Advent Reflections with Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati Part 1: Hope

12-01-2024Weekly ReflectionJen Arnold, M.A.

For this Advent series, I will be reflecting on how Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati exemplified the Advent themes of hope, peace, joy, and love. I am going to do something different for this series. While these reflections will certainly apply to anyone, my goal is to speak directly to the young people. I am currently the mother of five teenage children, so it seems a fitting time for me personally to do this. Pope John Paul II named Blessed Frassati a patron for the youth, having died at the age of 24, and Pope Francis recently announced that Frassati’s canonization will take place during the Jubilee of the Youth in Rome next summer, so he certainly is a pertinent example. If you are a parent, grandparent, or catechist, or have any young people in your life, please consider sharing these Advent reflections with them.

The theme for the first week of Advent is hope. Born in Turin, Italy in 1901, Blessed Frassati lived during a chaotic period in Italian history, marked by social unrest and political upheaval. He witnessed the rise of the fascist movement in his country, World War I, and the open persecution of the Catholic Church. Now, here we live in a different country and time with other circumstances, but not much has changed in the general sense. Like Blessed Frassati, we live in a world of social unrest and political upheaval. It can be challenging to live one’s faith or speak the truth as fewer and fewer people even believe in God and seem to thrive on creating division. Finding hope in a world like ours is a challenge. Let's look at how Frassati found hope in a tumultuous world.

First, Frassati did not think of hope as a passive emotion or wishful thinking. Instead, he considered it an active force that drove him to work tirelessly for the betterment of others. Rather than give in to despair, he decided he could do something about it, one little thing at a time. He joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society at a young age, dedicating himself to serving the poor and marginalized in Turin. He frequently visited Turin’s slums, bringing food, medicine, and financial assistance to those in need. He saw Christ in the faces of the poor and was a source of hope for them. In a letter to a friend, he wrote, "Jesus comes to me every morning in Holy Communion, and I repay Him in my very small way by visiting the poor." This heart of service was not just about material aid; it was a testament to Pier Giorgio's hope in the transformative power of Christ’s love by recognizing the dignity of every human being. When we spend too much time focusing on all the bad things happening in the world, it can become overwhelming, and we can feel helpless and hopeless. Blessed Frassati shows us that when we focus on the difference that we can make in our much smaller community by doing little things with Christian love, we bring hope to others and grow the hope within our own hearts.

Blessed Pier Giorgio’s family dynamics were complex. His father, Alfredo, was an agnostic, the founder of a prominent newspaper, and briefly served as Italy’s ambassador to Germany. His mother, Adelaide, was a Christian in name only and an accomplished painter. On the surface, the Frassatis appeared to have it all. However, beneath this veneer of success lay significant tensions. Alfredo and Adelaide’s marriage was turbulent, nearly ending in separation. They both were uncomfortable with their son's deep piety and worried he might become too religious. They were a wealthy family, and Pier Giorgio's father wanted his son to be less concerned with religion and service to the poor, and more concerned with continuing to build the family’s wealth and making them proud in the worldly sense. His sister, Luciana Frassati, wrote of how her brother was so different from their father, saying:

Pier Giorgio was spiritually remote from all luxury and wealth. He had the great merit of having chosen the most difficult life when the easiest of lives was available to him. There was a sense of detached respect between son and father.

Perhaps the complexities in your family dynamics do not exactly resemble the problems in the Frassati household, but certainly, there are complexities in the different relationships within your family. This is true of every family (except, of course, the Holy Family) because every family is made up of imperfect human beings who are prone to sin. Please do not fall into the social media trap that wants you to believe everything is perfect. It is impossible for any human being, marriage, or family to be perfect. So, let’s look at how Blessed Frassati, a young man scheduled to be canonized as a saint in less than a year, found hope in an imperfect family.

The foundation for Pier Giorgio’s hope in his family life was his faith in Jesus Christ. With Jesus, all things are possible. So, first and foremost, Frassati prayed for his family and, most fervently, for his parents' conversion and for their marriage to be reconciled. You, too, can always pray for each member of your family and each relationship, like Blessed Frassati. The other very important thing that he did was recognize his father’s humanity and approach it with understanding. His sister, Luciana, said of her brother, "Pier Giorgio was too faithful to the fourth commandment to allow himself to judge his father.” As much as his parents disapproved of his piety, Frassati did not let that deter him. He found creative ways to practice his faith and serve others, often without his family's knowledge. Had he let his parents' disapproval discourage him, he would have lost his connection to Jesus and, therefore, the very foundation for his hope. Only after his death did his parents discover the full extent of their son's charitable works. Thousands of Turin's poor and sick lined the streets for his funeral, a testament to the impact of his hopeful witness. Perhaps your family isn’t discouraging you from practicing your faith, but how might Blessed Frassati’s example of faith and trust in Jesus help you bring hope into your familial relationships?

Ultimately, the source of Blessed Frassati’s hope was his rich spiritual life. His hope was nourished by his deep devotion to the Eucharist. He attended Mass daily and spent hours in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. This practice strengthened his hope in God’s presence and love, even in the face of life’s difficulties. Frassati’s hope was also strengthened by his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He prayed the Rosary daily, and he often encouraged his friends to do the same. His devotion to Mary helped sustain his hope in God’s promises and in the intercession of the saints.

This week, think about how this young saint exemplified Advent's virtue of hope. How can you change the world around you for the better by doing good for the people nearest you? While volunteering for a charity is certainly a noble pursuit, you can also do good by showing kindness to your friends, classmates, family, and even strangers. There are plenty of little ways you can give others a reason to hope in the good of humanity. Think about your family relationships. Is there anyone for whom you can pray or soften your heart and have a bit of understanding? Thank Jesus for giving you the gift of that person in your life.