Ep. 6: I'm Not a Nerd – I'm a Dominican (Sr. Maria Frassati, O.P., Ph.D.)

Summary

Dominican Sisters Open Mic

Ep. 6: "I'm Not a Nerd – I'm a Dominican" (Sr. Maria Frassati, O.P., Ph.D.)

Host: Sr. Miriam, O.P. | Guest: Sr. Maria Frassati, O.P., Ph.D.
Date: March 4, 2026

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Episode Overview

This lively episode centers on the story and spirituality of Sr. Maria Frassati, O.P., a college professor and champion of Dominican life. In conversation with host Sr. Miriam, Sr. Maria shares her vocation journey, the joys and challenges of community living, her path through higher education, and her fervent devotion to Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, whose name she took in religious life. The discussion weaves humor, practical advice, and inspiration, offering both a window into Dominican vocation and a deep dive into the faith and life hacks of a modern saint.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Sr. Maria’s Vocation Story

• Early Calling (03:43–06:16):

  • At 16, Sr. Maria began attending daily Mass for Lent, inspired by her grandmother and sister’s faith.
  • On retreat, her confession penance was to pray about a religious vocation, which immediately bore fruit:
    • "I realized that a problem with the plan is that I didn't ask the man who made me… Whatever he made me for is the best thing to do." (04:46)
    • When praying, the answer felt clear:
      • "Whatever he made me for is the best thing to do... if it were religious life, I would do that. And it was like, you're doing it." (05:16–05:39)
  • Her family was surprised by her certainty, expecting the idea to pass—but she persevered.

• Influence of Family (06:54–07:38):

  • Faith fostered by her grandmother and later a sibling’s conversion.
  • Ordinary Catholic home; not overly devotional, but open.

• Draw to Teaching and the Dominicans (09:06–10:31):

  • Her father’s teaching career influenced her desire to teach.
  • Discovered the Dominicans through priest mentors, and upon visiting, immediately felt at home:
    • "[The Sisters] just seemed so normal... I had sort of moved to Michigan in my mind." (10:09–10:30)

Community Life: The Joys and the Challenges

• The Best & The Hardest (10:33–12:16):

  • Community is “the best and the worst thing”:
    • "Community living—your sisters see you in ways that other people don't, and they can build you up and call talents out of you." (10:49–11:06)
  • Iron sharpens iron:
    • "I infuriate others, and others infuriate me." (12:52)
    • Illustrates with stories about the daily quirks and compromises—from commuting temperature preferences to kitchen habits.

• Prayer at the Center (14:13–14:48):

  • Mass and adoration are vital supports; students notice when she’s missed Mass:
    • "Sister hasn't had Jesus today, so she's being wretched." (14:48, quoting a perceptive student)

Academic & Teaching Journey (15:02–16:04)

• Ph.D. in English, specialty in Shakespeare (15:13):
  • Studied at Catholic University of America.
  • Her intellectual journey took surprising turns—“[now] my job is to read novels I love for fun!” (17:02)
  • Her religious assignment, through the community’s direction, led her to graduate studies.

Devotion to Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

• Initial Encounter & Taking His Name (18:34–20:57):

  • Did not know much of him until entering; learned from fellow Sisters.
  • Was drawn to his youthfulness, Eucharistic love, Marian devotion, and relatability:
    • "He is normal and young... relatable." (19:31)

• Summary of Pier Giorgio’s Life (21:05–24:24):

  • Born in Turin (1901–1925), from an influential yet fractured family.
  • His faith flourished amidst family tensions, especially after attending a Jesuit school.
  • Not academically outstanding but passionate about justice, the poor, and lived an active, athletic life.
  • Family misunderstood him—“fundamentally good for nothing” was a refrain from his parents.

Who are Lay Dominicans? (24:55–26:03)

• Lay Dominicans live out Dominican spirituality in the world, through study, prayer, and service—married or single, they gather in local communities.

