Remembering Luciana

Yesterday marked the 111th birthday of Pier Giorgio's sister Luciana.  What is remarkable is that she was alive for 105 of those years, having passed away only six years ago in 2007. 

It was really a leap of faith into the great unknown when I headed off to Italy in 2006 to explore doing something (only God knew what) for Pier Giorgio Frassati.  I arrived at the family home in Pollone on August 16th and one of my earliest memories is being with family and friends of Luciana as we celebrated her 104th birthday two days later!  I don't know if I will ever celebrate anyone else's 104th birthday, let alone that of a sister of a saint. 

Needless to say, it was a rare blessing to be able to spend a considerable amount of time in the house with Luciana there and do the same the following summer.  This picture is a particularly special memory.  I had been to the top of Mount Mucrone for the first time that day and was wearing a shirt with the image of Pier Giorgio on it.  When I got back to the house, Luciana was sitting outside and this picture was snapped.  A very surreal moment for me.  The day of her funeral was also something I will never forget and it has always made me feel even closer to Pier Giorgio himself.

Luciana did many great things over the course of her long life.  Some involved her work on behalf of her brother but many were on behalf of mankind.  Many of the excellent articles about her are not translated into English, unfortunately, like this wonderful tribute from La Stampa -- the newspaper founded by her father.  We have the wikipedia version which falls miserably short but is at least worth a look.  I think the best way to get to know her is through her books about her brother, particularly the book about his death in which she gives a very honest account of herself in comparison to him.  

Those of us with a devotion to Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati owe a large debt of gratitude to Luciana for preserving his memory and making so much of his life available to us.  One small way to repay her would be a prayer for her peaceful repose:  L'eterno riposo dona Lei, o Signore, e splenda a Lei la luce perpetua. Riposa in pace. Amen.

Verso l'alto!

My Own Theory of Relativity

Back in high school, I managed to work the system and avoid taking physics my senior year.  So, if I was supposed to have learned something in that class about Einstein's Theory of Relativity, well, I didn't.  And, to be honest, I really don't seem to have had much of a need for it all of these years.  I don't even know why it popped into my head this morning.  I guess I was thinking about how relative suffering can be and then my mind wandered into abstractedness.  

What happened is this:  I woke up this morning with a sore ear from my ruptured eardrum, a sore foot from what appears to be a stress fracture and a little oozing from an unpleasant insect bite from days ago -- my little afflictions to accompany me throughout the day.  And then I had a phone conversation with the mother of a baby boy born about six weeks ago with a genetic disorder called Trisomy 18.  The baby hasn't yet left the hospital but has already outlived the grim statistical forecast.  In the face of that heartache, the mother was full of hope and enthusiasm and gratitude for the blessings received so far.  

Needless to say,  my -- can I even use the word?! -- sufferings are pretty insignificant relative to those of that little baby and his family.  That leads me to my own theory of relativity:  How good it is to keep our daily inconveniences in perspective.  And this can so often be done very easily by reflecting even briefly on the sufferings of others.  Okay, it's not exactly an original theory.  But you didn't have to suffer through a year of physics to learn it, either.  

Oh, the baby's name is Giorgio Michelangelo Frassati _______.  (For privacy purposes, I'm leaving out his last name.)  I bet you can figure out who he was named for!  Keep him in your prayers and let's ask our heavenly friend to do the same.  Verso l'alto!

Looking for Fellowship? Frassati Fellowship, that is...

I am frequently contacted for information on how to start or find a Frassati group.  Most recently, requests have come from Oregon, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and London.  Some information about this is already on the FrassatiUSA website, along with a few basic tips that I found to be useful with the two groups I helped start in Nashville many years ago.  

I don't want to duplicate that info here but thought I would address some of the most common questions.  Most importantly, FrassatiUSA is not a group, society, fellowship, etc., that someone can join.  This organization seeks to promote the spirituality and canonization of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, primarily by providing resources via the website, online bookstore and social media.  FrassatiUSA also does not develop individual groups, oversee or regulate them in any way, but, rather, attempts to promote their existence and activities to the extent possible.

The FrassatiUSA website lists several existing groups.  Many more still need to be listed and hopefully will be in the near future.  This is just a starting point for someone wishing to join or form a group.  My best advice is to visit the websites/Facebook pages of groups that are out there and pray for inspiration and discernment about how to most effectively begin a group in your parish, diocese, etc.  

In my personal experience, the best group is one that has effective spiritual leadership -- ideally from your parish priest.  Groups designed for dating purposes or for the social life aspect only or where the spiritually blind lead the spiritually blind tend to be very short-lived.  Groups geared toward the traditional young adult age range (20s and 30s) seem to thrive on a menu of faith-filled fellowship and fun -- especially when they really capture the spirit, identity and charism of Blessed Pier Giorgio. 

Finally, anyone familiar with Pier Giorgio has probably heard about the group he started for his closest friends.  He called them, "Tipi Loschi" which translates poorly into English but is often seen as the "sinister ones" or "shady characters."  This group was a great vehicle for Pier Giorgio's sense of humor.  In his book of letters, you can read many "proclamations" he wrote to the members of the group.  They are filled with inside jokes and are fine examples of his wit and writing ability.  One of his best creations was the group's charter or statute.  It is completely comical, including even a fake patron saint for the group.  His reputation for being a practical joker was well earned!  

Ultimately, his goal was to provide opportunities for his friends to spend time with each other -- often on mountain-climbing expeditions he arranged -- and build a spiritual foundation that would unite them long after their circumstances in life led them in different directions.  "I would like for us to pledge a pact," he wrote to his friend Isidoro Bonini, "that knows no earthly boundaries or temporal limits: union in prayer."  

