40 youths received the Sacrament of
Confirmation in my parish recently. For their Confirmation, the pews were fully
packed. It was so nice to see these youngsters receive this Sacrament. By
receiving this Sacrament, they chose to follow Christ, as mandated by him (i.e.
Matthew 10:37-42; 16:24-26), by their own volitions, not forced by parents or
godparents. And by willingly receiving this Sacrament, these youths show
publicly that their faith is mature and firm to the point of giving up their
own lives for the sake of the faith.
Well, these youths are “supposed to”
show their resolve to follow Christ, I should say, because I have only see a
few of these 40 confirmands at Mass regularly since the Sunday after their
Confirmation. For the rest of the youths, I wonder if their professed faith to
a bishop and the congregation was true. If it were, all 40 should be at Mass at
least every Sunday, right?
Sadly, lukewarm superficial ceremonial
faith is reality of American Catholics. This is not just a particular
phenomenon of my parish but nearly in every parish across the United States.
These youths and, perhaps, their
parents, Christ is not really the center of their lives. For them, there are
lots of earthly priorities, thus, keeping Christ in the backburner. And we let
them receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, though this Sacrament should be
only given to the youth, who demonstrate their resolve and zeal in serving
Christ, taking up his work, as their priority in life, regardless of their
future careers. Confirmation is a Sacrament given only to youths who
are like St. Aloysius Gonzaga, a 16th-century Jesuit novitiate, who
devoted his life to teach underprivileged youths and care for his brothers and
sisters in greater needs during a plague pandemic out of his steadfast love of
God.
The life of steadfast faith that St. Aloysius Gonzaga lived for 23 years until his death is reflected in both the First Reading (1 John 5:1-5) and the Gospel Reading (Matthew 22:34-40) of his Memorial Feast, June 21, which is also summer solstice.
Ever since he was a young child,
Aloysius had kept his ardent love for God, making a personal vow to live his
life consecrated in Christ at age 9. Though he put himself through a military
training as the oldest son of well-known condottiero of Castiglione delle
Stiviere, it does not mean that his devotion to Christ was compromised. He kept
his steadfast faith even when he fulfilled his duties in the court of Empress
Maria of Austria and in the court of King Philip II of Spain as his father
offered his service to them. Though he was destined to be a chivalrous military
officer, like his father, God called him to be a knight to fight against the
effects of the Original Sin, especially keeping children of God in the virtue
of chastity and His compassionate love. Because of this, Aloysius had to
respectfully disagree with his father, who tried to steer him into a military
career. Though it was difficult, Aloysius convinced his father that God had
called him into serving His will. So, he entered the Society of Jesus, the
Jesuits, at age 16, and received spiritual direction from St. Robert
Bellarmine. And this decision also meant that Aloysius renounced his legal
rights to inherit his father’s wealth and the title of marquis.
Because of the zeal of his faith, even
before joining the Jesuits, young Aloysius enjoyed teaching underprivileged
youth in his neighborhood, as he received a good education, thanks to his
father. And as a Jesuit novitiate, Aloysius devoted himself for tirelessly and
selflessly caring the sick and the dying during plague. He went around streets
and brought them to a Jesuit hospital, offered not only physical palliative
care but psychological and pastoral care. And he buried them with care when
they died. In doing so, he did as an ambassador of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20).
Aloysius had been in frail physical
health ever since his birth. He suffered from kidney disease, which made him
physically weak. He was baptized while he was still in his mother’s womb, lest
he might not make it to his birth. Nevertheless, Aloysius never let this become
an obstacle to his devotion to Christ. His faith kept his zestful love of God
overdrive to override his physical frailty. He never complained his physical
condition. Rather, he found it as a blessing to make him even stronger in his
faith and devotion.
So, Aloysius never compromised in his
commitment to love those who were begotten by God in his actions, because he
loved God steadfastly. And he kept this way until plague took his life.
Indeed, facing chronic kidney disease,
Aloysius grew strongly in his faith and love of God. And these words of St.
John from the First Reading reflect this:
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God, and
everyone who loves the father loves also the one begotten by him. In this way
we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his
commandments. For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And
his commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:1-3).
This is how these words of Jesus on
the most important commandment – the twofold commandment of love – is practiced
by Aloysius:
You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul,
and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The
second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and
the prophets depend on these two commandments (Matthew 22:37-40).
Those who were begotten by God –
children of God – are the ones St. Aloysius poured out his love, as Leviticus
19:18 mandates, in demonstrating his love of God with all his heart, with all
his soul, and with all his mind – with nothing withheld for himself, as
Deuteronomy 6:5 commands.
After all, this is a battle St.
Aloysius kept fighting until his death at age 23. And these words of St. John
reflect this:
For whoever is begotten
by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our
faith. Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that
Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:4-5).
As a matter of fact, as those who are
begotten by God, as children of God, by virtue of Baptism, we are called to
fight for this victory of faith over this sin-filled world, affected by the
Original Sin of Adam and Eve. And this battle demands a selfless devotion to
love as commanded by God, taught by Christ, as exemplified by St. Aloysius
Gonzaga.
This is what those who prepare
themselves for the Sacrament of Confirmation must reflect and ponder upon
deeply into their hearts and soul. And only those who are ready and
willing to commit to this battle of steadfast faith with zeal-filled love,
until their deaths should receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. Otherwise, the
Church cannot win. Church constituted with people of lukewarm wimpy wishy-washy
faith is not the Church of Christ.
St. Aloysius Gonzaga is a patron Saint
of the youth for being an inspiring role model for young Christians and his
commitment to care of the youth, as well as the sick and the dying. Because the
youth are the future of the Church, their faith shall be steadfast and set to
win this battle like St. Aloysius’. We must put our youth to a test to see if
their faith is as mature and strong enough to receive the Sacrament of
Confirmation.
Ad Majorem Dei
Gloriam.
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