Putting God First: Carlo Acutis a Model for Young People who are not sure of how to Use their Talents.

Talents in our lives have history and a spirituality. Let me now call it the spirituality of talents. 1 Peter 4:10-11, tells us that God has given each one of us special talents. He calls them spiritual gifts meant to help others. The challenge is how do we use them.

We are challenged to use them well because in so doing we are taking care of God’s grace in its various forms. If you can speak, do it as if you’re saying exactly what God wants. This is going to help us so much understand how Blessed Carlo is a Saint of hope.

Some of us today feel like maybe we have nothing much to offer, we are not that gifted like the people we see or know, the celebrities we admire, etc.. but we all have something unique and special about us.

Let me begin with the “Parable of the Talents”, in Matthew 25:14–30 which tells us of a master who was leaving his house to travel, and, before leaving, entrusted his property to his servants. Imagine God entrusted each one of us with a talent and gift. According to the abilities of each and so the master did to his servants, one servant received five talents, the second received two, and the third received only one. You know what each one did with their talents.

This parable teaches that God always gives us everything we need to do what he has called us to do and to me, Carlo recognized his talent and purpose in Life. He did not wait to grow up like many of us do to today. He straight away started his mission, beginning with loving his family and enjoying their company in different activities.

We truly know that he loved to pray the rosary and attended daily mass after making his first communion at age seven. What happens today after our children have attained Holy Communion?

Walking Assisi you will see shops with lots of catechising items about the faith of Blessed Carlo Acutis

As you may already know Carlo Acutis, a young Italian teenager who passed away at the age of 15, When he was eleven, Carlo became a catechist, it is said he would read the Holy Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church adding to the Eucharistic Adoration, and books on the faith every day and because of all this I strongly believe He is a model and inspiration for young people today.

His life serves as a powerful example of how to use our talents and abilities to glorify God and make a positive impact on others. I call it making God known loved and served as a Holy Cross Educator. His mother is often quoted saying.

He felt the need to do this to re-activate the faith in people. This makes him more relevant and important to us today. We need to re-activate our faith truly. Carlo wanted to convince people to know that heaven exists, angels exist, the Virgin Mary exists, and demons too exist and we need to resist them and this is only possible through prayer.

He wanted people to understand that we were created for something more. Today we see there is a lack of faith which is incredible says his mother in an interview with Clara (2021) at Holy Heroes, she added; that nowadays we live for the horizontal plane but forget about living for the vertical plane. It’s so touching because she emphasized these same words in her recent Exclusive interview with Chris Stefanick when sharing her sentiments about the good news of the Canonisation of her son. Please check it out on this link

Image extracted for the Golden interview of Chris and the Mother of Blessed Carlo Actutis Saint to be 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

One thing that has greatly inspired me about Carlo is he was known for his deep faith and devotion to the Catholic Church. He used his skills in technology to create a website documenting Eucharistic miracles, spreading the message of faith and love to a global audience.

Despite his young age, Carlo understood the importance of putting God first in all aspects of his life, including his use of technology.

In a world where social media and the internet often promote self-centeredness and materialism, negative journalism, etc.. Carlo’s story challenges young people to consider how they can use their talents for the greater good.

By prioritizing his relationship with God and using his skills to serve others, Carlo exemplified a life of purpose and meaning which all of us need today and our young people need to be guided about it. His story is not all about his upcoming Sainthood it is about a legacy.

Photo Credit: Associazione Amica di Carlo Acutis

Carlo’s legacy teaches us that our talents are gifts from God, meant to be shared and used for His glory. Whether it’s through technology, art, music, or any other form of creativity, young people have the opportunity to make a difference in the world by putting their skills to good use.

One of my former students sent me a text recently reminding me of the words it told her with seriousness and she has found herself having to tell them to her students too and these were the words “ ..imagine your school has actually provided you all the opportunities to identify your strengths and explore your talents but you are here telling me brother I have no talent aren’t you confusing yourself and blocking God’s will in your life and your future opportunities? Your future career may not be in the studies you are taking but the gift He gave you and what happens when you choose to sit on it… go and read the biblical parable of the talents…

Hearing this story this time, I remembered blessed Carlo and what his mother would think about him in all that he was trying to accomplish at his age and now reflecting on it gives us strong points of reference about our faith and how to grow it in these most challenging times.

As young people navigate the challenges of today’s digital age, Carlo Acutis stands as a shining example of how he used his talent for technology responsibly and in service of others. His life reminds us that by putting God first and using our talents for His purposes, we can make a lasting impact on the world around us.

I pray that the world may allow Carlo’s story to inspire a generation of young people and elders who prioritize their faith, use their talents for good, and follow in his footsteps as a model of service and devotion to God. Blessed Carlo Acutis Pray for us!