The classic line from Michael W. Smith's "Friends" really holds true for those friendships formed in a Frassati Fellowship:  "Friends are friends forever if the Lord's the Lord of them."  I have experienced this profoundly in my own life and I wholeheartedly encourage you to find a group or consider starting a group in your area.  Then be sure to pass on the contact info so it can be posted on the FrassatiUSA website.  Verso l'alto!

Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven

There is a great story about Pier Giorgio that demonstrates the simplicity and strength of his faith. He was leaving a church one day and still had his rosary in his hand. Outside of the church, he ran into someone who, noticing the rosary, said, "So, Pier Giorgio, you've become a religious fanatic?" Without missing a beat, Pier Giorgio matter-of-factly replied, "No, I have remained a Christian." And away he went.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we were equally at ease with our faith in the face of contradiction and persecution?

There are so many opportunities to show that we have "remained a Christian." For example, while you are on vacation, do you go to Mass or do you instead take a vacation from the Lord? When you are at a restaurant, do you make the Sign of the Cross and pray before eating your meal or are you too self-conscious? When an important issue is being debated in Congress, do you speak up and inform your family and friends or do you keep silent?

Persecution is a part of being faithful to the Lord. Look at how His disciples fared. But the reward in heaven is great and Pier Giorgio is certainly rejoicing now.  And so on this final day of the novena, we ask for his intercession as we attempt to be better witnesses for the Truth and endure the consequences that follow.
 
Blessed Pier Giorgio, show us how to bear all wrongs patiently. Help us to accept the sufferings which others inflict on us because of our desire to be faithful to Jesus.
 
Verso l'alto!

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

One of the most well-known quotes attributed to Pier Giorgio Frassati is used in today's prayer response: 

To live without faith, without a patrimony to defend, without a steady struggle for truth – that is not living, but existing.

It is taken from a letter written to his good friend Isidoro Bonini in which Pier Giorgio also says, "Every day I understand better what a grace it is to be Catholics."  

Pier Giorgio loved his Catholic faith during a time when being Catholic made one vulnerable to some degree of persecution.  He was fearless.  He took every opportunity to participate in public demonstrations of the Faith.  If there was a Eucharistic procession in the street, Pier Giorgio was there.  He spent endless hours in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, attending daily Mass, praying the rosary and numerous other prayers.  He belonged to many Catholic clubs and organizations.  He ministered to the poor through his membership in the Conferences of St. Vincent de Paul.

But that wasn't all he did.  

He was actively involved in efforts to fight the rise of Fascism, Communism and Socialism.  He joined a new political party founded by a priest (Don Luigi Sturzo) to oppose the Socialist party.  Leaders of the party disappointed him when they failed to be strong defenders of the Faith, showing themselves to be Catholic in name only and siding with the Socialists on several issues.  Despite this disappointment, he worked tirelessly for social reform.  He embraced Pope Leo XIII's landmark encyclical, Rerum Novarum.  He befriended the common laborers and was considered a brother to them for his efforts on their behalf. He loved Italy and mourned the decay of its moral fiber. 

I don't know what words are appropriate to express the similarities between Italy then and America now.  Would you call it sad, striking, ironic or something else when you see history repeating itself for the worse?  What will it take for the Church to survive the current attacks against her?  What will it take to restore the moral fiber of our own society?  It will take people like Pier Giorgio who are not content to merely exist but want to live life to the fullest.  It will take people willing to defend their country and struggle for Truth.  it will take people getting off of the sidelines and onto the frontlines.

Pier Giorgio considered it a grace to be a Catholic.  "Poor unlucky those who don't have the Faith," he said, adding that melancholy could "only exist when the Faith is lost." Even poorer still are those who have the Faith but fail to appreciate it for what it is worth and fail to defend it for fear of persecution.  

Pier Giorgio ended his letter to Isidoro with words that are very appropriate for us today:

...let us lift up our hearts and always go forward for the triumph of the reign of Christ in Society.

Verso l'alto!

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God

One of the central themes of Pier Giorgio's Letters to His Friends and Family is peace. It's no wonder. Peace was seemingly absent from nearly every aspect of his life.
 
He longed for peace throughout Europe which was still very much in a state of unrest after World War I. 

Governments today are not heeding the Pope’s warning: “True peace is more a fruit of Christian love for one’s neighbor than it is a fruit of justice,” and they are preparing new wars for the future of all humanity.  (from a letter to  the Catholic men and women students of Bonn, January 12, 1923)

He mourned the absence of peace in Italy where he suffered the rise of Fascism and decline of morality. 

...here in Italy we’re also going through a difficult period and there are also many poor unemployed people here and the people are also sinking down morally more and more.  (from a letter to Maria Fischer, January 23, 1923)

The Church was under assault and, much to his disappointment, members of the political party he supported were not guided by their Faith. 

Where is the fine program, where is the Faith which motivates our people? Unfortunately when it is a question of climbing after worldly honors men trample upon their own consciences.  (from a letter to Antonio Villani, November 19, 1922)

He experienced little peace in his own family because of the unhappy marriage between his parents which caused him even more distress when his sister married and left home. 

As every rose has some thorns, so unfortunately at the joy at seeing my sister happy there is the bitterness of separation because, sadly, Italy will never again be her land. Now I will have to fill the void my sister will leave in our home: I will do my best and for this I beg you to remember me in your prayers.  (from a letter to Antonio Villani, December 16, 1924)

His spirit was crushed by his decision to abandon his love for a girl whom he realized would never meet family expectations.

I cannot but thank God because He has willed in His Infinite Mercy to grant this sorrow to my heart so that by means of these arduous thorns I might return to a life that is more interior, more spiritual.  (from a letter to Isidoro Bonini, January 29, 1925)

Although, peace eluded him in so many areas, Pier Giorgio had a daily appointment with the Prince of Peace that enabled him to encourage others.

