Today, June 21
Feast of the Day
No feast of the day
Saint of the Day
Aloysius Gonzaga (1568-91) is the patron saint of young men. Born in Lombardy, he was an imperial prince, connected with all the royal houses. The history of his powerful ancestors shows that while they were capable of good works and practised their faith, their moral conduct was often outrageous. While he was still young, Aloysius began to practise prayer and penance, and to reject the values of his position and family. Against great resistance, in 1585 he gave up his rights as eldest son and joined the Jesuits, hoping to go to the missions. Instead, in 1591 the plague broke out in Rome, and Aloysius offered himself to serve the sick and dying in the hospital. He caught the plague, recovered but weakened, and died three months later. He was just 23 years old but his zeal for God, both as a young man and as a prince, remained an inspiration and example for all. He was canonized in 1726. He is a patron of youth.©2011 Living with Christ, Novalis - Bayard Press Canada Inc., http://www.livingwithchrist.ca/. Reprinted with permission.
Readings of the Day
Book of Jeremiah 20,10-13.
I hear the whisperings of many: "Terror on every side! Denounce! let us denounce him!" All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine. "Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail, and take our vengeance on him." But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph. In their failure they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion. O LORD of hosts, you who test the just, who probe mind and heart, Let me witness the vengeance you take on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause. Sing to the LORD, praise the LORD, For he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked!
Psalms 69(68),8-10.14.17.33-35.
For your sake I bear insult, and shame covers my face. I have become an outcast to my brothers, a stranger to my mother's sons, because zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me. But I pray to you, O LORD, for the time of your favor, O God! In your great kindness answer me with your constant help. Answer me, O LORD, for bounteous is your kindness: in your great mercy turn toward me. “See, you lowly ones, and be glad; you who seek God, may your hearts revive! For the LORD hears the poor, and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.” Let the heavens and the earth sing praise, the seas and whatever moves in them!"
Letter to the Romans 5,12-15.
Brothers and sisters: Through one man sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned— for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world, though sin is not accounted when there is no law. But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin after the pattern of the trespass of Adam, who is the type of the one who was to come. But the gift is not like the transgression. For if by that one person's transgression the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one person Jesus Christ overflow for the many.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 10,26-33.
Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father."
Daily Reflection
You have here “no lasting city,” (Heb 13,14); wherever you are, you are a stranger and a sojourner; you will never at any time have peace until you are intimately one with Christ. Why in this world do you search to right and left, when this is no place for your repose? You ought to be living the life of heaven; a wayfarer despising all earthly things. Everything perishes and so do you. Cling not, lest you be caught and perish. Let your thoughts be in the presence of the Most High, your prayer sent up to Christ unceasingly. If you cannot gaze upon high heaven, then repose in the sufferings of Christ, and dwell gladly in his sacred wounds. For if with devotion you escape to the wounds of Christ and to his stigmata beyond price, then you will know great comfort in affliction; you will not much mind being despised by men, and will easily endure malicious gossip. Christ too was in the world despised by men; in time of greatest need he was left by friend and acquaintance to be taunted alone. Christ was ready to suffer and be spurned; have you the impudence to make a complaint?... Hold up for Christ's sake with the help of Christ, if you would reign with Christ. If you had once gone right inside Jesus and had tasted a little of his burning love; then you would care not at all for your own good or ill-convenience, but rejoice to be taunted; for the love of Jesus makes a man despise himself. The lover of Jesus and of truth, the truly inward man, he who is no slave to disordered feelings; he it is who can freely turn to God, raising himself above himself in spirit and taking joy in rest. The true man of taste, taught more of God than of men, is he on whose tongue things taste as they are; not as they are said or esteemed to be.