Good morning! Today is the Memorial of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious. St. Aloysius was heir to the affluent and powerful House of Gonzaga, a noble family in northern Italy in the 16th century. As a young boy, he was page to King Philip II of Spain’s son and trained to become a soldier until a kidney disease forced him to rest. After his recuperation, he renounced his wealth and title and announced his plans to enter the Jesuit order. He professed in 1587 at age 19. When the plague broke out in Rome in 1591, St. Aloysius volunteered to care for the infirm. He contracted the disease within four months and died shortly before his 23rd birthday. He was canonized in 1723 by Pope Benedict XIII and is the patron saint of Christian youth. Todays Gospel Reading: Jesus said to his disciples: “No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.” Matthew 6:24-34
Posted on: Sat, 21 Jun 2014 12:40:01 +0000