St Aloysius Gonzaga SJ

Jesus told me today that the work of regeneration and sanctification is to be done by leading souls to Him in the Blessed Sacrament.

COMMENT: Fr Doyle wrote these notes in his diary on June 21, 1917, slightly less than two months before his death. Was this based on an actual vision or a locution or just a simply inspiration? We do not know, but ultimately it does not matter for the truth of what Fr Doyle writes is plain for us to see.

Today is also the feast of St Aloysius Gonzaga, a young Jesuit who died at the age of 23 in 1591. St Aloysius was – like pretty much every saint – deeply devoted to the Eucharist. He begged the Lord that he would die within the Octave of Corpus Christi. He received his first Holy Communion from the great St Charles Borromeo. It is said that he became so hot with devotion after receiving Communion that he often had to leave the church and bathe in a fountain to get relief. Perhaps this last story belongs somewhat to that line of exaggerated hagiographies; I have not read any scholarly review of his life so I cannot judge the truthfulness of this alleged aspect of his life.

Let us pray to St Aloysius that we may acquire some small taste of the devotion that both he and Fr Doyle both had for the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

Those interested in learning more about the life and spirituality of St Aloysius may find more information here: http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Saints/Saints_008.htm