Memorial of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga

Today's Mass Readings

Today’s readings continue the theme of idolatry and true worship of God.

In the first reading, from the book of Chronicles, punishment is meted out to King Joash because of his consent to idolatry. What we know, though from the verses immediately proceeding those of today’s reading is that King Joash wasn’t always so unfaithful. When he took the throne at the tender age of seven, he was blessed with the wise advisor Jehoiada who worked to restore temple worship and observe the Mosaic law. But after Jehoiada’s death (2 Chr 24:17) Joash is taken in another direction and when challenged by his old advisor’s son, moves to have him stoned to death instead of listening to him (2 Chr 24:21). What a changed man! This killing proves to be the source of Joash’s own downfall – all brought on by idol worship. It is easy, at first blush, to distance ourselves from Joash because we haven’t knelt before any “sacred poles” (2 Chr 24:18). But is it so easy, if we listen to the words of Jesus? In today’s gospel, Jesus draws out the implications of worshipping God alone. He drives us to consider whether we really are idolaters.

It seems rather that many of us are idolaters and polytheists, because our lives are set in the direction of many things. When we utter the creed at Mass, we say that “We believe in God.” The “in” is important! This doesn’t simply mean we believe that God exists. Rather, it means we set our whole selves, our hearts, our lives in God’s direction. We are aimed solely at Him. So we are idolaters insofar as we set our hearts and our lives in the direction of things and people who aren’t God, even ourselves.

Lest we think that identifying such idolatry is simple, witness Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, whose memorial we celebrate today, who abandoned the life of the royal court to become a Jesuit and was advised by his spiritual director to fast less and pray only was assigned to do so. Apparently fasting had become idolatrous for Gonzaga!

Thankfully, Jesus hasn’t left us on our own to figure out how to sort through these many masters we like to have. He has given us His Church. It is by living and participating in Christ’s Church that we come to see the rightful place of all of these things (food, family, money, air conditioners, and doctor’s visits). The more we set ourselves in God’s direction, the more these other things fall into their proper place (cf. Mt 6:33-34).

Today, let us pray for the intercession of Saint Gonzaga, that we may have the help of Christ’s Church, as he did, to discern all of our idolatries, so that we may grow to set our hearts completely in God’s direction. Let us pray too that God help us to identify one thing or person in our lives that serves as an idol, so that we may learn to put it in its proper place.

- Tim Gabrielli