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Memorable Segment: Pier Giorgio Frassati’s “Life Hacks for Holiness” (26:05–35:37)

Sr. Maria shares her own framework, distilled from Frassati’s life:

1. You Can't Do It Alone (28:13)
   • Holiness is impossible without Eucharist, Mary, saints, friends, and community.
   • "He would say… Christ comes to me every morning in Holy Communion. How can I not go out to others?" (27:28)
2. Stop and Smell the Roses (28:21–29:37)
   • Living present to the moment, attentive to people and beauty around you.
   • Story: Frassati remembers the anniversary of a guard’s deceased son—a year later!
3. Read Good Books (29:38)
   • Study and intellectual formation matter, even for the “not bookish”—Frassati loved Dante, Shakespeare, Goethe.
   • "He had a passage from Dante’s Paradiso… tacked on his bedroom wall." (30:02)
4. Create Green Spaces (30:44–33:55)
   • Reference to Shakespeare: "Green spaces" are creative, communal getaways or experiences that foster deeper encounter with Christ and others.
   • Frassati’s peer group (the “Tipilowski”) was a “culture within a culture.”
5. Do Things Badly (As Opposed To Not at All) (34:04)
   • Don’t let perfectionism paralyze you: jump in, be willing to look foolish in pursuit of love/service.
   • "It’s not like he set out to evangelize all of Italy. He was willing to do what he could do… Move furniture for people, whatever’s on deck." (35:07–35:19)

Sr. Miriam: “There’s a confidence there… that God can make things beautiful, even if we don’t plan it out perfectly.” (35:19–35:34)

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Encouragement & Advice from Frassati’s Life (35:37–37:56)

• Focus on Christ as the one thing necessary.
  • "If you focus your life on Christ… everything else will fall into place." (37:42–37:56)
• Frassati’s joy and confidence came from his single-hearted relationship with Jesus, not from circumstances.

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• “I just need a t-shirt that says, 'I'm not a nerd, I'm a Dominican.'” (19:52)
• On community life: “We didn’t choose each other—Jesus chose them for you. Which can be both awesome and alarming.” (12:17)
• On teaching: “Teaching. I love teaching and I’m so happy while teaching. Grading papers, not so much, but teaching, yes.” (43:38)

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The Canonization of Pier Giorgio (37:56–42:13)

• Sr. Maria attended the canonization in Rome—joyful communion, fun Dominican family moments, and a personal encounter with Pope Leo.
  • "Everywhere you go in Rome, it’s Rome, the whole time." (38:31)
  • She describes joyful episodes—reunions, gelato, and Pope Leo’s approving thumbs-up.

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Speed Round (42:16–43:47)

• Favorite liturgical season: Christmas—best music. (42:27)
• Hobby: “Hobbies are my hobby. I have so many hobbies.” (42:31)
• Favorite game: Collaborative games (“Ito,” at the Mother House) (42:37)
• Spiritual reading recommendation: He Leadeth Me by Fr. Walter Ciszek, S.J. (42:55)
• Favorite Marian title: “Cause of our joy.” (43:08)
• Favorite age group to teach: College students. (43:15)
• Saint for dinner: “Probably Frassati, and we’d just hang out.” (43:23)
• Peaceful activity: Teaching—“I love teaching and I’m so happy while teaching.” (43:38)

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Notable Quotes with Attribution & Timestamps

• Sr. Maria: “The best thing and worst thing about our life are the same: Community.” (10:49)
• Sr. Miriam: “I love the community life aspect… being inspired in virtue by the sisters I live with.” (11:27)
• Sr. Maria: “Whatever he made me for is the best thing to do. And I want to do that the most… And it was like, you’re doing it.” (05:16–05:39)
• Sr. Maria (on Frassati’s relevance): “He’s normal and young… I hate the word relatable… but he’s relatable.” (19:31)
• Sr. Miriam: “You didn’t go to Mass this morning, did you?—Yeah, they could tell.” (14:47)
• Sr. Maria (on Frassati’s “Do Things Badly”): “Don’t worry about, is it going to be perfect? Is someone going to be mad? He just jumps in there and does it.” (35:07–35:19)
• Sr. Maria: “If you focus your life on Christ… everything else will fall into place.” (37:42–37:56)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• Vocation Story: 03:43–08:47
• Community Life: 10:33–14:48
• Academic Journey: 15:02–18:16
• Devotion to Frassati: 18:34–24:24
• Lay Dominicans: 24:55–26:03
• Frassati’s Life Hacks: 26:05–35:37
• Advice to Listeners: 35:37–37:56
• Canonization Stories: 37:56–42:13
• Speed Round: 42:16–43:47

