Carlo Acutis, the Servant of God: Life beyond the Border
Francesco Occhetta & Carly Andrews (Kindle Edition. 2018)
Carlo Acutis was born in 1991 to an affluent Italian family in London, and died at age 15. From his tender days, he showed extraordinary interest in the Holy Eucharist.
Carlo showed extraordinary skill and phenomenal knowledge in Information Technology, the Internet and movie-editing. He liked Steve Jobs’ advice: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”
His Grandfather, his governess and his favourite saints—Saint Francis of Assisi, Dominic Savio, Francisco and Jacinta Marto (of Fatima), and St Bernadette Soubirou—nurtured his spirituality. In his schooldays he showed himself to be a positive influence upon his schoolmates, a defender of the weak and troubled schoolmates and doing voluntary work among the destitute. He created a database of Eucharistic miracles in the world. He loved pets, sports, cartoons and books, and outings just like any other boy, and his extraordinariness never showed. All the money that he earned went straight to charity. The authors identify “elements of mysticism, asceticism, communion and contemplation” as the facets of his spirituality. When he was diagnosed with fulminant leukemia, he accepted it as a God-given gift of suffering. As he was nearing his painful death, the doctors asked him how he felt. His answer was: “There are people who are worse off.” Carlo’s influence grew more rapidly after his death and the world came to know of this boy through books and various media. The authors note: “If one wishes to distance oneself from death with good looks and eternal youthfulness, Carlo’s life teaches us to look at death from within the eternity of God.” Two major legacies of this saint of the IT generation are: the model and inspiration that he was in his personal friendship with Christ through the Eucharist, and the series of Eucharistic miracle exhibitions that he initiated with Church approval which had a wide impact upon the contemporary world.
Chiara Corbella Petrillo: A Witness to Joy
Cristiana Paccini and Simone Troisi (2013)
Translation: Charlotte Fasi
Chiara Petrillo was a young mother who passed away at age twenty-eight, leaving her youngest child Francesco and husband Enrico behind. She already had lost two children immediately after their births, of serious congenital defects. At her funeral eulogy, her family spiritual adviser Fr Vito D’Amato said: “If you wish to know more about Chiara, come, ask us.” The response was overwhelming; it became the inspiration for this book. I
What was so special and extraordinary about Chiara? The book reveals it through the letters, testimonies, interviews and articles in the media that celebrated Chiara as a “witness to joy,” a spirit never dampened by the extraordinary sufferings that she and her husband went through during their short but grace-filled marriage. Her joyful and loving acceptance of life in all its beauty in the midst of sufferings and loss made a Roman Cardinal declare that she is “a saint for our times.”
Chiara and Enrico fell in love during a pilgrimage, but the courting period was tempestuous, with so many misunderstandings and break-ups. Finally, accompanied by their spiritual adviser Fr Vito, they took a pilgrimage on foot to Assisi, where they came to realize that marriage was a sacrament to be lived out in grace. When they were expecting their first child, the gynecologist told them that the girl child was developing ‘anencephaly,’ a serious brain problem, ensuring death soon after birth. The couple had never contemplated such an eventuality; but they refused to to abort and accepted the child to “accompany” her as far as they could. The child, Maria Grazia Letizia, died after receiving her baptism within an hour of her birth. The second child, a boy, had deformations of his limbs. He too was born and baptized, and died within a day. This time also the couple actually celebrated the funeral like before, singing and playing guitar and violin! The third child was conceived healthy. Then Chiara developed a malignancy. The couple decided to stay the treatment after the initial surgery so as to avoid harming the child during treatment. She went into treatment after the birth of Francesco, the third child; but succumbed to cancer. Her husband recalls how she responded when he asked her if the yoke laid upon her by the Lord was “really sweet.” Her answer was a smiling reply: “Yes, Enrico, it is very sweet.”
PROF GIGY JOSEPH
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