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!

THANKS for GIVING!

Not long ago, I watched the Masterpiece Theatre version of the Charles Dickens' classic, "A Tale of Two Cities" set in the time of the French Revolution - commonly known as the Reign of Terror.  This period would have a connection to Pier Giorgio Frassati toward the end of his life when he and his best friend Marco Beltramo nicknamed themselves, "The Terror."

Pier Giorgio made no secret of the fact that he despised the French, even referring to them as the "Sons of Darkness."  So he was purely being facetious when he began signing letters with the name "Robespierre" -- a bloodthirsty French dictator whose execution in 1794 ended the Reign of Terror.  In jest, Pier Giorgio would send "terroristic greetings" to his close friends in the Tipi Loschi group that he formed.  Today, I suppose his sense of humor would not be considered very politically correct.  Somehow, I doubt he would care.

In any case, you can credit or blame Dickens' well-known opening and closing lines for this lengthy, digressing blog entry which really does have something to do with Thanksgiving if you can bear with me long enough!

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way ..."

At various points in my life, I find that certain quotes strike me in completely different ways.  Many moons ago, when I signed up for a three-credit summer seminar on the writings of Charles Dickens to satisfy requirements for my English minor, I'm sure my focus was simply on what it would take to complete the course.  I can say with almost certainty that I spent little time reflecting on the season of Light, the season of Darkness, the spring of hope,  the winter of despair, the best of times, the worst of times.  Now that I am much older and slightly wiser, I reflect on those things with regularity, especially as I find myself immersed in running a non-profit ministry.

At FrassatiUSA, the challenges are almost always in terms of financial constraints.  With no outside funding, no grants, no big donors, the dollars are not easy to come by.  I think we may have brought new meaning to the "low" part of the term "low budget operation."  It has brought me to my knees; it has brought me to the brink of calling it quits; it has brought me to Pier Giorgio, time and time again.  Somehow, miraculously, the non-payroll expenses always get paid.  Days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months and months turn into years and in less than a month, we will mark our fifth anniversary.  God is good!

Some days, the mail brings such consolation that there can be no doubt that the Lord wants this work to continue.  This month, we mailed out our annual request for financial support to those on the mailing list.  It's not a large list and it never brings in very much money to work with, averaging less than $5,000/year.  But the notes that come provide the spring of hope, the season of Light.

For example, the other day, I opened a letter that had enclosed a one dollar contribution.  I think of the widow in Jesus' parable and that dollar bill makes me so grateful because I know it was sent out of the little that person had.  It is a truly humbling experience to be entrusted with that sort of treasure.  A month or two ago, I was in email contact with a guy from Australia about the funding situation here.  He offered to and began praying and fasting for this ministry until Christmas, at which time I suppose he expects Baby Jesus to do the rest!  Imagine a person half way around the world carrying that burden.  Thanks, Steve.

I have received numerous notes from strangers thanking me for the work done here.  Some filled with confetti and kindness.  Some enclosing extra funds for a cup of cappuccino or coffee, like in the note shown above.  I find it so touching when people think of those little temporal joys. That is so very like Pier Giorgio who brought flowers to the poor because he knew they also needed things that made them happy.  Along those same lines, yesterday I received a t-shirt that read, Beati pauperes spiritu quoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum.  Such a thoughtful and uplifting gesture that really captures the essence of this ministry.

Occasionally, at my old law practice, a satisfied client would write a note of thanks.  But here, it happens so regularly, that the worst of times never are, the winter of despair never is, the season of Darkness never comes.  And, like Dickens' character Sydney Carton, I am able to say, "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done."  Thank you so much for all that you do to help spread the spirituality of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.  Happy Thanksgiving!  Verso l'alto!

Celebrating the Feast of St. Vincent de Paul

Although the charism of many religious groups impacted the spirtuality of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, none was more significant than the Conference of St. Vincent de Paul.  Even as he lay dying, Pier Giorgio's thoughts were for the poor whom he served as a devoted confrere of his Conference in Turin. 

The Church remembers St. Vincent de Paul in the Divine Office today with a beautiful reflection by the saint himself.  As I read it this morning, I was impressed with how the life of Pier Giorgio completely embodied the attitude one must have in regard to the poor, as outlined in St. Vincent de Paul's writing.  Although it is lengthy, it is well worth reading:

Even though the poor are often rough and unrefined, we must not judge them from external appearances nor from the mental gifts they seem to have received. On the contrary, if you consider the poor in the light of faith, then you will observe that they are taking the place of the Son of God who chose to be poor. Although in his passion he almost lost the appearance of a man and was considered a fool by the Gentiles and a stumbling block by the Jews, he showed them that his mission was to preach to the poor: He sent me to preach the good news to the poor. We also ought to have this same spirit and imitate Christ’s actions, that is, we must take care of the poor, console them, help them, support their cause.

