Pope: Saints call us to look to God, make masterpieces of our lives
Addressing over eighty thousand faithful filling Saint
Peter’s Square on Sunday for the Mass with the canonization of Pier Giorgio
Frassati and Carlo Acutis, Pope Leo XIV says the examples of these two young
Saints invite all of us, especially young people, to direct our lives upwards
to God and make them masterpieces of holiness, service, and joy.
Vatican News
Presiding over the Mass and canonization of Pier Giorgio
Frassati and Carlo Acutis in Saint Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to
their extraordinary witnesses to faith, hope, and trust in God, and to the
Lord’s great plan for eternal joy and happiness. The Pope declared the two
young Italians Saints at the start of the celebration on a stunningly beautiful
late summer day, Sunday 7 September.
In
his homily, the Pope reflected on the extraordinary witness of both
new Saints. Recalling words from the first Sunday reading from the Book of
Wisdom, the Pope observed that, like King Solomon, these young men sought the
gift of wisdom to better understand God’s plans for our lives and world, and
follow them faithfully. And in doing so, they used their gifts to bring others
to God through their example, words, and actions.
Giving ourselves to
the Lord
In the Gospel reading, Jesus speaks to us of God’s plan, to
which we must commit wholeheartedly, abandoning ourselves “without hesitation
to the adventure that he offers us, with the intelligence and strength that
comes from his Spirit,” the Pope recalled. Young people often face crossroads
in their lives and have to make difficult choices, the Pope observed; and,
recalling the example of Francis of Assisi, he pointed out that the Saint opted
for “the wonderful story of holiness that we all know, stripping himself of
everything to follow the Lord, living in poverty and preferring the love of his
brothers and sisters, especially the weakest and smallest, to his father’s
gold, silver, and precious fabrics.”
Saying “yes” to God
So many saints down through history have made similar
courageous choices, looking up to God, and, while they were very young, the
Pope recalled, offering their “yes” to God, giving themselves complete to Him,
“keeping nothing for themselves.” The Pope recalled how Saint Augustine felt a
voice deep within him that said: “I want you”, and “God gave him a new
direction, a new path, a new reason, in which nothing of his life was lost.”
Pier Giorgo Frassati,
beacon for lay spirituality
Describing the life of Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati, a young
Italian man of the early 20th century, his participation in Catholic
associations and service to the poor, the Pope said that also today “Pier
Giorgio’s life is a beacon for lay spirituality,” since faith was not a private
matter and could be lived in community in with membership in ecclesial
associations and through generous commitment to political life and service to
the poor.
Carlo Acutis, witness
of holiness in simplicity
Speaking about the witness of young Italian Saint Carlo
Acutis, a teenager of our own day, the Pope spoke about how he encountered Jesus
in his family, thanks to his parents, Andrea and Antonia, recalling their
presence at this celebration along with his two siblings, Francesca and
Michele. Saint Carlo also found and lived his faith through school, but
especially the sacraments celebrated in the parish community, the Pope went on
to say, noting how “he grew up naturally integrating prayer, sport, study and
charity into his days as a child and young man.”
Cultivating love for
God and neighbour
Daily Mass, prayer, and especially Eucharistic Adoration,
marked the lives of Saints Pier Giorgio and Carlo in cultivating their love for
God and neighbor through simple acts of charity, the Pope said. And even as
illness struck both of them, cutting their lives short, they continued to bear
witness to hope and offer themselves to God, the Pope added, recalling how Pier
Giorgio once said: “The day of my death will be the most beautiful day of my
life”; and how young Carlo often remarked that “heaven has always been waiting
for us, and that to love tomorrow is to give the best of our fruit today.”
Making “masterpieces”
of our lives
In conclusion, Pope Leo underscored how both Saints Pier
Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis invite everyone, “especially young people,
not to squander our lives, but to direct them upwards and make them
masterpieces.”
“They encourage us with their words: “Not I, but God,” as
Carlo used to say. And Pier Giorgio: “If you have God at the center of all your
actions, then you will reach the end.” This is the simple but winning formula
of their holiness. It is also the type of witness we are called to follow, in
order to enjoy life to the full and meet the Lord in the feast of heaven.”
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