Gospel Reflection for The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
St. Aloysius Gonzaga Leaves All for Christ
The experience that Peter had on the shore of Galilee has been repeated in many lives of the saints.
One Catholic saint who abandoned a significant amount of material wealth to follow Jesus is St. Aloysius Gonzaga. This saint was born in Spain during the Renaissance. His family was powerful and part of the Spanish nobility. This gave him access to wealth and a political future. Yet, Aloysius wanted something else.
As the first-born son, Aloysius was in line to inherit his father’s title and the considerable wealth that came with it. The Gonzaga family owned a castle in Castiglione delle Stiviere and had significant influence and power in the region. He could have studied at any university. He could have lived anywhere. He could have enjoyed his life and married into another powerful family.
But all these things seemed as nothing compared to following Christ, the pearl of great price. Despite the expectations of his noble status, Aloysius felt a strong calling to a life of spiritual devotion. He wanted to become a member of a new religious order called the Jesuits.
And so, at the age of seventeen, he renounced his inheritance and joined the Jesuit order in Rome, despite the opposition of his family. He devoted himself to the care of the sick during a plague in Italy and ultimately contracted the disease himself, passing away at the young age of twenty-three.
St. Aloysius Gonzaga is remembered as a model of virtue and sanctity, particularly for young people. His life serves as an inspiration for those who seek to devote themselves entirely to the service of God, forsaking worldly possessions for the sake of the Kingdom of Christ.
(From ePriest, February 2025)