No this isn’t an advertisement for Ford!
When I think about Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, I talk a lot about climbing to the HeightS! I’m a dreamer and a fighter; it’s natural. It’s alluring and captivating to transcend and to climb onward and upward as our siblings in faith who have gone before us cast a view of the landscape. Those who have gone before us paint the image of a life well lived and naturally we too want join them to see the grandeur of God and to hear His voice in the intimate, personal whisper which the saints heard the Word speak. That being said, these thoughts are often based upon a rather large assumption, which bears some reflection.
In order to ascend, we must be walking on Solid Rock. Now, saying Pier Giorgio’s foundation was solid does not mitigate or downplay the reality that there were times and circumstances in his life that were treacherous or rocky. Rather, it highlights that as he climbed the Alps as a mountaineer and spiritually as a pilgrim he did so by placing one foot in front of the other, by attending to each small ascent that came his way. He built virtue and character by his daily habits, his receptive disposition to prayer and the sacraments, and his filial devotion to Mary. He staked his footing on solid ground.
Life according to the Spirit, whose fruit is holiness (cf. Rom 6:22; Gal 5:22), stirs up every baptized person and requires each to follow and imitate Jesus Christ in embracing the beatitudes; in listening and meditating on the Word of God; in conscious and active participation in the liturgical and sacramental life of the Church; in personal prayer; in family or in community; in hunger and thirst for justice; in the practice of the commandment of love in all circumstances of life and service to the brethren, especially the least, the poor and the suffering.
The Fathers of the Church use the word fillocalia- that is, love for divine beauty which radiates from divine love – to describe the spiritual journey toward purity under the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the hopes of daily becoming people who live “in the image of Christ”. Pier Giorgio was one of those who daily worked to become better conformed to the image of Christ. (An Ordinary Christian, 64)
What’s your foundation? Where do you place your footing? Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, pray that we may allow Christ to be our cornerstone, the bedrock and the foundation, which is built to last.
Verso l’alto,
Kathryn Grace
You are the solid rock we are built upon
I’ve been out there searching for a place where I belong and on my way I heard my song. Let it sing me home!
Love’s the Only House
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