And when you become totally consumed by this Eucharistic Fire, then you will be able to thank with greater awareness the Lord God who has called you to be part of his flock and you will enjoy that peace which those who are happy according to the world have never tasted. Because true happiness, young people, does not consist in the pleasures of the world and in earthly things, but in peace of conscience which we can have only if we are pure in heart and in mind. (from his speech to the Catholic Youth of Pollone, July 29, 1923)

And so it is fitting that Pier Giorgio's wish to his best friend on the last Easter of his earthly life -- and to us on this seventh day of the novena -- was for the greatest gift he could think of:  true peace.  

I hope that this letter reaches you for Easter and so I send you my best wishes rather just one, but I believe it to be the only wish that a true friend can make to a dear friend and it is this: the Peace of the Lord be with you always because when you possess peace every day you will be truly rich. (from a letter to Marco Beltramo, April 10, 1925)

Verso l'alto!

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God

Have you ever felt like quitting?  Maybe an exercise program, a novena, a diet plan, music lessons, a sports team, college, a marriage, a job, the Catholic Church, life?

Today's Gospel ends with Jesus saying, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.”  And, fittingly, today's novena response is Pier Giorgio saying, "I beg you to pray for me a little, so that God may give me an iron will that does not bend and does not fail in His projects." 

We need grace, a lot of it, to persevere in life along the narrow path.  So many times,  Pier Giorgio wrote to his friends begging for their prayers.  It's beautiful, really, to see that he recognized the value of prayer, relied on it, was never afraid to ask for it.  Oh, he had plenty of excuses to be a quitter.  His parents did not have a good marriage and that made family life stressful.  He was often told that he would never amount to as much as his sister who had completed her college degree before him.  He didn't have a very strong spiritual upbringing in the home and the time he spent nourishing his soul in Eucharistic Adoration, attending Mass or serving the poor was often misunderstood.

But he was not a quitter. Toward the end of his life, he was even more determined to complete his final exams and thesis and said he would study "from morning until evening."  Aware of his own shortcomings and the things that would prevent him from attaining his goal, he turned to the sources that he knew would sustain him.  "I'm trusting in the Providence of God," he wrote to his friend Isidoro Bonini, "and also in the prayers of friends." 

God had other plans for how things would turn out for Pier Giorgio; he died before completing his longed-for degree.  Likewise, we cannot predict how our own undertakings will end. Regardless of the future outcome, our challenge is to be what we pray for in day six of the novena: "single hearted and completely, unswervingly, dedicated to proclaiming the kingdom of God here on earth."  We do that by persevering in the vocations God has given us.  We do that by being the best children, parents, students, athletes, weight-watchers, musicians, spouses, employees, Catholics, Americans, and so on.  We do that by not quitting.  We do that by relying on the Providence of God and the prayers of our friends.  Verso l'alto!

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy

God's timing is perfect. And so, I should not be surprised that Day Five of the novena this year falls on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul -- one of Pier Giorgio's name days. He famously said to the family maid on this day (less than a week before he died) that he would enjoy two cigars -- one for Peter and one for Paul!

Also not a coincidence is that his response in today's prayers refers to St. Paul.  It is taken from his speech to the Catholic youth of Pollone, in which he exhorted them to embrace what he called the apostolate of charity. "The Apostle St. Paul says, 'the charity of Christ urges us.'  Without this flame, which should burn out our personality little by little and blaze only for other people’s griefs, we would not be Christian, let alone Catholic.” 

Pier Giorgio was so inspired by St. Paul's Hymn of Charity (found in the first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13) that he wrote it out and carried it with him. In a letter to his best friend Marco Beltramo, he wrote, "Maybe if all of us listened more to St. Paul, human miseries would be slightly diminished."  To his friend Isidoro Bonini, he wrote, "I would like you to try to read St. Paul: he is marvelous and the soul is exalted by this reading and we are prodded to follow the right path and to return to it as soon as we leave it through sin."

In addition to St. Paul, Pier Giorgio had a preference for St. Catherine of Siena, St. Augustine and Fra Girolamo Savonarola.   He made regular spiritual retreats and was often in the company of holy priests and religious. His closest friends were people whose goodness formed "a precious guide" for his whole life. "Surely Divine Providence in His Marvelous Plans sometimes uses us miserable little twigs to do Good," he wrote to Marco, "and we sometimes not only don’t want to know God but instead dare to deny His existence; but we who, by the Grace of God, have the Faith, when we find ourselves in the presence of such beautiful souls, surely nourished by Faith, we cannot but discover in them an obvious sign of the Existence of God, because one cannot have such a Goodness without the Grace of God."

May we today be inspired by the saints, especially Peter, Paul and Pier Giorgio, and strive to attain to their level of goodness until we too become "miserable little twigs" ablaze with love and mercy for the people around us.  Verso l'alto!

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied

A priest friend of  mine describes waking up each morning as "a mini-resurrection."  We should jump up and hit the ground running, he says, rather than hit the snooze button repeatedly.  (He's a morning person!)  And then there's that familiar cliche that puts it like this: "Today is a gift; that's why they call it 'the present.'"  But one of my favorite ways of looking at each day came from my best friend's youngest daughter who had not yet incorporated the words "yesterday," "today" and "tomorrow" into her vocabulary.  Instead, she called them, "last day," "this day" and "next day." 

How easy it is to take each new day for granted!  And yet, the breath we are given each morning is the greatest gift of all.  I'm as guilty as all of the other list makers who wake up thinking about all that needs done rather than thanking for all that has been done.  As St. Paul wrote, "in Him we live and move and have our being." (Acts 17: 28)  Really, what more could we ask?

