Just recently, Catholic News Agency released a beautiful article about this fascinating and inspiring youth’s story of faith. In an effort to keep it concise, I paraphrased his story for you here…
Carlo was born in 1991 in London and raised in Milan, Italy. In his teenage years, Carlo was diagnosed with leukemia. After offering his suffering to God and for others, he died on October 12, 2006. His cause for canonization began in 2013 and he has been designated “Blessed” on October 10, 2020.
Growing up, Carlo loved to pray the rosary and after receiving First Communion, he went to Mass as often as possible, often doing Holy Hours before or after Mass.
The priest who promoted his cause for sainthood spoke how as a child Carlo would convince his family to come to daily Mass with him. His life of devotion and witness of the faith led his mother to a deep conversion.
Due to his great love for the Eucharist, he asked his parents to take him on pilgrimages to the sites of Eucharistic miracles! He was impacted by them so much that he built a website that promoted Eucharistic miracles online. You can visit the website here: https://www.miracolieucaristici.org/
I know in my own life encountering the stories of Eucharistic miracles that have happened throughout the world has deepened my faith and belief in the Eucharist we celebrate and receive. I challenge you to read about a Eucharistic miracle and share it with someone today. Strengthen someone’s faith by first strengthening your own.
On his website, Carlo told people that “the more we receive the Eucharist, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of heaven.” What an amazing reality! This is what becoming a saint is all about! Becoming Jesus!
Like the gospel relates to us this weekend, Jesus continues to describe what the kingdom of heaven is like. How are you going to respond to God’s invitation? Are you going to ignore the invitation? Are you going to be about your own business? Or are you going to be open to building the kingdom of heaven on earth?
Let’s do it the way Carlo did by focusing our lives on the ‘foretaste of heaven,’ the Eucharist, the gift that helps us become the person we are meant to be—Jesus Christ!
May God’s peace and joy be with you,
Fr. Jeremy Merzweiler
