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MODELS – SUPERHEROES –

BROKEN BONES and MORE!

Who do we look up to, and why?

Who has changed you?

Who do you see as worthy of imitating?

“Monkey-see…monkey-do.” Ever hear that saying? Itmeans that we imitate what we see. I think it is true formost people. We imitate, that’s a fact, but WHO? andWHY?

THE FASHION MODEL:

A life of Magazines and Photo-shoots

After years of photo-shoots, commercials and fashionshows, I re-examined who I was as a model, how Iinfluenced others and who was influencing me. You shouldtoo. Don’t wait for a “near death experience” to get yourattention. That’s what it took for me! Read on and you’llfind out.

BACKGROUND

It happened in the year 2000 after I had just appeared ina soap-opera in South America as well as a few othertelevision shows, I was being groomed for stardom. I wasstarting to work with the manager who represented

Mario St. Francis

“Shakira”. One day, I think itwas a Monday, I woke up in mynew apartment and had to getdressed and ready to sign thebiggest contract I had ever beenoffered. I had enough time to dosome exercises, take a shower, getdressed and get to the contractsigning. I wanted my muscles tolook really well defined, so Ibegan working out. I was doingresistance training with an elastictube that you often see at thegymnasium. I wasn’t happy withone exercise, I couldn’t get theresistance I wanted, so Iincorporated a metal bar to giveme better resistance. After 2minutes of high resistanceexercises for my biceps, the metalbar moved and was no longer

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firmly on the ground under myfeet, supported by my weight. Itwas now a fast moving projectile;I was pulling the elastic towardsmy face in the motion of doing abicep curl. The metal bar on thefloor, I was standing on top of it,got loose and acted like a slingshot and came flying towardsme. It all happened so quick thatall I know is that at the same timeit slipped out from under myfeet, I fell to the ground in themost agonizing pain I had everfelt in my life, but it lasted only 1second. I was breathless. Thepain was so intense and it cameand went so fast that I was inshock. My body felt frozen, italmost seemed as if my body hada seizure. I looked at where mypain was coming from, it was myhand, and I saw my bone stickingout of it!!! The bar hit my middlefingers knuckle so hard that itsevered the ligament and brokethe bone. I could see my bone.My finger had no tendon for meto control it with, so it was limp.

SHOCK! FEAR! SADNESS!

WORRY!

What was I going to do? MyDad is a doctor, but he is in theUSA, my mom is with him, andthey are on vacation with nophone. The family and friendsthat I would immediately thinkto call were also in the USA. Iwas laying on the floor and couldnot get up. I did not have aworking phone yet installed inmy new apartment, I did nothave a cell phone and there wasno internet. I was home aloneand did not have any neighborseither. I suddenly fainted, I couldnot see anything but I could hearall the outside noise and traffic. Eventually I gainedconsciousness, but could not see. I began to fear the worse “Am I

going to die?” I was helpless andalone. I continued to faint off andon, I did not know when I wouldsuddenly see darkness…forever. Was death at my doorstep?

I laid on the floor alone for onehour, fainting, bleeding, scared,alone. I began to play my life inmy head like a movie. I saw theparties, friends, other accidents,family, my hobbies and mydreams flash right before myeyes. It made me think aboutwhat was important. At onepoint I thought about myperception of what life is allabout… and I saw myself assomeone who was trying to befamous, powerful and rich. I wastrying to become a celebrity andas I laid there I realized how aloneI was. That I had many peoplewho had written me fan mail andgiven me the impression of beingimportant, but, here I was alone. Where were they all? Why didn’tthe world notice that I wasmissing? Doesn’t someone knowI am hurting?

My big contract was for amen’s pageant for Colombia’smost cultured and handsomemen. The winner would benamed “Mr. Colombia”, and thenwould go to compete for the title

of “Mr. World”!!! I realized, “Iwould rather have a small groupof true friends and not be afamous idol to thousands”.

