\n\n\n\n
Let me begin by saying that I\u2019ve always admired saints. <\/strong>I love their openness to grace when my doors are often shut to it. But, if I may, they are alien to me. Your brother-saint, Thomas Aquinas<\/a>, framed it better than I ever could: \u201cThe dignity of the saints is so great because they are not of this world, but \u2018of the household of God.\u2019\u201d That sums it up. You were in the world but not totally of the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n More baggage to unpack: I am Generation X<\/a>, once branded the \u201clost\u201d generation by Time<\/em>, sandwiched in between the baby boomers and your proud lot, the millennials. But I think \u201cforgotten\u201d rings truer. Gen X has never been given proper credit. You\u2019ll forgive me when I say that as millennials ascended to power in the 2000s, like many in my age bracket, there was begrudging respect coupled with a collective eye roll. Our cynicism is baked in. We can\u2019t help it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I hope you\u2019ll forgive this personal detour long enough for me to say that I stand in wonder of what you did in your 15 years. I wasn\u2019t extraordinary at 15. I was typical\u2014even conventional. I wanted to drive around with friends and savor the freedoms of my nascent adulthood. As teens go, you were different. An upgrade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You started a website tracking Eucharistic miracles and approved Marian apparitions, which shows an investment in your spiritual health uncommon in the young. Building a website isn\u2019t extraordinary, then or now: There are dozens of sites devoted to cats floating in outer space. What sets yours apart is its mission and founder. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I wonder if you understood how your faith would set you apart from other millennials. Indifference to religion is foreign to no generation, but it usually roots itself in the middle teen years. That taste of freedom can lure people away from the faith. You were the exception. Faith wasn\u2019t something to run from but toward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2726\u2726\u2726<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You encouraged others to be their most unique selves. <\/strong>\u201cAll people are born as originals,\u201d you said once, \u201cbut many die as photocopies.\u201d Again, you were the exception. There is no duplicate of you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n My heart breaks for young people today who first encounter the world through an app. I scan the vast landscape of \u201cinfluencers\u201d today and all I can see are pretty photocopies encouraging their followers to speak, lift, dress, eat, dance, and moisturize as they do. People are conditioned now to follow a leader; individuality is unfashionable. But you understood that no two paths should look the same. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While the Western world is encouraged to conform ourselves to the larger collective, you reminded us that God created us to be unique. \u201cAll the hairs of your head are counted,\u201d Matthew 10:30\u201331<\/a> reads. \u201cDo not be afraid.\u201d That seemed to be your own mission statement. And your faith was fearless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I wish I had your example when I was trying to find my own voice. Gen X was the last to navigate the waters of adolescence without the horrors of social media. But growing up is always a challenge. It was designed that way. I\u2019m sorry you never got to taste real adulthood. To me\u2014and perhaps the world\u2014you\u2019ll always be 15. But thankfully, your soul was older than your years. Time is what you make of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2726\u2726\u2726<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You were a good son. <\/strong>You were not perfect, but you were perfectly made. I like to think that your mother, Antonia, was given one opportunity to make it count with you. She could not have done better. She gifted the world a young man whose heart stayed fixed on God. Even when you were bullied at day care, I can see you clenching your little fists, not to lash out but to maintain control. God is watching\u2014of that you were sure. Not many preadolescents have the presence of mind to understand that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When I was young (but old enough to know better), I would pull the chairs out from under the other kids and roar as they hit the floor. It was my thing. I would also halt escalators and pull the wigs off mannequins in department stores. I wasn\u2019t rotten but I was work<\/em>. Let\u2019s be fair: a work in progress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n![\"Who](\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/465210\/4ba14a85-361d-48a5-80b5-072773cbb3ff.png\")
<\/a><\/span>