Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C: 07.09.25
12.30pm: Cathedral of the Assumption, Carlow
Introduction:
The word “hate”[1] is very strong, vitriolic in its expression and sentiment. I don’t like it and it’s not a word you’ll find in my vocabulary. And Jesus isn’t using it the way we understand hate today. Scripture scholars suggest a more accurate translation is “to love less”[2], in other words to love Jesus less than we love our parents, our families, our friends.
I want to assure you Jesus is not in any way jealous, he is just offering perspective. He puts a stark choice before us. We cannot be his followers unless we shoulder our cross. We may be afraid that it’s beyond our capacity to carry, we may worry that it’s too much or we may be concerned that we are simply going to crumble under its weight.
The Eucharist gives us the nourishment we need, the strength we need, the heart we need, to deal with whatever cross comes our way. And so we pray:
- Is tusa Tobar na Trócaire – you are the wellspring of mercy: A Thiarna, déan trócaire
- Is tusa Slí na Fírinne – you are the way of Truth: A Chríost, déan trócaire
- Bí linn i gcónaí, ós ár gcomhair amach – be with us always, showing us the way. A Thiarna, déan Trócaire
Homily:
Pope Francis said at World Youth Day in 2013 in Rio de Janiero “we need saints without cassocks, without veils – we need saints with jeans and tennis shoes. We need saints that go to the movies that listen to music, that hang out with friends … we need saints for the 21st century with a spirituality appropriate to our new time” Earlier this morning the late Pope Francis got his wish with the canonisation of Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati.
Two young men, Carlo died at 15 years of age of galloping leukaemia, I think he was sick for a very short time. Pier died at 24 years of age from polio. They both came from wealthy Italian backgrounds, but had no interest in material possessions. And neither came from a particularly religious family.
They were born ninety years apart, they died eighty-one years apart, yet today they were canonised side by side. Pier was declared Blessed in 1990, a year before Carlo Acutis was born in London. Carlo was declared Blessed in 2020, he was the first millenial to be beatified, and today he becomes the first millenial or Gen Y to be canonised.
The declaration of saints by the Church is a reminder to us that every Christian is called to be a saint, every Christian is called to holiness! We need saints to remind us of the universal call to holiness, which was put before us in Vatican II; and people who live that life remind us that it is possible for us all. They remind us of the limitless potential in us all to be good, to do good and to become that saint. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints are tasked with the thorough process.
Carlo Acutis, the tech enthusiast, many of his phrases have seeped into the language of faith today such as “everyone is born as an original, but many people end up dying as photocopies” and “the Eucharist is the highway to heaven”. Pier Giorgio Frassati is possibly less well known in Ireland. He was a passionate mountaineer. Why is he so late coming to canonisation, well a miracle attributed to his intercession only occurred in 2017.
Pier Giorgio was born in Turin in 1901, he came from an influential family, his dad was the founder and director of the Italian newspaper La Stampa, his mam was artistic. Through contact with the Jesuits, in attending an educational institute, he became familiar with the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola and was drawn to attending daily Mass and a frequent communicant, which was rare in his time. Once asked why he performed so many acts of charity, he replied: “Jesus comes to visit me each morning in Holy Communion, I return his visit to him in the poor”. He always had that great love for the poor from his youngest days. When he died, his funeral astonished his family as thousands of the poor he had helped lined the streets to honour him.
Both were athletic, Carlo loving his football, music and video games. Giorgio was an outdoor man, loving his mountaineering, his hiking, his skiing. Both of them enjoyed good company. Pier was triockster, a joker, who loved setting friends up, but knew the friend he had in Jesus, climbing the heights allowed him to get close to God.
Carlo designed websites carrying the stories of Eucharistic Miracles. Today was the second time in history that a mother saw one of her children canonised. Antonia Salzano Acutis was in in St. Peter’s Square to attend this mornings ceremony. The only other mother to attend the canonisation of one of children was Assunta Goretti who attended her daughter Maria Goretti’s canonisation on June 24th, 1950. Carlo was 15 when he died; Maria was 11! Pier was 24. Carlo is one of the few saints we have photographs of, in his jeans and polo shirts. Carlo and Pier are relatable to all of us. Thats what makes this day so special.
Boys and girls, hands up 15 year olds! Hands up 11 year olds! You don’t have to become saints, but you do, all of us, have to carry our cross, whatever it is. Let’s today smile more, complain less and together we will in our families yield the best harvest, like our friends Carlo and Pier. Back to Pope John Paul in Rio de Janiero: “we need saints without cassocks, without veils – we need saints with jeans and tennis shoes. We need saints that go to the movies that listen to music, that hang out with friends … we need saints for the 21st century with a spirituality appropriate to our new time”.
Saint Carlo Acutis, pray for us.
Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati, pray for us.
[1] Lk.14:26
[2] Brown, Raymond, ‘The Jerome Biblical Commentary’, 1968, pg. 148.