Scala News joyfully presents the publications of Fr. Denis Billy’s recent trilogy on the spirituality of St. Alphonsus de Liguori (1696-1787)
Dennis J. Billy, C.Ss.R. recently completed a brief trilogy on Alphonsian spirituality. Three years in the making, it is addressed to the entire Redemptorist family but dedicated to the Redemptorist Partners in Mission (PIM). Fr. Billy did this because PIM is an integral part of the Redemptorist identity, purpose, and mission and, in many ways, represents much of the future of the Redemptorist apostolate. Ever since the Vatican Council, the laity have been encouraged to assume a more active role in the Church’s mission of spreading the Gospel message. The rapid rise of the various Lay Ecclesial Movements represents one lay response to this invitation. PIM is another such response, one that shares in Alphonsus’s vision of preaching the Gospel to the poor and most abandoned.
The books are relatively brief, about 100 pages each, and seek to convey in a popular, easily accessible style some of the main currents of the animating spirit behind Alphonsus’s evangelizing mission. They were inspired by that moment in Alphonsus’s life when, after losing an important legal battle, he went into seclusion and, after days of serious reflection and soul searching, went to the Church of Our Lady of Ransom in Naples, knelt before the altar of Our Lady of Mercy, drew his nobleman’s sword, laid it Our Lady’s feet, and dedicated himself to serving her for the rest of his life as a priest.
In the trilogy, Fr. Billy connects this critical moment in Alphonsus’ life to a verse in The Letter to the Hebrews: “Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb 4:12, NRSV). Fr. Billy goes on to liken Alphonsian Spirituality to a double-edged sword. One edge of the sword represents a “Spirituality of Practice;” the second, a “Spirituality of Heart;” the third, the point where the two edges meet in a “Spirituality of Mission.” Each of the three volumes focuses on one of these three integral dimensions of Alphonsian spirituality.
Volume one, Holy Exercises: St. Alphonsus de Liguori and the Spirituality of Practice, looks at the various practices Alphonsus sought to instill in the hearts of the poor shepherds and peasant farmers in the remote hilltop villages of southern Italy, who had been effectively abandoned by the Church and, as a result, had little access to her sacraments. These practices include: the practice of the love of Jesus Christ, the practice of the presence of God, conformity to God’s will, mental prayer, the practice of the Visit, and various Marian practices¾to name but a few. Volume two, Paradise for God: St. Alphonsus de Liguori and the Spirituality of Heart, states that the purpose of these holy exercises is to pierce the heart and open it to the movement of the Holy Spirit so Christ could befriend it and dwell within it. It examines the meaning of “heart” in the Christian tradition, Alphonsus’s understanding of it, the importance of prayer in facilitating this befriending process, the nature of one’s friendship with God, and the meaning of the phrase, “paradise for God is the human heart.” Volume three, Going Forth: St. Alphonsus de Liguori and the Spirituality of Mission, considers Alphonsus’s understanding of the mission to the poor and most abandoned. It considers the origins of “Mission” in the Christian tradition, Alphonsus’s understanding of it, what preaching the Gospel message of “Plentiful Redemption” entails, and the meaning of the phrase “poor and most abandoned.” Each of the volumes stands alone but points to the other two. Their purpose is to shed light on Alphonsian spirituality by means of an image (a double-edged sword) that can be easily remembered, taken to heart, and implemented in the daily lives of the Redemptorist family.
This trilogy does not claim, by any means, to be an exhaustive treatment of Alphonsian spirituality. There is so much more to discover about the spiritual outlook of the man whom Pope St. John Paul II once called “… a giant figure, not only in the history of the Church, but for the whole of humanity.” Rather, it seeks to offer a simple tool for communicating the spirit of this saintly and most zealous Doctor of the Church in a way that can be integrated into the daily lives of the Redemptorists themselves, their Partners in Mission, and the people they are called to serve. Fr. Billy hopes these volumes will be read, discussed, digested, and taken to heart today and by future generations of the ever-widening circle of our Alphonsian family. May it be so and may it one day come to pass.
All three books are available on amazom.com
Holy Exercises: St. Alphonsus de Liguori and the Spirituality of Practice
Paradise for God: St. Alphonsus de Liguori and the Spirituality of Heart
Going Forth: St. Alphonsus and the Spirituality of Mission
