August 1, St. Alphonsus Liguori

Lord, in your great love, answer me.--Psalm 69:14

Mass readings: Jeremiah 26:1-9 / Matthew 13:54-58

God's Chisel

Today's Gospel tells the sad story of how the people of Jesus' hometown of Nazareth scornfully rejected Him. ''Is he not the carpenter's son?'' How this must have wounded Jesus. The people who knew Him best turned on Him when He brought the good news of the Kingdom to them.

The saint we honor today, St. Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787), also faced opposition and scorn. Most of it came from fellow Catholics. Powerful people resisted the reforms he made as a bishop. Theologians and teachers denounced his great book Moral Theology. For a time he was excluded from the Redemptorists, the religious order he founded. But St. Alphonsus bore opposition with calm. He once wrote that outward difficulties are ''the chisel with which God carves his statues for paradise.''

Prayer: Lord Jesus, let me see suffering as a way to know You better.