I always say a quick prayer to St. Alphonsus Ligouri before I go into the confessional.  He is the great founder of the Redemptorists, and a man who loved the Blessed Mother very much.  His “Glories of Mary” is one of my favorite devotional books on the Blessed Virgin.  He also wrote “Moral Theology”.  He wrote it primarily based on his pastoral experience, as well as his education, which explains it’s ability to speak to us today.  That pastoral experience, combined with his great prayer life, as well as his tremendous knowledge, made him such a wonderful confessor.  What a heart this man had. He is a living example of how the journey can be made “from the head to the heart”.  He is patron of Confessors and Theologians.

Petition to Mary by Saint Alphonsus Liguori

Most holy Virgin Immaculate, my Mother Mary,
to thee who art the Mother of my Lord,
the queen of the universe,
the advocate, the hope, the refuge of sinners,
I who am the most miserable of all sinners, have recourse this day.

I venerate thee, great queen,
and I thank thee for the many graces
thou has bestowed upon me even unto this day;
in particular for having delivered me from the hell
which I have so often deserved by my sins.

I love thee, most dear Lady;
and for the love I bear thee,
I promise to serve thee willingly forever
and to do what I can to make thee loved by others also.

I place in thee all my hopes for salvation;
accept me as thy servant
and shelter me under thy mantle,
thou who art the Mother of mercy.

And since thou art so powerful with God,
deliver me from all temptations,
or at least obtain for me the strength to overcome them until death.
From thee I implore a true love for Jesus Christ.

Through thee I hope to die a holy death.

My dear Mother,
by the love thou bearest to Almighty God,
I pray thee to assist me always,
but most of all at the last moment of my life.

Forsake me not then,
until thou shalt see me safe in heaven,
there to bless thee and sing of thy mercies through all eternity.

Such is my hope.
Amen.

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