• Sr. Terence (80). Bishop. (Historical)
• St. Aloysius Gonzaga (1591). Patron or Patroness, Religious. Patron of Catholic youth. (Current, Traditional)

ST. ALOYSIUS, the eldest son of Ferdinand Gonzaga, Marquis of Castiglione, was born on the 9th of March, 1568. The first words he pronounced were the holy names of Jesus and Mary. When he was nine years of age he made a vow of perpetual virginity, and by a special grace was ever exempted from temptations against purity. He received his first communion at the hands of St. Charles Borromeo. At an early age he resolved to leave the world, and in a vision was directed by our Blessed Lady to join the Society of Jesus. The Saint’s mother rejoiced on learning his determination to become a religious, but his father for three years refused his consent. At length St. Aloysius obtained permission to enter the novitiate on the 25th of November, 1585. He took his vows after two years, and went through the ordinary course of philosophy and theology. He was wont to say he doubted whether without penance grace would continue to make head against nature, which, when not afflicted and chastised, tends gradually to relapse into its old state, losing the habit of suffering acquired by the labor of years. “I am a crooked piece of iron,” he said, “and am come into religion to be made straight by the hammer of mortification and penance.” During his last year of theology a malignant fever broke out in Rome; the Saint offered himself for the service of the sick, and he was accepted for the dangerous duty. Several of the brothers caught the fever, and Aloysius was off the number. He was brought to the point of death, but recovered, only to fall, however, into slow fever, which carried him off after three months. He died, repeating the Holy Name, a little after midnight between the 20th and 21st of June on the octave-day of Corpus Christi, being rather more than twenty-three years of age

REFLECTION: Cardinal Bellarmine, the Saint’s confessor, testified that he had never mortally offended God. Yet he chastised his body rigorously, rose at night to pray, and shed many tears for his sins. Pray that, not having followed his innocence, you may yet imitate his penance.

WORD OF THE DAY

SECRET SOCIETY. An organization whose members may not disclose the purposes, practices, or activities of their society to civil or ecclesiastical authorities. Because their secrecy often works to the disadvantage of nonmembers, through questionable control, and also to the detriment of the Catholic faith, the Church has for centuries forbidden Catholics to belong to secret societies and has often imposed severe canonical penalties on those who disobey. Under certain restricted conditions Catholics may retain a limited association with such organizations. Forbidden secret societies often sponsor benevolent and charitable enterprises, but they are prohibited mainly because their naturalism is a danger to the true faith. Among the secret societies forbidden by Church law are the Knights of Pythias, Odd Fellows, Sons of Temperance, and the Freemasons.

Modern Catholic Dictionary, Fr. John Hardon SJ (Get the real one at Eternal Life — don’t accept an abridged or edited version of this masterpiece!)

June, Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The Sacred Heart of Jesus – Short Meditations for June. June 21 — The Sorrows of the Sacred Heart.