Fr. Matt here! Ciao from Assisi. Today, my friends and I drove to Assisi, home of St. Francis and St. Clare. They are well known 13th Century saints who established the Franciscan Order. I prayed in a particular way for Sea Side Life Teen, that we would come to know and love Christ in the poor, especially on service days and on our mission trips this year. We also visited Blessed Carlo Acutis, a recently canonized saint who was devoted to the Eucharist and lived a holy life, dying as a teen. I asked him to help us fall more deeply in love with Jesus’ True Presence in the Eucharist. His tomb is the third picture. The fourth is the Basilica of St Francis, and the fifth is sunset in a vineyard in Umbria that Waze took us through to avoid traffic. Blessings throughout the day!
Fr Matt here. Happy Sunday! I’ll miss you all this evening at the 5:30 Mass, but I did offer Mass this morning for Sea Side Life Teen - that our teens, through the intercession of Saint Catherine of Siena, would know the love of the crucified Christ. This is a love that Saint Catherine of Siena knew well. Pictured here is her head, which is immediately behind the altar where I asked her to intercede for Life Teen at Mass. She knew the love of the crucified Christ - in fact, she received the stigmata (wounds of Christ) on her body when a crucifix came alive before her and Christ spoke to her. Saint Catherine, pray for us - that we may live bold lives and be holy!
