By Susan Ciancio
One of my favorite quotes from soon-to-be St. Carlo Acutis is that “all people are born as originals but many die as photocopies.”
Why do I believe this is such a profound quote? Because it affirms two important principles. One, every single human being ever created is a unique and unrepeatable person. And two, when we just go along with everyone else and do what the secular world wants, we lose sight of God’s plan for us. In fact, we lose sight of our own selves.
To ascertain God’s will and to live a truly holy life, we must pray daily and receive the sacraments regularly. When we do, we ensure that we do not become mere photocopies of a human being but an individual child of God who lives with the goal of spending eternity with Him.
‘Roadmap to Reality’
From April 27-May 1, parents and kids alike will have an incredible opportunity to get to know Carlo and to hear other words of wisdom from him and from Church leaders in a film entitled Roadmap to Reality. This film is a Fathom Event produced by Wahl St. Productions and Castletown Media and will be in theatres for five days. It follows a group of teens on a device-free pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi to see Carlo’s body and highlights important events from his life, explores the love he had of the Church and the Eucharist, and illustrates how we can all follow his example on our path to heaven.
Roadmap to Reality pushes us to reflect on our daily habits and explains how detrimental it is to be beholden to devices. That “slavery” of sorts usurps our time, making us two-dimensional people who are simply images on a screen. And it strips us of the freedom to grow closer to God by exploring our faith, talking to Him, and learning more about Him.
This incredibly thought-provoking and inspirational film will generate great family discussions and draw you all closer to God.
While it was originally supposed to coincide with Carlo’s April 27 canonization, the death of Pope Francis has put the canonization on a temporary hold. However, we know that Carlo is now in heaven, and we can take solace in the fact that he hears our prayers and will intercede for us.
‘St. Carlo Acutis: Extraordinary in the Ordinary’
Once you have seen the film, you will undoubtedly want to learn more about Carlo. You can then dive into this downloadable booklet from the Culture of Life Studies Program. St. Carlo Acutis: Extraordinary in the Ordinary reinforces teens’ understanding of and faith in the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist, teaches them that holiness can and should be attained through ordinary things, and guides them as they seek to live a holy life and build a culture that respects all people.
The booklet also discusses how Carlo used his exceptional computer skills to create a website cataloging the Catholic Church’s approved Eucharistic miracles and illustrates how living an ordinary life can become extraordinary because of faith, love of Jesus in the Eucharist, and generosity toward others.
Carlo rightly understood the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and he went to Mass every day after he received his First Communion. He liked to say that the Eucharist was his “highway to heaven.”
Jesus in the Eucharist is a foretaste of heaven, and through the reception of Holy Communion, we are nourished by Him here on earth.
When Carlo was just eleven years old, he taught catechism classes to young children and excitedly explained the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, but he found that the students were less than excited. Carlo didn’t understand why this was so, especially since the Eucharist IS Jesus. So he began to teach them about the Church-approved Eucharistic miracles, where people saw obvious signs of the Eucharist taking on Jesus’ human characteristics (e.g., the Eucharist bleeding or turning into heart tissue).
A computer genius, Carlo then began to catalog these miracles and eventually created a website so that others could learn about them. This helped the children he taught become excited, and his website soon took the world by storm, with an exhibit eventually traveling throughout many countries.
Though Carlo’s life was short, he showed us that making the most of our time here on earth is of paramount importance. I urge you to go see Roadmap to Reality as a family and then explore his life and learn more about the Eucharistic miracles in St. Carlo Acutis: Extraordinary in the Ordinary.
Carlo Acutis was certainly an extraordinary young man, and the challenge for us all today is to emulate him so that we can put aside our two-dimensional selves and live holy lives, as Carlo did and as God desires for us.