St. Elizabeth Granite City, Illinois

Virtue in Focus: FAITH This week we focus on the virtue of Faith (one of the 3 Theological Virtues, along with Hope & Charity.)

Faith: Enables us to know God and all that He has revealed. It’s the virtue by which we can “see” God in the spiritual sense. It gives us the conviction that all God has revealed through Sacred Scripture & Tradition is true.

If we look with the eyes of faith, things look different than they do in the physical realm with just our natural sight. For example, if we see a friend who is sick, we might only notice the suffering and be very sad. But with the eyes of faith, we see in the sick child an image of the suffering Christ. And then the presence of the Holy Spirit in us prompts us to help.

How to Nurture Faith:

• Prayer enables us to guard our heart by living in communion with God. • Reception of the Sacraments, especially the & Reconciliation, nourishes our soul with His life and grace. • Study of the truth contained in the Deposit of Faith.

A Young Disciple Living the Virtue of Faith:

• Regularly receives the Sacraments. • Reads & meditates on the Word of God. • Cultivates friendship with God in prayer. • Professes in words & deeds. • Seeks to know & understand what God has revealed. • Courageously shares the faith with others. • Confidently bears witness to Christ in daily life. A Story of Faith: Carlo Acutis (Adapted from a story at Catholic News Agency) Carlo Acutis was born May 3, 1991, in London, where his parents were working. A few months later, his parents moved home to , . As a teenager, he was diagnosed with leukemia. He offered his sufferings for Pope Benedict XVI and for the Church, saying “I offer all the suffering I will have to suffer for the Lord, for the Pope, and the Church.” He died on Oct. 12, 2006, and was buried in , at his request, because of his love for St. .

His cause for canonization began in 2013. He was designated “Venerable” in 2018, and will be designated “Blessed” by this weekend, on October 10.

From a young age, Carlo seemed to have a special love for God, even though his parents weren’t especially devout. His mom said that before Carlo, she went to Mass only for her , her confirmation, and her wedding. But Carlo loved to pray the . After he made his First Communion, he went to Mass as often as he could, and he made Holy Hours before or after Mass. He went to confession weekly. He asked his parents to take him on pilgrimages — to the places of the saints, and to the sites of Eucharistic miracles. St. Elizabeth Catholic Church Granite City, Illinois

There was fruit of Carlos’ devotion in his life. His witness of faith led to a deep conversion in his mom, because, according to the priest promoting his cause for sainthood, he “managed to drag his relatives, his parents to Mass every day. It was not the other way around; it was not his parents bringing the little boy to Mass, but it was he who managed to get himself to Mass and to convince others to receive Communion daily.”

He was known for defending kids at school who got picked on, especially disabled kids. When a friend's parents were getting a divorce, Carlo made a special effort to include his friend in the Acutis family life.

And he promoted Eucharistic miracles, especially through a website he built to promote them. On the site, he told people that "the more often we receive the Eucharist, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of heaven."

When Carlo got sick, his life of faith increased. He was intentional about offering up his suffering for the Church, the pope, and for people who were suffering with illness.

And he loved playing video games. His console of choice was a Playstation, or possibly a PS2, which was released in 2000, when he was nine. We know he only allowed himself to play games for an hour a week, as a penance and a spiritual discipline, but he wanted to play much more.

He was also a programmer, and, as we mentioned, built a website cataloguing and promoting Eucharistic miracles.

Carlo also apparently liked sports (especially soccer) and the outdoors.

Today in Assisi, he lies in repose in a glass tomb where he can be venerated by pilgrims until Oct. 17. He is displayed in jeans, a hooded sweatshirt, and a pair of Nikes, the casual clothes he preferred in life. A Blessed who looks like us! This Week’s Challenge:

• Have your parents read this article: Mother of Soon-to-Be Blessed Carlo Acutis: ‘Jesus Was His First Priority’ • Ask your parent, grandparent, or guardian how they would describe YOUR Faith if a newspaper reporter asked them about it. Does their description sound like the virtue of Faith? • If you haven’t stopped by the servers’ sacristy at St. Elizabeth Church, stop by, say ‘hi’, and grab your own Young Disciples Society sticker from the bulletin board. Learning More / Jumping Ahead:

Here’s a sneak peek at more of how the Virtues, Gifts of the Spirit, & Beatitudes align, from future weeks…

VIRTUES GIFTS BEATITUDES Faith Understanding & Knowledge Pure of Heart, those who weep Hope Fear of the Lord Poor in Spirit Charity Wisdom Peacemakers Prudence Counsel The Merciful Justice Piety The Meek Fortitude Fortitude Hunger & thirst for justice Temperance Fear of the Lord Poor in spirit