WITHDRAWING FROM THE WORLD - 8/1/22 (Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church)

Matthew 14:13-14

When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, He withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by Himself. The crowds heard of this and followed Him on foot from their towns. When He disembarked and saw the vast crowd, His heart was moved with pity for them, and He cured their sick.  

For the full readings, click here: 

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080122.cfm

Blessed Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori! After hearing the horrible death of St. John the Baptist, Jesus withdrew in a boat, and He stayed in a deserted place by Himself. There are many temptations and occasions of sins in the world, and our Lord Jesus is teaching us that if we want to have progress in our journey, we should withdraw from the world. Some people become priests and religious to do this, and we should continuously pray for them to be faithful to God's calling for them. At the same time, even if we live in the world as part of laity, we should be detached from the world. Seeking vain satisfactions in this world will only make us feel empty at the end. 

St. Alphonsus Liguori was a very successful person. He was a lawyer who was always winning the cases. However, he overlooked a simple detail which made him lose his first case as a lawyer. It made him sad, and it was here where he had a conversion story. It was not as if he was just embarrassed with his mistake. Rather, he saw that seeking worldly accomplishments was just vain, and he was able to listen to the voice of Christ that told him to give himself fully to God. As such, he became a missionary priest, and he founded a new religious order. In the gospel reading, the crowds followed Jesus. God speaks to all of us, and He invites us to follow Him and depart the world, whether externally by entering religious orders or interiorly by being firm in God's will and teachings even when we are in this world. 

Our Lord Jesus Christ was moved with pity when He saw the crowd. This should not lead us to despair, but we should rejoice because our God is merciful and compassionate. He truly desires for us to be healed of our problems, distress, and spiritual illnesses or sins. We simply need to accept His invitation to follow Him. Some of us may fall to many temptations and pleasures in this world, not just worldly accomplishments, but even lust and other satisfactions. And yet, He is willing to cleanse our hearts from our sins. We can be more detached from the world by remaining in the presence of God in silence as we pray. Let's not be ashamed to tell Him our sins and faults. Even if we continuously fall, He will always be moved by His mercy to aid us in our spiritual journey. 

At the same time, as we read the gospel reading, we will see that the 5,000 people were satisfied when they were fed miraculously through the bread. This is a foreshadowing of the importance of Jesus, the Bread of Life, in the Mass. The Eucharist is Jesus. The best way to follow Him is to go to the Mass and receive Jesus in Holy Communion in the state of grace. St. Alphonsus Liguori had a very strong devotion to the Eucharist. In fact, the act of spiritual communion that we pray is written and prayed by him, and because of this, we should pray it with full devotion. The Precious Body and Blood of Jesus in the sacrament will heal our hearts. May we also take the time to go to the Adoration Chapel, to the Tabernacles, and even to Online Adoration on YouTube. Jesus wants us to visit Him and share to Him in the Blessed Sacrament all our troubles in life. Let's imitate St. Alphonsus Liguori and follow Jesus, and through this, we can have a sure reward in heaven. 

Amen +

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

 

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic

For more information on the life of St. Alphonsus Liguori, click here:

https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/august-1---st-alphonsus-liguori/

For the examination of conscience and guide to confession, click here:

https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/examination-of-conscience/

For more information on how to pray the rosary, click here:

https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/the-most-holy-rosary/