Pier Giorgio on EWTN

This coming week (while we are praying the novena in honor of Pier Giorgio's birthday), you can watch a program about him on EWTN. Bob and Penny Lord have informed me that their upcoming episode of "Super Saints" featuring Pier Giorgio will air as follows:

Wednesday, April 1st, at 9 p.m.
Thursday, April 2nd, at 10:30 a.m.
Saturday, April 4th, at 3:00 a.m.

If you don't get EWTN in your area, remember that you can watch it with live video streaming on your computer. Here's a link to get you there: http://ewtn.com/audiovideo/index.asp

A Time to Pray

We are just a few days away from the start of the wonderful "Novena in the Year of St. Paul Remembering Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati on his 108th Birthday." Hopefully, by now, you have had a chance to read through the novena and invite some friends to pray it with you. (All of the prayers can be downloaded from the FrassatiUSA website. Click here.) The novena begins on Saturday, March 28th, so spread the word!

The novena was prepared by Fr. Tom Rosica, head of Canada's Salt and Light TV. I know from firsthand experience that Fr. Rosica is a big fan of Pier Giorgio's. He has spearheaded many World Youth Day activities in honor of Pier Giorgio and has contributed so much to the promotion of his spirituality in Canada and beyond.

Be forewarned that this novena is a challenging one. It is easy to lapse into an almost automatic or robotic prayer mode, rattling off prayers without even stopping to think of a single word. This novena calls for contemplation and action. The meditations on the writings of St. Paul are really a wonderful opportunity for us to take advantage of the special graces offered during this Jubilee Year in honor of St. Paul before it ends in June. The novena also provides concrete actions we can take to go from just praying to really living out our faith. In this way, we can truly follow the example set for us by Pier Giorgio.

People often ask me where things stand in the cause for Pier Giorgio's canonization. The answer is always the same: "We need a miracle!" This opportunity to pray a novena in honor of Pier Giorgio, united with so many around the world who are doing the same thing, is a tremendous opportunity to ask God for that miracle. So, please add this intention to those you will bring to Pier Giorgio during the novena.

And many thanks to Ada Rivera for pointing out the coverage of the novena by Zenit. Click here to read the story.

Blessed Pier Giorgio...pray for us!

Deep in the Heart of Texas!

For those of you who so generously include the work of FrassatiUSA in your prayers, I have a special intention. In the next few days, I will be bringing Pier Giorgio's message ("Holiness is for everyone!") to three different groups in San Antonio, Texas. More than 1,200 young people will be introduced to Pier Giorgio this coming Friday, Saturday and Monday. Please pray that the seeds of Pier Giorgio's spirituality will be planted in their hearts and that they will aspire to strive with him verso l'alto!

FrassatiUSA on Facebook

If you are a Facebook person, you may have discovered (like I did) that there are many clubs and pages dedicated to Pier Giorgio Frassati. About a year ago, we posted a page under the name "Pier Giorgio Frassati" just to have a place for accurate info on Facebook. But there is not really any reliable way for surfers to know the difference. So, we are trying to start a FrassatiUSA page on Facebook, just to make the distinction. If someone out there is a Facebook expert and can offer any help on navigating all of the applications, please send me an email: chris@frassatiusa.org.

By the way, one easy tip for when you are out there surfing and coming across Pier Giorgio info is to see if the page or website calls him Pier. If so, don't believe everything you read!

Pier Giorgio in Oregon and beyond

We LOVE hearing about how you are making Pier Giorgio a part of your lives! According to Daniel Murphy in Oregon:

"A small group of men in Oregon has formed "men of the Beatitudes" in honor of Pier Giorgio Frassati--making an Entrustment to the Holy Trinity as Merciful Love and Life, which incorporates a five-part code of honor. Pier Giorgio is our (primary) model; John Paul II is our (primary) teacher. Among other things, we pray the "Living Rosary," after the example of John Paul II. Pier Giorgio's exemplary Christian humanism and personalism are the measure of our hope for holiness of life."

For those of you in the Toledo, Ohio area, a new Frassati Society has recently formed! This group has an emphasis on Eucharistic Adoration. Jerry Rusch is hoping to make more info about it available online soon.

Many of you have also written about how you are using Pier Giorgio as the patron or model for your group -- from cub scouts to homeschoolers to Knights of Columbus to youth groups to hiking clubs to you name it! Keep up the great work and thanks for keeping us posted on how Pier Giorgio is leading your group to the top! Verso l'alto!