St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, On the Great Means of Prayer, San Paolo, Cinisiello Balsamo (MI), 2024, pp. 156.
Among the readings recommended for the summer by Edizioni San Paolo, we find a new edition of Del Gran Mezzo della Preghiera, in an elegant and agile graphic design, embellished by Leonardo da Vinci’s Christ as Savior of the World.
It is known that the Saint considered it the most useful work to achieve eternal salvation, and he addressed it to all the faithful living on earth, to whom he would have liked to give a copy of his book, so that everyone would understand the need that we all have to pray to be saved (Introduction).
These few lines are enough to remind us of the importance that St. Alphonsus attributed to this publication, and the fact that during his lifetime it was reprinted eight times between Naples and Bassano.
This edition presents the text approved in the diocese of Pescara in 1963. It does not contain any Presentation, but the entire content of the Work, divided into three chapters and an Appendix containing the Devout Exercises to be practiced.
The layout and choice of font make reading smooth and pleasant, also facilitated by the translation of Latin quotations and the division into short chapters.
From the second half of the last century to the present day, several reprints of the work have taken place in Italy. We recall the most famous ones as a brief bibliographical memory. In 1961, Pauline edition published the fourth edition of the work. In 1962, Giuseppe Cacciatore, for the series of the Ascetic Works (vol. II), edited the critical edition. In 1984, New City published a new version with a long introduction by Giovanni Velocci (pp. 5-40), reprinted in 1989. Finally, in 2011, Shalom editorial re-proposed its printing in an elegant and popular edition, edited by Gilberto Silvestri.
The bibliographical notes reported show that interest in this Alphonsian classic has not waned, despite the radical changes in mentality and spiritual sensitivity. Indeed, its relevance is reaffirmed by the editorial choice of various publishing houses and by that of many of our contemporaries who consider Saint Alphonsus their spiritual author of reference, a sure and authoritative guide for their own path of following Christ.
Fr. Vincenzo La Mendola C.Ss.R.
