By Deacon Richard Hay
Note: I was invited by the faculty of Annunciation Catholic School to lead Exposition and Adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar in celebration of the upcoming feast day for St. Carlo Acutis (October 12th). This is the reflection I shared with the student body and faculty.
I am truly blessed to be here with you all as we celebrate the first feast day for “Saint” Carlo Acutis which is on October 12th – this coming Sunday.
I was recently able to attend his canonization mass in Rome that was presided over by our Holy Father, Pope Leo, along with at least 80,000 other pilgrims that attended the mass. I have also had a devotion to him since he was declared Blessed by the church back in 2020 and I pray to him daily for his intercession.
It is very appropriate that we are celebrating his feast day in this moment with the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar – the Eucharist – the true presence – the body, blood, soul, and divinity – of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Saint Carlo developed a love for Christ in the Eucharist at a very young age. One of his popular quotes about the Eucharist, and he had several, was that it was his “Highway to Heaven”.
Even at this early stage of his life, before he even received his first communion, he understood that we needed to be closely connected with the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist – whether that was through adoration or receiving him at Mass once we have received First Holy Communion.
Carlo used to say this about adoration – “When we are before Jesus in the Eucharist we become saints.” I know today is a unique opportunity to be present at adoration during school to celebrate Saint Carlo’s upcoming feast day, but did you know that when you come to mass, Jesus is also present in the tabernacle here behind the altar?
You can pause for a moment in prayer as you take your seat in the pew and ask Jesus to be with you in that moment. This is why we genuflect – or kneel and make the sign of the cross – when we enter church for mass – to acknowledge His presence in the tabernacle.
Something else Saint Carlo understood very well was technology and using it for telling the truth. He taught himself to program websites so he could make the Eucharistic Miracles website that is now run by the Vatican.
He also enjoyed playing games on his PlayStation – but also understood that kind of technology can be very addictive – and so he limited his playing time to just one hour per week. Technology and access to the Internet through phones and tablets can be very distracting however, Saint Carlo showed us that all of this can be used for good because it is a gift from God to be used to help others and share our love of Jesus with others.
Saint Carlo also encourages us to live with integrity and values – be the same person whether we are online or in person with others. Carlo used the Sacrament of Reconciliation – confession – to commit himself to be truthful and repent for when he did not live with integrity. Regular confession helps us all to grow closer to God and his graces in the sacrament.
It seems like Saint Carlo simply lived a virtuous life and that was all he focused on – but we also know he enjoyed doing things that all of you enjoy doing – hanging out with his friends, playing sports, and playing a musical instrument.
How many of you all do things like Carlo did?
See – you are already on your way to sainthood because you do the same things as this young Saint did in his life.
Two last challenges for all of us from Saint Carlo and his holy life:
- “All people are born as originals, but many die as photocopies.”
What he means by this is we are uniquely made by God – each of us are different – and sometimes we try to do what everyone else is doing. Instead, we need to be us – in our beautiful uniqueness – and live a holy life to serve God. - Finally, he challenges all of us, but especially young people like yourselves to keep our eyes on heaven and use our time, talent, and treasures, including our digital lives, to prepare for eternity with God in heaven.
When you visit the tomb of Saint Carlo in Assisi, Italy, you will see that he is wearing a blue track suit with blue and white tennis shoes. Many of the pictures we have seen of him he is wearing a red shirt and a backpack – these are things that all of us also use in our daily lives – it shows us that we can be just like the saints, and they are just like us.
So, as we prepare to finish our adoration of the Most Holy Eucharist – we ask for Saint Carlo’s intercession to help us strive to live lives of holiness and charity so that like Saint Carlo – we can also be examples of living for Christ.
Amen.
