Posted on 06/20/2014 11:26:02 PM PDT by Salvation
St. Aloysius Gonzaga
Feast Day: June 21
Born: 1568 :: Died: 1591
St. Aloysius, the patron of Catholic youth, was born in a castle at Montau, Lombardy in Italy. Since he was so full of life, his father who was a big gambler decided to make a great soldier out of him. When Aloysius was just five, his father took him to the army camp.
There little Aloysius marched in parade and even managed to load and fire a gun one day while the army was at rest. He learned rough language from the soldiers, too. When he found out what the words meant, he felt very bad that he used them.
As he grew up, Aloysius was sent to the courts of dukes and princes. Telling lies, fighting and living a bad life of sin were common in the court. But all this only made St. Aloysius more careful to live his life as a good Christian. He became sick with a kidney disease. Aloysius felt this was a blessing from God as it gave him an excuse to spend time praying and reading good books.
When Aloysius was sixteen, he decided to become a Jesuit priest. At first, his father refused to give him permission but after three years when he found he could not change his son’s mind, he finally agreed. He taught catechism to poor street boys and signed all his wealth over to his brother.
Once Aloysius joined the order, he asked to do hard and humble tasks. He served in the kitchen and washed the dishes. He wanted to make his life pure by doing penance. When the plague broke out in Rome, Aloysius asked if he could care for the sick. He was used to his servants doing everything for him but he gladly washed the sick and made their beds.
He served them until finally he caught the sickness himself. Before he died, he said simply, "I am going to heaven." St. Aloysius was only twenty-three when he died on the night of June 20, 1591. The body of St. Aloysius Gonzaga is buried in the Church of St. Ignatius in Rome.
Reflection: What do I do when I am being forced to say and do things I shouldn't? I must pray for courage to do what is right.
Saturday, June 21
Liturgical Color: White
Today is the Memorial of St. Aloysius
Gonzaga, religious. St. Aloysius was a sickly
child and viewed his bedridden time as an
opportunity for prayer. During the Plague of
1591 he tended to victims before he died
from the disease himself.
Why do we need faith and the sacraments in order to live a good, upright life?
If we were to rely only on ourselves and our own strength, we would not get far in our attempts to be good. Through faith we discover that we are God's children and that God makes us strong. When God gives us his strength, we call this "grace". Especially in the sacred signs that we call the sacraments, God gives us the ability actually to do the good that we want to do. Since God saw our misery, he "delivered us from the dominion of darkness" (Col 1:13) through his Son, Jesus Christ. He granted us the opportunity to make a new start in fellowship with him and to walk the path of love.
What reasons do Christians give for human dignity?
Every person, from the first moment of his life in the womb, has an inviolable dignity, because from all eternity God willed, loved, created, and redeemed that person and destined him for eternal happiness. If human dignity were based solely on the successes and accomplishments of individuals, then those who are weak, sick, or helpless would have no dignity. Christians believe that human dignity is, in the first place, the result of God's respect for us. He looks at every person and loves him as though he were the only creature in the world. Because God has looked upon even the least significant child of Adam, that person possesses an infinite worth, which must not be destroyed by men. (YOUCAT questions 279, 280)
Dig Deeper: CCC section (1699-1715) and other references here.
Part 3: Life in Christ (1691 - 2557)
"Christian, recognize your dignity and, now that you share in God's own nature, do not return to your former base condition by sinning. Remember who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Never forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of the Kingdom of God."1
1.
St. Leo the Great, Sermo 22 in nat. Dom., 3:PL 54,192C.
The Symbol of the faith confesses the greatness of God's gifts to man in his work of creation, and even more in redemption and sanctification. What faith confesses, the sacraments communicate: by the sacraments of rebirth, Christians have become "children of God,"2 "partakers of the divine nature."3 Coming to see in the faith their new dignity, Christians are called to lead henceforth a life "worthy of the gospel of Christ."4 They are made capable of doing so by the grace of Christ and the gifts of his Spirit, which they receive through the sacraments and through prayer.
2.
3.
4.
Christ Jesus always did what was pleasing to the Father,5 and always lived in perfect communion with him. Likewise Christ's disciples are invited to live in the sight of the Father "who sees in secret,"6 in order to become "perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect."7
5.
Cf. Jn 8:29.
6.
7.
Incorporated into Christ by Baptism, Christians are "dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" and so participate in the life of the Risen Lord.8 Following Christ and united with him,9 Christians can strive to be "imitators of God as beloved children, and walk in love"10 by conforming their thoughts, words and actions to the "mind ... which is yours in Christ Jesus,"11 and by following his example.12
8.
Rom 6:11 and cf. 6:5; cf. Col 2:12.
9.
Cf. Jn 15:5.
10.
11.
12.
Cf. Jn 13:12-16.
"Justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God,"13 "sanctified ... [and] called to be saints,"14 Christians have become the temple of the Holy Spirit.15 This "Spirit of the Son" teaches them to pray to the Father16 and, having become their life, prompts them to act so as to bear "the fruit of the Spirit"17 by charity in action. Healing the wounds of sin, the Holy Spirit renews us interiorly through a spiritual transformation.18 He enlightens and strengthens us to live as "children of light" through "all that is good and right and true."19
13.
14.
15.
Cf. 1 Cor 6:19.
16.
Cf. Gal 4:6.
17.
18.
Cf. Eph 4:23.
19.
Eph 5:8, 9.
The way of Christ "leads to life"; a contrary way "leads to destruction."20 The Gospel parable of the two ways remains ever present in the catechesis of the Church; it shows the importance of moral decisions for our salvation: "There are two ways, the one of life, the other of death; but between the two, there is a great difference."21
20.
Mt 7:13; cf. Deut 30:15-20.
21.
Didache 1,1:SCh 248, 140.
Catechesis has to reveal in all clarity the joy and the demands of the way of Christ.22 Catechesis for the "newness of life"23 in him should be:
22.
Cf. John Paul II, CT 29.
23.
The first and last point of reference of this catechesis will always be Jesus Christ himself, who is "the way, and the truth, and the life."24 It is by looking to him in faith that Christ's faithful can hope that he himself fulfills his promises in them, and that, by loving him with the same love with which he has loved them, they may perform works in keeping with their dignity: I ask you to consider that our Lord Jesus Christ is your true head, and that you are one of his members. He belongs to you as the head belongs to its members; all that is his is yours: his spirit, his heart, his body and soul, and all his faculties. You must make use of all these as of your own, to serve, praise, love, and glorify God. You belong to him, as members belong to their head. And so he longs for you to use all that is in you, as if it were his own, for the service and glory of the Father.25
For to me, to live is Christ.26
24.
25.
St. John Eudes, Tract. de admirabili corde Jesu, 1,5.
26.
Section 1: Man's Vocation Life in the Spirit (1699 - 2051)
Life in the Holy Spirit fulfills the vocation of man (chapter one). This life is made up of divine charity and human solidarity (chapter two). It is graciously offered as salvation (chapter three).
Chapter 1: The Dignity of the Human Person (1700 - 1876)
The dignity of the human person is rooted in his creation in the image and likeness of God (article 1); it is fulfilled in his vocation to divine beatitude (article 2). It is essential to a human being freely to direct himself to this fulfillment (article 3). By his deliberate actions (article 4), the human person does, or does not, conform to the good promised by God and attested by moral conscience (article 5). Human beings make their own contribution to their interior growth; they make their whole sentient and spiritual lives into means of this growth (article 6). With the help of grace they grow in virtue (article 7), avoid sin, and if they sin they entrust themselves as did the prodigal son1 to the mercy of our Father in heaven (article 8). In this way they attain to the perfection of charity.
1.
Article 1: The Image of God (1701 - 1715)
"Christ, ... in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of his love, makes man fully manifest to himself and brings to light his exalted vocation."2 It is in Christ, "the image of the invisible God,"3 that man has been created "in the image and likeness" of the Creator. It is in Christ, Redeemer and Savior, that the divine image, disfigured in man by the first sin, has been restored to its original beauty and ennobled by the grace of God.4
2.
GS 22.
3.
4.
Cf. GS 22.
The divine image is present in every man. It shines forth in the communion of persons, in the likeness of the unity of the divine persons among themselves (cf. chapter two).
Endowed with "a spiritual and immortal" soul,5 the human person is "the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake."6 From his conception, he is destined for eternal beatitude.
5.
GS 14 § 2.
6.
GS 24 § 3.
The human person participates in the light and power of the divine Spirit. By his reason, he is capable of understanding the order of things established by the Creator. By free will, he is capable of directing himself toward his true good. He finds his perfection "in seeking and loving what is true and good."7
7.
GS 15 § 2.
By virtue of his soul and his spiritual powers of intellect and will, man is endowed with freedom, an "outstanding manifestation of the divine image."8
8.
GS 17.
By his reason, man recognizes the voice of God which urges him "to do what is good and avoid what is evil."9 Everyone is obliged to follow this law, which makes itself heard in conscience and is fulfilled in the love of God and of neighbor. Living a moral life bears witness to the dignity of the person.
9.
GS 16.
"Man, enticed by the Evil One, abused his freedom at the very beginning of history."10 He succumbed to temptation and did what was evil. He still desires the good, but his nature bears the wound of original sin. He is now inclined to evil and subject to error: Man is divided in himself. As a result, the whole life of men, both individual and social, shows itself to be a struggle, and a dramatic one, between good and evil, between light and darkness.11
10.
GS 13 § 1.
11.
