Seeds of Joy - Carlo Acutis

"It shall come to pass. I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions." Joel 3:1 Many of us mistakenly think that holiness is reserved for adults and that youth are not capable of achieving sanctity. But history proves us wrong. Throughout the annals of the Church it is not hard to find shining examples of young people whose lives were filled with the Holy Spirit, young men and women who saw visions of a better world. Carlo Acutis is one of these young visionaries. Carlo was born in London in May, 1991, was raised in Milan, Italy. As soon as he received his First Communion at the age of 7, his love for the Eucharist became apparent. He attended daily Mass and spent time in adoration either before or afterwards. Carlo made a point of going to Confession weekly. Saying the rosary each day, he entrusted himself to the Blessed Mother as well. He developed a love for young saints, such as St. Tarcisius of Rome, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Bernadette of Lourdes, and St. Dominic Savio. He imitated the saints by stopping the bullying of his fellow students, by watching out for the disabled, and by spreading good cheer wherever he went. Concerned about peers whose parents were divorcing, he invited them to his home to support them in their struggles. Like many teens, Carlo love video games. When he got his first savings and would have loved to buy a new video game, he decided instead to buy a sleeping bag for a homeless man on the streets. He worked in soup kitchens and did whatever he could for the poor he found along his way. As Carlo grew, his genius in computer technology began to be recognized by engineers and other adults who were astounded that he understood so much without a university education. He learned to code early, building software that would help many. He was considered a computer genius. Carlo was a visionary, seeing how he could use his skills to spread the Gospel, even creating a database of Eucharistic miracles which has been seen around the world. Pope Francis praised him this way: “Carlo was well-aware that the whole apparatus of communications, advertising and social networking can be used to lull us, to make us addicted to consumerism and buying the latest thing on the market, obsessed with our free time, caught up in negativity… Yet he knew how to use the new communications technology to transmit the Gospel, to communicate values and beauty.” Carlo became ill with Leukemia in the summer of 2006 and died that same year at age 15. As he suffered in the hospital, Carlo said, “I offer to the Lord all the sufferings that I will have to undergo…” He did that, living faithfully every minute of his short life. He was beatified on October 10, 2020 by Pope Francis. And he became the first young adult saint of the 21st century. Watering the Seeds How do you use the talents you have for the good of others? What saints inspire you to be guided by the Holy Spirit and grow to love the Lord more and more?