St. Aloysius Gonzaga, religious

When he 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.

  

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

It is useless to boast;

But if I have to,

I will go on, to some visions and revelations of the Lord,

I know a certain Christian: fourteen years ago he was taken up to the third heaven.

Whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know, God knows. But I know that this man,

whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows, was taken up to Paradise,

where he heard words that cannot be told: things which humans cannot express.

 

Of that man I can indeed boast, but of myself I will not boast except of my weaknesses.

If I wanted to boast, it would not be foolish of me, for I would speak the truth. However,

I better give up, lest somebody think more of me than what is seen in me, or heard from me.

Lest I become proud, after so many and extraordinary revelations; I was given a thorn in my flesh,

 

a true messenger of Satan, to slap me in the face. Three times, I prayed to the Lord that it leave me,

but he answered, "My grace is enough for you; my great strength is revealed in weakness."

Gladly, then, will I boast of my weakness, that the strength of Christ may be mine.

So I rejoice when I suffer infirmities, humiliations, want, persecutions: all for Christ! For when I am weak, then I am strong.

 

Ps 34:8-9, 10-11, 12-13 Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Matthew 6:24-34

No one can serve two masters; for he will either hate one and love the other;

or he will be loyal to the first and look down on the second. You cannot, at the same time, serve God and money.

 

Therefore, I tell you, not to be worried about food and drink for yourself, or about clothes for your body.

Is not life more important than food; and is not the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air;

they do not sow, they do not harvest, and do not store food in barns; and yet,

your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not less worthy than they are?

 

Can any of you add a day to your life by worrying about it? Why are you so worried about your clothes?

Look at how the flowers in the fields grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you, that not even Solomon,

in all his glory, was clothed like one of these. If God so clothes the grass in the field,

which blooms today and is to be burned in an oven tomorrow,

how much more will he clothe you? What little faith you have!

 

Do not worry and say: What are we going to eat? What are we going to drink?

or: What shall we wear? The pagans busy themselves with such things;

but your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. Set your heart, first,

on the kingdom and righteousness of God; and all these things will also be given to you.

Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"One cannot serve two masters."

Prince Luigi Gonzaga was first in line to be the next Marquis of the Duchy of Mantua.

His mother was lady-in-waiting to Queen Isabel, the wife of Philip II of Spain.

And, yet he chose to give up his titles and inheritance and become a cleric.

After much difficulty, he entered the Society of Jesus at the age of seventeen, finally having convinced his father to let him go.

 

When the people of Castiglione heard that he was leaving them, he declared,

"I assure you I want to go and secure a crown in heaven, and it is too difficult for the ruler of a state to save his own soul.

One cannot serve two masters, the world and God; I wish to secure my salvation, and I advise you to do the same."

 

We are presented with the same words of Jesus in today's Gospel.

Our Lord is challenging us to think about our priorities in life and put things in the right order,

so that we are not ruled by money or by our possessions. Rather,

we are to serve the Lord in whatever vocation he calls us to live using what we have for his greater glory.