Two young Eucharistic saints. Sunday Reflections, Corpus Christi, Year C

 

Blessed Carlo Acutis

3 May 1991 - 12 October 2006

Beatified 10 October 2020; to be canonized 7 September 2025

[Wikipedia; photo]

In the countries where this blog is read the Solemnity of Corpus Christi is celebrated on Sunday 22 June rather than on Thursday 19 June, the Thursday after Trinity Sunday being the traditional day.

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,)

Readings (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, India, Scotland) 

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel Luke 9:11-17 (English Standard Version, Anglicised)

At that time: Jesus spoke to the crowd of the kingdom of God and cured those who needed healing. Now the day began to wear away, and the Twelve came and said to him, ‘Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.’ But he said to them, ‘You give them something to eat.’ They said, ‘We have no more than five loaves and two fish — unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.’ For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, ‘Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each.’ And they did so, and made them all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

                     

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

6 April 1901 - 4 July 1925

Beatified 20 May 1990; to be canonized 7 September 2025

[Wikipedia; photo]

I've told the story here before of a German woman I met in Canada in 1997. I was visiting Irish friends and through them was invited to give a talk to a prayer group. After the talk I was having coffee with the woman who had gone to Canada from Germany in her younger days. She was a Lutheran then. For a long time she had been thinking of becoming a Catholic but could not take the final step. One weekday afternoon she felt unsettled about this and went for a walk. She happened to be passing a Catholic church and went in to pray. While she was there, a group of teenage boys, around the same age as Blessed Carlo Acutis above who died aged 15, who came into the church went up to the front, genuflected before the Blessed Sacrament, knelt down and prayed silently for a few minutes. Then they got up, genuflected again and went out.

That was the moment of grace for the woman that led her to decide to become a Catholic. God spoke to her through a group of teenage boys whom she didn't know and who, quite possibly, hadn't even noticed her.

Blessed Carlo and Blessed Pier Giorgio had many things in common, though they were born 90 years apart. Both were Italian, though Carlo was born in England but grew up in Italy. Both grew up in affluent families but their parents were not particularly devout Catholics. Yet both from their childhood had a sense of God's love for them and an awareness of the poor whom they helped from their pocket-money and from befriending them. They also developed a life of prayer centred on the Holy Eucharist. Carlo from his young days would visit the Blessed Sacrament on his way to and from school and befriend beggars he met on the way.

Pier Giorgio sometimes spent the whole night in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament during his university days.

Both Pier Giorgio and Carlo brought persons much older than themselves to know Jesus Christ. The story of Carlo's influence on Rajesh Mohur, a Hindu immigrant from Mauritius to Italy, is inspiring. And Carlo was somewhat of a 'geek' when it came to the internet, developing sites devoted to Eucharistic miracles and apparitions of Our Lady. 

Both Pier Giorgio and Carlo died within days of a very painful serious illness being diagnosed, In Pier Giorgio's case polio, which he probably got from a poor woman whom he had been visiting, and in Carlo's case leukaemia.

These two young men truly believed in the presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, body, blood, soul and divinity. They took to heart the words of Jesus in today's Communion Antiphon: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him (John 6:37). So did the teenage boys in Canada whose quiet faith led the German woman to the Catholic Church and faith in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, the reality that today's feast celebrates.

There is a wealth of material online about these two young men on. The video below is one I have watched a number of times. Each time it has uplifted me and drawn me into prayer.

Carlo Acutis Web Missionary (Original version with subtitles)

Traditional Latin Mass

Second Sunday after Pentecost

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 06-22-2025 if necessary).

Epistle: 1 John 3:13-18. Gospel: Luke 14:16-24.

Christ in Agony on the Cross

El Greco [Web Gallery of Art]

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren (1 John 3:16; Epistle).