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Takeaways

This episode beautifully integrates personal testimony, humor, and spiritual wisdom, making Dominican life accessible and vibrant. Sr. Maria and Sr. Miriam present religious vocation not as a retreat from the world, but as a joyful, sometimes messy pursuit of Christ at the heart of community. The episode is especially rich for those interested in vocation, Dominican spirituality, modern saints like Pier Giorgio Frassati, and for educators seeking inspiration in integrating faith and study.

Transcript

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Like, I had the sixth graders for this double block after lunch, which is just like not a great time for any human, and particularly not for sixth graders. And so myself in the world would have studied science. Science. As though that's a thing. The. I remember just one day, just like, I was like, so crabby and there was little hand goes up. Sister, you didn't go to mass this morning, did you? I was like, no.

[Sister Miriam]

Really?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Like, yeah, they could tell. They're like, no, Sister hasn't had Jesus today. Um, then she said, well, I'm going to send you to study full time on the assignment. On the assignments. And I was like, oh. And I'm like, waiting for her to tell me where. And she didn't. Didn't tell you where.

[Sister Miriam]

You were in suspense.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

I was in suspense.

[Sister Miriam]

What is the Lord's plan for you exactly?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

What are we doing, Jesus? Cuz I was like, in St. Paul. No. I think I even asked in St. Paul and she said no.

[Sister Miriam]

Hi, and welcome to Dominican Sisters open Mic. My name is Sister Miriam and I'm a sister of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. Every week we sit down and we're talking all things Dominican. And on today's show, we have our very own Sister Maria Frassati joining us for conversation about her saint, Saint Frasade. Thank you for coming, Sister.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Thank you so much, Sister Miriam and

[Sister Miriam]

I want to tell our audience a little bit about your biographical background. So you're from Illinois originally. You entered in 2001, and you're certified to teach all grade levels.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yes.

[Sister Miriam]

But currently you're teaching at the college level. Could you tell us what you're teaching, who you're teaching, what your.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

What your.

[Sister Miriam]

Your subjects are focused on?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yes, I teach at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, and I teach mostly English classes. I'm in the English department, but I also teach for our core department. So I teach some of our foundational classes in the core curriculum. Okay.

[Sister Miriam]

And you enjoying that?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Oh, yeah, it's so fun.

[Sister Miriam]

You like working at the college level?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

I do, yes. This. It sounds terrible, but there's no parents involved at the college level, so.

[Sister Miriam]

Sister, good for you. Yeah, I. I love that you have St. Fradi as your saint, and we want to hear more about that. But before we get to that.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Okay.

[Sister Miriam]

I thought it'd be interesting to hear how our Lord worked in your life to get you here as a Dominican sister. So could you tell us, how did the Lord make his will known for you in your life?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Okay, well, I Guess the really short version is that when I was a sophomore in high school, after I got my license, I started thinking what I should do for Lent. And I decided that I would go to daily Mass, which I could now drive myself to. And my grandmother had used to take me to daily Mass during Lent, and so I did that. And then I saw one of my classmates there at daily Mass with her mom, and she invited me on a retreat that was early in Lent of that. Of my sophomore year. And so I thought, well, that's cool. And so I went with her. And on that retreat, when I was in confession, which I normally didn't go to unless someone put me in a line and was like, go to confession twice here at CCD or school, whatever. And the priest asked me to think, to pray about whether or not I had a religious vocation. And I was like, but I don't want it. I don't want to do that. Like, that's. I don't want to do that, you know?

[Sister Miriam]

And you were how old at that time?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

I was 16.

