Young people from throughout the world are returning home after experiencing World Youth Day 2023 (WYD) in Lisbon, Portugal. The theme for this year’s event comes from the very end of the Annunciation account in Luke 1:26-39 — “Mary arose and went in haste” (1:39).
Although I was unable to join this year’s WYD and our pilgrims from the Diocese of Syracuse in making the trip, I did follow it closely from afar and was moved by the faith of our young people from throughout the world, so very much alive. Three particularly moving moments for me were the Stations of the Cross on Friday evening, the visit to Fatima on Saturday morning on the Memorial of Our Lady of the Snows, and the Eucharistic adoration on Saturday evening where despite heat and 1.5 million persons gathered there was total silence before our Eucharistic Lord. The latter moment was heightened for me knowing that in that crowd were not only young people, but a president and a pope — all present with the Lord — harkening to the call of Sunday’s Gospel (Mt 17:1-9) in the moment of the Transfiguration: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to Him” (17:5).
As at the Transfiguration, after this encounter with our Lord both at Eucharistic Adoration and at Sunday Mass, pictures show the crowds arising to set out — not just to catch a hot shower or a meal or their way home — but even more to make haste to carry the Risen Christ they encountered back to where they dwell. It is this “movement” to which I wish to dedicate my fifth year as your bishop — with Mary as our model — to set out and to carry Christ Jesus — the Word become Flesh (cf. Jn 1:14) as a light to the nations.
Our world can be a scary place these days — wars and insurrection, floods and violent storms, the meanness and lack of caring in society in general; one can wonder: Are these the harbingers of the end times? However, Jesus himself tells us not to mire ourselves in such thinking, but rather like Mary, to have no fear (see Lk 1:30 and Jn 14:1) and to not worry about tomorrow or our life (see Mt 6:25-34). Instead, he invites us not to freeze in our tracks and hunker down, but to continue the journey knowing that Father and Son, through the working of the Holy Spirit, accompany and preserve us “in our going out and coming in” (see Ps 121:8).
St. Teresa of Calcutta was known to say that in seeking to follow God’s will for our lives [what the Church refers to as the universal call to holiness — see Chapter 5 of Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution of the Church – Lumen gentium] , “If you desire to be holy … God will do the rest.” This statement does cause me to wonder, How can I better cooperate with God in my daily life?
To assist us in this answer, I would like to use the witness of a teenage blessed, Carlos Acutis (1991-2006). What is so intriguing about his life is that he responded to God’s call in surroundings many of us can relate to. He was born in London of Italian parents and moved to Milan shortly after his birth. His family was not particularly devout and lacked in attendance at Mass, until Carlos started, according to his biographers, “dragging them to Church with him.” His family had means and so he spent his summers in Assisi (this is why his tomb is in Assisi today). They employed a young Indian man named Rajeesh who helped care for the household. Why is this so significant? Well, Carlos’ treatment of this man as a dear friend would plant the seeds for his conversion in life and his coming to know Jesus Christ.
This same witness Carlos would give to his peers and classmates, along with the needy of the area whom Carlos would reach out to — never with show, but with firm conviction. He was known to say, “Not I, but God” and “Each person reflects the light of God.” Ultimately, Carlos would be put to the test when at the beginning of October 2006 he was struck by an illness, thought to be the flu, but turning out to be an aggressive form of leukemia. He would die on Oct. 12, 2006, but even his final illness would be a witness of faith in God to those around him, including his own mother and the priests who administered the Last Sacraments to him. His mother would say of this moment, “He convinced me of this. … If I am a good Catholic, how can I be afraid of this?” [A biographical source: Blessed Carlos Acutis by Msgr. Anthony Figueiredo, published by the Catholic Truth Society — www.ctsbooks.org]
Blessed Carlos Acutis offers us five simple practices to grow in our faith:
1. Frequent reception of the Eucharist — For Carlos the reason was simple, the foundation of holiness is our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In receiving Holy Communion, he would invite Jesus to make his home in him. Here are two sayings attributed to him: “The Eucharist is my highway to heaven” and “The Eucharist is truly the heart of Jesus.”
2. Eucharistic Adoration — One of my favorite sayings of Carlos is this: “If we go out in the sun, we get a suntan … but when we get in front of Jesus in the Eucharist, we become saints.”
3. Regular Confession and Having a Spiritual Guide — In this practice Carlos would find a firm way to make one’s “exodus” from sin and to care for the beauty of one’s soul.
4. Devotion to our Blessed Mother and the Saints — Like Mary and the Saints, Carlos invites us to be always united to Jesus — “Totus tuus” — “Totally/Always yours!”
5. Charity — Simply put, the living out of the two great commandments: Love God and Love Neighbor. Again quoting the young blessed: “Everything passes away. … What alone will truly make us beautiful in God’s eyes is the way that we have loved him and our neighbor.”
Even from afar, the witness of World Youth Day has reminded me of so much that I desire to be part of my life today, no matter what amount of time I may have left to serve God and neighbor in this life. I give thanks and praise for the witness of Blessed Carlo Acutis who reminds me of my true calling in life and to sanctify myself daily. Like Mary, I hear the call to arise and go forth carrying Christ to the waiting world.
Let me conclude then with some lines from the official prayer for WYD 2023:
Our Lady of the Visitation, you who left in haste towards the mountain to meet Elizabeth, lead us also to meet all those who await us to deliver them the living Gospel: Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord! We will go in a hurry, with no distraction or delay, but with readiness and joy. … Help us, Our Lady of the Visitation, to bring Christ to everyone, obeying the Father, in the love the Spirit! Amen.
