Pope Francis has declared 2025 as a Jubilee Year of Hope and an opportunity to renew ourselves as Pilgrims of Hope. The Eucharistic Revival is still happening! It’s time to rekindle our faith and hope and put them into action.
On April 27, Divine Mercy Sunday and the World Day for Teenagers, Carlo Acutis will be enrolled in the Communion of Saints. EWTN will broadcast the Canonization Mass at 4:30 am and 7:00 pm on that day. A documentary by Castletown Media, Carlo Acutis: Road Map to Reality, is scheduled to debut in theaters April 27-29. Another documentary, The Boy from Milan, featuring personal stories from those who knew him, is coming to FORMED on April 2.
This sneaker-clad, internet-savvy millennial often described the Eucharist as his “highway to heaven.” Carlo’s rise to sainthood has been meteoric, coming less than 20 years after his death from leukemia. What can the life of a 15-year-old teenager teach us? Well, for one thing, holiness is accessible to everyone, and the Eucharist is the means to achieve it.
Carlo would be up to the challenge of participating in the Eucharistic Revival’s Walk with One Program. His parents were not especially devout Catholics. His mother admitted to only attending Mass three times in her life: baptism, communion, and marriage. However, Carlo’s devotion to the Eucharist inspired a deep conversion in his mother. Another conversion was of his au pair, Rajesh Mohur, from Hinduism to Catholicism. A favorite quote of Carlos was “The more we receive the Eucharist, the more we will become like Jesus.” Carlo’s life is inspirational, it attracts people and teaches us that holiness is possible for everyone.
This month we also celebrate the Institution of the Holy Eucharist on Holy Thursday. Many churches will follow the Mass of the Lord’s Supper with a period of quiet adoration. They keep their doors open that evening so that the faithful can spend time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Just as He invited Peter, James, and John to keep watch with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane before His Passion, He asks us, “Can you spend time with Me?” How can we refuse this invitation?
As we move closer to the celebration of the Paschal Triduum and the Easter Season, may God bless you during the remainder of our Lenten journey.
Sister Marcella Louise Wallowicz CSFN