This became the longest hourin my life. While I laid there Ibegan to feel empty and realizethat I really did not have whatwas most important. Right nowI needed a miracle. I did not haveany recourse to human help. Ineeded something greater. Whatis greater….God! But how? I wassimply a Catholic Christianbecause my family was. I nevertook God seriously. I went toCatholic school and occasionallyon Sundays I would go to HolyMass. Sometimes as a teenager Iwould go to my Church for ameeting of young people forfellowship, Catechism andprayer. But I never reallythought they were cool. I wouldgo moreso because my motherwanted me to go, but I wouldprefer to stay home. Now Iwanted that God! Now I wish Ihad a life of prayer thru which Icould call out to him. If I call outnow he will know that I am astranger. I did not know how tostart . I began by talking tomyself. “It’s o.k. Mario, breath,it’s o.k. buddy….Help

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me…please help me… I don’tknow how to talk to you… whereare you God….I have not beengood, I have not believed inyou…but I neeeed you rightnow...please….I am sorry.” Iknew that I was being selfish andonly wanted His help because ofmy broken hand and not becauseI “loved him.” I did not have aclose friendship with Him. WhatI knew is that I needed Him rightnow and that he is really reallyimportant in a situation like this. I figured that if he is importantnow, he probably is importantalways, too bad it took a momentlike this to realize it. So I prayedsome more. I asked for amiracle. I promised that I wouldchange my life is he sent mehelp. Suddenly a womanwalked into my apartment. Shesaid she was here to clean it,knew I was a bachelor and newto the building and that she justhappened to see my door wasopen. She saw me on the floorbleeding and fainted!!!! Shethought I had shot myself. Aftershe gained back consciousnessshe helped me to call a securityguard thru the intercom. Hearrived and almost passed outtoo!!! When he sat down andcalmed down, he helped me callmy local extended familymembers. We could not call 9-1-1 because I did not haveinsurance nor did I know hoe thesystem works there withoutbeing able to consult my parents.So, he called my cousin, but therewas no answer. He called myaunt but there was no answer. He called a friend but they werenot home, and eventually calledanother cousin, FINALLY ananswer! It would take him 1 hourto get to my part of the city!!! Hewas on his way to get me but in 1hour…1 HOUR! In that next

hour I had more time to think. “What’s life all about, Who do Ilook up, and why? Who haschanged me? Who do I see asworthy of imitating?”

I thought of my brothersfriend who has 5 children and awonderful wife. He has noaspirations to be famous, hedoesn’t look for attention, he isnot wealthy, he is very quiet, yethe has something that makes himtruly famous. He has love, he isresponsible, he is a hero andfather to 5 children and a greathusband, and above all he is aliving, breathing, practicingChristian. All my adult life hasbeen about running aroundlooking for what’s mostimportant. I imitated what I sawon magazines and movies. Icared about what I saw. “Monkey See...Monkey Do.”

“MONKEY SEE, MONKEYDO.” I was following the crowd.Sometimes one cow will startrunning if it sees another cowrunning, I was doing the same. Ithink we all do the same thing. We act without thinking orquestioning who we follow.

Now, as I laid on the floor, Iwas thinking. Eventually mycousin came and took me to the

public hospital. The good newswas that I was not going to die,bad news was that I would havea big scar on my hand and Iwould not be able to appear ontelevision for 3 months. On topof that, they canceled mycontract!!!!

MY LIFE CHANGED: I toldGod that I would change my lifeif he saved me. I tried to stick toit, but it was no big change. I leftmy pursuits for stardom only topursue money and power as amodeling agent back in the USA. God was never far off. Heseemed to keep his part of thedeal and make up for whatlacked on my part. 1 year later,at the age of 24 I was at a Churchwere a priest gave 4 days ofreflection during Lent. Itchanged my life and gave me anew mission in life. I learned thatGod has always been a Father tohumanity, but we have notalways been close to Him as goodsons, but rather as rebelliousones. He has made himselfknown to His people, and it is notby His decision that we rebel, it’sour decision. We are alwaysunfulfilled until we start to fillour life with Him. It was here atthis retreat in 2001 that I fell inlove with God who sent his only

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Son, Jesus Christ, and he showedhimself to be the Son of God.Jesus preached, performedmiracles and taught that theentire Law was fulfilled inHimself and following him to theFather. He gave himself up todeath as a payment for the debtthat existed between God andMan that was created in thegarden of Eden with Originalsin. As was forseen by theprophets, Jesus was the Lamb ofGod, come to take away our sins. I came to understand theoriginals of the Catholic Churchas it has been passed on to us thruthe succession of the Apostles,instituted by Jesus Christ himself. The priest explained the Passionof Christ in detail and itimpressed upon me his Love insuch a way that I would never seea crucifix the same again. Seeinghim on the cross, crucified for meI could not help but desire to livefor him more and more. Hedeserves it! It’s what I wascreated for…what we ALL arecreated for. It’s just a matter ofus figuring it out.

