Following the Way of the Narrow Gate:

Let us, then, try to estimate how honorable it is to wish to please God, as well on account of the good­ness and beneficence he has shown us, as because his divine pleasure is the rule of all rectitude. Hence Saint Francis, when often asked by his brethren what was the most pleasing thing they could do for God, was wont to answer that nothing was more grateful to him than zeal for detachment …  

What Saint Bernard says of the apparition of the angel sent to the shepherds at the nativity of Christ … is to the point here: “How many of the powerful and of the wise men of the world were resting in their soft beds at that hour, and none of them was esteemed worthy to see this new light, to know that great joy and to hear the angels singing!” He thence draws this beautiful conclusion: “If God deigned to show such love to those shepherds, who were poor out of necessity on account of the pleasure this virtue of detachment gives him, how much greater love will that same God not show to those who are poor in spirit and are such by their own free will!”  

If, therefore, we ought to follow Christ with such zeal, we certainly should consider both with what words and by what examples he himself and his saints have taught us this virtue. Saint Bernard speaks thus: “For this is the way, which can save your souls, and there is no other way besides it. He who goes by another way, falls rather, because humility alone exalts, it is it aIone that leads to life.” Experience itself, also, teaches us this through the lives of the saints, who were conspicuous in some particular order, as, for example, that of the apostles, martyrs, pontiffs, confessors, etc.  

St. Aloysius Gonzaga SJ

The post By Way of the Narrow Gate first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Fr. Ignatius on the life of St. Aloysius Gonzaga and how his extraordinary innocence was an expression of his great love of God and his extraordinary penitence, an expression of his love of neighbor.

Ave Maria!

Mass: St. Aloysius Gonzaga – Mem
Readings: Wednesday 11th Week of Ordinary Time
1st: 2co 9:6-11
Resp: psa 112:1-2, 3-4, 9 0
Gsp: mat 6:1-6, 16-18

The post Jun 21 – Homily – Fr Ignatius: Aloysius: Love of God and Neighbor first appeared on AirMaria.com.

In the homily for the memorial of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga (Jesuit, Confessor, Jun 21, 2019), Fr. Alan shows how the Gospel on the Greatest Commandment stands in contrast to the God-defying ideology represented by the rainbow flag. Jesus teaches that any true love is first of all ordered to the love of God, which excludes every opposing “love.”

Properly understood, the rainbow flag, emblem of sexual anarchy, actually represents the war on God’s order.

Ave Maria!

Mass: St. Aloysius Gonzaga – Mem

Readings:

1st: 1 Jn 5:1-5
Resp: Ps 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 11
Gsp: Mt 22:34-40

More on the Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/0621-memorial-aloysius-gonzaga.cfm

Also on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AirMariaPage/videos/2270687449849484/
and YouTube: https://youtu.be/ymonMG4papI

To Subscribe to our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=franciscanfriars

The post Rainbow Flag Disregards the Greatest Commandment – Jun 21 – Homily – Fr Alan first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Fr Ignatius gives the homily at Bloomington, IN on Jun 21, 2021, on how the life of St. Aloysius Gonzaga was one of faith like that of Abram mentioned in the first reading.

Ave Maria!

Mass: St. Aloysius Gonzaga – Mem
Readings: Monday 12th Week of Ordinary Time – http://usccb.org/bible/readings/062121.cfm
1st: gen 12:1-9
Resp: psa 33:12-13, 18-19, 20, 22
Gsp: mat 7:1-5

More on the Readings: http://dev.airmaria.com/r?m=1092&r=1425

Also on Facebook: https://fb.watch/6goo-42QyQ/
and YouTube: https://youtu.be/stbxEzgRAhE

The post Faith through the Centuries – Jun 21 – Homily – Fr Ignatius first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Fr Ignatius gives the homily at Bloomington, IN on Jun 21, 2022, on how the purity of the life of St. Aloysius Gonzaga gives us such a good example to today’s world that needs so much conversion in this regard.

Ave Maria!

Mass: St. Aloysius Gonzaga – Mem
Readings: Tuesday 12th Week of Ordinary Time – http://usccb.org/bible/readings/062122.cfm
1st: 2ki 19:9-11, 14-21, 31-35, 36
Resp: psa 48:2-4, 10-11
Gsp: mat 7:6, 12-14

More on the Readings: http://dev.airmaria.com/r?m=1092&r=1632

Also on Facebook:
and YouTube: https://youtu.be/7E1wwUM8gAU

The post Purity of St. Aloysius – Jun 21 – Homily – Fr Ignatius first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Fr John Lawrence gives the homily at Bloomington, IN on Jun 21, 2023, on the life of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, who lived a very saintly life even at a relatively young age, so much so that God took him to himself at an early age soon after entering the Jesuits and taking care of plague victims.

Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, born in a castle in Castiglione in 1568, was prepared by his parents for both spiritual and worldly duties. Trained in warfare from a young age, he even sustained superficial injuries from a misfired toy gun and a recoil of a cannon. His conversion completed at seven, Saint Aloysius focused on prayer and charity, living a life free of mortal sin according to his confessor, St. Robert Bellarmine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bellarmine

Sent to the Medici court in Florence as a page, he found it vain. However, he continued his spiritual growth and made a vow of virginity. At ten, he decided to become a priest. His life took a turn after meeting St. Charles Borromeo, who gave him his first communion and became a spiritual guide.

Surviving a carriage accident, he decided to join the Jesuits, causing discord with his father but bringing joy to his mother. His father eventually relented and, in 1585, Aloysius renounced his inheritance in favor of his elder brother, entering the Jesuits.

His brother, Rudolf, later became a tyrant and was excommunicated and murdered. Aloysius, in contrast, maintained his saintly path. As a Jesuit, he served the plague-stricken people of Rome, eventually contracting the plague himself. In his final hours, he thanked God for the imminence of death and heaven. He died on June 21, 1591, at 23 years of age, having become a saint in less than six years with the Jesuits.

00:00 – Introduction
00:12 – Early Life and Childhood
01:48 – St Aloysius’ Spiritual Awakening and Dedication to Piety
02:19 – Aloysius’ Desire to Become a Priest, and Struggle with his Father.
04:32 – The Contrast between St Aloysius and His Brother
06:11 – St. Aloysius’s Life as a Jesuit, Sacrifice in the Plague, and Death.

Ave Maria!

Mass: St. Aloysius Gonzaga – Mem – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bellarmine
Readings: Wednesday 11th Week of Ordinary Time – http://usccb.org/bible/readings/062123.cfm
1st: 2co 9:6-11
Resp: psa 112:1-4, 9
Gsp: mat 6:1-6, 16-18

More on the Readings: http://dev.airmaria.com/r?m=1092&r=1421

Also on Facebook:
and YouTube: https://youtu.be/_KrMdHlYBHE

The post Short, Saintly life of Aloysius Gonzaga – Jun 21 – Homily – Fr John Lawrence first appeared on AirMaria.com.

O holy Mary, my Mother, into your blessed trust and custody, and into the care of your mercy by this day, every day, and then the hour of my death, I commend my soul and my body.

To you I commit all my anxieties and miseries, my life and the end of my life, that by your most holy intercession and by your merits, all my actions may be directed and disposed according to your will and out of your Son. Amen

A prayer of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga

+++

A Prayer to Aid in the Pursuit of Purity:

O blessed Aloysius, adorned with angelic virtues, I, your most unworthy suppliant, recommend specially to you the chastity of my soul and body, praying to you by your angelic purity to plead for me with Jesus Christ the Immaculate Lamb, and His most Holy Mother, Virgin of virgins, that they would vouchsafe to keep me from all grievous sin. 

Never suffer me to be defiled with any stain of impurity; but when you see me in temptation, or in danger of falling, then remove far from my mind all evil thoughts and unclean desires, and awaken in me the memory of eternity to come, and of Jesus crucified; impress deeply in my heart a sense of the holy fear of God; and kindling in me the fire of divine love, enable me so to follow your footsteps here on earth, that in heaven I may be made worthy to enjoy with you the vision of our God forever. Amen.

The post St. Aloysius’ Prayer for Purity first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Fr Joseph Michael gives the homily at Bloomington, IN, on Jun 21, 2025, where he emphasizes detachment from worldly anxieties, trust in God’s providence, and the pursuit of holiness, exemplified by St. Aloysius Gonzaga’s life of purity and devotion.

Father teaches that our primary goal is to seek holiness and heaven, trusting in God’s providence rather than being anxious about worldly things, as inspired by St. Paul’s endurance through suffering and St. Aloysius Gonzaga’s life. He highlights St. Aloysius, a young Jesuit who embraced purity and devotion to Mary, showing that true greatness lies in holiness, not status, and encourages youth to follow his example in living for God.

00:00 – Opening Blessing
00:09 – Detachment from World
00:58 – Trust in Providence
01:17 – St. Paul’s Trials
01:59 – St. Aloysius’ Life
02:56 – Jesuit Vocation
03:35 – Purity and Devotion
05:37 – Holiness for Youth

Ave Maria!

Mass: St. Aloysius Gonzaga – Mem – http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=15
Readings: Saturday 11th Week of Ordinary Time – http://usccb.org/bible/readings/062125.cfm
1st: 2co 12:1-10
Resp: psa 34:8-13
Gsp: mat 6:24-34

More on the Readings: http://dev.airmaria.com/r?m=1092&r=1424

Also on Facebook:
and YouTube: https://youtu.be/DPjuDCMBoZU

The post St. Aloysius Gonzaga’s Path to Holiness – Jun 21 – Homily – Fr Joseph Michael first appeared on AirMaria.com.