JUNE 21 SAINT ALOYSIUS GONZAGA

“Saint Aloysius Gonzaga in Glory”
 by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1740’s

JUNE 21

SAINT ALOYSIUS GONZAGA, RELIGIOUS
MEMORIAL

Biographical Information about St. Aloysius Gonzaga [1]

Readings for the Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga

Readings and Commentary: [2]

FIRST READING
1 John 5:1-5

Beloved:
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God,
and everyone who loves the Father
loves also the one begotten by him.
In this way we know that we love the children of God
when we love God and obey his commandments.
For the love of God is this,
that we keep his commandments.
And his commandments are not burdensome,
for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world.
And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.
Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
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Commentary on 1 Jn 5:1-5

The beginning of this chapter from St. John’s first letter provides us with an understanding of Christ and God being of the same essence. “Children of God are identified not only by their love for others (1 John 4:7-9) and for God (1 John 5:1-2) but by their belief in the divine sonship of Jesus Christ. Faith, the acceptance of Jesus in his true character and the obedience in love to God's commands (1 John 5:3), is the source of the Christian's power in the world and conquers the world of evil (1 John 5:4-5), even as Christ overcame the world (John 16:33).” [3]

CCC: 1 Jn 5:1 2780, 2790
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 16:1-2a and 5, 7-8, 11

R. (see 5a) You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the LORD, "My Lord are you."
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.

I bless the LORD who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the LORD always before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.

You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.
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Commentary on Ps 16:1-2a and 5, 7-8, 11

Psalm 16 is the song quoted in the Acts above. A song of thanksgiving that has become prophetic, it speaks clearly of the resurrection accomplished now in Christ. (“Because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world, nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption”.)

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GOSPEL
Matthew 22:34-40

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them
a scholar of the law, tested him by asking,
"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"
Jesus said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."
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Commentary on Mt 22:34-40
 

The story of Jesus delivering the Great Commandment is the fourth of the “Controversy Stories” in St. Matthew’s Gospel (stories in which Jesus argues with the Jewish leadership). Jesus has just refuted those Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection (v. 23-33) and now is challenged by the Pharisees. The question posed by the “scholar of the law” (probably a scribe; see also Luke 10:25-28) “which commandment in the law is the greatest?” is asked in a rabbinical sense, meaning which of the 613 distinct statutes was considered greatest. Within this body of law, 248 of these precepts were positive and 365 were prohibitions. In addition these precepts were further divided into “light” and “heavy.” This was a fairly typical exchange for a rabbinical debate.

 

“’Test him’: the text has πειοαξων, a word that may also be translated as ‘to tempt’ and ‘to submit to trial’. Matthew uses the term six times altogether from one end of his Gospel to the other (4:1,3; 16:1; 19:3; 22:18; 22:35), and two things are significant about this use. The first time the term appears the tempter is Satan himself, and this fact lends to every other occasion a satanic whiff; and secondly, the object of the tempting or testing in every case is Jesus himself.” [4]

In answering, Jesus quotes two texts of the law that now form the foundation for a new morality in the Gospel. He first quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 “Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” This text forms part of the Shema, the Jewish profession of faith. This first quote would not be surprising. What makes this exchange novel and important is that Jesus adds the quote from Leviticus 19:18b “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This juxtaposition of quotes makes them equally “heavy” and there is no parallel In Jewish literature.

 

CCC: Mat 22:23-34 575; Mat 22:34-36 581; Mat 22:36 2055; Mat 22:37-40 2055; Mat 22:37 2083; Mat 22:40 1824
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Reflection:

St. Aloysius in his life was remarkable in his virtue. By all standards of the day, he should have taken over the family title and become a duke in the Italian nobility of the 1500’s. Instead he was called to a religious life. He gave up a life of leisure and wealth to serve the poor and the infirm, dying of the plague whose victims he was tending. He was so devoted to the Lord that he is remembered by the Church as one of the great religious saints. In doing what he did, he left us an example of what it means to live the Great Commandment.

