My dear confreres, Redemptorist sisters, sisters who share our Redemptorist charism and mission, our Redemptorist lay missionaries, associates, collaborators and benefactors, and you, dear friends:
We welcome you to our Triduum in preparation for the feast of Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori this year.
In this Jubilee Year, under the theme Pilgrims of Hope, we come together as the Redemptorist family to celebrate the feast of our founder, Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori. During these three days of the Triduum, Fr. Ivel Mendanha, CSsR., the General Consultor, will reflect on essential aspects of the life and spirituality of St Alphonsus that continue to enlighten our path today:
Introduction:
- Day 1: Saint Alphonsus, pilgrim of hope, who knew how to trust in God in the midst of trials.
On this first day of the Triduum, we recognize in Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori a true pilgrim of hope. His life was a journey marked by challenges, personal crises, family opposition, misunderstandings, and even betrayals, yet he always maintained a firm faith that God never abandons those who entrust their lives to Him. From the moment he gave up a brilliant legal career due to corruption, to his tireless service as a priest among the poorest, Alphonsus moved forward with his eyes fixed on the Redeemer. He founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer amid great trials and remained faithful even when he was marginalized by his own foundation. Saint Alphonsus shows us that hope is not a fleeting emotion, but an active and courageous virtue, forged in daily faithfulness and kept alive even when everything seems to fall apart. His witness encourages us today to keep walking with trust, as pilgrims of hope in times of uncertainty.
- Day 2: Saint Alphonsus, missionary of hope, who went beyond himself to proclaim redemption to the poor and the abandoned.
On the second day of the Triduum, we celebrate Saint Alphonsus as a tireless missionary of hope, who was able to leave behind the securities and comforts of his noble background to embrace the most needy without reserve. As a young priest, he lived among the poor in central Naples, promoting spaces of encounter, formation, and prayer for those ignored by the Church. His commitment to the peasants and shepherds of the South led him to found a congregation whose priority was to announce redemption to the forgotten of society. Even when he was appointed bishop, he continued to live with evangelical simplicity: he sold possessions to feed the hungry, travelled his diocese on foot, and transformed his episcopal ministry into a true mission. In all these personal “exoduses,” Alphonsus lived moved by active hope: a deep conviction that the redeeming love of Christ must reach everyone, with no exceptions. His life urges us to be today’s missionaries of hope—with courage, closeness, and tenderness.
- Day 3: Saint Alphonsus and the sources of his hope, rooted in Christ the Redeemer, Mary, prayer, and fraternity.
On this third day of the Triduum, we pause to reflect on the spiritual sources that sustained Saint Alphonsus’s hope throughout his life. His deep union with Jesus Christ the Redeemer was at the center of everything: in Him, he found meaning, strength, and consolation. From that relationship flowed key devotions such as love for the manger, the Crucified Christ, and the Eucharist—concrete signs of a God who is near, compassionate, and always present. Alphonsus also had a profound trust in the Holy Spirit and a tender devotion to Mary, whom he called “our hope.” Prayer was the oxygen of his soul: he spoke with God as with a friend and taught everyone to make prayer a vital means to persevere in love. Furthermore, his hope was nourished by serious study, spiritual accompaniment, and fraternity with his fellow Redemptorists and faithful friends. Even in the darkest moments, he knew how to trust that the work was God’s, not his. Today, Saint Alphonsus reminds us that hope is born and strengthened in prayer, in communion, and in fidelity to the Gospel.
- Feast of Saint Alphonsus: Missionary of Hope in the footsteps of the Redeemer.
We arrive at the culminating day of the Triduum by celebrating the feast of Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, a true missionary of hope in the footsteps of the Redeemer. His life was a generous and total offering in service to the Gospel, marked by deep closeness to the people, especially the poor and marginalized. He was a man of many talents—lawyer, musician, painter, theologian—who placed everything at the service of redemption. He founded a missionary congregation that spread throughout the world, bringing the Good News with simplicity, compassion, and resolve. He lived a spirituality that was incarnate, emotional, and practical—avoiding extremes and centered on God’s love. Today, his witness challenges the Church to be more human, more approachable, and bolder in proclaiming the Gospel. In this Jubilee Year, under the theme Missionaries of Hope, his example inspires us to renew our commitment to the poor, to trust in the power of prayer, and to live with the certainty that, in all things, God is at work and never abandons us.
Saint Alphonsus continues to walk with us—as a beacon and companion on the path of hope!
May this Triduum renew us in our love for the Redeemer and in our commitment to be, like Saint Alphonsus, signs of hope in the footsteps of the Redeemer.
Scala News
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