GS 13 § 2.
By his Passion, Christ delivered us from Satan and from sin. He merited for us the new life in the Holy Spirit. His grace restores what sin had damaged in us.
He who believes in Christ becomes a son of God. This filial adoption transforms him by giving him the ability to follow the example of Christ. It makes him capable of acting rightly and doing good. In union with his Savior, the disciple attains the perfection of charity which is holiness. Having matured in grace, the moral life blossoms into eternal life in the glory of heaven.
IN BRIEF ⇡
"Christ ... makes man fully manifest to man himself and brings to light his exalted vocation" (GS 22 § 1).
Matthew | |||
English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
Matthew 6 |
|||
24. | No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. | Nemo potest duobus dominis servire : aut enim unum odio habebit, et alterum diliget : aut unum sustinebit, et alterum contemnet. Non potestis Deo servire et mammonæ. | ουδεις δυναται δυσιν κυριοις δουλευειν η γαρ τον ενα μισησει και τον ετερον αγαπησει η ενος ανθεξεται και του ετερου καταφρονησει ου δυνασθε θεω δουλευειν και μαμωνα |
25. | Therefore I say to you, be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than the meat: and the body more than the raiment? | Ideo dico vobis, ne solliciti sitis animæ vestræ quid manducetis, neque corpori vestro quid induamini. Nonne anima plus est quam esca, et corpus plus quam vestimentum ? | δια τουτο λεγω υμιν μη μεριμνατε τη ψυχη υμων τι φαγητε και τι πιητε μηδε τω σωματι υμων τι ενδυσησθε ουχι η ψυχη πλειον εστιν της τροφης και το σωμα του ενδυματος |
26. | Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns: and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than they? | Respicite volatilia cæli, quoniam non serunt, neque metunt, neque congregant in horrea : et Pater vester cælestis pascit illa. Nonne vos magis pluris estis illis ? | εμβλεψατε εις τα πετεινα του ουρανου οτι ου σπειρουσιν ουδε θεριζουσιν ουδε συναγουσιν εις αποθηκας και ο πατηρ υμων ο ουρανιος τρεφει αυτα ουχ υμεις μαλλον διαφερετε αυτων |
27. | And which of you by taking thought, can add to his stature by one cubit? | Quis autem vestrum cogitans potest adjicere ad staturam suam cubitum unum ? | τις δε εξ υμων μεριμνων δυναται προσθειναι επι την ηλικιαν αυτου πηχυν ενα |
28. | And for raiment why are you solicitous? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they labour not, neither do they spin. | Et de vestimento quid solliciti estis ? Considerate lilia agri quomodo crescunt : non laborant, neque nent. | και περι ενδυματος τι μεριμνατε καταμαθετε τα κρινα του αγρου πως αυξανει ου κοπια ουδε νηθει |
29. | But I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these. | Dico autem vobis, quoniam nec Salomon in omni gloria sua coopertus est sicut unum ex istis. | λεγω δε υμιν οτι ουδε σολομων εν παση τη δοξη αυτου περιεβαλετο ως εν τουτων |
30. | And if the grass of the field, which is to day, and to morrow is cast into the oven, God doth so clothe: how much more you, O ye of little faith? | Si autem fnum agri, quod hodie est, et cras in clibanum mittitur, Deus sic vestit, quanto magis vos modicæ fidei ? | ει δε τον χορτον του αγρου σημερον οντα και αυριον εις κλιβανον βαλλομενον ο θεος ουτως αμφιεννυσιν ου πολλω μαλλον υμας ολιγοπιστοι |
31. | Be not solicitous therefore, saying, What shall we eat: or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed? | Nolite ergo solliciti esse, dicentes : Quid manducabimus, aut quid bibemus, aut quo operiemur ? | μη ουν μεριμνησητε λεγοντες τι φαγωμεν η τι πιωμεν η τι περιβαλωμεθα |
32. | For after all these things do the heathens seek. For your Father knoweth that you have need of all these things. | hæc enim omnia gentes inquirunt. Scit enim Pater vester, quia his omnibus indigetis. | παντα γαρ ταυτα τα εθνη επιζητει οιδεν γαρ ο πατηρ υμων ο ουρανιος οτι χρηζετε τουτων απαντων |
33. | Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you. | Quærite ergo primum regnum Dei, et justitiam ejus : et hæc omnia adjicientur vobis. | ζητειτε δε πρωτον την βασιλειαν του θεου και την δικαιοσυνην αυτου και ταυτα παντα προστεθησεται υμιν |
34. | Be not therefore solicitous for to morrow; for the morrow will be solicitous for itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof. | Nolite ergo solliciti esse in crastinum. Crastinus enim dies sollicitus erit sibi ipsi : sufficit diei malitia sua. | μη ουν μεριμνησητε εις την αυριον η γαρ αυριον μεριμνησει τα εαυτης αρκετον τη ημερα η κακια αυτης |
This is the fifth of the twenty-eight scenes (twenty-five of which were painted by Giotto) of Legend of Saint Francis.
