Carlo Acutis, known for his devotion to the Eucharist, is set to become the Catholic Church's first millennial saint. He will be canonized on April 27 in St. Peter’s Square during the Church’s Jubilee for Teenagers. Catholics can participate in a novena to Acutis, starting April 18 and concluding on the day of his canonization. The novena includes an opening prayer and daily reflections focusing on different aspects of Acutis' life and faith. The article provides instructions on how to pray the official novena to Carlo Acutis.
22 days ago
About Carlo Acutis' Canonization
Carlo Acutis, a teenager known for his deep love for Christ in the Eucharist, is set to become the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint 1 2. He will be canonized on April 27 during the Church’s Jubilee for Teenagers 1 2.
The Official Novena to Carlo Acutis
In anticipation of his canonization, Catholics can participate in the official novena to Carlo Acutis 1 2. The novena begins on April 18 and concludes on April 27, the day of his canonization 1 2.
How to Pray the Novena
The novena includes an opening prayer, daily meditations, and the recitation of five Our Fathers, five Hail Marys, and five Glory Bes 1 2. These prayers are offered to thank God for the graces bestowed upon Acutis during his 15 years of life 1 2. The opening prayer is addressed to the Most Holy Trinity, asking for grace through the merits of Carlo Acutis 1 2. Each day of the novena focuses on a different aspect of Carlo's life and spirituality, such as his love for the Eucharist and the Virgin Mary 1 2. For example, Day 1 focuses on renouncing unimportant things, while Day 8 focuses on the Eucharist as a "highway to heaven" 1 2. The novena concludes each day with a prayer thanking God for raising Carlo Acutis to the glory of the altars 1 2.
Accessing the Novena
The complete novena prayers are available on the EWTN Travel Jubilee app, which can be downloaded for free from the Apple Store and Google Play Store 1 2.
Sacraments and sacramentals: What grace do they offer?
The Grace Offered by Sacraments
Sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, through which divine life is dispensed to us . They are perceptible signs accessible to our human nature, making present the grace they signify through the action of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit . Celebrated worthily in faith, sacraments confer the grace they signify because Christ himself is at work within them . The sacraments are a special means through which we receive the grace merited for us by Christ .
The Grace Offered by Sacramentals
Sacramentals are sacred signs instituted by the Church that bear a resemblance to the sacraments . They signify spiritual effects obtained through the Church's intercession . Sacramentals do not confer grace in the same way as sacraments; instead, through the Church's prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it . Sacramentals sanctify various occasions of life and prepare individuals to receive the fruit of the sacraments .
Key Differences
Sacraments are instituted by Christ, while sacramentals are instituted by the Church . Sacraments efficaciously confer the grace they signify . Sacramentals, however, prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it through the Church's intercession .
In summary, sacraments are outward signs of inward grace, instituted by Christ for our sanctification, while sacramentals are sacred signs instituted by the Church to prepare us to receive grace and sanctify different circumstances of life .