Pier Giorgio's challenge in today's novena response is to consider how we spend each day and the gifts we have been given, especially our gift of good health.  If we are not putting them at the service of others, he says, it "would be to betray that gift of God."  I doubt he could ever be accused of such a betrayal.  In fact, there is a wonderful book not yet published in English that is filled from cover to cover with works of charity that he performed.  (The book is aptly named, "La Carita" -- his charity.) 

As this novena began, many prayer intentions were submitted and are still being submitted.  If you need something to help you count your blessings, take a few minutes to read through them.  There are so many people in physical, spiritual, financial and emotional pain.  There are so many situations in the world today in need of people willing to get involved.  There are so many opportunities to stand up for life, for our Church, for our country.

If today were your "last day," how big would the book of your service to the Lord and His Kingdom be?  None of us is guaranteed a "next day."  "This day" is all we are promised.  Make the most of it.  Verso l'alto!

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth

I've always enjoyed the story about when Pier Giorgio's university club hired a guy to repair their billiard table and do a few other things and then got cheated by him. Pier Giorgio was in Berlin at the time and was so upset upon hearing it that he wrote to his friends back in Italy and asked them to hold off paying the guy until he returned. He wanted to "go and find Mr. DeAgostini and tell him off." His other suggestion was that he would "write a fiery letter to him personally." (Excerpts are from his letter to Antonio Severi on November 23, 1922.)

This seemingly insignificant event exemplifies why Pier Giorgio is so easy to love: he was human to the core. There are many other stories of when he got angry -- but when I consider them carefully, I can see that in almost every case his was righteous anger.

[On a visit to the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama, I heard an excellent homily on the topic of anger given by Father Miguel Marie Soeherman, MFVA. He thoroughly examined the difference between sinful and righteous anger which I had not given much thought to previously and, unfortunately, cannot do justice to in a blog nutshell.  But understanding the difference between the two types is something we should bear in mind as we respond to the various injustices inflicted on ourselves and others.] 

Like Americans today, Pier Giorgio lived in a very challenging time when the Church was being openly persecuted. It's hard to believe he wrote the following sentence more than 90 years -- and not 90 minutes -- ago:  "Today, after a terrible war that has deluged the whole world bringing material and moral ruin, we have a strict duty to cooperate generously in the moral regeneration of society worldwide so that a radiant dawn may break in which all nations recognize Jesus Christ as King not only in words but in all their people’s lives."*

Rather than respond with anger and violence to the chaos around him, he chose a life of charity as a means of rebuilding the corrupt society. He acknowledged that the other way might seem easier and more satisfying but said, "if we could plunge the depths of those who unfortunately follow the perverse ways of the world, we would see that there is never in them the serenity had by those who have faced thousands of difficulties and have renounced material pleasures in order to follow the laws of God."* What wisdom and restraint at such a young age!

He suggested to his friends that they could "sow peace among men"* by joining one of the many conferences of St. Vincent de Paul. "You will see," he said, "in just a little time, how much good we can do to those we visit and how much good we can do to ourselves. ... I think I can say that the Conference of St. Vincent with its visits to the poor serves to curb our passions, it gives us increasing incentives to get on the right road by which we are all trying to reach the great harbor."*
 
Pier Giorgio was by no means a stranger to confrontation. He took to the streets when necessary to defend the Faith and was arrested on more than one occasion. He used his fists to defend the family home from a violent group of attackers. He probably gave Mr. DeAgostini a piece of his mind about the billiard table. But the substance of his daily life was defined by Charity -- what he considered "explicit proof that the Catholic Faith is based on real Love and not, as so many would like, in order to quiet their conscience, to base the religion of Christ on violence."*  Charity, he believed, would lead to true peace, and true peace would lead to brotherly love.  In that kind of world, violence would have no place and anger would not be necessary.  Verso l'alto!

(*Excerpts taken from Pier Giorgio's notes on a speech about charity to the FUCI students. The entire speech is found in the book, Pier Giorgio Frassati: Letters to His Friends and Family.)

 

   

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted

My mother died quite unexpectedly a few weeks before Christmas in 2002. Faithfully for nearly 11 years, my father has prayed daily at her grave. (The cemetery is not far from our house and it is his routine to stop by on the way home from Mass.) His prayer is that she be in a place "where there is no pain or sorrow, a place where the eye cannot see, the ear cannot hear and the mind of man cannot imagine what great things God has in store for those who love Him." He thanks her for the 49 years of Christian marriage they enjoyed and he asks her to pray for us. It always moves me to listen to him say those words when I am in town for a visit and drive him there.
 
At first glance, the beatitude for this second day of the novena calls to mind all those whom we have lost and the human sorrow that accompanies their absence. And it is certainly a good thing to pause and pray for the holy souls in purgatory and for the comfort and consolation of their families. But Pier Giorgio addressed a different type of sorrow when he wrote the words found in today's novena response. He mourned the persecution of the Church.

When he was just 22 years old, Pier Giorgio was asked to address a group of young people on the occasion of the blessing of their organization's flag. He was the honorary godfather of the flag and gave one of the most beautiful speeches that day that is so strikingly significant for us nearly 90 years later. He grieved for the Church and exhorted the young people to pray for the strength to persevere "in these times, in which the hatred of the sons of the devil is breaking out violently against the sheep who are faithful to the fold." He urged them to receive the Holy Eucharist as frequently as possible and instructed them on many ways to grow spiritually. But then he said that having the highest spiritual gifts would be nothing without the spirit of sacrifice: the willingness to give up "our ambitions, our entire selves, for the cause of the Faith."

His speech is too long to do it justice here. (If you have a copy of the book of Pier Giorgio's Letters to his friends and family, you will find it there.) Toward the end, he makes the point that we cannot be good Catholics or Christians without sacrifice. And that sacrifice had to be continual -- not a one-time thing. He accepted the situation in his country and he was able to put it into such a healthy perspective. Above all, he did not want the other young people to find sacrificing for the Faith a burden. He encouraged them to "think about what these few years passed in sorrow are, compared with a happy eternity, where joy will have no measure nor end, and where we will enjoy a peace beyond anything we could imagine."

