Preparation for Death

Saint Alphonsus Liguori, the Prince of Moral Theologians and Doctor of the Church, was one of the greatest preachers in Church history. A religious founder, consummate theologian, and prolific writer, St. Alphonsus’s own holiness and humility were unmistakable through his tireless devotion to the souls in his care. Those who hear his teaching and wisdom cannot help but become inspired to attain the same holiness and devotion to Our Lord. Here, in Preparation for Death, is his formidable work on the last moments of life and our duty to prepare for it while we still have time.

Resonating throughout is the profound sense of the depravity of sin that St. Alphonsus undoubtedly felt and from which he longs to save his flock. He dwells repeatedly on the Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Hell, and Heaven, bringing the reader to consider his own eternal destiny. Above all, St. Alphonsus’s message is permeated by a prolonged meditation on the words of Our Lord: ＂What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his own soul?＂ The goods of the world are fleeting, and to the Christian, they are even a burden--as St. Paul would say, ＂so much trash＂--because ＂there is only one thing that is necessary.＂ Topics include:

• the certainty of death,
• the uncertainty of the time,
• the death of the sinner,
• the death of the negligent Christian,
• the death of the just,
• the habit of sin,
• delusions of the devil,
• Particular and General Judgments,
• he pains of Hell and its eternity,
• the remorse of the damned,
• and more to stir the soul to repentance . . .

Though St. Alphonsus can be a harrowing man to hear, it is only from the most unique tenderness and subtlety of his heart that such words can spring. For ＂out of the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaketh,＂ and St. Alphonsus’s heart was filled to the brim with genuine desire for innocence and purity of heart in all his spiritual children. It is worth noting that he never refused absolution to anyone.

There is no better teacher on moral theology to ever grace the Church than St. Alphonsus Liguori. Let Preparation for Death show you why.

St. Alphonsus Liguori, CSsR (27 September 1696 - 1 August 1787), sometimes called Alphonsus Maria de Liguori or Saint Alphonsus Liguori, was an Italian Catholic bishop, spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philosopher, and theologian. He founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, known as the Redemptorists, in November 1732. In 1762 he was appointed Bishop of Sant’Agata dei Goti. A prolific writer, he published nine editions of his Moral Theology in his lifetime, in addition to other devotional and ascetic works and letters. Among his best known works are The Glories of Mary and The Way of the Cross, the latter still used in parishes during Lenten devotions. He was canonized in 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius IX in 1871. One of the most widely read Catholic authors, he is the patron saint of confessors.