Daily Gospel Reflection
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June 21, 2021
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Stop judging, that you may not be judged.
For as you judge, so will you be judged,
and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?
How can you say to your brother,
‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’
while the wooden beam is in your eye?
You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”
We are constantly given the opportunity to assess others. In every interaction, we are tempted to judge others’ appearances, actions, words, thoughts, homes, jobs, and intelligence–often based on very little information. It feels like second nature. We do not buy a car unless we’ve researched its features, determined a price, and maybe even taken it for a test drive. However, we may form conclusions about others in less than twenty seconds based on where they live, how they dress, or how they speak. We may not even talk to them before we judge and criticize an aspect of their character.
What is required to break free of our natural, seemingly innate, rush to judgment? Jesus provides guidance here, asking us to look in the mirror and to find the “log in our own eye.” It’s telling that this log is in our own eye, clouding our vision of the world around us and distorting our perception of the shortcomings of others while we fail to see our own. But we can change that.
If we choose to see the best in others and in God’s creation, we can remove the log from our own eye and begin to see clearly. We may realize that the world is even more beautiful than we thought.
Prayer
Lord, there are many kinds of blindness. We know that we are blind at times about what we should do or how we should live. In our blindness we often pass by someone who needs a kind word or a helping hand. Improve our vision so that we can be ready to see what you want us to do and whom you want us to help. 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
