Today is a great day for the Church and for humanity
“My life plan is to always be connected to Jesus”
I begin my post with the Eucharist.
“The Eucharist is the very sacrifice of the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus which he instituted to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until his return in glory. Thus he entrusted to his Church this memorial of his death and Resurrection. It is a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet, in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us” (Compendium, 271).
“The Sacraments, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, are efficacious signs of grace perceptible to the senses. Through them divine life is bestowed upon us. (…) The Sacraments are efficacious ex opere operato (‘by the fact that the sacramental action is performed’), because it is Christ who acts in the sacraments and communicates the grace they signify. The efficacy of the sacraments does not depend upon the personal holiness of the minister” (Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn. 224 and 229).
http://www.miracolieucaristici.org/en/Liste/pref_RM.html
This post is about this boy named Carlo Acutis and then also about the start of a new series of posts I will be making on my blog as a result of my inspiration from his witness to Jesus Christ.
Every night, when I pray, I have one prayer which I never forget: I pray that I may always be closer to God. In such ways that we don’t know, we are consumed by everyday life – how could we possibly always be mindful of our destination with God in heaven? So I pray this simple prayer to always make my actions closer to God. It is difficult to think that one prayer can guide all your actions in life but indeed it is this one prayer that I have faith in that God bless me to put my course on to the straight path to Him. I have faith that this prayer is both necessary and effective.
Blessed Carlo Acutis believed in the same.
He said of the Eucharist:
He would also say that the Sacrament of the Eucharist was “my highway to heaven“. This time of pandemic has made it very difficult to receive the Holy Eucharist. His passion and adoration of the Eucharist inspires me and fills me with joy. His website and compilation of Eucharist Miracles is a wonderful digital artefact for the world. When I visited his website it was down, probably due to the volume of people visiting at this time. This other website about him is also very informative.
Blessed Carlo Acutis was beatified today at Assisi, Italy. His life story touched me profoundly. People who knew and were around him mentioned his longing to always be united to Jesus, of how he showed his devotion to Mary, of his friendship with the poor, and closeness to spirituality to live according to the gospel.
Indeed it is no exaggeration when his website says: “Extremely special means are required to reach such a lofty destination: the sacraments and prayer.” Simple as that may sound: the sacraments and prayer, how revolutionary it must be nowadays to center your entire life – every living moment – towards building the Kingdom of God on Earth and working for our salvation with Him in Heaven. And yet we are called to be witnesses to Christ and we truly engage with the Church Militant everyday in our battle against Satan.
I am amazed at the wisdom of such a child like Blessed Carlo in the modern age we have now. Imagine at 11-years-old saying:
But,Carlo is also human, so amazingly just like us. He was born on May 3, 1991 in London! I was already 8 years old, so we basically shared the same generation. But oh boy was he destined for great things – great things in God.
Carlo as a young boy would make the effort to reflect in front of the Tabernacle for Eucharist Adoration. Oh what an example for us all and at 11-years-old then!
My own personal discovery of my Catholic Faith was in college, where, with the internet being so new, we had so much information at hand. I could still remember the hours upon hours I would spend on mIRC discussion with fellow Catholics, as well as very heated discussions with Orthodox and Protestants on various channels. I also remember scouring the internet for all information I could on my faith.
In this time where it seems that suffering is everywhere and we forget to look at the good side of things – it is good that Blessed Carlo reminds us that we, just like him and St. Pope John Paul the Great, can offer our sufferings for the Pope and the Church.
Today is a great day for the entire Catholic Church and for the family of humanity.
As Blessed Carlo loved to visit the Assisi, Pope Francis’ new encyclical Fratelli Tutti has its conceptual origins in Assisi. As a social encyclical, the Encyclical aims to promote a universal aspiration toward fraternity and social friendship. Among its discussion of the evangelical principles, is its discourse on dialogue and friendship (Chapter 6), which I think Blessed Carlo’s life is a shining example of. Also, Chapter 4, which is a ‘heart open to the world’ such as it was for Blessed Carlo, who always had time for the poor and the needy.
Importantly, is the message of the life of Blessed Carlos which makes us look to our own lives, and to take seriously the Catholic Faith. So that we can, in the words of the Bishop of Assisi during the beatification, “discover the path of true life, living the joys of the earth without taking their eyes off of heaven – our true homeland”.
Jerusalem is right on our doorstep.
And so I am inspired to thank God for all the blessings he has given me by writing as often as I can of the everyday things I am grateful for, to give thanks for the blessing and mercy of God which He gives through Jesus Christ. This will be my new blog category “Thank God”. I do hope to document and chart how my life has been saved every small little way by the ever-present ever-living God, our Saviour Lord Jesus Christ.
I would like to end with words from Blessed Carlos Acutis.
Not me, but God.
In memory of the Blessed Carlo Acutis.
Heaven and Earth are rejoicing!
