Daily Gospel Reflection
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June 21, 2019
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.
But store up treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.
“The lamp of the body is the eye.
If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light;
but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.
And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.”
A few years ago, I received a call from my parents: “We think someone broke in.” They had gone to check on the house I shared with five other teachers in the Alliance for Catholic Education’s teaching fellows program. Luckily, we all were unharmed, away in South Bend for the summer. But many of our things were stolen. My housemates had valuables taken from their rooms: gift cards, nice clothes, even a precious class ring. Even seemingly worthless items like my (very small) two-dollar bill collection and my recently acquired marathon medal were snatched.
Immediately after the break-in, our community members, myself included, were frustrated that both our sentimental and monetary “treasures” had been stolen and, even worse, our sense of privacy and security. As we processed the event as a community, we found peace, ultimately, by changing our perspective. At first, we focused on our “earthly treasures” that had been lost. But as Christ says, “the eye is the lamp of the body.” If we focus the lamp of our eye not on our possessions, but rather on our community, our students, our relationship with God, we see our true treasures are immune to thieves who “break in and steal.”
On this memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, I am reminded of this saint’s clear vision of what is most essential. A proud graduate of the university named after him, I have always been struck by Gonzaga’s bold recklessness with his own life. A formerly wealthy Italian aristocrat, St. Aloysius rejected earthly possessions to live a humble life at the service of the poor and sick—service that would end his life at an early age. Gonzaga’s eye was sound, focusing on what mattered the most, so “his whole body was filled with light,” and shared that light with others. May we follow his example and attend to the “treasures in heaven” God calls us to today.
Prayer
O Jesus, treasure of our hearts, you are the light of the nations and illumine all darkness. Give us the grace to trust in your providential care that we may be filled with your light and live as children of light. We ask this through your most holy name. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Aloysius Gonzaga is the patron saint of Catholic young people because of how diligently he pursued holiness before his death at the age of 23.
He was born in 1568 in northern Italy, the oldest son in an aristocratic family. His parents were insiders in royal courts in Italy and Spain. His father wanted Aloysius to become a decorated military leader, so they sent him, even as young as 4 years old, to spend time with soldiers in camps. His tutors had to admonish him for the language he picked up from the troops.
At around the age of 7 he began to dedicate himself to prayer devotions to Mary and Jesus. Increasingly, he would spend time in churches, praying, or in reading the lives of the saints. In fact, throughout his life, he had regular and intimate contact with other saints—he received his first communion from St. Charles Borromeo and had as a spiritual director St. Robert Bellarmine.
Because of his family’s position, he also spent time in the courts, among royalty and their entourage. There he observed the intrigues of ambitious people with their lusts and deceits. This awoke within him a desire for virtue, and he poured himself even more into prayer and service.
When he was 11, he was struck with a disease of his kidneys, which caused him chronic indigestion and enough pain to frequently be confined to bed. He considered it a blessing because it afforded him more time for prayer.
He read a book about Jesuit missionaries in India, and their stories inspired him to join the order to become a missionary himself. As a first step, he began teaching the faith to the poor boys in his own town. He also began to live like a monk, even though he was not yet even a teenager—he got up in the middle of the night to pray the psalms and took on a rule of fasting.
His mother approved of his desire to join the Jesuits, but his father was infuriated. He sent Aloysius around Italy to meet local rulers and he gave his son roles and tasks that immersed him in the life of the ruling class. He hired friends of the family and even clergy to try to dissuade Aloysius, but it only deepened the boy’s resolve.
When it was clear that nothing would change his mind, his father relented. At the age of 18, Aloysius joined the Jesuit novitiate in Rome. As a novice learning the rhythms of Jesuit life, he was subject to rules from his superiors, and his diet and prayer times were closely monitored. He was actually forbidden from too much prayer in an attempt to help him learn how to lead a balanced life.
Aloysius had one overriding passion, however, and that was union with God; he pursued that relationship with all of his being.
He realized he had a privileged upbringing, and in an effort to grow in humility, he sought out service-based tasks such as helping to wash dishes or clean the building.
One day, in prayer, he came to understand that he did not have long to live. He fell more and more into deeper prayer and meditation, and when his peers saw him at meals, and even during recreation times, he seemed to be in some kind of ecstatic contemplation.
In 1591, a plague swept Italy, and the Jesuits opened a hospital in Rome. Aloysius assisted the patients there, washing them and making their beds. He got sick himself, and was prepared to die when, against everyone’s expectations, he recovered. He ran a low fever for months afterwards, which kept him weak. He remained in prayer, and it was revealed to him that he would die on the feast of Corpus Christi.
In the days before his death, he seemed well enough to travel, and his superiors considered sending him to a nearby town for some task there. He replied with his conviction that his life would end soon. The night of his death, he asked his confessor to recite the prayers for the dying, though he didn’t seem to be ill at all. Then, late that night, his health suddenly changed and he died around midnight the night between June 20 and 21. He was only 23.
A number of relics of St. Aloysius rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, and he is depicted in this wall mural there as well. The sketch of St. Aloysius in heaven comes from the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art and is used with permission.
St. Aloysius, patron saint of Catholic young people—pray for us!
Image Credit: (1) Our featured image of St. Aloysius Gonzaga is in the public domain. Last accessed March 19, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons. (3) Giovanni Lanfranco (Italian, 1582-1647), Apotheosis of the Blessed Aloysius Gonzaga with Saint Louis IX of France and Saint Longinus, 1597-1647. Red chalk, pen and brown ink with red wash on laid paper, laid down. Raclin Murphy Museum of Art: Bequest of John D. Reilly ND ’63, ’64 B.S., 2014.061.349