[Sister Miriam]

16.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

And he. And, well, at first, he'd asked me if I'd ever thought about it, and I had, but only insofar as when I started to develop a spiritual life, I started to think about eternity and how eternal it was.

[Sister Miriam]

Okay.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

It's long. Eternity is so important to spend it in the right place. And so I had been like, is getting into heaven, man? And it's like, I think Peter's gotta be waving the nuns in, right? Like, that's. I was like, no, okay, wait. Rejected. Not doing that. Like, that's a bad idea. Anyway, so then he asked me if I thought about it, and I couldn't tell him no because I was in confession, so. And you can't lie.

[Sister Miriam]

Oh, yeah.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

And so then he told me that my penance, actually was to go and pray about my religious vocation. So then I had to do it, which was a very sneaky priest trick, actually.

[Sister Miriam]

Yeah, that was smart.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

So I went back out into adoration, and I was like, lord, let me remind you about the plan for my life and where I'm going to college and what I'm going to study and, like, how beautiful my plan for my life is.

[Sister Miriam]

Is. So, Sister, did your plan for your life involve marriage and family life?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yeah.

[Sister Miriam]

That's what you were thinking.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

My older sister had just gotten engaged.

[Sister Miriam]

Okay.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

So. And she went to the University of Illinois, where my whole family went. And I was gonna go there and study science. That's what we all did. Really. Yes. I didn't know that.

[Sister Miriam]

Yeah, science.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yes, Very generically science. Like, I never chose a science. Anyway. And so. But anyway, so then I was kind of holding this plan up to the Lord like I had it in my hands almost and out in adoration. And then I realized that a problem with the plan is that I didn't ask the man who made me. You know what I mean? Like, the person who made the thing knows what the thing is for. And I didn't ask the Lord anything about this. And I still hadn't done my penance, actually, like telling the Lord my plan was not what the penance was.

[Sister Miriam]

Okay.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

So then I started to think, well, wait a minute. Whatever he made me for is the best thing to do. And I want to do that the most and. Because I'll be the happiest doing that. Cause it's the thing that will bring the most fulfillment. Whatever. And I thought, oh, gosh, that makes sense to me. It makes so much sense to me that if it were religious life, I would do that. And it was like, you're doing it.

[Sister Miriam]

Is that what you felt in that moment? You're doing it?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yeah, just like. No, that. More like that's it. That's what it is. That's what we're doing. And it was like, oh, I'm surprised by this.

[Sister Miriam]

This was a very fast past understanding that came to you.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yes. And looking back at it, because first, then everyone was like, well, now you have to discern. And I was like, what's discernment? And they're like, it's when you pray about what the Lord wants you to do. I was like, but I did that. You know what I mean?

[Sister Miriam]

You got your answer immediately.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yes. So I didn't. It took me a long time to understand that that's not how it works for everyone. And I think the Lord just kind of had to hit me with a ton of bricks, sort of, you know.

[Sister Miriam]

Yeah. To get the message through.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yes.

[Sister Miriam]

But Sister, you. To me, it's very beautiful and maybe unusual that you were a 16 year old and your Lenten practice. Yeah. Was to go to daily mass.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yeah.

[Sister Miriam]

So you were living in a way where you were receptive to God's plan or there was an openness to you. I'm wondering, was there something that your family did to flow. Foster that in you, an openness to God, a love of God that enables you to. To go towards him in that way?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

I would think that the daily mass thing was my grandmother Mary used to take me to Mass daily, mastering Lent a couple times a week. Growing up, our pastor specifically scheduled one so that school children could be brought. And my grandma was like, I guess I'm bringing some school children, you know, and so. And so she. And so then when I was thinking, like, what is a Lent? What feels lenty to do, you know, was that. But also, my sister had a. My older sister had a kind of a big conversion experience in the second part of high school and then into college. And so I think sort of her zeal then for the Lord, sort of kind of backwards informed the rest of the family. We always went to mass and we went to ccd, but it wasn't. We weren't like. We weren't praying the rosary together, doing some of those other things.

[Sister Miriam]

Other devotional things?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yeah. Other devotional things, yes.