MY NEW LIFE: This life andjoy I encountered meant change. I was so inspired by the life ofthe Apostles and subsequently ofthe Saints throughout historythat I knew I wanted what theyhad, the true pursuit of happinessand wholeness. Yes, I speltholiness as “WHOL-e-NESS,”because it is only in God theFather-Jesus the Son-with theHoly Spirit- in the CatholicChurch that we are made whole.

It was the valor and courageof the saints love, even in the faceof torture and death that was tobecome my new role model. People who embodied Jesus. Iwas especially moved with theirsacrifices made for the Holy

Mother Church and the MostHoly Eucharist, 2 things whichothers criticize and say is a “manmade institution” and the other“is just bread”. There wassomething more than just “aninstitution and bread” beingfought for. It was real and truewhat they lived for and died for! This was true fame! Somethingtruly worth living for…worthdying for. God!

A NEW NAME: I recognizedthat my life seemed guided by asaint in particular. I was given apatron saint during myconfirmation, St. Francis ofAssisi, and his life changedradically at the age of 24 and heleft the material world to preach,love and serve Holy MotherChurch. I did the same thing. Iknow my guardian angel and theprayers of religious communitiesaround the world alsocontributed to my life beinginterceded in by God, but thesimilarities with St. Francis wereshocking. Angels and Saints areboth in our lives to serve us onbehalf of the Most High God, andI wanted to make that known. In

thanks for God’s favor upon meand the many second chancesthat God had given me I beganto use my confirmation saintsname and try to live a saints life. Hence, I became known as“Mario St. Francis.”

MAN ON A MISSION: Mylife took on new purpose andthere were few limits. With God,all things are possible. Since 2001I have traveled to all thecontinents, to over 20 countries,spoken publically in 3 languages,and addressed thousands ofpeople around the world. Mymission in life was to announceto Catholics that what wenegatively “think” is the Churchis wrong and is often fixed witha fuller explanation. There aremany whispers and argumentsand rumors out there that mademe, and make many of us, thinkof religion, God and especiallythe Catholic faith as lessimportant than it actually is. Lessamazing than it actually is. LessDivine than it actually is. Less isnot acceptable! Loving someoneso-so is not enough, it doesn’tmake a happy marriage. Itmakes a so-so marriage. So, if we

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see God and the Church as so-so,it’s no wonder we go to HolyMass only so-often and so-metimes pray and so-rt of “like”God. So-so is not enough. Gotquestions? Well the Church hasthe answers…we often just don’task the right people. So mymission was not to convert theworld of unbelievers, it was totouch the hearts, lives and mindsof believers! Then they could livethe true Christian life of lettingtheir “light shine before men, thatthey may see your good worksand give glory to your Fatherwho is in heaven.” (Matt 5:16)

FOLLOW THE REALHEROS FOOTSTEPS:

So if we “monkey see, monkeydo” then let’s SEE examples oftrue heroism and start living lifeto the fullest! Saints are theheroes to imitate. They wereordinary people who livedextraordinary lives. They weresinners, like us, who with God’sgrace became true models toimitate. If you think sainthood isfor the big and strong, thinkagain. If you think we have to besmart and study a lot, thinkagain. Did you know that somegreat saints had low educationand a simple life? Many otherswere young. For the youth,young saints are true inspirationsto follow. We should not settlefor the idols of televisionsuperstars that are created at thepencil tip of screenwriters.

Television, moviesand novels are notreal life. They oftenlack the full truth. My generation, alsocalled “GenerationX,” has been raisedon television storiesand a life“connected” to themedia. The next

generation who finds themselvesright now as teenagers are evenmore “connected.” They aremedia “junkies” being raised ina society whose human-to-human communicating happensless and less and is beingreplaced with text messages, chatrooms, social networking sites,and whatever else removes usfrom personal human contact. Ihave even been in the presenceof youth who play a video gamealmost 80% of their time awake! That is a generous figure I amgiving. Most of the time whatforces them to not spend 95% oftheir time infront of the TV witha controller in their hand is thehuman need to use thebathroom. However I thank Godfor many technologicaladvancements that save lives inhospitals and contribute to othersociological feats, but the“entertainment” industry often isnot changing society for thebetter. Yes, there are wonderfulmusicals, and comedians whohelp us to relax and enjoy trueart, but what is “selling and being

bought” degrades our minds andmakes us “settle for less.” Well,I put before you true heros. Boysand girls, and young men andwomen who have been famousfor generations and generations. Some have been homaged forover 1,500 years. They are someof our beloved SAINTS. Here arejust a few examples:

