Today is September 19, Friday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time.
We read at today’s Mass, “Pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses” (1 Tim 6:11-12).
Carlo Acutis felt a deep closeness to the saints, but among them, one stood out: St. Francis of Assisi. From his earliest pilgrimages to Assisi, Carlo was captivated by the humility of the Poverello, who desired nothing more than to decrease so that Christ might increase in him. Francis’s radical humility, poverty and burning love for the Eucharist became a model that shaped Carlo’s own pursuit of holiness.
Carlo often told his parents that true discipleship requires humility, that we must recognize we are “nothing” before God. Yet he was also clear that humility is not just politeness or kindness. It is the hard work of surrendering our pride. “We all are likely to fall short,” he once admitted, “because as soon as someone says something we don’t like, we instantly grow angry.” Carlo recognized humility as one of the most difficult virtues to acquire, and Francis inspired him to strive for it.
Acts of divine humility
St. Francis’ zeal for the Eucharist also left a deep mark. Carlo loved a passage from Francis’ writings: “Daily he humbles himself as when from heaven’s royal throne he came down into the womb of the Virgin. Daily he himself comes to us with like humility. Daily he descends from the bosom of the Father upon the altar in the hands of the priest.” For Carlo, these words expressed the profound mystery of Christ’s Eucharistic presence. He was struck by how Francis linked the Incarnation and the Eucharist as daily acts of divine humility.
Carlo’s pilgrimages to Assisi and La Verna, where Francis received the stigmata, were times of renewal. Walking the Via Crucis there, he learned that love means sacrifice, and sacrifice means joy. Like his beloved saint, Carlo wanted to give himself completely to Christ and to find in the Eucharist the source of strength for humility and love.
Let us pray,
Look upon us, O God, Creator and ruler of all things, and, that we may feel the working of your mercy, grant that we may serve you with all our heart. 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.