A number of years ago I had the privilege of knowing a young parishioner named Eric Liepa at St. Thomas in Ann Arbor. Eric had been trying to enter priestly formation, having felt a call to the vocation very strongly. Due to health reasons (he suffered from a rare disease that affected his immune system), he was rejected. While still attempting to find an order that would accept him he died. He was about the same age as St. Aloysius. In my homiletic remarks at his funeral, I proposed that, had he been able at his passing, his words to his family might have echoed those of the letter from St. Aloysius to his mother as he lay dying of the plague. Below is the text of that letter, used in the Office of Readings, for your contemplation today:

A letter from St Aloysius Gonzaga to his mother

May the comfort and grace of the Holy Spirit be yours for ever, most honored lady. Your letter found me lingering still in this region of the dead, but now I must rouse myself to make my way on to heaven at last and to praise God for ever in the land of the living; indeed I had hoped that before this time my journey there would have been over. If charity, as Saint Paul says, means to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who are glad, then, dearest mother, you shall rejoice exceedingly that God in his grace and his love for you is showing me the path to true happiness, and assuring me that I shall never lose him.

The divine goodness, most honored lady, is a fathomless and shoreless ocean, and I confess that when I plunge my mind into thought of this it is carried away by the immensity and feels quite lost and bewildered there. In return for my short and feeble labors, God is calling me to eternal rest; his voice from heaven invites me to the infinite bliss I have sought so languidly, and promises me this reward for the tears I have so seldom shed.

Take care above all things, most honored lady, not to insult God’s boundless loving kindness; you would certainly do this if you mourned as dead one living face to face with God, one whose prayers can bring you in your troubles more powerful aid than they ever could on earth. And our parting will not be for long; we shall see each other again in heaven; we shall be united with our Savior; there we shall praise him with heart and soul, sing of his mercies for ever, and enjoy eternal happiness. When he takes away what he once lent us, his purpose is to store our treasure elsewhere more safely and bestow on us those very blessings that we ourselves would most choose to have.

I write all this with the one desire that you and all my family may consider my departure a joy and favor and that you especially may speed with a mother’s blessing my passage across the waters till I reach the shore to which all hopes belong. I write the more willingly because I have no clearer way of expressing the love and respect I owe you as your son.

Pax

[1] The picture is “Saint Aloysius Gonzaga in Glory” by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1740’s
[2] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[3] See NAB Footnote on 1 John 5:1ff

[4] Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word Volume III, Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, © 2012 p. 576.

THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

THE IMMACULATE HEART OF THE
BLESSED VIRGIN MARY MEMORIAL
(Saturday Following The Second Sunday
After Pentecost)

Information about the Immaculate Heart
of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Readings for the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart
of the Blessed Virgin Mary [1]

Readings and Commentary: [2]

FIRST READING
Isaiah 61:9-11

Thus says the LORD:
The descendants of my people shall be renowned among the nations,
and their offspring among the peoples;
All who see them shall acknowledge them
as a race the LORD has blessed.
I rejoice heartily in the LORD,
in my God is the joy of my soul;
For he has clothed me with a robe of salvation,
and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,
Like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
As the earth brings forth its plants,
and a garden makes its growth spring up,
So will the Lord GOD make justice and praise
spring up before all the nations.
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Commentary on Is 61:9-11

This selection provides the last verses of “Glad Tidings to the Lowly”; one of the songs of those returning from exile. Jesus quoted from the first part of this song (not included) when he announced the messianic kingdom had come (Luke 4:18-19). In these verses, the prophet sees the New Jerusalem coming forth as a light upon the world, bring salvation to the people and glory to God.

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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
1 Samuel 2:1, 4-5, 6-7, 8abcd

R. (see 1) My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior.

"My heart exults in the LORD,
my horn is exalted in my God.
I have swallowed up my enemies;
I rejoice in my victory."
R. My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior.

"The bows of the mighty are broken,
while the tottering gird on strength.
The well-fed hire themselves out for bread,
while the hungry batten on spoil.
The barren wife bears seven sons,
while the mother of many languishes."
R. My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior.

"The LORD puts to death and gives life;
he casts down to the nether world;
he raises up again.
The LORD makes poor and makes rich,
he humbles, and also exalts."
R. My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior.

