The Happy Priest: Marco, the Lay Vocation and Communion and Liberation

Marco is one among the many serious young Catholics that I have gotten to know since my parish in Corpus Christi, Texas began.  They are part of a very noticeable trend in the Catholic Church; young people who are very serious about living the gospel in their daily lives. They are young people that are passionate about their personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  They are part of a refreshing movement within the Church which provides a source of great hope for the future. 

ROME (Catholic Online) - The closing events for the Year for Priests took place last week, but my spiritual journey through Italy continued for a few more days.  Along my journey, not only did I come across many happy and enthusiastic priests, I come across also many members of the laity that are taking their lay vocation very seriously.  During this last part of my spiritual journey I was able to visit with a remarkable young man by the name of Marco Comellini. A few years ago, Marco showed up for a Sunday evening Mass at my parish.  We became instant friends because we are both very serious about our love for Jesus and His Church.  Marco, a member of the Italian Coast Guard, was in training at the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station.  Currently he is stationed at the Italian military base in Sarzana which is located on the west coast of Italy between Genoa and Pisa.  During a delicious dinner with pasta, bread, cheese and wine, I was able to speak to him about his involvement in an Italian youth movement that takes its' inspiration from  the writings of the Italian priest Don Luigi Giussuani, the founder of  the ecclesial movement Communion and Liberation. Marco, who is 27 years old, is from the beautiful city of Brescia.  When he was sixteen years old he met Gianluigi Fiocco, a religion teacher at a local high school.Marco was inspired by his example and decided to join the youth group that Fiocco has been leading now for many years.  Marco was one of the ten founding members of the group. Although the group is inspired by the writings of Giussuani, they decided to take Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati as their patron saint.  The Pier Giorgio Frassati Cultural Center is based in Brescia with 60 dedicated members.  Marco returns to Brescia every week to be with his community, but he has also founded an extension of the group near his residence in Fiumerreta, a beautiful seaside town not too far from the military base in Sarzana.  The new group that Marco founded meets every week at a local Carmelite monastery. The purpose of the group that Fiocco started is to help Italian young people live their Catholic faith with maturity and authenticity.  "We study the writings of Don Giussuani and through them we are able to see that there is no contradiction between faith and reason", Marco explained, "We have been attracted to Giussani's writings because of his methodology.  He shows us how to apply the gospel to the practical circumstances of our daily lives.  He helps us live it in the here and now", Marco went on to tell me.  Each member of the youth group makes a firm promise to pray Morning and Night Prayer from the Roman Breviary, the daily Rosary, to meditate for 10 or 15 minutes every day and to attend daily Mass whenever possible.  Aside from their weekly meetings, each year the group makes a pilgrimage to the Marian Sanctuary of the Madonna Val Verde, located in Brescia.  Aside from their commitment to prayer, each member makes a promise to do some kind of charitable work each week such as caring for the poor or visiting hospitals and nursing homes.  When I asked Marco how the group has been helping him since he joined it eleven years ago, he told me that most importantly the group allows him to experience the fact that he is not living his Catholic faith alone.  The experience of community is very important for Marco's walk with the Lord.  He told me that the experience of community is missing in most Italian parishes, but I was pleased to find out that what he enjoyed most while being at St. Helena's is precisely the community support that he believes is so essential in order to live out the Catholic faith with maturity, authenticity and joy.  His brief stay with us at St. Helena's reminded him of the community experience that he thrives for in Brescia.  Marco is one among the many serious young Catholics that I have gotten to know since my parish in Corpus Christi, Texas began.  They are certainly part of a very noticeable trend in the Catholic Church of young people who are very serious about living the gospel in their daily lives.  They are the young people that are passionate about their personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  They are part of a refreshing movement within the Church which provides a source of great hope for the future.  Marco, like thousands of other young Catholics throughout the world, is living the gospel with renewed energy and enthusiasm, usually within very challenging circumstances.

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Father James Farfaglia, the Happy Priest, is the pastor of Saint Helena of the True Cross of Jesus Catholic Church in Corpus Christi, Texas.  Father has a hard hitting blog calledIllegitimi non carborundum.  He has also published a book called Man to Man: A Real Priest Speaks to Real Men about Marriage, Sexuality and Family Life.  You can contact Father at fjficthus@gmail.com.

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