St. Aloysius Gonzaga, pray for us

The picture to the left is of St. Aloysius Gonzaga parish. I lived across the street from this parish when I attended Gonzaga University (class of '88).

The Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga is 21 June. I wanted to share the following, from the Liturgy of the Hours:

"St. Aloysius was born of the princely family of Castiglione in 1568 near Mantua in Lombardy. Instructed in piety by his mother, he manifested an inclination to religious life. He legally delivered his share of the ancestral dominion to his brother and entered the Society of Jesus. While serving the sick during a plaque, he himself contracted the disease and died in 1591."

As he was dying, St. Aloysius wrote a letter to his mother. In that letter, he wrote: "When [God] 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."

Father of love, giver of all good things, in Saint Aloysius you combined remarkable innocence with the spirit of penance. By the help of his prayers may we who have not followed his innocence follow his example of penance. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

God bless,

Dave