Marian Helpers, I say: Be like Carlo. If you’re called to an ordinary life as a lay person, embrace it! Love the Sacraments. Love God. Love neighbor. Love your ordinary life, your family and neighbors. Be ordinary and holy at the same time, and holy in your ordinariness. That will make you extraordinary.
By Fr. Mark Baron, MIC ("Father Joseph, MIC)
This fall, for the first time in his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV will canonize nine new saints. I’d like to write about two of these who are well-known and, in my opinion, a great source of inspiration for members of our Marian Family.
I’m referring to Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and Blessed Carlo Acutis, both to be canonized on Sept. 7.
Blessed Carlo is the teenager known for his devotion to the Eucharist and creating an online exhibition of Eucharistic miracles. And Blessed Pier Giorgio, the young Italian mountaineer and student, was acclaimed as the “man of the beatitudes.”
In my opinion, this saintly duo’s witness to the Gospel and ways of living our Catholic faith are perfectly aligned with what it means — or ought to mean — to be a Marian Helper. It’s fitting to take a closer look in this, the centennial year of the Association of Marian Helpers.
Carlo Acutis (1991-2006; feast day: Oct. 12) was an extraordinary young man. He died at 15, but in that short lifetime, he went a lot farther in his generous love of God and neighbor than most of us do in a longer lifetime.
See, it’s not actually that complicated to become holy. It all comes down to love of God and neighbor, or living like Jesus did. It can be hard — don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying it was easy to do what Carlo Acutis did. After all, how many teenagers, confronted by a leukemia diagnosis, promptly and peacefully offer up their sufferings for the pope and the Church? That takes some serious courage and fortitude.
I find it so hopeful that Carlo Acutis managed that level of preparation for suffering and death in the modern world. He was a fairly normal teenager much of the time, loving his video games, loving life, even channeling Spider-Man as a tween. But he also was willing to share his faith with his friends and neighbors. He loved the poor and the Holy Souls in Purgatory, and shared generously from his allowance to buy things to help the homeless. He did what he could with what he had where he was.
Our Catholic Tradition speaks of the importance of living according to the duties of our state in life. Carlo Acutis showed us what that looks like in the 21st century.
Marian Helpers, I say: Be like Carlo. If you’re called to an ordinary life as a lay person, embrace it! Love the Sacraments. Love God. Love neighbor. Love your ordinary life, your family and neighbors. Be ordinary and holy at the same time, and holy in your ordinariness. That will make you extraordinary.
Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925; feast day: July 4) was my kind of guy. He loved his sports and the great outdoors, especially mountain climbing. That’s why you’ll see people quoting a slogan of his, “Verso l’alto!” which means “To the heights!” He meant it both in terms of he really wanted to go mountain climbing, and he meant it in terms of the spiritual life.
God summons us to what’s hard, to what’s challenging, to go to where we will encounter Him. We are called to get closer to God throughout our lives, even if that means sacrifice, even if that means spiritual exercises and blood, sweat, and tears. But we are also called to do this joyfully.
Pier Giorgio radiated joy. He seemed a carefree young man, a normal devout Italian guy of his generation — but when he died, his funeral was packed with the thousands of people he had helped or befriended.
Like Carlo Acutis, he was ordinary and holy, which made him extraordinary. That’s the heart of the Christian vocation, to be salt, light, and yeast in the world, to be temples of the Holy Spirit transforming the world from within. You are meant to give flavor to ordinary life, to bring light into dark places and keep it there, to be yeast in the dough of the created world, bringing in air, bringing in grace.
Pier Giorgio shows what that’s like. We are meant to live with his same sense of “magnanimity,” of generosity of spirit. We are the heirs of God Almighty, enriched with enormous graces. We can be open-handed, generous, not anxious about our charity to others because God can and does provide, especially when His children give alms prudently but freely. We are called to embrace hard challenges, knowing that if God calls us to do them, He will give us the grace to get through, but also to have the detachment and the humility to embrace being faithful, even if we are not successful.
Marian Helpers, be joyful like Pier Giorgio. Be Catholic. Be brave.
Show us the way
We will soon be blessed by these two holy men’s canonizations (and seven more on Oct. 19, including Blessed Bartolo Longo!). May they continue to teach us, intercede for us, and show us the Marian way of proceeding.
Father Mark Baron, MIC, is the director of the Association of Marian Helpers (Father Joseph, MIC). Joining the Association, a spiritual benefit society approved by the Holy See, is free and easy: visit MICPrayers.org.
ShopMercy offers pamphlets, prayercards, and books for purchase on both St. Carlo Acutis and St. Pier Giorgio Frassati.
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