'Jesus walks before us and towards the heights.' Sunday Reflections, Palm Sunday, Year C

 

Christ's Entry into Jerusalem

Giotto di Bondone [Web Gallery of Art]

And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road (Luke 19:36). 

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)

The gospel for the procession with palms is included here as is the Passion according to St Luke arranged for reading by  N. Narrator. ✠ Jesus. O. Other single speaker. C. Crowd, or more than one speaker.

Readings (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, India, Scotland) 

The gospel for the procession with palms is included here as is the Passion according to St Luke arranged for reading by  N. Narrator. ✠ Jesus. O. Other single speaker. C. Crowd, or more than one speaker.

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

The gospel for the procession with palms is included here as is

the shorter form of the Passion according to St Luke, Luke 23:1-49.

Gospel for procession of Palms Luke 19:28-40 (English Standard Version Anglicised: India)  

When Jesus had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

Saint Longinus 

Bernini [Web Gallery of Art]

Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, ‘Certainly this man was innocent!' (Luke 23:47; Gospel).

A very ancient tradition in the Church identifies St Longinus as the centurion who uttered those words.

Pope Benedict on Palm Sunday

Up to 2020 in years when World Youth Day wasn't celebrated overseas it was observed in Rome and in many other dioceses on Palm Sunday. Now such celebrations are observed on the Solemnity of Christ the King. However, this year it will take place in Rome from 25 July to August 3 as the Jubilee of Young People.  Here are extracts from Pope Benedict's homily on Palm Sunday 2010 in Rome, emphases added.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Dear Young People,

The Gospel of the blessing of the palms that we have heard gathered here in St Peter's Square, begins with the sentence: '[Jesus] went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem' (Lk 19: 28). At the very beginning of today's Liturgy, the Church anticipates her response to the Gospel saying: 'Let us follow the Lord'. This clearly expresses the theme of Palm Sunday. It is the sequela (consequence). Being Christian means considering the way of Jesus Christ as the right way for being human as that way which leads to our destination, to a completely fulfilled and authentic humanity. In a special way I would like to repeat to all young people on this 25th World Youth Day that being Christian is a path or, better, a pilgrimage; it is to travel with Jesus Christ, to journey in the direction he has pointed out and is pointing out to us.

But what direction is this? How do we find it? Our Gospel passage offers two clues in this regard. In the first place it says that it is an ascent. This has first of all a very concrete meaning. Jericho, where the last part of Jesus' pilgrimage began, is 250 metres below sea-level, whereas Jerusalem the destination is located at 740 to 780 metres above sea level: a climb of almost 1,000 metres. But this external route is above all an image of the internal movement of existence that occurs in the following of Christ: it is an ascent to the true heights of being human. Man can choose an easy path and avoid every effort. He can also sink to the low and the vulgar. He can flounder in the swamps of falsehood and dishonesty. Jesus walks before us and towards the heights. He leads us to what is great, pure. He leads us to that healthy air of the heights: to life in accordance with the truth; to courage that does not let itself be intimidated by the gossip of prevalent opinions; to patience that bears with and sustains the other. He guides people to be open towards the suffering, to those who are neglected. He leads us to stand loyally by the other, even when the situation becomes difficult. He leads us to the readiness to give help; to the goodness that does not let itself be disarmed, even by ingratitude. He leads us to love; he leads us to God.

. . . Jesus knows that his way goes further: the Cross will not be his end. He knows that his journey will rend the veil between this world and God's world; that he will ascend to the throne of God and reconcile God and man in his Body . . .  

. . . Since the way to true life, to being people in conformity with the model of the Son of God Jesus Christ, surpasses our own strength, this journey always means being carried. We find ourselves, so to speak, roped to Jesus Christ together with him on the ascent towards God's heights. He pulls and supports us. It is part of following Christ that we allow ourselves to be roped together; that we acknowledge we cannot do it alone. This act of humility, entering into the 'we' of the Church is part of it; holding tight to the rope, the responsibility of communion not breaking the rope through stubbornness or self-importance. Humbly believing, with the Church, like being a roped-party on the ascent towards God, is an essential condition for the following of Christ. This being roped together also entails not behaving as masters of the Word of God, not running after a mistaken idea of emancipation. The humility of 'being with' is essential for the ascent . . . 

