“From all their distress – God rescues the just.” We hear this in the psalm today, as the psalmist declares that he blesses the Lord at all times. We have no problems at all giving the Lord blessings for our joys and our comforts, but it probably much more difficult to offer blessings to the Lord in the midst of our sorrows and our distress.
God rescues the just, but sometimes the rescue is not from earthly dangers. The saint we celebrate today is St Aloysius Gonzaga. He was born into an aristocratic Italian family in the year 1568, but he died at the young age of 23 while studying in Rome as a member of the Jesuits from the plague that he contracted while nursing some sick patients in the midst of an epidemic. Aloysius was known for his great piety. He is buried in the Church of St Ignatius of Loyola in Rome. I remember visited that church in Rome when I went there with the St Richard Youth Choir in 2010, and remember the many people who came to that church looking for St Aloysius’ grave site.
As we bless the Lord in our joys and our sorrows, we follow the journey of faith where he calls us here on earth. Sometimes it is quite a difficult journey, but we are called to lift it all up to the Lord.
In 1729, Pope Benedict 13th declared Aloysius to be the patron saint of young students. And in 1926, he was named patron of all Christian youth by Pope Pius 11th. We pray this prayer for his intercessions for our youth today:
St Aloysius ,you were a faithful follower of Christ as you were studying to enter the Society of Jesus. You steadily worked toward perfection in your life of faith while you generously served victims of the plague in Rome. Help our youth today who are faced with a plague of false cults, false gods, and false values in our modern secular world. Show them how to focus their energies toward God and to use them in service toward others. Amen.
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