When Francis' father accuses his son before the episcopal tribune of squandering his fortune, Francis returns to him even the clothes he is wearing, and repudiates him. Giotto illustrates this sensational public separation, which signifies the decisive step towards the saint's future life of poverty, by means of the two groups of people on opposite sides. The buildings further reinforce the gulf between the two worlds
Daily Readings for:June 21, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)
Collect: O God, giver of heavenly gifts, who in Saint Aloysius Gonzaga joined penitence to a wonderful innocence of life, grant through his merits and intercession, that, though we have failed to follow him in innocence, we may imitate him in penitence. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
RECIPES
ACTIVITIES
o Religion in the Home for Preschool: June
o When Children Doubt Religious Truths
PRAYERS
o June Devotion: The Sacred Heart
· Ordinary Time: June 21st
· Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, confessor
Old Calendar: St. Josaphat, bishop and confessor
St. Aloysius Gonzaga's outstanding quality was his radiant purity and the Church praises this perfect innocence with the words, "Thou has made him little less than the angels." He was baptized in the womb, because his life was in danger, and he made a vow of chastity at the age of nine. When he was sixteen he joined the Society of Jesus and died at the age of twenty-three in 1591 as a result of his devoted nursing of the plague-stricken.
Purgatory is Temporary
Purgatory is not eternal. Its duration varies according to the sentence pronounced at each particular judgment. It may be prolonged for centuries in the case of the more guilty souls, or of those who, being excluded from the Catholic communion, are deprived of the suffrages of the Church, although by the divine mercy they have escaped hell. But the end of the world, which will be also the end of time, will close for ever the place of temporary expiation. God will know how to reconcile His justice and His goodness in the purification of the last members of the human race, and to supply by the intensity of the expiatory suffering what may be wanting in duration. But, whereas a favorable sentence at the particular judgment admits of eternal beatitude being suspended and postponed, and leaves the bodies of the elect to the same fate as those of the reprobate; at the universal judgment, every sentence, whether for heaven or for hell, will be absolute, and will be executed immediately and completely. Let us, then, live in expectation of the solemn hour, when "the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God." He that is to come will come, and will not delay, as the Doctor of the Gentiles reminds us; His arrival will be sudden, as that of a thief, we are told, not only by St. Paul, but also by the prince of the apostles and the beloved disciple; and these in turn are but echoing the words of our Lord Himself: "As lightning cometh out of the east and appears even unto the west: so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be."
Excerpted from The Liturgical Year, Abbot Gueranger O.S.B.
Things to Do:
Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious
My mercy I will not take from him, nor will I belie my faithfulness. (Psalm 89:34)
After the death of the high priest Jehoiada, who had been a faithful and wise guide, King Joash turned from the Lord and began to serve idols. Not only did he make this choice for himself; he led his entire nation astray. After such significant sin, wouldn’t God have been justified in turning his back on Joash?
But God is not only just; he is merciful! He didn’t turn his back on Joash, not even to the end. He sent the prophet Zechariah to reprove Joash and to give him the chance to repent. But Joash had him killed. God then allowed the Arameans to defeat Joash’s much larger force. Clearly, he was offering him another chance to consider his actions and turn back to the Lord. Still, Joash died unrepentant. No matter what, God’s mercy was consistent. He didn’t want Joash to die in sin! Instead, he actively pursued Joash with an ambitious desire for reconciliation.
But even that’s not the end of the story! In the years that followed, God continued to woo his people, pursuing them persistently through the words of the prophets and the events of their lives. He never gave up—and never gives up, even to the point of sending his Son into the world for our salvation!
We all have times when we feel weighed down by sin. We may feel incapable of turning to the Lord. We may even wonder if God has abandoned us. Yet even in those times, God has not given up. He is still reaching out to us offering mercy and forgiveness. The amazing thing is that this mercy is not just something we receive once we have already turned back to him. The truth is, it was his mercy that stirred us to turn back to him in the first place!
This is how deeply God loves us. He is always pouring out mercy, telling us that it’s never too late to turn back!
“Father, I am indebted to your mercy. Even when I feel at my worst, you call me back to you. Even when I have allowed my heart to become hard, you soften me and help me to turn back to you. Lord, I love you!”
Psalm 89:4-5, 29-34; Matthew 6:24-34
Daily Marriage Tip for June 21, 2014:
Remember that your marriage is a covenant that involves God, husband and wife. Give thanks daily.
Only One Master. 2014-06-21 |
||
|
||
|
||
|
Language: English | Español
All Issues > Volume 30, Issue 4
|
Please be one of the many who oppose abortion!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.