Pier Giorgio came into the world on the eve of Easter Sunday, April 6, 1901. What a glorious moment for his parents! But having a birthday in early April means it often falls during the season of Lent - as it does this year.
If your Lent has been a little sluggish and you need some extra motivation to pray, the novena in honor of Blessed Frassati's birthday is coming just at the right time. And what a wonderful gift to offer to this beloved heavenly friend whose great desire was for his friends to be united in prayer!
The novena begins on Thursday, March 28th and ends on Friday, April 5th - which happens to be a First Friday. In many churches, there is often Eucharistic Adoration on that day. That was a particularly special devotion of Pier Giorgio. What a great opportunity to pray the ninth day of the novena before the Blessed Sacrament!
This year, April 6 falls on a First Saturday - another
divine coincidence! The love Blessed Frassati had for Our Lady cannot be overstated. So it is the perfect day to
pray the rosary as a part of the international celebration of his birthday.
The explanations for the novena and the international rosary, along with the prayers, can all be found in the
Special Events section of the website.
There is also a place to add your special intention to be prayed for during this novena. It only takes a minute to add your info. Why not do it right now?
A priest friend recently shared the quote from G.K. Chesterton, "If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly." That consoles me quite a bit because many of my days during Lent are not quite the success that I want them to be. But prayer, fasting and almsgiving are always worth doing, even when we do them badly. So don't hesitate to join this novena. If you don't make it the entire way, at least you made the effort.
I'm absolutely certain that Blessed Pier Giorgio will outgive our gifts of prayer that we make in honor of his birthday during this novena. And when it ends, we will be just two weeks away from Easter.