Liturgy Alive St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious, Memorial
Introduction
Perhaps few saints have been as misrepresented as St. Aloysius Gonzaga (1568-1591). Of high noble birth, he became a Jesuit at the age of 17. He was not at all a devout dreamer, but had a dynamic, impatient temperament. He radically renounced power, wealth, prestige and marriage. His ideal was to make God's goodness visible by dedicating himself entirely to God and the service of people. Before he reached the age of 24, he died from the pest as the result of attending to the sick and the dying during an epidemic.
Opening Prayer
Our God and Father,
we learn to know and appreciate you better
through the life of saints
like St. Aloysius Gonzaga.
May his life and death inspire us.
Help us to be austere and frugal like him,
yet strong of character.
Help us to put our life totally
in the service of others.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
in the signs of bread and wine
your Son Jesus celebrates with us
how he offered his life and death
in the service of people.
Help us to say with him
to one another in our communities:
Here I am for you.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
St. Aloysius imitated your Son
in his total self-giving,
even at the cost of his life.
Help us to rid ourselves of the fear
of putting ourselves into the hands of people
but make us love and serve them generously,
as we put ourselves with the fullest trust
also into your hands.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
Blessing
Today's celebration showed us the example of someone who understood what it means: Love your neighbor as yourself. May the Lord make us capable of loving people deeply, even at the cost of ourselves. And may almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
