Today is September 27, Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, Priest.
We read at today’s Mass, “While they were all amazed at his every deed, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men'” (Lk 9:43b-44).
On October 12, 2013 (seven years after Carlo Acutis’ death), a miracle unfolded in Campo Grande, Brazil. A boy named Mattheus, born with a severe congenital defect called an annular pancreas, had suffered constant pain and vomiting since infancy. By the age of four, he weighed only twenty pounds and survived on shakes. Doctors had given little hope.
His mother, Luciana, had prayed for years. Then she heard about a parish prayer service dedicated to Carlo’s intercession. Before attending, she made a novena and explained to her son that they could ask Carlo to pray for his healing.
‘I will help you from heaven’
At the service, Mattheus touched a picture of Carlo and whispered, “I wish I could stop vomiting so much.” In that instant, healing began. On the way home, he announced he was cured. At dinner, he ate french fries, beans, rice and steak (the favorite meal of his siblings) and kept it down. From that day forward, he ate normally. Medical tests later confirmed his organ had changed.
The Church recognized this healing as the miracle that opened the way to Carlo’s beatification. But it is also a window into Carlo’s mission from heaven. Just as he said in life, “I will help you from heaven,” he continues now to intercede, especially for the suffering and young.
Mattheus’ mother later reflected that this miracle transformed not only her son’s life but also her own. Inspired by Carlo, she began using technology to share her testimony of faith and hope.
Let us pray,
O God, who for the relief of the poor and the formation of the clergy endowed the Priest Saint Vincent de Paul with apostolic virtues, grant, we pray, that, afire with that same spirit, we may love what he loved and put into practice what he taught. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
*Unfortunately, we have had further technical issues with the video recordings of My Daily Visitor. Please enjoy the recovered audio for your daily prayer and reflection.
