Pope Benedict Promotes Blessed Pier Giorgio as Model for Youth

Speaking to the youth in Turin recently about the 2011 World Youth Day in Madrid, Pope Benedict pointed to Blessed Pier Giorgio as an excellent role model:

"His existence was totally surrounded by grace and love of God, and it was consumed with serenity and joy in the passionate service of Christ and neighbor," the Pontiff said. "Young like you, he lived his Christian formation with great commitment, and gave a testimony of faith, simplicity and efficacy.

"He was a young man fascinated by the beauty of the Gospel of the Beatitudes, who experimented all of the joy of being a friend of Christ, of following him, of feeling in a living way that he was part of the Church."

In light of his testimony, the Pope encouraged the youth to have "the courage to choose what is essential in life."

"Like [Piergiorgio]," the Holy Father said, "discover that it is worth it to commit oneself for God and with God, to respond to his call in the fundamental decisions and the daily ones, even when it is costly."

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Twenty Blessed Years

When Pope John Paul II beatified Pier Giorgio Frassati on May 20, 1990, he bestowed on future generations a wonderful gift -- the holy example of "the Man of the Eight Beatitudes." The life of Pier Giorgio challenges us to examine our own effort to grow in holiness. He reminds us that holiness can be found in the normality of life and that mediocrity is not an acceptable goal. He teaches us to live and not merely exist. He reveals the joy of being Catholic. Today is a wonderful day to celebrate the last twenty blessed years and look forward to the saintly ones to come. Happy Anniversary, Pier Giorgio! Verso l'alto!

Canonization Novena Begins Today!

Today is the day to begin the Novena in Honor of Blessed Pier Giorgio if you want to end in time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his beatification on May 20th! A worthy intention to add to your novena would be for a canonization miracle to move his cause forward, if it is God's will. Blessed Pier Giorgio...pray for us!

Nashville Needs Your Prayers

The last several days have been unforgettable here in Nashville -- the home of country music and FrassatiUSA.

I had been to Minneapolis and Lexington to give a series of presentations on Pier Giorgio and returned to Nashville for a relaxing weekend. At some point, it started to rain. It rained. And it rained. And it rained.

By Sunday morning, we all started to realize something wasn't right. When I went outside to look around, I discovered that the streets nearest me were now only passable by boat. The next several hours were spent watching the water rise and trying to decide if and when to evacuate. Many neighbors had already been forced to flee; many were rescued through windows. Some died. It happened so fast that we didn't really know what was happening.

I cannot describe the terrible and sad things I have seen over the last few days. You can probably view a lot of it online at our local news channels (such as www.wsmv.com.) We are still in a difficult and dangerous situation and rain is in the forecast for this weekend.

FrassatiUSA -- along with homes and businesses throughout the area -- is without phone/internet service. We understand it may be up to two more weeks before service is restored. We appreciate your patience during this time as it may take longer to respond to emails, process orders and bring the latest news to you on the website. Please keep Nashville in your prayers.

Thanks to those of you who have checked in to see if my home is okay. Fortunately, I did not have any water damage whatsoever. I wish I could say the same for all of those around me.