October 12--Bl. Carlo Acutis, Holy Man

Photograph of Bl. Carlo Acutis, Copyrighted

He is a saint for the 21st century! Blessed Carlo Acutis (1991-2006) “was an Italian website designer who documented Eucharistic miracles and approved Marian apparitions, and catalogued both on a website he designed before his death from leukaemia. Acutis was noted for his cheerfulness, computer skills, and devotion to the Eucharist, which became a core theme of his life.” Even though he died at the age of 15, he was beatified in 2020 and has been approved for canonization, possibly in 2025.

Here are some of his inspiring quotations:

• “The Virgin Mary is the only woman in my life.”
• “The more Eucharist we receive, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on earth we will have a foretaste of heaven.”
• “By standing before the Eucharistic Christ, we become holy.”
• “Continuously ask your guardian angel for help. Your guardian angel has to become your best friend.”
• All people are born as originals but many die as photocopies.”
• To always be close to Jesus, that’s my life plan”.
• “Sadness is looking at ourselves, happiness is looking towards God.”
• “Not me, but God.”
• “The more Eucharist we receive, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of heaven".
• “The only thing we have to ask God for, in prayer, is the desire to be holy.”
• “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.”
• “Our goal must be infinite, not the finite. The infinite is our homeland. Heaven has been waiting for us forever.”
• “The Eucharist is the highway to heaven.”

Bl. Carlo Acutis, pray for us!

October 3–St. Mother Theodore Guerin, Religious

 

Official portrait of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin released by the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in their press kit as a promotional image.

The American frontier was served by many religious communities of women to educate and serve both Catholic immigrants and Indigenous Americans. These included saints such as St. Katherine Drexel, St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, and today’s saint, St. Mother Theodore Guérin. Born in France in 1798, she expressed a desire to become a religious sister at an early age. She entered religious life in 1825 and became a teacher and administrator at schools in France. In 1839 the bishop of Vincennes, Indiana requested help from women religious in France to send missionaries to help with the influx of Catholic immigrants. Sr. Theodore was recommended and accepted the call under the inspiration of the Rule of the congregation: "The Congregation being obliged to work with zeal for the sanctification of souls, the sisters will be disposed to go to whatsoever part of the world obedience calls them." She then founded a new order in Indiana establishing a women’s academy which became a college, parish schools and other schools, orphanages, and free pharmacies. She died in 1856 after an adulthood of poor health. She was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006.

The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods quote St. Mother Theodore: “What have we to do in order to be saints? Nothing extraordinary; nothing more than what we do every day. Only do it for [God’s] love…” They write about her dependence on God’s Providence: “She’s a saint now, but during her life she was a real person who dealt with real problems. She didn’t want to take on the difficult mission of leaving France to start a congregation in the frontier of Indiana. However, her trust in Providence — the protective care of God — led her to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods where she accomplished amazing things.” St. Mother Theodore Guerin, pray for us!

September 26--Sts. Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs

 

The Beheading of Sts. Cosmas and Damian by Fra Angelico.

Their names are in the Roman canon: “In communion with those whose memory we venerate,… your blessed apostles and martyrs, Peter and Paul, Andrew,… Cosmas and Damian and all your saints.” Today’s saints are twin brothers who practiced medicine and surgery for free, and thus called “unmercenaries” or “silverless” in Greek, in order to bring people to the Christian faith. Sts. Cosmas and Damian were Arabs living in the Roman province of Cilicia, which today is the southern coast of Turkey. They were martyred during the reign of the Emperor Diocletian in the late third or early fourth century. Diocletian tried to exterminate Christianity from the Roman Empire and was quite successful in raising martyrs to God, including Cosmas and Damian by beheading. Although this is the extent of what is known about them, their story became popular and they were venerated widely throughout Europe.

We honor Sts. Cosmas and Damian because of their willingness to suffer and die as Jesus did. However, they were missionary disciples using their skill in medicine to heal for free as Jesus did. “The Catholic Church is the world's largest non-governmental provider of health care….” “It can be said in general, however, that Catholic hospitals provide a great deal of free or poorly compensated inpatient care and primary care services through clinics and medical outreach programs for the uninsured. Often, Catholic hospitals become known as a ‘provider of last resort’ for uninsured and underinsured citizens.”

Visit the sick is one of the corporal works of mercy as prescribed in Mt. 25:31-46. We can follow the examples of Sts. Cosmas and Damian by healing others, whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually. We may dedicate ourselves to the healing ministries or those who are in our lives. Sts. Cosmas and Damian, pray for us!

September 9--Bl. Frédéric Ozanam, Holy Man

 

Blessed Frédéric Ozanam. Frontispiece from Complete Works of Frederic Ozanam, Lecoffre editions, Paris , 1862 ( second edition). PD-US-expired.

“What can I do? I am just one person.” We may ask ourselves that question and respond in the same manner, especially when we believe our efforts are few and far between. And yet, just one person bore the Son of God. As well, just one person IS the Savior of the world. Today’s blessed is just one person and he is the inspiration for about 800,000 persons worldwide in 140 countries. Bl. Frédéric Ozanam (1813-1853) co-founded the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in 1833 “for the sanctification of its members by personal service of the poor.” As a law student in Paris he saw the need to help others in their need. He promoted service to the poor by the laity following the model of St. Vincent de Paul and under the guidance of Bl. Rosalie Rendu, a sister of the Daughters of Charity. That model uses small “conferences” of laity to work to help the poor in their areas. There are about 4,400 conferences in the United States alone. Bl. Frédéric died in 1853 of tuberculosis and was beatified by Pope St. John Paul II in 1997.

Pope John Paul said of him: “Frédéric Ozanam loved everyone who was deprived. From his youth, he became aware that it was not enough to speak about charity and the mission of the Church in the world: rather what was needed was an effective commitment of Christians in the service of the poor. … He observed the real situation of the poor and sought to be more and more effective in helping them in their human development. He understood that charity must lead to efforts to remedy injustice. Charity and justice go together.” Join the Vincentians and serve others! Bl. Frédéric Ozanam, pray for us!