What does it mean to be a Redemptorist? What is the thinking, the spirituality, the driving force?
Alphonsus was a former lawyer who became a missionary priest. His change of life style startled a lot of people. His family had their hearts set on his becoming the most prominent lawyer in Naples, and after practising law for eight years he was well on his way to reaching that goal. In spite of his success, however, Alphonsus was not truly happy; he felt there was something more that he was meant to do with his life.

Ponder these key points, they reveal a multitude about the Redemptorists:

• Alphonsus became a tenacious champion in favour of conscience. He passionately defends the redeeming love of God against narrow-minded rigorists.
  
• In his moral theology and pastoral care, Alphonsus draws his conclusions from the primacy of love and liberty.
  
• Alphonsus knew that overburdening people's conscience with laws, especially if these laws were arbitrary, suffocated the creativity of love and freedom and caused anguish.
  
• Alphonsus was a friend of the poor and outcast, he could fill their hearts with good news.
  
• He adored the Holy Spirit, who endows even the most simple person with the gift of wisdom and discernment

• Once Alphonsus had become part of the world of the abandoned, his only serious temptation to leave was when he found someone more abandoned.
  
• The central message of Alphonsus' preaching and writing became a proclamation that the redemption offered by Jesus is available to all those who pray.
  
• He valued oral prayer, but did not believe it could sustain a Christian throughout the journey to perfection.
  
• His aim was to introduce meditation and mental prayer to everyone.
  
• Alphonsus often reminded young Redemptorists thattheir sermons needed to be understood by each person in the church, the poor beggar as well as the royal visitor.
  
• Alphonsus is unsophisticated in his approach to God. Ordinary people recognise in Alphonsus a friend who is one with them in responding with heartfelt prayers to a loving God.
  
• One of the main emphases in the spiritual direction of Saint Alphonsus might be labelled "growth through virtue".