Since Christ willed to be born poor, he chose for himself disciples who were poor. He made himself the servant of the poor and shared their poverty. He went so far as to say that he would consider every deed which either helps or harms the poor as done for or against himself. Since God surely loves the poor, he also loves those who love the poor. For when one person holds another dear, he also includes in his affection anyone who loves or serves the one he loves. That is why we hope that God will love us for the sake of the poor. So when we visit the poor and needy, we try to understand the poor and weak. We sympathize with them so fully that we can echo Paul’s words: I have become all things to all men. Therefore, we must try to be stirred by our neighbors’ worries and distress. We must beg God to pour into our hearts sentiments of pity and compassion and to fill them again and again with these dispositions.

It is our duty to prefer the service of the poor to everything else and to offer such service as quickly as possible. If a needy person requires medicine or other help during prayer time, do whatever has to be done with peace of mind. Offer the deed to God as your prayer. Do not become upset or feel guilty because you interrupted your prayer to serve the poor. God is not neglected if you leave him for such service. One of God’s works is merely interrupted so that another can be carried out. So when you leave prayer to serve some poor person, remember that this very service is performed for God. Charity is certainly greater than any rule. Moreover, all rules must lead to charity. Since she is a noble mistress, we must do whatever she commands. With renewed devotion, then, we must serve the poor, especially outcasts and beggars. They have been given to us as our masters and patrons.

One of the most compelling writings by Pier Giorgio is contained in his book of Letters to His Friends and Family.  In his notes for a speech on charity to his fellow university students, he expounds the virtues of joining a Conference of St. Vincent de Paul.  Again, though lengthy, it is a wonderful meditation on this feast day: 

I don’t know if you are all aware what these institutions are that were so marvelously conceived by St. Vincent de Paul.

It is a simple institution suitable for students because it does not involve commitment apart from being in a particular place one day a week and then visiting two or three families every week.  You will see, in just a little time, how much good we can do to those we visit and how much good we can do to ourselves.

The members who visit these families are, I would say, unworthy instruments of Divine Providence.   As we grow closer to the poor little by little we gain their confidence and can advise them in the most terrible moments of this earthly pilgrimage.  We can give them the comforting words of faith and we often succeed, not by our own merit, in putting on the right path people who have strayed not out of malice.

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.

Seeing daily the faith with which families often bear the most atrocious sufferings, the  constant sacrifices that they make and that they do all this for the love of God often makes us ask this question: I, who have had so many things from God, have always been so neglectful, so bad, while they, who have not been privileged like me, are infinitely better than me.  Then we resolve in our conscience to follow the way of the Cross from then onward, the only way that leads us to Eternal Salvation.

Now there are many conferences in the city of Turin and among those there is one for university students, which however is composed primarily of people who are on the verge of ending their student careers and beginning the life of adults. 

Now we direct to you a warm appeal that you might want to swell the ranks of our members which are now very meager and so that each of you can contribute in your own way to relieve those who suffer. 

Come with enthusiasm to this conference, come and every sacrifice of yours will certainly be compensated in Heaven because Jesus Christ has promised that all we do for the poor for Love of Him He will consider it as having been done to Himself.  You don’t want to refuse this Love to Jesus Who, because of infinite love for Humanity, wanted to be in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, as our Consoler and as Bread of the Soul.

To be members one is not required to pay membership dues, it is enough to have good will and nothing else.  It is true that at the end of the meeting there is a collection, but everybody is free to put whatever he wants.

St. Vincent de Paul and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati...pray for us!

Miraculous healing reported through the intercession of Pier Giorgio

Reports of favors granted through the intercession of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati continue to be received and are forwarded to the official postulator in Italy.  The following two emails regard the healing of a comatose patient.  Blessed Pier Giorgio, pray for us...

Favors Received:  My cousin miraculously recovered from a severe head injury on day 6 of my novena to Blessed Pier Giorgio (day 1 for my sister). Opened his eyes (came out of his coma) and his medical condition(had infections and fevers) stabilized (he was life and death prior) a little more than 12 hours after my mother brought his picture to my cousin's bedside! The doctors and the entire medical staff were amazed at his recovery. He was in a coma for 10 days and in grave condition...he woke up on a Sunday (September the 4th) and not only was discharged from the hospital today (9/13) but WALKED OUT!! He was playing football in the parking lot with his brother. This was TRULY a miracle (I am an RN and have NEVER seen anything like this!) Thank you Blessed Pier Giorgio!! I know it was him!
Date: 09/04/2011

Favors Received: I posted a miracle that occurred in my family last night but I found out today that my cousin Kevin (the one in the coma) started talking yesterday about an angel that was with him the whole time. It was a man...he took care of him. When showed a picture of Blessed Pier Giorgio today by his mother (not seeing a picture of him yet--there was one picture in his ICU room but it was not in his transitional room and that's when he really started to come to) he exclaimed, "That is him!" That's the angel that was with him. We are all amazed. Praise Jesus! Thank you Blessed Pier Frassati!
Date: 09/13/2011

Sponsor a Student at Frassati Catholic Academy

This is the second academic year for middle school students at Frassati Catholic Academy in the Chicago area.  Dr. Diane Vida, principal of the Academy, has 20 returning students whose families are experiencing extreme financial hardship. "Since we are a regional Archdiocese school," she writes, "we do not have one parish to assist us with a special collection."

