When I was in high school, someone introduced me to Blessed (soon-to-be Saint!) Pier Giorgio Frassati. He was born in 1901 in Turin, Italy, and he achieved a life of sanctity before he died at the age of twenty-four. He was athletic and climbed mountains. He made bets with his friends over their billiards games, and he used his victories to get everyone to join him for Adoration. He had a passionate spirit and charismatic personality. He couldn’t hold a tune, but he sang his heart out during Mass (in the back corner of the church so as not to distract people with his poor singing). He was friends with the poor and served them regularly. He never landed in a permanent vocation, but he received God’s will for his life all the same. He was fully alive for the glory of God.

There are many reasons I am inspired by this young saint, but the one that strikes me most is how he died. He contracted a disease from one of the poor, sick people he was serving, which led to his quick decline. One could say he should have taken care of himself and avoided getting sick by staying away. They might have said that he could have done so much more with his life. It’s not that he didn’t care about his life, though—he knew its value more than our self-care culture does today. He just knew how he wanted to spend it. He knew that the value of a simple act of love, of caring for another human being, was worth the offering of his time, his safety, and his life.

Pier Giorgio’s witness invites us to value life by giving it away in love. Your life is a profoundly unique and beautiful gift, my friend. Receive the gift that you are and spend your life offering that gift back to the Father in love.

Dear Blessed Pier Giorgio, pray for us.