance on how to change their lives and detach from sin. Whilst others were so carefree and blasé about confession that they minimised sin so much to the point of making it nothing more than an empty ritual without spiritual conversion.
Seeing this issue, St Alphonsus himself wrote volumes on Moral Theology to compare the different schools of thought, analyse the principles and then synthesise or draw his own conclusions. This was his way to address the issue at his time between the “rigorists” who weee often influenced by a heresy known as Jansenism that over emphasised sin and damnation without the love and mercy of God. Whilst on the other end was the “laxists” who overfocused on mercy that it de-emphasised the personal responsibility of the penitent and the reality of sin, and the consequences of sin. It’s always a fine line between both approaches and so he said that a priest in the confessional needed a good foundation in moral theology so that they could function in the roles of a father, a physician, a teacher, and a judge. All 4 of these are required to be a good confessor according to St Alphonsus.
So when you see quotes online from St Alphonsus on people going to hell for not praying, or invalid confessions, lack of contrition and repentance in the confession, or even worse - refusing absolution to people. It needs to be understood on the context of being against the “laxist” school and mentality that downplayed the reality of sin and minimised the importance of actual amendment of life - to detach from sin, avoid occasions of sin, and understand the danger of sin to help you avoid it and fight against it rather than not bothering at all. It was these situations in which St Alphonsus recommended and advised priests to delay absolution.
Now we need to be very clear here… St Alphonsus did not teach that priests should carelessly refuse to absolve penitents in the confession. He taught that if the confessor discerned that the person was not sorry for their sins, nor did they care or appear to want to change - then the priest should carefully and lovingly delay absolution and give the person advice to understand sin, pray on and then come back to receive absolution. This is not the same as refusing someone absolution, which unfortunately some priests were doing and even today some still do. The Church does teach that the priest can withhold absolution in certain circumstances to delay it, but not outright refuse absolution. They are two very different things.
So when you understand the historical and theological context of St Alphonsus teachings, then it is easier to read his quotes without falling into despair. In the same way that Jesus was harsh to the Pharisees and merciful to sinners, so too is the approach of St Alphonsus. The confessor as a father, physician, teacher and judge needs to understand the penitent, make sure they understand the consequences and reality of their sins, give them advice on how to grow in grace and then judge discerningly whether the penitent is truly contrite or not.
So if a penitent comes in with scruples and a neurotic fear of hell - then the confessor should help them understand the love of God for them and the assurances we have of salvation through living a life of grace. However if on the other hand a person comes in nonchalantly and verbally confesses sins but does not appear to believe they are really sins or bad, then the confessor needs to instil filial fear of God in the person, help then to understand the reality of hell for the unrepentant and the effects of sin - then if needed, delay the absolution to give the penitent time to understand what they have been told. This is still the teaching of the Church, however it is rarely practiced. A good article outlining this within a modern context can be found here.
It is important to understand that contrition for sin is not the same as being emotional and crying over your sins everytime you go to confession. Many people today have anxiety and scruples that can impact their understanding and experience of the Sacrament of Confession, so it is important that discussions, posts and even quotes from saints need to be done prudently. If we are not priests, then we should focus on ourselves, our own sins, and pray for others in the spiritual journey as Catholics striving for holiness. I feel compelled to highlight this and clarify it, as many people have had negative experiences of confession - from priests who dismiss them and downplay their sins and tell them off for “wasting” their time, to the other extreme of priests making confession into a courtroom and torture chamber (to use the phrase from Pope Francis). Both extremes are dangerous for souls, the priests themselves and for the Church as a whole.
This is why St Alphonsus has been upheld as a Doctor of the Church and patron of moral theology and confessors. He teaches the authentic Catholic middle way of virtue, that every person needs to be treated as an individual and given the guidance needed to repent and be forgiven. But this repentance is based on the foundation of the love of God for us, and especially in the redemption of Jesus for us on the Cross. St Alphonsus was upholding and reiterating the teachings of the Council of Trent regarding sin, grace and salvation.
You can further see where St Alphonsus’ approach is highlighted and praised by both Pope Benedict and Pope Francis. My suggestion from my own personal experience is to try and have the same priest you go to for confession, that way they can pastorally guide you between the extremes of scrupulosity and indifference, so then the Sacrament of Confession becomes an encounter of the healing mercy of Jesus for you, to strengthen you and empower you in your relationship with him.
But St Alphonsus is also much more than just his moral theology and doctrine regarding confessors. He wrote many meditations, prayers, and devotional works. He heavily promoted the practice of adoration, as well as visits to the Blessed Sacrament and making acts of spiritual communion throughout the day. In all that he wrote and taught, he wanted to teach people the immense love of Jesus for us and available to us in a life of prayer and especially in the Sacraments. This is the basis for all his teachings and devotions. Then he fostered and promoted devotion to Our Lady who as our Queen and Patroness, is our powerful model and ally in the spiritual life.
Out of all his various meditations and writings, the one that I personally recommend the most is “the Practice of the love of Jesus Christ”. This is his most mature synthesis of all his writings, and the one that I most personally benefitted from. Most of his other writings have a particular style that is not for everyone, and often he has so many quotes from saints that it’s hard to differentiate between what he is saying or what he is quoting. But that is just my personal opinion. Other people throughout the ages have benefitted from, loved and enjoyed his devotional style in his writings.
The biggest theme you’ll see throughout his writings is the importance and necessity for prayer. He often says that those who persevere in prayer will be saved, but those who stop prayer will be lost. That’s why he can say without any malice, that those who are in hell are there because they stopped praying. For St Alphonsus prayer is what unites us to God, it detaches us from sin, it helps us to confirm our will to God’s Will so that we can embrace all sufferings as a means to be united to God in love. This is why he emphasises prayer so much.
Prayer is so simple and so fundamental, prayer is how we will be saved - through a living relationship with Jesus participating in the Sacraments. The more we pray, the more our faith deepens and we appreciate the love of Jesus for us in the Sacraments, this inflames our hearts and will to desire union with God more and more, which detaches us from sin because we understand how much sin destroys our union with God. Prayer is the means of our salvation, this is what St Alphonsus taught and continues to teach us today as we follow our Redeemer from the cradle, to the cross, to the tomb and to the altar.
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