"He raises the needy from the dust;
from the dung heap he lifts up the poor,
To seat them with nobles
and make a glorious throne their heritage."
R. My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior.
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Commentary on 1 Sm 2:1, 4-5, 6-7, 8abcd

This responsorial psalm is Hannah’s song of thanksgiving “A hymn attributed to Hannah, the mother of Samuel, as her thanksgiving to God because she has borne a son despite her previous sterility. She praises God as the helper of the weak (1 Samuel 2:1-2), who casts down the mighty and raises up the lowly (1 Samuel 2:3-5), and who alone is the source of true strength (1 Samuel 2:8-10); the hymn ends with a prayer for the king (1 Samuel 2:10). This canticle has several points of resemblance with our Lady's Magnificat.” [3]

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GOSPEL
Luke 2:41-51

Each year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
"Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety."
And he said to them,
"Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them;
and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
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Commentary on Lk 2:41-51

This passage begins St. Luke's account of the presentation of Jesus in the Temple by his parents, in accordance with Jewish Law. It is significant from a number of perspectives. First the story breaks the scriptural silence regarding the “lost years” of Jesus’ growth from infancy to adulthood. This story says Jesus is twelve. That would be the time when he would have celebrated his bar miswah, after which he would have been considered a man.

St. Luke's description is at odds with the Apocryphal Gospels (such as the Gospel of St. Thomas) that attributed to Jesus many miracles during his early years. This account paints his childhood as fairly normal. The implication, based on Joseph's and Mary’s reaction, is that they, is at this point they do not completely understand their son’s mission.

CCC: Lk 2:41-52 534; Lk 2:41 583; Lk 2:46-49 583; Lk 2:48-49 503; Lk 2:49 2599; Lk 2:51-52 531; Lk 2:51 517, 2196, 2599
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Reflection:

Yesterday’s celebration of the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is joined appropriately with today’s Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Yesterday we rejoiced in the love our Savior has for us. Today, Jesus’ mother, our mother Mary, reminds us that he expects to be loved by us in return. Even as we know that we can never earn the love of Christ, that we can never receive it on our own merits, we know that our love of Jesus must be made clear to the world.

Today we reflect, not just in prayer but in a very pragmatic way, about how we can accede to Mother Mary’s fervent hope and example. She demonstrated for us how love of the Lord could be shown. She was the first to believe in him. Her actions most closely echoed his command to love one another. She clearly loved the Lord with such intensity and passion that her heart was pierced at his death, as Simeon had predicted (Luke 2:25-35).

We cannot hope to rival the love of the Theotokos, the Mother of God, in her love for her Son. We may have difficulty finding the intense emotional attachment to the Lord she showed us so naturally. But we can demonstrate our love for him through our actions. We can hope that at the end of our lives we can say, as St. Paul says to St. Timothy: “I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.”

Think for a moment about how others know we love our parents, our siblings, or even our close friends. We do things for them that please them. We spend time with them, and we behave in ways that make them happy, sharing our joy and our sorrow.

Using that simple model is how we show our love for Jesus. That is the beckoning call of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We do things that please the Lord, we praise the Heavenly Father (he always enjoys that), and we act in ways that tell others: “Oh, they must be Christians.” We serve others, because the Lord’s life and his mother’s life were dedicated to serving others. And we spend time with the Lord, as much time as possible. We talk with him in prayer, not just to ask for things like a spoiled child or an ungrateful friend, but talking to him about the things we have been able to accomplish with his help, and about our joys and sorrows. Finally we spend time with him physically, receiving his gift of the Eucharist, and at Eucharistic Adoration. Is this not the way we act with those we love?

Scripture tells us that Mary, Most Holy, loved the Lord like no one else could, and in her Immaculate Heart we see that example, clear for us to follow. Let us today be revitalized by that plea and embrace the Lord with our actions.

Pax

[1] The picture is “The Immaculate Heart of Mary” Artist and Date are UNKNOWN
[2] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[3] See NAB footnote on 1 Samuel 2:1ff