A City of the Rich and the Poor

Today we had the day in Turin and met the first and one of the newest Italian saints. 

Morning Prayer

Luke 24:13-35

Two of the disciples of Jesus were on their way to a village called Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking together about all that had happened. Now as they talked this over, Jesus himself came up and walked by their side; but something prevented them from recognising him. He said to them, 'What matters are you discussing as you walk along?' They stopped short, their faces downcast.

Then one of them, called Cleopas, answered him, 'You must be the only person staying in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have been happening there these last few days.' 'What things?' he asked. 'All about Jesus of Nazareth' they answered 'who proved he was a great prophet by the things he said and did in the sight of God and of the whole people; and how our chief priests and our leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and had him crucified. Our own hope had been that he would be the one to set Israel free. And this is not all: two whole days have gone by since it all happened; and some women from our group have astounded us; they went to the tomb in the early morning, and when they did not find the body, they came back to tell us they had seen a vision of angels who declared he was alive. Some of our friends went to the tomb and found everything exactly as the women had reported, but of him they saw nothing.'

Then he said to them, 'You fools! So slow to believe the full message of the prophets! Was it not ordained that the Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory?' Then, starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages throughout the scriptures that were about himself.

When they drew near to the village to which they were going, he made as if to go on; but they pressed him to stay with them. 'It is nearly evening' they said 'and the day is almost over.' So he went in to stay with them. Now while he was with them at table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognised him; but he had vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, 'Did our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?'

They set out that instant and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven assembled together with their companions, who said to them, 'Yes, it is true. The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.' Then they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised him at the breaking of bread.

Reflection

Like the two disciples we too are on the way... And with us on our way is the risen Christ, not only on the journey of pilgrimage, but also on the journey of life. 

They were disappointed in what had happened in Jerusalem, their hope had been that Jesus would be the one to set Israel free. But Jesus had been, rejected, condemned, crucified and buried. In terms of our visit to France the cross becomes the place of the ultimate rejection of God... but God in Christ does not give up on us. As God came looking for Adam and Eve in the garden, so in Christ he comes to the two disciples and gently, gently, he sets their hearts on fire as he opens the Scripture to you.

And perhaps too he is gently, gently, setting your hearts on fire as he opens the Scripture and new insights to you. And as we journey we are about to celebrate his Eucharist, where it is He, not us, who invites us to stay and to recognise him in the breaking of the bread. I wonder if when he broke and gave them the bread they saw his pierced hands. I wonder how we will recognise him.

This is what our journey is about, coming to a deeper recognition of him and inflamed by his Spirit going and sharing his Good News with those he met. After their privileged time they raced back out into the night to share Good News... may we too be bearers of Good News in the shadows and darkness of our daily routines.

We are companions on the journey,
Breaking bread and sharing life;
And in the love we bear is the hope we share
for we believe in the love of our God,
We believe in the love of our God.

No longer strangers to each other,
No longer strangers in God’s House;
We are fed and we are nourished
by the strength of those who care,
By the strength of those who care.

We have been gifted each other,
And we are called by the Word of the Lord:
To act with justice, to love tenderly
And to walk humbly with our God,
To walk humbly with our God.

Mass today was at the Basilica of the Superga near Turin. It was built by Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy in fulfillment of a vow to the Virgin Mary after his victory over French forces in the 1706 Siege of Turin. It stands as a symbol of gratitude, faith, and royal pride. Its massive dome, inspired by St. Peter’s Basilica, rises 75 meters and dominates the skyline. 

Readings for Mass

Habakkuk 1:2-3,2:2-4

How long, O Lord, am I to cry for help

while you will not listen;

to cry ‘Oppression!’ in your ear

and you will not save?

Why do you set injustice before me,

why do you look on where there is tyranny?

Outrage and violence, this is all I see,

all is contention, and discord flourishes.

Then the Lord answered and said,

‘Write the vision down,

inscribe it on tablets

to be easily read,

since this vision is for its own time only:

eager for its own fulfilment, it does not deceive;

if it comes slowly, wait,

for come it will, without fail.

See how they flag, they whose souls are not at rights,

but the upright will live by their faithfulness.’

Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;

hail the rock who saves us.

Let us come before him, giving thanks,

with songs let us hail the Lord.

Come in; let us bow and bend low;

let us kneel before the God who made us:

for he is our God and we

the people who belong to his pasture,

the flock that is led by his hand.

O that today you would listen to his voice!

‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,

as on that day at Massah in the desert

when your ancestors put me to the test;

when they tried me, though they saw my work.’

2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14

I am reminding you to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control. So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord, or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but with me, bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God.

Keep as your pattern the sound teaching you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. You have been trusted to look after something precious; guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

Luke 17:5-10

The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’ The Lord replied, ‘Were your faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you.

‘Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields, “Come and have your meal immediately”? Would he not be more likely to say, “Get my supper laid; make yourself tidy and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink yourself afterwards”? Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told? So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say, “We are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty.”’

