The following is adapted from the archbishop’s Feb. 20 address to the 7,500 young people in attendance for the annual Religious Education Congress’ Youth Day.
We are privileged today to worship in the presence of a sacred relic from Blessed Carlo Acutis, who Pope Francis will canonize in April, just after Easter.
Carlo will be our first millennial saint. He was born in 1991 and grew up in Milan, Italy. He was just 15 years old when he died from leukemia.
But in his short time on this earth, he lived life to the fullest. He lived with a spirit of freedom and joy.
He was an ordinary teen. He loved playing sports and video games with his friends; he had a genius for making websites and finding creative ways to use the internet to share his faith.
What made this ordinary young man different was that his life was anchored in Jesus Christ. When he was your age, he discovered the secret power of the Eucharist.
He started going to Mass every day and came to understand the beautiful truth that the more we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, the more we become like him, the deeper he comes to dwell in our hearts and in our souls.
Carlo used to say: “To always be close to Jesus, that’s my life plan.”
What a great idea! That should be your plan and mine, it should be everybody’s life plan!
That’s what Jesus is getting at in the Gospel that we just heard.
Jesus today asks his apostles a question: “But who do you say that I am?”
Jesus isn’t only asking them. He’s asking us. It’s a question that’s deeply personal. No one else can answer it for us.
Lots of people have opinions about Jesus. But if we want to have a friendship with Jesus, then we need to make our own decision about him. Who do we say that he is? Who do you say that he is?
It’s a big question, more important than the SAT or a final exam, because your life depends on how you answer this question. Who you are depends on who Jesus is.
If Jesus is just another historical figure who lived a long time ago, then it doesn’t matter who he is; it makes no difference.
But if we believe that Jesus is who he says he is, if we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who suffered and was killed and on the third day rose again, then our whole life changes!
The truth is that Jesus is the Christ! And he did suffer, die, and rise from the dead. And he did these things for us, for you and for me!
In the first reading today, God tells Noah that every human life is precious, because every human life has been created “in the image of God.”
That means that you are not just a random creature, another creature on planet earth. You are a child of God! Your life has a meaning and purpose in God’s plan.
And God’s purpose for your life and mine is fulfilled in Jesus.
If you say to Jesus, as Peter did: “You are the Christ,” if you put your life in his hands and follow him, then Jesus will show you how to lead a beautiful life, a life filled with love and service, a life that will become your path to heaven.
I know we all believe this, and I know we’re trying hard to live out our beliefs. That’s why we’re here today!
We come to meet Jesus in the Eucharist because we want him to strengthen our faith and renew our sense of purpose. We come because we know that in every Eucharist, Jesus is shaping our hearts and making us more like him.
That’s why Carlo went to Mass every day, starting when he was in grade school.
For Carlo, living with Jesus and walking with him in friendship was as natural as breathing. It was who he was, it was how he wanted to live.
Today, I encourage all of you to keep going on our journey with Jesus. Stay close to him and keep working to grow in your love for God and your love for others.
As you prepare to meet Jesus again in the Eucharist today, let us say to him, like St. Peter: “You are the Christ!”
Let’s thank him for his love and all his gifts. And let’s ask him to stir in us the desire to become saints like Carlo.
And let’s also turn our hearts to our Blessed Mother Mary. May she help us every day to become more like her Son — to love as he loves, and to share his love with everyone we meet.