Blessed Pier Giorgio mountain climbing in 1924 

[Wikipedia]

We find ourselves, so to speak, roped to Jesus Christ together with him on the ascent towards God's heights.

. . . Let us sum up: the following of Christ requires, as a first step, a reawakening of the desire to be authentic human beings and thus the reawakening of oneself for God. It then requires us to join the climbing party, in the communion of the Church. In the 'we' of the Church we enter into communion with the 'you' of Jesus Christ and thus reach the path to God. We are also asked to listen to the Word of Jesus Christ and to live it: in faith, hope and love. Thus we are on the way toward the definitive Jerusalem and, from this moment, in a certain way, we already find ourselves there, in the communion of all God's Saints.

Our pilgrimage following Christ is not therefore bound for an earthly city, but for the new City of God that develops in the midst of this world . . . 

Pope Benedict XVI, 2013

[Wikipedia; photo]

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

by Bishop David M. O'Connell CM of Trenton, New Jersey

Verso l'alto - To the heights

Humbly believing, with the Church, like being a roped-party on the ascent towards God, is an essential condition for the following of Christ. This being roped together also entails not behaving as masters of the Word of God, not running after a mistaken idea of emancipation. The humility of 'being with' is essential for the ascent . (Homily of Benedict XVI). 

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (1910 - 1925) has been one of the patron saints of World Youth Day. He will be canonised on 3 August this year during World Youth Day / Jubilee of Young People.

Blessed Pier Giorgio, patron of young adults, man of the beatitudes, pray for us.

Traditional Latin Mass

Palm Sunday

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 04-13-2025 if necessary).

Gospel for Blessing of Palms: Matthew 21:1-9 

Epistle: Philippians 2:5-11.  Gospel: Matthew 26:36 - 27:60.

Christ Carrying the Cross

El Greco [Web Gallery of Art]

And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe, and put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him (Matthew 27:31; Gospel).

'Verso l'alto - To the heights.' Sunday Reflections, Palm Sunday, Year C

 

Palm Sunday, East Timor

[Wikipedia; photo]

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)

The gospel for the procession with palms is included here as is the Passion according to St Luke arranged for reading by  N. Narrator. ✠ Jesus. O. Other single speaker. C. Crowd, or more than one speaker.

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

The gospel for the procession with palms is included here as is

the shorter form of the Passion according to St Luke, Luke 23:1-49.

Gospel for procession of Palms Luke 19:28-40 (English Standard Version Anglicised: India)  

When Jesus had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

 

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

Entry into Jerusalem, 

Lorenzo Ghiberti [Web Gallery of Art]

Pope Benedict on Palm Sunday

In years when World Youth Day isn't celebrated overseas it is observed in Rome on Palm Sunday. That's where it took place in 2007. Here are extracts from Pope Benedict's homily that day, emphases added.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Dear Young People,

The Gospel of the blessing of the palms that we have heard gathered here in St Peter's Square, begins with the sentence: '[Jesus] went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem' (Lk 19: 28). At the very beginning of today's Liturgy, the Church anticipates her response to the Gospel saying: "Let us follow the Lord". This clearly expresses the theme of Palm Sunday. It is the sequela (consequence). Being Christian means considering the way of Jesus Christ as the right way for being human as that way which leads to our destination, to a completely fulfilled and authentic humanity. In a special way I would like to repeat to all young people on this 25th World Youth Day that being Christian is a path or, better, a pilgrimage; it is to travel with Jesus Christ, to journey in the direction he has pointed out and is pointing out to us.