[Sister Miriam]

So you have this moment where you're like, that's it.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yeah.

[Sister Miriam]

What did you do after that?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

You went home? Yes. And then I didn't know anything. I didn't know anything about having a religious location that you're supposed to be, like, scared or that, like, people might freak out or. Cause it just, like, was made so much sense to me. I think looking back at it, it felt like there were all these pieces of my life that suddenly fit together, that aspect, you know? So then I just came home. I was like, guess what, mom and dad? I'm going to be a sister. I'm going to wear a habit. I'm going to teach. And my dad was like, what? You know, like, wow. Like, we think maybe you can teach and be a sister, but I don't know. Just people. Do people wear habits? Is that. Are we still doing that? You know?

[Sister Miriam]

Yeah.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

And I was like, well, I'm gonna find them. It's. You know, it'll. It'll work out. They're like, okay, sweetheart, you know, and I mean. But God bless them, like that. I wanted to be an astronaut or an architect or a. Whatever, you know, in a whole series of things. Yeah. And so they're like, well, someone will ask her to homecoming, and then this will be over. It was like, it's. It. It's not. It won't be. So. So anyway, I think they were surprised when I persevered, but I was like, no, this is what we're doing. So that's what we did.

[Sister Miriam]

Had you thought about being a teacher, specifically? Our apostolate is teaching?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yes.

[Sister Miriam]

Was that something that was on your radar as a profession?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yes. Yeah. My dad. My dad is a teacher. He teaches high school, a college in geology, and pretty Much. From the time I started going to school, I was like, I would like to be a teacher.

[Sister Miriam]

Oh, wow. Yeah. So. So when you saw the Dominicans for the first time and maybe you could tell us where you encountered them, was that part of what drew you to the community? Yeah.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

I think one of the things I did was go back to my high school, which was quite small, but had four priests teaching at it at the time.

[Sister Miriam]

Oh, wow.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

And a priest who taught me calculus. Anyway, thanks, thanks. Introducing Gray. But that I started telling them, I have a religious vocation. I think I want to teach. What do I do? And they're all like, well, visit different places. And so one of the priests at my high school is now the Vicar general of the diocese, Monsignor Philip Halfacre. He is good friends with Bishop Mengeling. Bishop Mengeling actually brought him into the church, and so he had been up here visiting Bishop. This is, like, now 1999, right?

[Sister Miriam]

Okay.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

And Bishop brought him out to where they were constructing the Mother House. And so he had met our sisters then and was, I think, doing a retreat in the next spring. And so he was like, well, you should visit these people in Ann Arbor that I just met. And so then I came in the fall of my junior year, and it wasn't quite as instantaneous as, like, you know, beams of light and angel voices from the sky, you know, But I just felt really at home with the sisters, and they just seemed so normal. And I realized a couple of weeks after the retreat, I had sort of moved to Michigan in my mind and thought, well, that must be it then. And so then I just had to wait to graduate from high school.

[Sister Miriam]

And then you enter.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

And then I enter that. That's right.

[Sister Miriam]

What do you love about the religious life?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Oh, wow. So many things.

[Sister Miriam]

I know.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

So many things. I think people always ask this question, and I. It's funny, but the best thing and the worst thing about our life are the same thing. Community.

[Sister Miriam]

Community living.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Community living. Yes, yes, yes.

[Sister Miriam]

Why is that the best thing?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

It's the best thing. Your sisters see you in ways that other people don't, and they can build you up and they call talents out of you, like podcast hosting, which I'm sure you didn't think you were ever going to do. You know, it wasn't on your.

[Sister Miriam]

I envisioned that.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

So that kind of thing, or the things we get sent to study are the things we get asked, the two. The opportunities we have to do together, all of that, and sort of the joy that we bring to everything. That's, that's all amazing. And that we're all here focused on the Lord and doing this and doing this work together to bring souls to him is awesome.

[Sister Miriam]

It really is such a gift, I think for me, I love the community life aspect. And so frequently I feel the blessing of being inspired in virtue by the sisters that I live with and seeing how, how they live a certain. Or how they put a certain virtue into practice, that maybe is difficult for me.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Right.

