Living the Faith with a Young Heart
+JMJ+ AMDG
"Dear young people, you bring us the joy of Faith and you tell us that we must live the Faith with a young heart." ~ Pope Francis
Blessed Chiara died in 1990 at the age of eighteen from a form of bone cancer. When she was diagnosed with the illness, she united her sufferings to Christ's Passion, declaring quietly, "It's for You, Jesus; if You want it, I want it, too." She fought her illness for two years, always smiling and comforting others ~ truly radiating Christ.
When asked how her eyes were so luminous, she responded simply, "I try to love Jesus as much as I can."
Before her death, Chiara told her mother, "Young people…they are the future. You see, I can’t run anymore, but how I would like to pass on to them the torch, like in the Olympics! Young people have only one life and it’s worthwhile to spend it well."
Blessed Pier Giorgio, although born to a well-to-family, chose poverty for the sake of the Gospel. He would donate his income to the needy; he was an advocate for those who could not defend themselves. He became a third order Dominican. When he died at the young age of twenty-four, and his prominent family held his funeral, they were astounded to see all those whom he had helped throng to pay their last regards.
"Dear young people, you bring us the joy of Faith and you tell us that we must live the Faith with a young heart." ~ Pope Francis
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| Bl Chiara "Luce" Badano |
When asked how her eyes were so luminous, she responded simply, "I try to love Jesus as much as I can."
Before her death, Chiara told her mother, "Young people…they are the future. You see, I can’t run anymore, but how I would like to pass on to them the torch, like in the Olympics! Young people have only one life and it’s worthwhile to spend it well."
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| "Verso l'alto" - "ever higher" |
"With all the strength of my soul I urge you young people to approach the Communion table as often as you can. Feed on this bread of angels whence you will draw all the energy you need to fight inner battles. Because true happiness, dear friends, does not consist in the pleasures of the world or in earthly things, but in peace of conscience, which we have only if we are pure in heart and mind." ~ Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati
Blessed Pier Giorgio, although born to a well-to-family, chose poverty for the sake of the Gospel. He would donate his income to the needy; he was an advocate for those who could not defend themselves. He became a third order Dominican. When he died at the young age of twenty-four, and his prominent family held his funeral, they were astounded to see all those whom he had helped throng to pay their last regards.
I think that many people underestimate the power of the young. We are idealistic.
This is the second time in the past few days that I've read a blog post about Bl. Chiara, and up until this point I knew absolutely nothing about her--I'd never even heard of her. I have known (and loved) Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati for a long time, but now I want to learn more about this amazing young saint-to-be. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteyes, I agree.We should NEVER put down the idealistic energy of young people because Jesus never does.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is, Blessed Chiara is so relatively unknown, and yet she's the PERFECT role model for lots of teenage girls... cheerful, beautiful, confident, and she hails from the modern age!
ReplyDelete"Let the children come to me". :)