When I read those words in Pier Giorgio's speech, I think of my dad saying nearly the same thing at my mother's grave. It strikes me that there is consolation -- great consolation -- in thinking about what lies beyond this world when dealing with the sorrows it presents to us. Again, the message of the novena is somewhat counter-cultural. Things don't always go the way we want. We may not have perfect families or live in a perfect world. People we love will hurt us. People we depend on will die. But we can and should embrace our sorrows, confront them and then give them to God who is the great Consoler.

Jesus wept for Lazarus and he wept for Jerusalem. He understands our heartache. He dries our tears. He heals our wounds. He picks us up and sets us on our feet again. And in doing so, He calls us "Blessed." Verso l'alto!

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

I hope you've started the novena in honor of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati today.  Day One begins with a challenge that always stretches my faith: to be poor in spirit.  We pray today to make choices in our lives which "will show a preference for service of God and neighbor, rather than accumulating financial wealth and social advantage" for ourselves.  Stop! Read that again and really reflect on how countercultural that prayer is! We live in a society where having -- rather than being -- is the goal. Imagine if it were the opposite.

From time to time, I have confessed how difficult it is for me to persevere in this ministry called FrassatiUSA.  My closest friends and family members have heard it all too often, yet they constantly encourage me to stay the course.  And so days have turned into weeks and weeks into months and months into years.  Nearly seven years!  The financial stress and strain of running a ministry is something I cannot put into words.  But here is an example:  last year, I wrote in the annual fundraising letter that unless $49,000 could be raised for 2013, it was unlikely FrassatiUSA could keep the office doors open.  I received many emails and handwritten notes thanking me for the work being done and exhorting me to continue.  In total, though, only a little more than $12,000 was raised.  At the human level, the math is simple: in two months, the meager funds will be exhausted.  There is no way to order any additional inventory and continue to make available at such low cost the resources to promote the spirituality of Pier Giorgio.  On top of that, there has not been payroll on the books for the last four years.  That is the reality.

But here is the spirituality:  I have received notes from all over the world sharing what an impact the message of Pier Giorgio has had in the lives of people of all ages.  I have seen time and time again that when people "find" Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, they find a friend, a companion, a role model, a support, a source of inner strength, a challenge to be holy.  As Blessed Pope John Paul II proclaimed in his beatification homily, Pier Giorgio "repeats that it is really worth giving up everything to serve the Lord. He testifies that holiness is possible for everyone, and that only the revolution of charity can enkindle the hope of a better future in the hearts of people." 

Last Monday, I heard from someone who was getting married.  He and his fiance decided at the last minute to use holy cards of saints for their reception favors and they wanted to be sure they could get Pier Giorgio cards in time for their Friday wedding.  What a beautiful notion! Last year, a wonderful couple lost a beloved son after a long hospital struggle and many prayers.  Because of their love for Pier Giorgio, they incorporated him into the funeral -- even having an Italian meal at the repast.  What a powerful witness of enduring faith!

Stories like these two barely scratch the surface of how, through a little ministry called FrassatiUSA, lives have been changed, hearts have been transformed, holiness is being sought after.  God does so much with so little.  

Last year, because of the funding crisis, I had to discontinue sending materials outside of the U.S.  This week alone, I've heard from people in Canada and India asking for materials to be available for their countries.  "We have young people, too!", one note said.  These sorts of notes and requests come frequently but there isn't much I can do.

And so, when day one of the novena rolls around, I read that prayer and feel it so acutely.  I beg God through my spiritual brother Pier Giorgio that I can somehow persevere in this ministry and "show a preference for service of God and neighbor, rather than accumulating financial wealth and social advantage for myself."   I renew my resolve to serve and determine that I will put out into the deep for the next two months and see what the Lord does.  The doors will close when He closes them and not before. 

Pier Giorgio encourages me today: “The faith given to me in Baptism surely suggests to me that of yourself you will do nothing; but if you have God as the center of all your actions, then you will reach your goal.”  He encourages you, too.  Bring your nothingness, your five loaves and two fishes, and leave the math to God.  Verso l'alto!

Come and Pray...

Mountain altar dedicated to Pier Giorgio Frassati

All my life, I've loved the beach.  I love the sound of the waves and the power that emanates from them.  I love the roar and the undulation.  I love the breeze, the sun, the sand, the song of the birds.  I love the beach.

In 2006, I learned to love the mountains.  I love the sound of silence found at the top of a mountain peak.  I love the crisp, cool air you can breathe there.  I love the view of the horizon, the glacier tops, the clanking of the cowbells from the herds grazing below.  I love the exhausted euphoric feeling upon reaching the top.  I never thought I would, but, thanks to Pier Giorgio, I love the mountains.

What I experience so intensely in both places is God's presence: His greatness, my smallness.  My earthly cares drift out to sea with each wave and into the sky with each step taken upward along a rocky path.  God's assertion of His majesty to Job comes to mind:

"Where were you when I founded the earth?   ... Who determined its size? ... Who stretched out the measuring line for it? Who shut within doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb, When I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling bands? When I set limits for it and fastened the bar of its door, And said: Thus far shall you come but no farther, and here shall your proud waves stop? Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning and shown the dawn its place? (Job 38: 4,5, 8-12)

Not one of my troubles is too big for God to handle.  Maybe too big for me to handle but not for Him.  