If you are in the position to sponsor a Catholic education for students ages 10-14 based upon the virtues and Beatitudes of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, please visit the school's website or contact Dr. Vida.  Verso l'alto! 

Across the Pond, Down Under and In Between!

"Love frassatiusa.org. Best site there is about Bl Pier Giorgio on the net. Truly."

This was the opening line of an email I recently received from Steve Smyth down in New South Wales, Australia.   It was never the vision of FrassatiUSA to be the primary source of info about Pier Giorgio for people all around the English-speaking world, but that seems to be what has slowly taken place since we began this ministry five years ago.  What a blessing it is to hear from people from all corners of the world and all walks of life as they share what Pier Giorgio means to them!

Another exciting development is the movement to launch "FrassatiUK" as a way to unite the growing number of Frassati groups in that part of the world.  "FrassatiUSA is really our inspiration," wrote Shaun Bailham, as he shared his desire to serve young people in the British isles.  I was able to have a long conversation with Shaun earlier this week and was in turn inspired by his enthusiasm.  He has just recently created a Facebook page for FrassatiUK where you can lend him your support. 

And here in the U.S., yet another Frassati Fellowship is up and running.  If you are in the Albany, New York area, be sure to check out the Capital Region Frassati Chapter.  Nithin Mathew, writing on behalf of the group, shared the following:  "We are a group for young adults interested in learning about Catholic faith. Our group had humble beginnings (like any other) with a handful meeting in a coffee-shop. With grace of our Lord and intercession of our Blessed Mother we have now grown into a fellowship of over 100 faithful Catholics in and around the capital region of New York state. Our weekly meetings are every Wednesday and we have an average attendance of 20-25 young adults (age 18-35) every week."

Needless to say, it is awesome to see Frassati Fever sweeping the globe!   Blessed Pier Giorgio...pray for us!

Back to school with Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati!

Just two days after we celebrated the feast of Blessed Pier Giorgio, an exciting announcement was made by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston:  Frassati Catholic High School is the official name of the new school planned for that diocese.  This will be the first high school in the United States to bear Pier Giorgio's name.  With plans to open in 2013, the fundraising effort is underway.  More information is available at frassaticatholic.org. 

Less than two years ago, we celebrated the YouTube announcement by Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of Chicago, naming the newest middle school in the diocese Frassati Catholic Academy.  The school opened in August 2010 with a spiritual charter inspired by the life and witness of Blessed Pier Giorgio.

Pier Giorgio is definitely no stranger at the college level.  At Vanderbilt University, Catholic students pray and fellowship together at the Frassati House.  At Wyoming Catholic College, they enjoy meals in Frassati Hall.  At the Franciscan University of Steubenville, a movement called Frassati Franciscan is connecting students and alumni.  An outreach called Frassati has been launced to unite grad students, alumni and young professionals from the University of Arkansas.  Students hike the trails of Maine with the Saint Joseph's College Frassati Society.  The list really does go on and on.

The mission of FrassatiUSA is to further the apostolate of Blessed Pier Giorgio and, in doing so, promote his cause for canonization.  Although we can take no credit for the wonderful initiatives happening almost weekly now around the country by people who are inspired by Pier Giorgio, it is a cause of great joy to see so much activity taking place, especially in the academic environment.  As students of all ages prepare to head back to school next month, may Blessed Pier Giorgio accompany them in every aspect of their lives. Verso l'alto!

"...[w]e Catholics and especially we students have a serious responsibility to fulfill:  our own formation.

   We, who by the grace of God are Catholics, should not waste the most wonderful years of our life, as unfortunately  do so many unhappy young people, who are preoccupied with enjoying the good life, which does not result in good, but which brings the fruit of immorality into our modern society.  We should steel ourselves to be ready to carry on the battles we shall certainly have to fight in order to fulfill our program and thus to give to our country, in a not-too-distant future, happier days and a morally healthy society.  But for all this is needed:  continual prayer to obtain from God that grace without which our efforts are in vain; organization and discipline so that we can be ready for action at the opportune moment and finally, sacrifice of our passions and of ourselves, because without this it is impossible to reach the goal." -- excerpt from a letter by PGF to members of an association of Catholic youth, October 1922