Today is September 13, the Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church.
We read at today’s Mass, “A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks” (Lk 6:43-45).
Carlo lived with integrity in a culture that often encouraged the opposite. He chose modesty in how he lived and Christian honesty in how he used the internet. He understood that purity was not repression but freedom — the freedom to love God wholeheartedly.
One classmate of Carlo’s, a girl, recalls, “I always remember Carlo as having an angelic quality. He had deep faith in God and a purity that you could perceive whenever you were in his presence.”
‘Dying as photocopies’
The digital world, he knew, was filled with temptations: consumerism, impurity, distraction. Carlo refused to let these define him. He once remarked that people who chase after the latest trends end up “dying as photocopies.” Instead, he sought originality in holiness, living simply and authentically.
Purity of heart is not just about chastity, though it includes that. It is about letting every area of life — online and offline — be transparent before God. Carlo’s choices remind us that integrity in small matters builds a strong soul for greater trials.
In our own lives, purity requires vigilance. It means choosing what we watch, what we click, what we dwell on. It means living in such a way that our hearts remain clear, open and free for God. Carlo shows us that purity is not outdated but necessary for true joy.
Let us pray,
O God, strength of those who hope in you, who willed that the Bishop Saint John Chrysostom should be illustrious by his wonderful eloquence and his experience of suffering, grant us, we pray, that, instructed by his teachings, we may be strengthened through the example of his invincible patience. 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.
*Father Patrick’s MDV reflection video will be up shortly.