But what direction is this? How do we find it? Our Gospel passage offers two clues in this regard. In the first place it says that it is an ascent. This has first of all a very concrete meaning. Jericho, where the last part of Jesus' pilgrimage began, is 250 metres below sea-level, whereas Jerusalem the destination is located at 740 to 780 metres above sea level: a climb of almost 1,000 metres. But this external route is above all an image of the internal movement of existence that occurs in the following of Christ: it is an ascent to the true heights of being human. Man can choose an easy path and avoid every effort. He can also sink to the low and the vulgar. He can flounder in the swamps of falsehood and dishonesty. Jesus walks before us and towards the heights. He leads us to what is great, pure. He leads us to that healthy air of the heights: to life in accordance with the truth; to courage that does not let itself be intimidated by the gossip of prevalent opinions; to patience that bears with and sustains the other. He guides people to be open towards the suffering, to those who are neglected. He leads us to stand loyally by the other, even when the situation becomes difficult. He leads us to the readiness to give help; to the goodness that does not let itself be disarmed, even by ingratitude. He leads us to love; he leads us to God.

. . . Jesus knows that his way goes further: the Cross will not be his end. He knows that his journey will rend the veil between this world and God's world; that he will ascend to the throne of God and reconcile God and man in his Body . . .  

. . . Since the way to true life, to being people in conformity with the model of the Son of God Jesus Christ, surpasses our own strength, this journey always means being carried. We find ourselves, so to speak, roped to Jesus Christ together with him on the ascent towards God's heights. He pulls and supports us. It is part of following Christ that we allow ourselves to be roped together; that we acknowledge we cannot do it alone. This act of humility, entering into the 'we' of the Church is part of it; holding tight to the rope, the responsibility of communion not breaking the rope through stubbornness or self-importance. Humbly believing, with the Church, like being a roped-party on the ascent towards God, is an essential condition for the following of Christ. This being roped together also entails not behaving as masters of the Word of God, not running after a mistaken idea of emancipation. The humility of 'being with' is essential for the ascent . . . 

Blessed Pier Giorgio mountain climbing in 1924 

[Wikipedia]

We find ourselves, so to speak, roped to Jesus Christ together with him on the ascent towards God's heights.

. . . Let us sum up: the following of Christ requires, as a first step, a reawakening of the desire to be authentic human beings and thus the reawakening of oneself for God. It then requires us to join the climbing party, in the communion of the Church. In the 'we' of the Church we enter into communion with the 'you' of Jesus Christ and thus reach the path to God. We are also asked to listen to the Word of Jesus Christ and to live it: in faith, hope and love. Thus we are on the way toward the definitive Jerusalem and, from this moment, in a certain way, we already find ourselves there, in the communion of all God's Saints.

Our pilgrimage following Christ is not therefore bound for an earthly city, but for the new City of God that develops in the midst of this world . . . 

Pope Benedict XVI, 2013

[Wikipedia; photo]

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

by Bishop David M. O'Connell CM of Trenton, New Jersey

Verso l'alto - To the heights

Humbly believing, with the Church, like being a roped-party on the ascent towards God, is an essential condition for the following of Christ. This being roped together also entails not behaving as masters of the Word of God, not running after a mistaken idea of emancipation. The humility of 'being with' is essential for the ascent . . . 

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (1910 - 1925) is one of the patron saints of World Youth Day.

Blessed Pier Giorgio, patron of young adults, man of the beatitudes, pray for us.

Traditional Latin Mass

Palm Sunday

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 4-10-2022 if necessary).

Gospel for Blessing of Palms: Matthew 21:1-9 

Epistle: Philippians 2:5-11.  Gospel: Matthew 26:36 - 27:60.

Christ Carrying the Cross

El Greco [Web Gallery of Art]

Deaths of Two More Columban Priests

Please pray for the repose of the souls of Fr Aodh O’Halpin and Fr Daniel O’Gorman who died last weekend.

I have posted about them here.

.