Today is September 3, the Memorial of St. Gregory the Great.
We read at today’s Mass, “I will thank you always for what you have done, and proclaim the goodness of your name before your faithful ones” (Ps 52:9).
Carlo Acutis often said that the Eucharist was his “highway to heaven.” That conviction began on the day of his First Communion. From that moment, he never missed the opportunity to go to Mass daily. He understood, even as a young boy, that Jesus in the Eucharist was not a symbol or idea but the living presence of God.
Monsignor Poma, Carlo’s pastor recalls, “This was the root of his attraction to Communion in the Eucharist: with his body having been given, and his blood having been poured out … the little things that vie for young people’s attention end up being such a disappointment; but when the Lord knocks on the door, we know he is ready to give us a taste of the harmony of the goodness of the world to come. I can simply tell you that Carlo believed this without hesitation, and he began the journey of faith, a remarkably fruitful endeavor for any young person. He didn’t regard life as a sort of idealized ‘illusion.’ He loved it as it really was. He ‘listened’ to it grow from the waters of the Eucharist: a sacrament so dear to him.”
The center of our lives
Carlo challenges us to rediscover this same wonder. How often do we approach Communion casually, forgetting that heaven comes to earth in that moment? The Eucharist is the same miracle for us as it was for Carlo. The same Christ who fed and strengthened him is present to us.
Perhaps your First Communion is a distant memory. But every Mass is a new invitation to renew your love for Christ. Carlo reminds us that the Eucharist is not only the center of the Church but the center of our lives.
We do not need extraordinary practices to grow in holiness. We need only to do what Carlo did: to place Jesus in the Eucharist at the center of our day.
Let us pray,
O God, who care for your people with gentleness and rule them in love, through the intercession of Pope Saint Gregory, endow, we pray, with a spirit of wisdom those to whom you have given authority to govern, that the flourishing of a holy flock may become the eternal joy of the shepherds. 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.
*We are experiencing issues with the recorded video files for MDV. Thank you for your patience as we work to resolve them and post the remaining reflections.