St. Philomena was a beautifulyoung girls who was martyred atabout age 14 in the early days ofthe Church. She died at thejealous and angry hands of aThird Century Roman Emperorknown for executing Christians. He wanted Philomena forhimself and when she honored avow to God and the Church hehad her beaten like Jesus. Herwounds quickly healed. He thentried having her executed witharrows, but they all missed. Thenhe tried tying anchors around herneck and throwing her into thewater, she miraculously came outwith divine help and was dry. She died only when he took asword and cut her head off. Hundreds converted to the OneTrue God after witnessing themiracles that preserved her life.

St. Maria Goretti is anotheryoung and beautiful saint. Shewas a pious farm girl, one of sixchildren. In 1902 at age 12, shewas attacked by a 19-year-whotried to rape her. She fought,yelling that it was a sin, and thathe would go to hell. He tried tochoke her into submission, thenstabbed her fourteen times. Shesurvived in the hospital for twodays, forgave her attacker, askedGod’s forgiveness of him, anddied holding a crucifix and medalof Our Lady. The boy repentedand converted.

Blessed Peter Calungsod wasa 19 year old who was killed in

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Guam in 1672 trying to protect a Catholic priest. He was very talented in languages and wasteaching the Christian faith when he was hackedto death with a catana and his mutilated bodythrown into the sea.

Saint John Berchmans died in 1621 at the ageof 22 in Rome, Italy. He was not noted forextraordinary feats of holiness or austerity, nor didhe found orders or churches or work flashymiracles. He made kindness, courtesy, and constantfidelity an important part of his holiness. The pathto holiness can lie in the ordinary rather than theextraordinary.

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati: (1901-1925) Ayoung attractive man who did not hesitate to sharehis religious inspiration and spiritual life withothers, especially other students and the poor ofthe streets. Beneath the smiling exterior of therestless university student was concealed theamazing life of a mystic. Love for Jesus motivatedhis actions. He assisted at Mass and communiondaily, often serving Mass and making a lengthythanksgiving afterwards. In late June 1925 PierGiorgio was afflicted by an acute attack ofpoliomyelitis which doctors later speculated hecaught from the poor and sick whom he tended.“To live without faith, without a patrimony todefend, without a steady struggle for truth, that isnot living, but existing.” – Pier Giorgio Frassati

Let us model ourselves after them and many ofthe more than 10,000 saints and blessed souls thatnow are in heaven interceding for us. Just ASK!

KNOW YOUR FAITH

“It’s not enough to know Christ, we must bring himto everyone!” said Pope John Paul II.

Learn your faith, understand it, have a reasonto believe and be able to give reasons for it.

“Be always ready to give a reason for the hope that isin you” 1 Peter 3:15

USE THE MEDIA

I offer you some recommended websites to visitfor learning more. You can visit my website formore links and information (www.MarioStFrancis.com) These are some of myfavorite websites and I highly recommend them.

CATHOLIC ANSWERS

www.CatholicAnswers.com A majorApologetics site with many articles and mp3’s tohelp understand Catholic doctrine, especiallyunderstanding arguments that we often hearagainst the Church and our Christian Faith.

CATHOLICS COME HOME

www.CatholicsComeHome.com is famous fortheir short video clips seen all over YouTube andon television. This site is very helpful forpracticing believers, non-believers and those whoare not practicing but consider themselves asbelievers.

ST. MICHAELS MEDIA

The One True Faith http://www.catholictelevision.org is the show where SaintMichael’s Media showcases the truths of theCatholic faith in a lively and exciting manner,presented by multiple Emmy-award winnerMichael Voris. Michael tackles a single topic eachweek, explaining the Catholic faith in an excitingand engaging manner. The site contains FREEmp3 download and DVD’s available for purchase.

Bible Christian Society hosts full-lengthversions of a large library of talks in MP3format. All of their material is offered free ofcharge. www.biblechristiansociety.com

So let’s go out there and do our best, pray, askthe saints for help and take advantage of the mediato get informed. Praised be Jesus Christ now andforever.

If not you, Who? If not now, When? If not forthe kingdom of God, What for?