Reflection

In our journey together, each of the saints we have met and will meet have started off with a seed of faith, a seed that germinated and flourished. Were your faith the size of a mustard seed, Jesus said, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you.

Think of the holy men and women we have met and in those we will meet and think how it grew. In many ways that seed of faith of these men and women received is like a vision the Lord spoke to Habakkuk...  Write the vision down, inscribe it on tablets to be easily read, since this vision is for its own time only: eager for its own fulfilment, it does not deceive; if it comes slowly, wait, for come it will, without fail. See how they flag, they whose souls are not at rights, but the upright will live by their faithfulness.’ 

The vision the Lord gave to each of these holy ones was written in their heart and it developed and grew - often not without struggle, failure or setbacks, but it became clearer and clearer for them and that vision defines their lives. And it the midst of all this the vision became fruitful and inspired others.

We will see this here in Turin when we meet John Bosco who like Marcellin Champagnat had a real passion of proving hope and future to the youth of this city. We will see it Dominic Savio, one of Don Bosco's students who became a child saint. We will see it in Pier Giorgio Frassati one of the two new saints Pope Leo canonised just four weeks ago, who had a great love for the poor of this city and was an advocate of social justice. We will it in Maria Domenica Mazzarello who founded the sisters of Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco and who joined his work for the youth of this city.

Notice the concern for the poor and social justice. This is a real mark of the Church in Italy. And this week we will be reminded of this when Pope Leo issues his first apostolic exhortation Dilexi te which is focused on love for the poor.

Paul reminds us in the second reading, as he did to Timothy, to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity - your seed of faith must flourish and grow - No God's gift given to us in Confirmation is the the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control. So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord. 

May we be true missionary disciples, being such not for reward or that people might look at us and think well of us remembering, “we are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty.”’  And isn't that the humble example of the saints. May we too be that spirit be also in us.

Our next visit was to Turin's Cathedral of St John the Baptist where we met St Pier Giorgio Frasatti

St Pier Giorgio Frassati

Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901–1925) was an Italian layman was born in Turin to a wealthy and influential family. His father founded the newspaper La Stampa and served as a senator and ambassador. While he  grew up surrounded by privilege he chose a life of service and devotion.

From a young age, he cultivated a strong spiritual life, joining the Marian Sodality and receiving daily Communion, which was rare at the time. At 17, he joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society, dedicating himself to helping the poor, sick, and war veterans. He studied mining engineering at the Royal Polytechnic University of Turin, hoping to serve Christ among the miners.

Despite his academic commitments, Pier Giorgio was active in Catholic Action and the People’s Party, promoting social justice based on Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum. In 1922, inspired by St. Catherine of Siena and Savonarola, he joined the Third Order of St. Dominic. 

He gave of his cash, and he gave of himself, often sacrificing his own needs. The family owned a holiday home at Pollone in the countryside near Turin. Pier Giorgio didn’t join the family, he devoted himself instead to caring for the marginalised, the poor, the sick. Of the summer exodus from the city, he said, “If everybody leaves Turin, who will take care of the poor?” However, he did have his hiding place from the city. Pier Giorgio was a skilled mountaineer, swimmer and athlete. He climbed mountains such as the Grand Tournalin (3,379 metres or 11,086 feet) and Monte Viso, which is the 10th highest mountain in the Alpine range, and invited friends along on what seemed to occasionally become spiritual retreats. But, as regards “normality”, he also enjoyed the theatre and films that met the standards of his moral code.

On June 30, 1925, Frassati experienced a severe headache, back pains and a fever after his boat trip with friends on the River Po. He kept these symptoms to himself because his grandmother had died that day, and he didn’t want to add to his mother’s emotional burden. It wasn’t until July 2 that a doctor had to be summoned because he could not get up. Paralysed by polio, he died on July 4, having given his final instructions to his sister and receiving the Last Rites. As he breathed his last breath in his mother’s arms, he said, “May I breathe forth my soul in peace with you.”

He died at 24, and his funeral drew thousands of mourners - mostly the poor he had quietly served.

Beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1990 and canonized in 2025, Pier Giorgio is remembered as the “Man of the Eight Beatitudes,” a model of youthful holiness and joyful charity.

St Pier Giorgio Frassati’s words for the way of hope

When God is with us, we don’t have to be afraid of anything.

I think peace will be a long time coming. But our faith teaches us that we must always keep on hoping we shall enjoy it one day.

By yourself you will do nothing, but if you have God as the centre of all your action, then you will reach the goal.

Each of you knows that the foundation of our faith is charity. Without it, our religion would crumble.

St Pier Giorgio Frassati, pray for us 

The Chapel of the Shroud of Turin... it is not on display this year

Looking into the Palace chapel

The Altar of the Shoemakers features a polyptych altarpiece by Martino Spanzotti and Defendente Ferrari, dating to the late 15th or early 16th century. Commissioned by the Association of Shoemakers, it depicts the patron saints Crispin and Crispinian and scenes from their lives... A special place to remember my great, great, great grandfather who was a shoemaker