I am about to begin the Novena in Honor of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati that will lead up to his fourth of July feast day.  It is such a powerful novena and over the years I have seen much fruit come from it.  This year, many people have submitted petitions to be included in the novena.  It is humbling to read the burdens and cares of others, no matter what my own are.  And yet I know with certainty that not one person is outside of the loving embrace of God.  And that every prayer will be answered in His time, in His way.  Our part, the praying, is the easiest part of it all.  

Pier Giorgio once wrote to his good friend Isidoro Bonini, "I would like for us to pledge a pact that knows no earthly boundaries or temporal limits: union in prayer."  I firmly believe he will be praying with us and interceding for us in a special way in the coming days.  The graces that await us are more numerous than the sand on the seashore.  The peace to be bestowed is more penetrating than the mountain sun. Whatever you are doing, wherever you are going, don't miss this opportunity to come and pray.  Verso l'alto!

12-12-12=6!

Today is a special day in many ways.  The rare numerical alignment of the day, month and year to produce 12-12-12 is something we will not see again until the next century (which makes it unlikely that any of us will ever see it again!)  It is also the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the unborn and of the Americas.  More than ever, we need her protection and intercession.

Not known to many, it happens to also be the sixth anniversary of the founding of FrassatiUSA.  I could not have imagined the challenges and changes that would come as I filed the paperwork with the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office six years ago.  I was accompanied that day by a very kind and generous man named Jere Griggs who served the role of incorporator so that FrassatiUSA could become an official non-profit organization.  He also paid the registration fees. 

Jere is a great pro-life friend.  For years, we prayed together every Saturday morning at a local Memorial for the Unborn.  He had two sons, James and Lee.  In 1996, when I helped start a Frassati Society at our parish, Jere approached me about finding a way to invite his sons.  He thought such a group would be good for them.  It was.  In 2006, James was actually the one who reserved our internet domain and first used the name “FrassatiUSA.”  In the past six years, both James and Lee have gone on to their eternal reward.  James was in a terrible accident caused by a negligent hotel shuttle driver.  After two years of surgeries and suffering, his body gave out.  He was buried in 2010.  Two weeks ago, Lee was watching cartoons with his four-year-old daughter and suffered a massive heart attack.  He was buried beside his brother.  As you can imagine, this has been a very sorrowful time for those of us who know and love this family. 

The untimely and unexpected deaths of James and Lee Griggs bring to my mind the early death of Pier Giorgio Frassati at the age of 24.  Life is one of those things where quality must always take preeminence over quantity or it will be lived in vain.  When Pier Giorgio said, “the day of my death will be the most beautiful day of my life,” he was referring to the heavenly beatitude he knew he would enjoy – as promised by his deeply held Catholic faith.  And when he determined to make every day a small preparation for the day of his death, it was because of his recognition of the brevity of life and the futility of worldly pursuits.  What we do here on earth matters.  We can choose to build up God’s Kingdom or our own. 

Six years ago, when I made the decision to work to promote the spirituality of Pier Giorgio Frassati, I had no idea what sacrifices would be required.   My friends know I still struggle with the decision on an ongoing basis.  As a licensed attorney, the prospect of a far more profitable livelihood is a constant temptation.  The most common question I have been asked over the years is how I survive doing this.  The trite but true answer is that God provides.  At first, I relied on my personal savings; then I drained retirement accounts; then I went into debt and tried to burn the candle at both ends to make it work.  This solution was not practical and only led to an insidious case of burnout from which I am still trying to recover.  And yet, in all of this, God always found a way to provide.  In some ways, He blessed me far more than I could ever ask or imagine. 

The financial crossroad has reached its most critical point this year.  Determined to not ever become a ministry that focuses more on the money side than the ministry side, I decided at the outset to make one financial appeal per year.  Last month, I made it known that FrassatiUSA was forced to discontinue supplying resources around the world this past summer.  This decision was made with a heavy heart because the demand from so many English-speaking countries continues to grow.  But the past six years have made me more realistic about my own limitations.  I also shared that it is necessary to raise $49,000 in order for the work of FrassatiUSA to continue in 2013.  So far, donations of $7,461 have been received.  We have no grant money, no funding by the Church or any other organization to assist with the lease obligation, monthly office expenses, nominal payroll expense, printing costs and so on.

To make matters even more challenging, the lone office computer decided to give up the ghost yesterday.  So, today, on the sixth anniversary of FrassatiUSA, no work can be done while I wait to find out if the data can be obtained and transferred to another computer. 

Those of you who have read this far will now discover a little known fact:  FrassatiUSA is operated by one person.  There is no marketing department or technology support or mail staff or graphics design department or accounting support or inventory clerk or janitorial crew or any other department!  A friend and Harvard-trained business consultant generously donated his services this summer to help me discern how to continue the ministry.  After reviewing everything, he asked me basically two things: how are you possibly doing this by yourself? And, why are you doing this with such inadequate compensation?  There are simple answers to these questions.  God gives the grace and somehow always provides. 

Over the course of these six years, I have heard from so many people about the impact of Pier Giorgio Frassati in their lives.  These testimonies are awesome and uplifting and always come at just the right time.  I have been thanked for the website presence and for making resources available.  I have been encouraged to press on.  I have been advised to quit.  I have been energetic.  I have been exhausted.  In the end, I have to say that I have been blessed. 

Two years ago, one of my nephews decided to take the confirmation name “Pier Giorgio” and asked me to be his sponsor.  My best friend’s 10-yr-old daughter loves to volunteer in the office and wears one of The Pact bands on her wrist to school each day.  A niece graduating from college wrote to thank me for demonstrating that a non-traditional career is worth pursuing and that there are things more important than financial rewards.  Although I appreciate the notes of encouragement and testimonies from others, these types of more personal glimpses into the fruit of this ministry are what inspire me to continue.  They say charity begins at home.  If I can impact the lives of my 32 nieces and nephews with the example of Pier Giorgio Frassati, that will be worth every sacrifice. 

