Daily Gospel Reflection

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June 21, 2023

Memorial of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious
Mt 6:1-6;16-18
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Jesus said to his disciples:
“Take care not to perform righteous deeds
in order that people may see them;
otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets
to win the praise of others.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites,
who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners
so that others may see them.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door,
and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.
They neglect their appearance,
so that they may appear to others to be fasting.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to others to be fasting,
except to your Father who is hidden.
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”

Reflection

Aryel Carreon ’24
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Today’s gospel confronts the motivations behind our spiritual practices. When I came to Notre Dame as a first-year student, I found a group of friends who were devout Catholics. In getting to know them, it seemed they had fully developed their relationships with Christ.
In contrast, my faith life was sparse and superficial at the time, apart from going to Mass, which was rare that year due to the Covid pandemic. During that season, I’d often try to mimic whatever devotions or practices my friends were doing, hoping to be seen as having a deep spirituality, but I wasn’t doing it for the right reasons.

My spiritual life was a vehicle to serve my vanity; I wasn’t glorifying God. I was trying to elevate myself in the eyes of my peers. It wasn’t until I internalized today’s gospel passage and other similar passages that I understood the difference.

Today’s gospel is a reminder for us to put our vanity aside. Our actions come out of what we value most. For the hypocrites that Jesus critiques (and for myself not too long ago), what was most valuable was the opinion of others and how that built up an unhealthy self-regard.

Whether we fast, go to daily Mass, or practice a devotion, it should be coming out of an inward conversion, a desire to deepen an ongoing encounter with Christ. Love for our God should drive our spirituality, which then inspires our practices. The moment we let our faith become a performance for others or ourselves is the moment we lose sight of God and feed into our vain desires.

Let us pray for guidance in humbly keeping Christ at the center of everything we do.

Prayer

Rev. Nicholas Ayo, C.S.C.

My God, Our Father, we are tempted to do good to others from mixed motives. We want to be helpful; we want to be recognized and somehow rewarded. Let it be enough in our hearts to know we have tried to love you in whatever we do, whether in our hidden prayers for others or our kindness and service as well. We pray with the Church through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Saint of the Day

St. Aloysius Gonzaga

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 image of him holding a skull is used with permission from Catholic.org. 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 for sketching:
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