She ordered several books about him and read them. And for an entire week, her son's words stayed with her. Making a saint among those so young was a rare occurrence. As her son said, what could a boy who barely lived 15 years on this earth have done to cause so many miracles to happen?
She opened the book again and made a list of his deeds. Inviting friends whose spirits were crushed by their parents' divorce over for meals, striking up conversations with bullied classmates, not getting angry when toys were taken at the playground, getting angry at friends who broke the rules, picking up trash, bringing home abandoned animals, greeting street cleaners and asking how they were doing, asking his grandmother to pack desserts to deliver to the homeless, refusing his mother's offer to buy him another pair of shoes and instead asking her to use that money to help the poor, and during puberty, when his friends whistled at a pretty girl, he snapped: "Is Sophia a dog? Why are you whistling?"
At the wealthy school he attended, when friends mocked his few outfits as tacky, he sternly replied: "Everyone is born unique. What's so great about designer brands? They all look the same. Do you want to leave this world imitating others?"
These words moved her greatly. Evil tends to be similar without any distinct features. Others have often mentioned this fact. If that's the case, the way to become a saint is quite simple. Saints are incredibly unique. All it takes is to be yourself.
The words of the 15-year-old boy resonated with her. Of course, the thought came to mind that this truth is proclaimed similarly everywhere in the world. Yet, was Carlo Acutis a boy who carried the Bible and was solemn? No, he played the saxophone and was a computer whiz.
He created and distributed a program that announced the miracle of the Eucharist (since it was the early 2000s, only experts could have made such a program) on their own. After he died, his parents looked through his computer and found no records of him ever accessing forbidden sites.
Facing death from acute leukemia, he said to his mother, 'Do not be sad. Sadness is a gaze turned toward oneself, but happiness is a gaze turned toward God. I have always done things that please God, so I feel I can die peacefully. However, after I die, my siblings will be born'.
As predicted, after Carlo Acutis died, his mother gave birth to twins at the age of 43. As the novelist prepared to write this article, tears welled up in her eyes.
Is there even one thing among these that she cannot do? Just as St. Therese of Lisieux became a great saint, who devoted her life to loving God in the early 20th century, she intuitively sensed that Acutis, the first saint of the 21st century, was a significant figure.
"There is no need to move mountains, to heal the sick, to build great cathedrals, or to achieve anything. Just live with love. Is there anything else I desire beyond that?"
