Tuesday 21 June

St Aloysius Gonzaga

2 Kings 19:9-11, 14-21, 31-36; Psalm 48: 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 10-11; Matthew 7:6, 12-14

Earthly pauper, heavenly prince

Aloysius, born into a princely family in Renaissance Italy, turned away from a life of luxury, even decadence, and entered the Jesuits. He died as a young man, still a seminarian, from the plague which he caught from the sick he was tending in Rome. His simple, ascetical lifestyle was in sharp contrast to that of many of his contemporaries. He challenges us all, not just the young for whom he is a patron, to rethink our lives and what we long for. What does our heart truly crave – God’s kingdom or an earthly one?