Saint of the day October 30, 2024

Alphonsus was born in Segovia, Spain in 1533 to a prosperous cloth merchant and his wife. At age twelve, Alphonsus was sent to study at a newly established Jesuit college at Alcala. During his first year, however, his father died, and he returned home because he was needed to help run the family business. With time, he himself took over the management of the cloth business.

When he was in his twenties, he married a woman named Maria Suarez. The couple was fruitful, but the marriage was marked by sorrow, with one child dying, followed by Maria herself dying in childbirth. Left with one child, Alphonsus also faced the reality of a failing business, mostly due to heavy taxation. Thus, he sold the business. When both his mother and his one remaining child died, Alphonsus was crushed and considered himself a failure. He began a life of prayer and penance, and he decided to turn for spiritual direction to the Jesuits, who had established themselves in Segovia by then. During these years of prayer and grief, Alphonsus made great spiritual advances, desiring to dedicate the remainder of his life to God by abandoning secular life for religious life.

With time and much prayer, Alphonsus decided to seek admittance to the Society of Jesus. They rejected him, mostly because of his lack of education. He decided to return to school in Valencia, but he was again rejected by the Jesuits there. Finally, the Jesuit provincial intervened and allowed him admittance as a lay brother, so he entered in early 1571 and began his novitiate. Six months after his entry, he was sent to the Jesuit College of Montesion in the city of Palma on the Spanish Island of Majorca, where he completed his novitiate.

He was assigned there as a doorkeeper or porter. He made his final vows there at age fifty-four. It was in his service as a humble porter that Alphonsus found his special niche. His daily duties included answering the door and welcoming visitors, being sent on errands, disbursing alms to the needy who came for help, and fetching a student or Jesuit who had a visitor. As a religious brother, he was consistently obedient and found a way to always be in prayer even when occupied with a task. He was known in particular for his devotion to the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary more than two hundred years before that declaration was dogmatically made by the Church. On October 31, 1617, he succumbed to an illness and passed away.
He was canonized with his friend Peter Claver in 1888.


Reflection

St. Alphonsus Rodriguez was not like his contemporary fellow Jesuits who sailed bravely to foreign lands to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth. His was a simple, humble mission of no less importance. His memoirs, which were examined after his death, reveal a life of rich prayer including even visions and ecstasies. He showed heroic virtue in overcoming terrible tragedy and loss to grow in faith, rather than abandoning it. Even in his limited role, he was able to influence many people and pass along his faith.

Many saints experienced a crisis of faith at some point during their lives. Rather than shy away from the pain, they embraced it. One such saint is Alphonsus Rodriguez. His life is a testament to everlasting faith, for he suffered unimaginable tragedies and disappointments yet remained loyal to God. This stage is the one you probably find yourself in now. Can you find your way through this pain to a rebirth of faith? Many before you have succeeded in this. We can draw inspiration from reviewing how other saints managed to reawaken their spirits.