Upbeat and Positive Young Saint
- PostEagle
- April 26, 2022
- Church / Religion News
- 0 Comments
Greeting: Someone just eMailed me this message which made me laugh and which I really appreciated and find encouraging. They said: “Father, we need your rants…. please don’t go all ‘nice’ and squishy on us!!” I hope the Rant below is not too “nice and squishy!” It’s about a very upbeat and positive young saint who I’ve mentioned before but, who I think can be a help to us in these dark days when so many have actually and willingly chosen to embrace fear, paranoia and hypochondria. Mind you he was only 15 when he died a very painful death but even in full knowledge of that he refused to desert the Church, Jesus, or his Faith as so many have done today!
Here is a saint that is perfect for these difficult times. Many think of him as a patron saint of the internet and computer programmers but I like to think of him as a patron saint against the fears and paranoia that so many are embracing today. He once said, “Do not be afraid because with the Incarnation of Jesus, death becomes life, and there’s no need to escape: in eternal life, something extraordinary awaits us.”
These words of power are from Blessed Carlo Acutis (May 3, 1991-October 12, 2006), a boy who died at the age of 15….. you have to be impressed that someone that young had such depth and already understood the true meaning of life and Eternity! His life was founded on a positive and joyful Faith and not on fear!
It always interests me to look at the writings of the saints, not only for their example, to help me in my struggles, but their wisdom and how they saw the world, and how they related to Jesus in their daily life. Often times just a short quote is worth more than a 20 page sermon!
He was known for his charity, kindness and concern for those in any difficulty. Carlo would worry about friends of his whose parents were divorcing and would invite them to his home to support and help them. He defended disabled peers at school when bullies mocked them. Outside school, he did voluntary work with the homeless and destitute.
He also liked films, comic editing and playing PlayStation video games. Although he greatly enjoyed travel, the town of Assisi remained a particular favorite.
Those around him considered him a “computer geek” on account of his passion and skill with computers and the internet. Acutis applied himself to creating a website dedicated to cataloging Eucharistic miracle around the world. He completed this in 2005, having started compiling the catalog at the age of eleven! His goal was to use the media to evangelize and proclaim the Gospel and aimed to do that with the website he had created.
The work he did in researching those miracles is still available in book form and as a traveling exhibit! The maturity of his art work, computer skills, and his research is amazing especially when you consider that he was so young! His work and his love for the Eucharist is still evangelizing via the internet, the book and exhibit! (look them up!)
Below are a few quotes from his writings. You have to be impressed with the depth of his spirituality and you have to keep reminding yourself that this “saint” died a very difficult and painful death at the young age of 15!! Faith not Fear / Jesus not the World!
1. Our goal must be the infinite and not the finite. The Infinity is our homeland. We are always expected in Heaven.
2. I am happy to die because I lived my life without wasting even a minute of it on anything unpleasing to God.
3. All people are born as originals but many die as photocopies.
4. Sadness is looking at ourselves, happiness is looking towards God.
5. To be always united with Jesus, this is my plan of life.
6. What does it matter if you can win a thousand battles, if you cannot win against your own corrupt passions? It doesn’t matter. The real battle is with ourselves.
7. Not me, but God.
8. The Eucharist is the highway to heaven.
9. The more Eucharist we receive, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on earth we will have a foretaste of heaven.
10. By standing before the Eucharistic Christ, we become holy.
11. When we face the sun we get a tan… but when we stand before Jesus in the Eucharist we become saints.
12. Our soul is like a hot air balloon. If by chance there is a mortal sin, the soul falls to the ground. Confession is like the fire underneath the balloon, enabling the soul to rise again… It is important to go to confession often.
13. The Virgin Mary is the only woman in my life.
14. The only thing we have to ask God for, in prayer, is the desire to be holy.
15. Continuously ask your guardian angel for help. Your guardian angel has to become your best friend.
16. I offer all the suffering I will have to suffer for the Lord, for the Pope, and the Church.
God bless you, Fr. Charles