Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati Square Sticker
"Verso l'alto." Upward. This is Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati. To be honest I didn't really know much about him until maybe a week or two ago. I only vaguely knew his name as a Catholic man admired by young people. My wife suggested I draw him, and I learned of his story as I searched for pictures of him. He was a climber by hobby and by nature, a charitable worker and giver, a devout participant in church ministry, an activist against communism, and died of polio at the young age of 24. Twenty-four... When I was looking at pictures of him, before I found out his age, I thought, "what a grown man." He died ten years younger than I am today and through the fire of youth accomplished "greatness" in the eyes of God through humility and work. As I was drawing him I reflected on masculinity, thinking he might be a charming, attractive, inspirational figure in today's society. On the surface, I tend to not trust those qualities... but ultimately, what is attractive and beautiful in anything is because of God's presence in it. How do we discern if a beautiful man is good or evil? What made the saints great was their humility before God, and the decision to live in love whether there is joy or suffering. Indeed, a life of love grants both joy and suffering at their maximum, and it will bear good fruit regardless of circumstance. St. Irenaeus said "The glory of God is man fully alive." Certainly, Frassati's spirit lives on today, and I hope he gets canonized. Glory to Jesus.
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