I have walked with Pier Giorgio for 17 years now – six in the context of FrassatiUSA.  His portrait hangs in my stairwell and I "talk" to him in Italian each day.  I know that, above everyone else, he is grateful for the effort FrassatiUSA is making to promote his spirituality.  His message is one that challenges us each day of our lives:  Holiness IS possible for everyone. Pursue it!

So, today, on the occasion of FrassatiUSA's sixth anniversary, I have no idea what will happen.  Admittedly, the financial picture does not look good; but I have learned and continue to learn to live in the present moment.  Anything is possible.  One of my favorite quotes of Pier Giorgio sums it up for me, “The future is in the hands of God and better than that it could not be.”

Verso l’alto!

Good News/Bad News for Our International Friends

One of the inspiring aspects of sharing the message of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati has been to hear from so many people around the world who are mutually devoted to him.  The FrassatiUSA website has been viewed by people in 160 countries!  Pier Giorgio's simple message -- that holiness is possible for everyone -- resonates around the world and that is awesome!  That's the good news.

Over the last several years, so many of you have written to request various resources about Pier Giorgio that you are unable to obtain anywhere else.  FrassatiUSA tried to fill the void and make materials accessible, despite the fact that our mission territory is really just the United States.   Unfortunately, because of a severe lack of funding, we are no longer able to provide resources to our international friends.  That's the bad news.  

There are, however, two organizations in Italy that you can contact whether you are inside or outside of the United States.  Both are under the direction of Wanda Gawronska, niece of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, whom many of you may know.  Here is the contact information:

Associazione Pier Giorgio Frassati (Rome)
email:      info@piergiorgiofrassati.org
website:  http://www.piergiorgiofrassati.org/



Associazione Pier Giorgio Frassati (Torino)
email:      infotorino@piergiorgiofrassati.org
Facebook:  Associazione Pier Giorgio Frassati Torino  


Wherever you are, may Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati intercede for you always.  Verso l'alto!

Prayers for Peter Frates

Peter Frates

Two summers ago, Peter Frates was opening up a championship season with the Lexington Blue Sox of the Inter-City Baseball League. Spectacular plays in center-field coupled with his powerful presence at the plate made him the consensus choice for Most Valuable Player for the league that summer. Last summer, things were different. Pete lost a step in the outfield and couldn’t get his bat on the ball the way he used to do so naturally. He was struggling and he couldn’t figure out why. The answer to the that question finally came in March with the devastating prognosis that A.L.S. (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) was behind his decline on the baseball field and the progressive difficulty that confronted him in the performance of his everyday activities. His family and friends were plunged into shock and disbelief. No one could believe this was happening! Peter is 28 years old and has kept himself in perfect physical condition during a stellar high school career in football, hockey and baseball at Saint John’s Prep, followed by four years of baseball at Boston College that was capped by his designation as Captain during his senior year. He even managed to prolong his baseball career by traveling to Germany for a season of professional baseball. His decision to get his professional career in business on track was buoyed by the opportunity that he had when he left the office to still head to the baseball field to play three or four nights a weeks with collegiate and former minor players in the Inter-City Baseball League.

 Some of you remember that I spoke about Peter during  my Easter Homily this year. I shared my 
frustration that our faith doesn’t always give us the answers we need to handle all the challenges that 
come our way over the course of our life journey. To be honest, the prognosis that Peter received in 
March really shattered personally me and severely tested my faith. It is only Peter’s amazing attitude 
of hope that has lifted me from the darkness I experienced during the weeks following his diagnosis. 
There is no cure for A.L.S. and Peter knows this, but he is determined to live every day that God gives 
him meaningfully and trusts that some good will come from all of this. I invited Peter to come to 
Saint Patrick Parish a year ago to speak to our 10^th grade students right before their Confirmation. 
Peter is a man of faith and his witness to his faith exerted a powerful impact on our young people just 
as his witness to his faith at this time is inspiring others to faith. I am confident God will work some 
good from Peter’s courageous witness to faith and hope.

What Peter needs now is a miracle. Miracles do happen! I have encouraged Peter’s family and friends 
to join me in praying for a miracle through the intercession of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati who was 
beatified by Blessed Pope John Paul II in 1990 as he proclaimed him ‘The Man of the Eight Beatitudes.’ 
Pier Giorgio lived an extraordinary life of holiness and service to the poor at the beginning of the 
20^th century in the City of Turn.  He died in 1924 at the age of twenty-four from Polio that he had 
contracted while caring for the needs of a poor man who was afflicted with Polio. You can read the 
whole story of Pier Giorgio’s life by googling his name and checking out a number of sites that relate 
his amazing story. Peter needs a miracle to beat A.L.S. and Pier Giorgio needs a miracle to make the 
final step to canonization as a saint of the Church. The young people of the Church need a saint like 
Pier Giorgio Frassati. We have begun a crusade of prayer that Peter Frates might experience a 
miraculous cure through the intercession of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. The prayer for his 
canonization is printed in the bulletin for your convenience. Please clip and pray this prayer for the
 intention of Peter’s miracle.

If you would like to know more about Peter Frates, you can google his name or go to his website:  
Pete Frates #3 Fund. The site includes newspaper accounts of his heroic struggle and the video of an 
interview with Kelly Tuttle on Channel Five a month ago.

 Pier Giorgio and Peter Frates share the same patron saint in Saint Peter. They share the same rock solid

faith as young adults Catholics. They even share a remarkable physical resemblance to each other. What
a great gift of God it would be if Peter Frates with the help of our prayers assists Pier Giorgio in the 
final step to the proclamation of his sainthood. The feast day of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati is July 4^th 
and the Novena of Prayer for his feast day begins on June 24. We will try to have prayer cards with the 
picture of Blessed Pier Giorgio available next weekend for those to join in this novena of prayer, until 
then please clip and pray the prayer in this week’s bulletin.  

