Tuesday 22 June 2010

St Aloysius' Day 2010

Fr Simon Bishop, SJ, Chaplain to the University, came to preach at the Solemn Mass for St Aloysius' Day. He spoke about Aloysius' motto: "Ad majorem natus sum" - "I was born for greater things". This was the response Aloysius made to his father when shown the crown and wealth of the Gonzagas.

When we see those in need - the sick, the homeless or distressed, they too say to us "We were born for greater things". The remarkable purity of St Aloysius also teaches us the need to live courageous lives of purity in the face of an over-sexualized culture, for the people of our own time were also "born for greater things."

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We had a very welcome surprise visit from Bishop Peter Elliot of Melbourne, who sang the Mass of St Aloysius.

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Bishop Elliot is the delegate of the Australian bishops for the implementation of the Ordinariate for former Anglicans within the Catholic Church. At Mass on the feast of SS John Fisher & Thomas More, he spoke of the need to pray for this project, which will be the last ever possiblity of any kind of corporate reunion. Just as Thomas More and John Fisher stood for conscience, so many are called to do today in seeking union with the successor of St Peter.

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