Reconnecting with God
Novena to Blessed Carlo Acutis Day 4
Last year, I met a mother of twelve. One of her children had a serious condition, which greatly limited her motor and cognitive functions. Unlike Amelia, this girl was born with her handicap.1 As we talked about our differing situations, we couldn’t really decide which was worse—thinking everything is okay, and then seeing a rapid decline; or never having that time of normalcy in the first place. Both are pretty horrible, and I don’t think we can really compare tragedies in that way.
Her daughter was a teenager, so she had been living with this for longer than we have. She told me she took comfort in the fact that she knew for sure at least one of her children would be in heaven, no matter what.
And it’s true, Amelia’s not really old enough to require confession, which is what today’s meditation from Blessed Carlo is about. But the sacrament is also called “reconciliation” for a reason. It’s not about punishment or regret so much as reconnecting with God.
Amelia is very restricted right now, but she still has some agency. So, when I say prayers with Amelia at night, one thing I often do is ask her to think about what she did that day, and how she could be better, while I do the same. She can’t verbally tell me, but it doesn’t matter; I can see she’s reflecting on her day, and God can hear her.
It’s obviously never anything egregiously bad in Amelia’s case, but she can still, like Carlo says, light a fire under her soul to let it float up to God again.
Opening Prayer
Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we thank you for all the grace and favors with which you enriched the soul of the Blessed Carlo Acutis during his 15 years on this earth. Through the merits of this Angel of Youth, grant us the grace which we earnestly seek, that Amelia be cured of her metachromatic leukodystrophy.
Meditation
“Our soul is like a hot-air balloon. If by chance there is a mortal sin, the soul falls to the ground. Confession is like the fire underneath the balloon, enabling the soul to rise again. It is important to go to confession often.”
Blessed Carlo Acutis, you who have lived this sacrament of reconciliation so well, give us the grace to constantly seek confession and the grace of a deep contrition. Amen.
Pray five Our Fathers, five Hail Marys, and five Glory Bes to give thanks to God for the grace granted to Carlo in the 15 years of his earthly life.
Closing Prayer
Almighty God, Father of Mercy, raise your servant Blessed Carlo Acutis to the glory of the altars, so that through him you will be even more glorified. Give us the honor of counting him among the saints, for he lived in Your Will in all things. And through his merit, give us the grace that we so ardently desire.
Amen.
The MLD genes were there from the beginning, obviously, but Amelia developed pretty much normally until she was around 5.