Advent Reflections with Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati — Part 3: Joy

12-15-2024Weekly ReflectionJen Arnold, M.A.

The third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete Sunday, which is Latin for “rejoice.” In contrast to the three purple candles, today we light the rose-colored candle on the Advent wreath as we focus on the joy we will experience with the coming of Jesus on Christmas. This week, we will look at how Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati exemplified the virtue of joy in his young life.

Joy was probably the most obvious of all Frassati’s virtues. He loved life and all of God’s creation, which was evident by how he lived. Because of his love for almost everything, he had many interests, which we'll discuss throughout this article. He also received so much joy from life that he never took one moment for granted and considered everything a gift from God. This mindset turned out to be a great blessing because he contracted polio from his work with the poor and died at the age of 24. Despite dying young, he was able to live a very full and joyful life.

Pier Giorgio was known as a prankster and practical jokester amongst his friends. When they went on retreats, he would shortsheet the beds of his friends and the priests. (Shortsheeting is when the bed is made in such a way that the person being tricked would only be able to get half his body under the covers and not be able to extend his legs, which he wouldn’t realize until he had already climbed in bed.) In the morning, Pier Giorgio would then wake them up for Mass by blowing into a toy trumpet. His friends jokingly nicknamed him “The Terror” because of his pranks. Father Rinaldo Ruffini, S.D.B., said of Blessed Frassati, “He was infused with constant joy, a joy that was sometimes explosive, and he surpassed just about everyone with his bottomless bag of noisy pranks.” While he certainly was serious and reverent at appropriate times, such as Mass and adoration, Pier Giorgio shows us that to be holy does not mean that life cannot be fun and enjoyable. So long as our jokes and pranks are good-natured and not unkind, we can use humor to bring joy into all kinds of situations.

As you might imagine, Frassati found great joy in God's creation. In college, he majored in mining engineering; he truly had a love for the earth. He would collect rock and mineral samples, label them, and put them in display cases. Frassati’s family was wealthy and had a gardener, but it was a family custom to give each of the children a little section of the yard to have their own gardens. Pier Giorgio found joy in gardening. He grew flowers, fruits, and vegetables. When he was not tending to his own garden, he was helping the family gardener with his chores. Frassati would often create bouquets of his home-grown flowers and bring them to statues of the Blessed Mother, sharing his joy with her. He also loved spending time in the mountains near his hometown of Turin. When he was in the mountains, Pier Giorgio couldn't help but feel close to God. He wrote of the mountains, “I am ever more determined to climb the mountains, to scale the mighty peaks, to feel that pure joy which can only be felt in the mountains,” and “Every day, my love for the mountains grows more and more. If my studies permitted, I'd spend whole days in the mountains contemplating the Creator's greatness in that pure air.” How do you view God’s creation? Do you take it for granted, or do you find joy in the beauty and greatness of everything around you, like Blessed Frassati?

In addition to finding joy in creation outside of himself, Pier Giorgio found joy in his youth and the abilities his young body afforded him. He thought it was important to not take youth for granted and to be as physically active as possible while young “so as to be able to adjust to the pains of old age.” Of course, he never made it to old age, but he was certainly preparing for it by tending to his physical health. Frassati was extremely athletic and participated in several sports and activities such as swimming, dancing, skiing, fencing, sailing, horseback riding, bicycling, canoeing, and his favorite, mountain climbing. He would organize these activities with groups of friends, and his mountain climbing expeditions were very popular. While climbing, they would pray the rosary together and speak about spiritual topics. He also used the mountains as a metaphor for the spiritual life. Just like it’s a tough climb to the top of a mountain, it is also a tough climb to holiness. He was well-known for his motto “Verso L’alto” (“to the heights”) which he used interchangeably for mountain climbing and spiritual growth. One of Pier Giorgio's friends, painter Giuseppe Falchetti, said this about him and his expeditions:

You could see in his eyes his joy in living, his happy heart, his vision of the lofty snows glistening in the sun, of the wild slides down the steep slopes, in the solemn silence, where cries of joy echo through the endless valleys, under beautiful skies transparent to the vivid colors of the dawns and fiery sunsets. But even more you could read in his face his joy in the simple, healthy life of roughing it, the joy of fatigue, almost a return to the ancient customs of our good forefathers.

It's hard to imagine sometimes, but eventually, we will all get older, and we won’t be able to do things quite as easily as we could when we were young. I know many young people are involved in sports and other activities outside of school that engage their bodies and minds. However, I also know that there is a huge temptation to be sitting around on a device of some sort, which is a temptation Frassati did not have. Consider fighting that temptation by inviting a friend or two for a hike, watching a sunset, or spending some time in a garden just because you are grateful for the gifts of your youth and God’s creation and you want to find joy in them. You won’t be able to do these things forever, so enjoy them.

Of course, different people have different personalities. Some people are extroverts, some are introverts, and so on. I'm sure you know people who are just naturally happy people. However, the virtue of joy is so much more than the feeling of happiness. Joy is rooted in your belief in God and knowing that everything around you and everything you have is a generous gift. Joy is always being thankful for those gifts and using them as God intends. Happiness can come and go depending on your circumstances, but joy is a virtue that can be practiced every single day regardless of your situation. What has Blessed Frassati taught you about joy, and how can you follow his example and be more joyful in your own life?