One of the great joys for the life of the Church is our young people. Our Catholic youth give great joy when we see them living their faith in a normal and happy way. 

 

It is often commented, for example, that the preponderance of Mass attendees are older. For that reason don’t we feel uplifted when we see a family with young children come into church and find their pew before Mass?

 

There is a similar joy when I celebrate Mass at one of our Catholic schools. To look out on all of the young faces is to be reminded of God’s gift and calling of young people that must then mature into the faith that guides the rest of life.

 

But the faith of our young is also a great challenge. The statistics on Catholic young people are very worrisome. Some 50% of millennials raised as Catholics have left the faith. Others may identify as Catholics but hardly practice their faith.

 

The challenges for our young people are understandable. Our culture in a short period of time has turned from being supportive of religion to seeking to exclude God from public life. 

 

In addition the sexual revolution, now decades old, has become almost a cultural religion whose articles of faith are to be accepted and venerated in order to be popular. Of course the Biblical morality of the Catholic Church and others stands in contrast to such pressure.

 

It is in this context that the Church has just received a gift of grace coming from among the young. On Oct. 10, in Assisi, Carlo Acutis was beatified. He therefore received the Church’s recognition of his holiness that will hopefully lead to his canonization as a saint. Who, then, was Carlo Acutis?

 

Carlo was an Italian boy born in 1991. He died of leukemia in October 2005 at the age of 15. But his life story is worthy of presentation to and discussion with our young people.

 

Carlo’s mother admits that she was not a strongly practicing Catholic. In fact, she said that she went to the Church for first Communion, confirmation and marriage, and little else. But after Carlo was born, he began to exhibit an exceptional love for Jesus and for Mary.

 

In a particular way, Carlo was drawn to the Eucharist, even without the support of his family. After receiving his first Communion, he sought to attend Mass daily. More surprisingly, he prevailed and began to take his parents to Mass with him, reversing the normal dynamic. His mother recounts that this impacted her faith and it was greatly deepened by Carlo.

 

Carlo also found great happiness in the constant recitation of the rosary. He found this to be a natural complement to the Eucharist.

 

What makes Carlo even more of a model for young people were his other interests in life. For example, he loved to play sports, especially soccer. 

 

In addition, he loved video games and developed skills for computer programming. In fact, he combined this with his faith and developed a website cataloging a number of Eucharistic miracles that occurred in various countries. That very well crafted site can be found at http://www.miracolieucaristici.org/en/liste/list.html.