Missive: What's In A Name?

Wednesday evening we were able to confirm our candidates for Confirmation.  It is always a blessed time in the life of our parishes, even when the bishop can’t be there.  But what I want to focus on is not the significance of the bishop’s presence but on the significance of the patron saint each candidate chooses.

One of our candidates chose Carlo Acutis, who is to be beatified this weekend (October 10) in Assisi, Italy.  I was very pleased that this candidate had chosen (now) Blessed Carlo.  Patron saints are supposed to inspire us as well as be someone to whom we turn in prayer.  This is why saints are canonized and also why candidates for Confirmation are encouraged to choose the name of a saint by which they will be confirmed.  Our young confirmand was inspired by Bl. Carlo’s interest in the internet.  I pray that he will come to be as inspired by Bl. Carlo’s inspired use of the internet to bring “Christ to the world”.

Bl. Carlo had a great devotion to the Rosary (his “attributes” are a laptop and a rosary), as well as to Saints Francis of Assisi (his favorite pilgrimage destination), Francisco & Jacinta (Fatima), Tarcisius (featured this week on our catechesis page), Dominic Savio, and Bernadette Soubirous (Lourdes).  He also had a great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist, to which his devotion to all these saints and the rosary should lead because it is Christ Himself.

Blessed Carlo had a desire, when he was diagnosed with Leukemia, to visit the site of every Eucharistic miracle in the world.  His condition made this impossible, so he developed a website cataloging each of the many places where Eucharistic miracles have occurred.

He died on 12 October 2006 at the age of 15, and is now recognized by the Church as a “blessed”; one more miracle and we’ll know him as “saint” Carlo.  He is the patron of young people, students, the internet, and computer programmers.

I pray that all of our confimandi will take to heart their patron saint(s) and continue to be inspired by them to achieve the holiness to which they have been called in Baptism / Confirmation.  I also pray fervently their parents, sponsors, and all of us will encourage their devotion to their chosen patron and will also encourage their devotion to attaining the holiness of life to which they have been called.  They ARE capable of this level of holiness!  They are also called to this level of holiness in Baptism.  Check out my essay on Bl. Carlo and the holiness of teens on my blog.

“May Christ our Lord help us all with His bountiful grace, so that we may know His holy will and perfectly fulfill it.” (St. Ignatius of Loyola)