Monday, June 19, 2023

July 4--Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, Holy Man and Third Order Dominican

https://www.usccb.org/topics/youth-and-young-adult-ministries/blessed-pier-giorgio-frassati

Jesus taught the Beatitudes at the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5:3-12). Pope St. John Paul II (the Great) called Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati “Man of the Eight Beatitudes.” Frassati lived from 1901-1925 in Turin, Italy. He dedicated himself to helping those in need and would say: "Charity is not enough; we need social reform.”

In his Beatification homily, Pope John Paul stated: “Today’s celebration invites all of us to receive the message which Pier Giorgio Frassati is sending to the men and women of our day, but especially to you young people, who want to make a concrete contribution to the spiritual renewal of our world, which sometimes seems to be falling apart and wasting away because of a lack of ideals. By his example he proclaims that a life lived in Christ’s Spirit, the Spirit of the Beatitudes, is ‘blessed’, and that only the person who becomes a ‘man or woman of the Beatitudes’ can succeed in communicating love and peace to others. He repeats that it is really worth giving up everything to serve the Lord. He testifies that holiness is possible for everyone, and that only the revolution of charity can enkindle the hope of a better future in the hearts of people.”

He inspires us to pray the Prayer for the Courage to be Great:

"Heavenly Father,
Give me the courage to strive for the highest goals,
to flee every temptation to be mediocre.
Enable me to aspire to greatness, as Pier Giorgio did,
and to open my heart with joy to Your call to holiness.
Free me from the fear of failure.
I want to be, Lord, firmly and forever united to You.
Grant me the graces I ask You through Pier Giorgio's intercession,
by the merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen."

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