Based on The Life of St. Alphonsus Liguori published by Slaying Dragons Press.

Testimonies about life after death have had a tremendous impact on people today. These stories, whether taking place in our own generation or centuries ago, make the Church’s teachings about our final and eternal destination a more concrete and irrefutable reality.

If you have ever found yourself moved by such events, and felt inspired to radically change your life as a result, you are in good company. One of the greatest Saints in the Church’s history – the missionary, preacher, miracle-worker, confessor, Bishop, and counselor to Popes – St. Alphonsus Liguori, said that “one of the greatest blessings of his life” was a retreat he went on, at the prompting of a friend, during which he heard the story about the appearance of a damned soul to a repentant sinner.

This story is told in The Life of St. Alphonsus Liguori, published by Slaying Dragons Press.

At a certain phase of his youth, at the age of twenty-six years old, when he was a successful lawyer and exemplar of morals in Naples, the spirit of the world began to influence him in such a way that

his ardor had cooled to so great a degree that his most intimate friend, Francis, Duke of Casabona, beginning to be alarmed at [Alphonsus’] negligence, and desirous of reviving his own fervor, proposed that Alphonsus should join him in a retreat of eight days, to be given early in the Lent of 1722, at the house of the Lazarist Fathers.

The retreat was conducted by the Superior of this Order, Fr. Vincent Cutica, who was known for his piety. He was a priest who loved to emphasize the “shortness of time and the length of eternity; and painted striking pictures of the hideousness of vice and the ravishing beauty of virtue.”

The preaching at this retreat produced “immense spiritual profit” for Alphonsus, leading him to conclude:

The world which covets my heart has nothing solid to offer; nothing capable of satiating the yearnings of an immortal spirit: whereas, by sitting at the table of the Lamb, I can fully satiate the hunger and thirst which devour me.

As a result of this retreat, “the seeds of piety began to germinate, despite the thorns of passion which had wellnigh choked them.” This led Alphonsus to “bitterly deplore” the time he had wasted on the follies of the world, “the festivals, comedies, company, games,” solemnly renouncing all that had begun to interest him: “the joys of the world, full of gall and bitterness.”

At that point, he still lacked that final resolve to dispense with the world entirely and give himself over to God with an undivided heart. However, Divine Providence was about to unfold His plan to completely capture the heart and mind of the young man destined to become one of the Church’s greatest Saints.

What contributed to impress the pious youth [Alphonsus] still more deeply, was an account given by the preacher of an event that had recently occurred in Florence, during a retreat given by the fathers of St. Vincent de Paul. A gentleman who had been leading a scandalous life was suddenly converted; and, as the partner of his guilt had just died, he knelt to implore the divine mercy for her miserable soul. At the same moment, she appeared to him, and said: “Pray not for me; I am damned.” To convince him that it was no mere phantom of his imagination, she laid her hands on the table before which he knelt in prayer, and the parts which she touched were burned.

While this impressive story, so close to his home and so recently occurring, was likely to stir the heart of all who heard it with an attentive mind, the story alone was not all that the preacher had prepared for his audience.

This table, which had been brought from Florence to Naples, was exhibited by Father Cutica to his audience in his sermon on hell; and so deeply moved was Alphonsus, that he instantly resolved to renounce marriage and all the vanities of the world, and give himself entirely to God.

As was mentioned earlier, St. Alphonsus “ever regarded [this retreat] as one of the greatest blessings of his life.” Among the many fruits that emerged from this experience was “a special and tender confidence in Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament.” After this, he began to attend Mass frequently during the week, and visit Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament on a daily basis, “where he would remain for hours kneeling in contemplation before his hidden Savior.”

St. Alphonsus became one of the most powerful preachers in the Church’s history. He also became one of the most prolific writers, penning meditations and teachings on nearly every subject within the Christian Faith, including the four last things: death, judgment, Heaven, and Hell.

His entire earthly life, which continued on from this retreat for nearly seventy more years, was one continuous sermon on what matters most: our earthly relationship with God and the eternal destination this will bring about.

Let him preach to you through the moving and captivating story of his life: The Life of St. Alphonsus Liguori, published by Slaying Dragons Press.