Peter Frates today would readily echo the words of Blessed Pier Giorgio: “You ask me I am in good 
spirits. How could I not be so? As long as Faith gives me strength I will always be joyful.”  

-- Submitted by Fr. Bill Schmidt, Pastor of St. Patrick Parish, Stoneham, MA

Celebrating Blessed Pier Giorgio's Birthday

This is the second time in the last five years that Pier Giorgio's birthday falls on one of the most profoundly holy days in the Church year -- Good Friday.   A special Way of the Cross was prepared in 2007 for this occasion.  This year, the international celebration of Pier Giorgio's birthday will again incorporate these prayers.  The invitation to pray and information about how to add your name to the list of those around the world joining in this celebration can all be found on the FrassatiUSA website in our Prayers/Meditations section.  You can also download a .pdf version of the Way of the Cross with Blessed Pier Giorgio from that section and share it with your friends.  Click here to get started by reading a short note from Pier Giorgio's niece Wanda Gawronska.  I will be having lunch with Wanda on Tuesday and will hope to have an update on the two miracles from the U.S. that are currently being investigated.  Whenever I travel to Italy, I bring all of the intentions of the friends of Pier Giorgio -- that is, all of you! -- with me to all of the holy places that I visit.  This trip will be no exception.  May Blessed Pier Giorgio intercede for you during these final weeks of Lent.  Verso l'alto!

Journey through Lent with Blessed Pier Giorgio!

In less than two weeks, the holy season of Lent will be upon us.  There are numerous testimonies of how disciplined Pier Giorgio was during Lent, especially when it came to fasting.  He regularly ate smaller portions at meals, gave up sweets, went on spiritual retreats, all in an effort to be able to, as he explained to his sister Luciana, "better celebrate a Holy Easter."

This year, Pier Giorgio's birthday will fall on Good Friday.  The timing seems ideal to propose a different sort of birthday celebration that will last throughout the season of Lent, rather than just one day.  If you are contemplating a Lenten sacrifice or practice, why not join The Pact?  More than 10,000 people have already signed on.

The Pact was really an inspiration of Pier Giorgio as a way for his friends to be "spiritually united in God."  Information is available on the FrassatiUSA website but the requirements are very simple:  one act of charity a day and one daily prayer. It would be tremendous if we could together offer our prayers and good works this Lent for the canonization of Pier Giorgio as a spiritual bouquet on his birthday.  A miracle from the United States is currently under investigation.  Wouldn't it be awesome for that to be the one that leads to sainthood?!

The Pact is something everyone can do and is perfect for individuals and groups, people of any age.  It doesn't cost you anything but time.  You can still give up chocolate or TV or Facebook or the internet.  You can still make an effort to attend Mass more, pray the rosary more, etc.  But with The Pact, you can go one step further and imitate the example of Pier Giorgio by living out your Faith in works of charity.  

"I would like for us to pledge a pact that knows no earthly boundaries or temporal limits: union in prayer," wrote Pier Giorgio in 1925.  How beautiful that his desire for spiritual unity truly has no limits of time or space and that, all these years later, we can still fulfill it.  Verso l'alto!

Five Years and Counting

Today is the fifth anniversary of the chartering of FrassatiUSA.  It was very special to begin and place this organization under the special patronage of Our Lady of Guadalupe on her feast day in 2006.  Yesterday's second reading ended with this promise from 1 Thessalonians 5:24, "The one who calls you is faithful, and he will also accomplish it."  Relying on that promise, we press on in the effort to promote the spirituality of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and his cause for sainthood.  Our Lady of Guadalupe and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati...pray for us.  Verso l'alto!

Happy Saint Nicholas Day!

It is a good thing that we are supposed to spend the Advent Season joyfully preparing for the birth of Christ because it is so full of many wonderful feast days to celebrate!  The feast of Saint Nicholas was always one of the most important for my family not only during my childhood but even up to the present day.

My parents had a way of bringing the liturgical year to life for me and my nine brothers and sisters.  Now, every holiday is filled with memories of traditions that were designed to keep our focus on the spiritual meaning of the day.  Saint Nicholas Day has always been a family favorite.  The night before would be capped off with a live puppet show featuring Saint Nicholas and his sidekick Black Peter.  We would hang our stockings and go to bed just a little worried about the possibility of getting a lump of coal and then wake up to that beautiful sight of red stockings bursting with treats.  Among the loot would be some delicious, homemade gingerbread cookies.  As we all got older and were no longer around to hang our stockings, the packages would come in the mail -- always with the gingerbread cookies and a note saying they were from "St. Nick's helper."  

This tradition ended only upon the death of my mother who passed away quite unexpectedly nine years ago.  It gave our family such great consolation that she was laid to rest on Saint Nicholas Day.  As one of my brothers put it, "she was such a good helper on earth for St. Nick that he decided he needed her in heaven." Many of us continue to bake and enjoy the gingerbread cookies today as a way of keeping her memory alive.

A few years before she died, my mother and I were able to make a trip to Italy to meet our Italian side of the family for the first time.  We made our way to the tiny town that my grandparents had left to come to America in the early 1900s.  It was very special to visit their parish church that still had the original baptismal font probably used for both of them.  And the name of that little church?  St. Nicholas!  It was as if my grandparents brought him along as a special patron for our family when they said goodbye to the "old country."

My grandparents would have been contemporaries of Pier Giorgio Frassati.  Unfortunately, they both died long before I knew about him, so I was never able to ask them if they had ever heard of him while they were still in Italy.   But they have heard of him now and I imagine they are all celebrating this feast day together.  Happy Saint Nicholas Day!  Verso l'alto!