[Sister Miriam]

I think one thing that I find really beautiful is generosity of the sisters and seeing them jump into things and helping out with a joyful spirit that it just gets me going. It's like, well, that's how I want to be. And so being able to grow in the. The life together and hopefully growing in holiness together and helping us towards virtuous living is a beautiful gift.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Right.

[Sister Miriam]

How about the down.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

The downside, I guess when you get married, you choose the other adult that you're living with. And we did. Didn't you know, Jesus chose them for you. Which can be both awesome and alarming, I think. So we've got a lot of people living together with vastly different backgrounds, different corners of the country, different countries, who grew up in wildly different family expectations and cultures and things. And all of that can just be, I mean, the kind of go to metaphor is sandpaper, right.

[Sister Miriam]

Of the.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

The way that it smooths each other out. But it can just be like, I infuriate others and others infuriate me. You know what I mean? Like, that's, that's that. And just from like little tiny things of daily living, that's when I teach. This sounds unrelated, but it's not. But when I teach about Dante, which I do.

[Sister Miriam]

Yes.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

So Dante is married to a. A woman who is not Beatrice, who he like, idolizes in the whole Divine Comedy and is the woman who is his muse, et cetera. And the students are always puzzled by this. I was like, oh, no, this makes tons of sense. Like, he barely ever talked to be. You know, Mrs. Dante probably leaves her dishes in the sink. You know what I mean? But Beatrice is like, she's perfect. I mean, he can just imagine whatever kind of perfect woman he wants her to be. And he doesn't really know her, so it works out so. So I mean, but kind of that, like, but Mrs. Dante probably leaves her dishes in the sink. I mean, nobody leaves dishes in the sink. But sort of the equivalent stuff in our life of like, why I can't believe you're doing it that way. Like, why would you why would you. Even the sister I commute with right now, when we switch driving partners, like, I like to have the air on my face and she doesn't. And so we, like, have a whole routine of like, like, I gotta close her vents, I gotta open her vents. I got to switch the temperature. You know what I mean? And that's, like, not infuriating, but that's like, you know? But that's the kind of stuff, like, all the time with, like, everybody of like, wow. We just want to do this in vastly different ways.

[Sister Miriam]

And this is part of our humanity and living in community and being in communion with one another.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

That's right.

[Sister Miriam]

And it's beautiful that at the center of our life is a sacrament. We have adoration every day and the benefit of daily Mass and that these things help us. Right.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

I can remember when I taught sixth grade in Phoenix, there was a few times that year when we had mass in the afternoon instead of in the morning. And it was like, I had the sixth graders for this double block after lunch, which is just, like, not a great time for any human, and particularly not for sixth graders. And so the. I remember just one day just like, I was, like, so crabby, and there was little. Hand goes up. Sister, you didn't go to Mass this morning, did you? I was like, no.

[Sister Miriam]

Really?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

You're like, yeah. They could tell. They're like, sister hasn't had Jesus today, so she's being wretched. Wow. Anyway, it's perceptive, but I'll say, yeah.

[Sister Miriam]

Yeah, Sister. So you have a PhD?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

I do.

[Sister Miriam]

Amazing.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

It is like, yeah, I do. Weird.

[Sister Miriam]

Where did you study and what's your specialty?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yeah, I studied at the Catholic University of America for both a master's and a PhD in English literature. And so with a specialty in Shakespeare, hence.

[Sister Miriam]

Hence the Dante reference.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Hence the Dante reference, yeah. Which is, I guess, related. Sure, why not?

[Sister Miriam]

So did. Had you ever envisioned yourself getting a higher degree?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Probably not a PhD. I don't think. My mother is a medical doctor. So, like, we do education in my family, and my dad has a Master's in geology, etc. But I probably, like. I mean, in myself. Myself in the world would have studied science. Science. So that's a thing, you know? So it was fun to. I got. So my first graduate program that I didn't finish was at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, so purple USD.

