Anfonso Liguori Quotes

During the investigation, he tried a brief defense of his medical practice on the grounds that he had once assisted a vivisectionist in Tampa, Florida; and when this failed, he settled down to sullen grumbling about the Jews, earthly vanity, and quoted bits from Ecclesiastes, Alfonso Liguori, and Pope Pius IX, in answer to any accusatory question. ~ William Gaddis

"Happy he that knows Thee, even if he knows nothing else," says St. Augustine. If we knew all the sciences and knew not how to love Jesus Christ, our knowledge shall profit us nothing to eternal life. But if we know how to love Jesus Christ, we shall know all things, and shall be happy for eternity. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

The heart of man will never find true peace, if it does not empty itself of all that is not God, so as to free itself all free for His love, that He alone may possess the whole of it. But this the soul cannot do of itself; it must obtain it of God by repeated prayers. ~ Alfonso Maria De Liguori

Woe to him who neglects to recommend himself to Mary, and thus closes the channel of grace! ~ Alphonsus Liguori

Love tends to union with the object loved. Now Jesus Christ loves a soul that is in a state of grace with immense love; He ardently desires to unite Himself with it. That is what Holy Communion does ~ Alphonsus Liguori

In the Great Deluge in the days of Noah, nearly all mankind perished, eight persons alone being saved in the Ark. In our days a deluge, not of water but of sins, continually inundates the earth, and out of this deluge very few escape. Scarcely anyone is saved. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

Were you to ask what are the means of overcoming temptations, I would answer: The first means is prayer; the second is prayer; the third is prayer; and you should you ask me a thousand times, I would repeat the same. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

If, on a rare occasion, it is necessary to speak with some severity in order to make a grievous crime felt, we should always, at the conclusion of the rebuke, add some kind words. We must heal wounds, as the Samaritan did, with wine and oil. But as oil floats above all other liquors, so meekness should predominate in all our actions. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

remember that He permits every thing for your good, and do not lose confidence: ~ Alfonso Maria De Liguori

Those who are seeking the true religion will never find it outside the Catholic Church alone, because, in every other religion, if they trace it up to the author, they will find some impostor whose imagination furnished a mass of sophisms and errors ~ Alphonsus Liguori

What is it that renders death terrible? Sin. We must therefore fear sin, not death. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

Our Faith will never be true unless it is united to that of St. Peter and the Pontiff, his successors. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

St. Francis Borgia says that he who desires to consecrate himself to God must, in the first place, trample under his feet all regard for what others will say of him. O my God, why do we not ask what Jesus Christ or his holy mother will think of our conduct? ~ Alphonsus Liguori

It was love, careless of its dignity." Ah, love indeed, when it tries to make itself known, does not seek what is becoming to the dignity of the lover, but what will serve best to declare itself to the object loved. ~ Alfonso Maria De Liguori

The past is no longer yours; the future is not yet in your power. You have only the present wherein to do good. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

Perfect love of God means the complete union of our will with God's. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

You may be sure that of all the moments of your life, the time you spend before the divine Sacrament will be that which will give you more strength during life and more consolation at the hour of your death and during eternity ~ Alphonsus Liguori

To be silent when we are impelled to utter words injurious to God or to our neighbour, is an act of virtue; but, to be silent in confessing our sins, is the ruin of the soul. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

Saint Teresa, as the Roman Rota attests, never fell into any mortal sin; but still Our Lord showed her the place prepared for her in Hell; not because she deserved Hell, but because, had she not risen from the state of lukewarmness in which she lived, she would in the end have lost the grace of God and been damned. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

Job was astonished at seeing Almighty God so intent on doing good to us that He seems to have nothing more at heart than to love us and to induce us to love Him in return. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

How beautiful she is, Our Lady of compassion! How dear! How utterly unselfish! How filled with joy for Him - and us - in the depths of her own agony and desolation! ~ Alphonsus Liguori

As all our wickedness consists in turning away from our Creator, so all our goodness consists in uniting ourselves with Him. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

Let your constant practice be to offer yourself to God, that He may do with you what He pleases. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

O God-Man present in this sacrament for me - what a comfort, what a privilege to know I kneel before God! And to think that this God loves me! ... Mary, my mother, help me to love him in return ~ Alphonsus Liguori

Nothing else is required than to act toward God, in the midst of your occupations, as you do, even when busy, toward those who love you and whom you love. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

In short, so great is God's love for you that He seems to love no one but you. And therefore, you should love no one but Him.* ~ Alfonso Maria De Liguori

There is no one, however wicked, whom Mary does not save by her intercession when she wishes ... He who has recourse to Mary shall be saved. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

Just as a mother finds pleasure in taking her little child on her lap, there to feed and caress him, in like manner our loving God shows His fondness for His beloved souls who have given themselves entirely to Him and have placed all their hope in His goodness. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

The sufferings endured for God are the greatest proof of our love for Him. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

Jesus is the mediator of justice; Mary obtains for us grace; for, as St. Bernard, St. Bonaventure, St. Bernardine of Siena, St. Germanus, St. Antoninus, and others say, it is the will of God to dispense through the hands of Mary whatever graces he is pleased to bestow upon us. With God, the prayers of the saints are the prayers of His friends, but the prayers of Mary are the prayers of His mother. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

In cold and heat, in rain and wind, the soul united to God says, "I want it to be warm, to be cold, windy, to rain, because God wills it." ~ Alphonsus Liguori

God loves all those who love him: I love them that love Me. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

Do not allow your daughters to be taught letters by a man, though he be a St. Paul or St. Francis of Assissium. The saints are in Heaven. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

My Lord Jesus Christ, who, for the love You bear to mankind, do remain night and day in this Sacrament, full of pity and love, awaiting, calling, and receiving all who come to visit You; I believe that You are present in the Sacrament of the Altar; I adore You from the depths of my own nothingness; I thank You for the many graces You have given me, and especially for having given me Yourself in this Sacrament ... ~ Alphonsus Liguori

In temptations against chastity, the spiritual masters advise us, not so much to contend with the bad thought, as to turn the mind to some spiritual, or, at least, indifferent object. It is useful to combat other bad thoughts face to face, but not thoughts of impurity. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

What grieves me most in my past offenses, O my loving God, is not so much the punishment I have deserved, as the displeasure I have given You, Who are worthy of infinite love. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

The definitions of the Church are the rules of true faith. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

It is not a rare occurrence among intimate friends that their friendship is strengthened when one has displeased the other but has afterwards humbled himself and asked pardon. ~ Alfonso Maria De Liguori

When we see a beautiful object, a beautiful garden, or a beautiful flower, let us think that there we behold a ray of the infinite beauty of God, who has given existence to that object. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

There is no one, after God, who loves us as much as this most loving Mother does. ~ Alphonsus Liguori