"Not only is there no need of an intermediary through whom He would want you to speak to Him, but He finds His delight in having you treat with Him personally and in all confidence"
About this Quote
A Catholic bishop telling you to skip the middleman sounds like a provocation, and that’s exactly why it lands. Alphonsus Liguori is not dismantling the Church; he’s trying to rescue devotion from becoming mere bureaucracy. The line’s intent is pastoral and strategic: to pull prayer out of the realm of formal performance and back into a living relationship, where faith isn’t managed by distance, anxiety, or spiritual gatekeeping.
The subtext is a quiet critique of how religion can drift into “authorized access.” In Liguori’s era, Catholic life was thick with sacramental structures, clerical authority, and a moral rigor that could easily curdle into scrupulosity - a tormenting obsession with spiritual correctness. His emphasis on “no need of an intermediary” doesn’t erase priests; it reframes their role. Clergy can teach and absolve, but they shouldn’t crowd out the most intimate point of contact: the believer’s direct address to God.
He also slips in a psychological masterstroke: God “finds His delight” in personal confidence. That’s a calculated antidote to fear-based piety. If God is not merely judging but enjoying the encounter, then prayer becomes less like pleading before a tribunal and more like returning to someone who actually wants you there. The rhetoric turns theology into permission: you are allowed to speak plainly, not perfectly.
Context matters: Liguori’s wider project stressed mercy, accessibility, and a usable spirituality for ordinary people. This quote works because it democratizes intimacy without overthrowing tradition - a reform from inside the house.
The subtext is a quiet critique of how religion can drift into “authorized access.” In Liguori’s era, Catholic life was thick with sacramental structures, clerical authority, and a moral rigor that could easily curdle into scrupulosity - a tormenting obsession with spiritual correctness. His emphasis on “no need of an intermediary” doesn’t erase priests; it reframes their role. Clergy can teach and absolve, but they shouldn’t crowd out the most intimate point of contact: the believer’s direct address to God.
He also slips in a psychological masterstroke: God “finds His delight” in personal confidence. That’s a calculated antidote to fear-based piety. If God is not merely judging but enjoying the encounter, then prayer becomes less like pleading before a tribunal and more like returning to someone who actually wants you there. The rhetoric turns theology into permission: you are allowed to speak plainly, not perfectly.
Context matters: Liguori’s wider project stressed mercy, accessibility, and a usable spirituality for ordinary people. This quote works because it democratizes intimacy without overthrowing tradition - a reform from inside the house.
Quote Details
| Topic | Prayer |
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