For the past week, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati's name has constantly been on my mind. I don't remember how his name came up (I'd only heard it once before when they announced the patron saints for this year's World Youth Day) but I've had this inexplicable (pretty intense) desire to learn as much as I can about him and his life's work. It's similar to how I felt about St. Teresa of Avila almost a year ago.. Anyway, I have been researching (because not a lot of people have heard of it) and I've come to find that the things he did during his short life are things that I did as a child, or that I've wanted to do. The main thing is giving to those less fortunate. With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, I have made a decision which will no doubt leave tension in the household.
Ever since I was a little girl, it has always pained (yes, pained) me to see homeless people. On one of our trips to Mexico, when I was about 11 years old, there was a woman asking for money. She looked at us eating and I felt so bad that I gave her my peanuts. Granted, it wasn't much but it was all I had. She was grateful for it... but, boy, did I get made fun of by my family (one person in particular). That's something I've had to deal with: either get made fun of for what I do or get a lecture, followed by the silent treatment, for trying to help. I spoke to my mom about this on Saturday night and I told her I was determined to donate at least *certain amount of dollars* worth of food to our local parish's Food Drive. I know I'm probably going to get scolded at and there will be unpleasantness for a few days but I have to do this.
I've wanted to for a long time but I've never had the money to do it. So, instead of spoiling myself for the holidays (I do NOT need to spend more money on iTunes or amazon.com; nor do I need an iPod -- which I've never owned), I'm going to donate money and food. I will donate clothing, if I get the time to go through my stuff before the Christmas deadlines. I've always been afraid of the "consequences" that would come from doing this, mainly because it would be going against one of my parent's wishes and thus I'd be disobeying a parent, but I cannot consciously continue to be scared of what they will say/do. Now that I'm an adult (whoa, scary thought!), and have more resources, I'm going to follow Blessed Pier Giorgio's example and help those who are in need. Maybe that's why he's been on my mind so much lately. Honestly, I did not know much about him up until a week ago.
I'm very grateful that I have been able to learn a little bit about him. I haven't even scratched the surface yet. He's already inspired me to do more for others, as well as get the courage to do it. I mean, he did so much for so many people in his short 24 years on this earth, and shared the wealth he was born into... it's amazing. He's definitely someone to look up to. And to think he was only a little over a year older than I am now when he passed away, it's very sad. Sad, but he's up in Heaven and that makes me smile. :D
Alright, well, I should probably go work on my English Lit critical analysis of "Paradise of Lost", as well as study for today's Philosophy of Logic exam. Oh boy... lol. :D
OH!... and don't forget to vote to this blog's patron saint! Only 5 more days left to do it. And, hey, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati is one of the saints (in his case, future saint) to be on the list. Just saying... lol.
As always, thanks for reading and God Bless! :D
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2 comments:
I will pray for you. I will pray to Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and also to Saint Vincent de Paul. I will keep you in my prayers. I think your parents want you to reward yourself for such the hard work that you have done in your studies and because you have suffered so much from your anxiety, that is another reason why you should reward yourself. I think that is probably how one of your parents see it.
God Bless and all the best.:)
I pray that God will soften their hearts and help them to realise why you feel like you would to give to your Parish Food Drive.
Thank you, James. :)
I do agree that I think my parents want me to reward myself for what I do... but I would be happier if one of them didn't get upset when I don't want to spoil myself. I'd just feel better if I could share the wealth. I am so much better off than other people, I don't think I should be selfish... especially with how the economy is. The fact that I'm healthy and my anxiety is slowly decreasing is my reward. I dunno. That's just my point of view. :)
Thank you so much for your prayers. :D
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