May Day 7
Padre Pio came in a dream to Matteo Farina when he was only 9 years old and told him that he must help his friends. Padre Pio told him,
“If you managed to understand that who is without sin is happy, then you have to teach it to the others, so that we can all live together happily in the heavenly kingdom”.
This planted a desire deep in the young boy’s heart to evangelize especially his friends who didn’t always make the right choices. Matteo confided one day,
“I look around me and I want to enter in young people’s lives quietly like a virus, infecting them of an incurable illness: Love!”
Nourished by the Eucharist, spiritually healed by weekly confession, sustained by devotion to Mary and the daily rosary, Matteo lived his short life (1990-2009) spreading his contagion of love. He would always say,
“It is useless to despond, we have to be happy and transmit happiness. The more happiness we give people, the more people are happy. The more they are happy, the more we are happy”.
He died at the age of 19 after suffering several years with brain cancer.
Yesterday (May 6, 2020) the Vatican announced that Matteo’s cause for sainthood had progressed to the state of Venerable.
We can help spread Matteo’s contagion of love by making his prayer our own,
“My God, I have two hands, let one of them to be always clasped to you in order to hold you closer in every trial. And let the other hand fall throughout the world if this is your will… as I Know you by others, so let others know you through me. I want to be a mirror, the clearest possible, and if this is your will, I want to reflect your light in the heart of every man. Thanks for life. Thanks for faith. Thanks for love. I’m yours”.
You can read more about Matteo Farina here: https://www.matteofarina.com/en/matteo-en/biographical-profile/
Pope Francis has asked that we pray the daily rosary, and the two new Marian prayers he has given us, during the month of May in an appeal to Mother Mary to bring an end to the spread of the coronavirus. Let us pray that the pandemic is ended and that Matteo’s contagion of love replaces it.
How to Pray the Rosary https://www.rosarycenter.org/homepage-2/rosary/how-to-pray-the-rosary/
Pope Francis’ Prayers to Mary http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/letters/2020/documents/papa-francesco_20200425_lettera-mesedimaggio.html
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