[Sister Miriam]

Okay.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

And I was sent there for a summer, and I just loved studying so much. I was like, this is so fun. It was their Catholic Studies program, and I was just like, this was the best. And so then I was in Phoenix the next year, and Mother Assamta called me and she said, study, hun. I just want you to know I'm not gonna. They're about to get summer assignments. She's like, I just want you to know that you're not gonna be assigned to study next year. And I was like, oh. And she's like, I just knew you'd be crushed. And I was like, I'm kind of crushed, Mother. And so. And then she said, well, I'm gonna send you to study full time on the assignment. On the assignments. I was like, oh. And I'm like, waiting for her to tell me where. And she didn't tell you where.

[Sister Miriam]

You were in suspense.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

I was in suspense.

[Sister Miriam]

What is the Lord's plan for you exactly?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

What are we doing, Jesus? Because I was like, in St. Paul. No. I think I even asked in St. Paul, and she said no.

[Sister Miriam]

And that was it.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

That was it. And so. And then I thought, you know, I think President John Garvey has been to visit the Mother House recently. Yes. And Sister Joseph Andrew has been telling me for years that I'm a good writer. So I bet I'm going to get sent to English at Catholic U. And then I did.

[Sister Miriam]

And you loved it, right?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

I loved it so much. Oh, my gosh. My first semester, I took 20th century Catholic fiction. This was the name of the class. Now I know Very eminent scholar Virgil Nimoyanu. And I went to the bookstore to get my books, and it was like, novels that I read for fun. I was like, this is what they do. Like, this is my job now. Like, I would do this for fun in my free time. Like, this is now my job. This is the best thing ever. Like, why did nobody tell me this?

[Sister Miriam]

Wow. That's. The Lord knew what you needed.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yeah.

[Sister Miriam]

Wow.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

So then I got sent for the master's. And then I discovered, while I was there, because I didn't know anything about graduate school, is that nobody pays to get a master's in the humanities. Is that they're all. It's all, like, funded programs, which Catholic U has. They have scholarships for that. Etc. And so then basically I was done getting the Masters. And they were like, but, Sister, you're a good student, though. And I was like, yeah, what do you. What? And so, like, where are you going? What if we gave you one of the teaching fellowships for the PhD program? I was like, I don't know. Let me go call some people, you know? So then I Had to ask mother about it. And so we prayed about it and decided that it was if since the Lord presented this opportunity, we would just do it. So. Wow.

[Sister Miriam]

Yes, sir.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yeah.

[Sister Miriam]

Way to go. I was. We were all celebrating when you graduated in 2020. We celebrated.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

It was so lame because couldn't go to graduation and like all of that,

[Sister Miriam]

you know, that was. Right.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

That was.

[Sister Miriam]

I felt.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yeah.

[Sister Miriam]

But so, Sister, I want to get to your saint.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yeah.

[Sister Miriam]

I feel that you are a specialist on St. Frasade. You took his name and you went to the canon.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

I did.

[Sister Miriam]

Did you know St. Frasati when you first entered the convent?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

I did not. So at the Joy Road School, there's a huge poster of him outside the gym because Sister John Dominic knew. Has met. Had met his niece Vonda and knew about him kind of before. He was cool, you know. And so. And I was like, who is that? And I was like, is this. Like, did one of the kids die? Like, why do have this huge poster of this kid?

[Sister Miriam]

You know, he's young.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yeah. And so he was about 16 in the, in the photo. And then Sister Mary Margaret is the one when we were posh, like, oh, that's Pro Georgia Versati. And he was a third order Dominican. And this. That. And I was like, whoa, I'm sorry. His name was like, too much, too hard. Like, I. I'm never. I'm never going to remember that. But thanks for telling me, Sister. It was like, jokes on me.

[Sister Miriam]

Yeah, you have his name now.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

I know. I was like, well, now I remember. And then I just felt during my postulate year, I really wanted to take a Dominican name once. I was. I didn't really know much about the Dominicans till I was one. And then it was like, oh, yeah, no, I've secretly been a Dominican this whole time. We met a young man entering the central province when we were postulants, and he was like, I just need a T shirt that says, I'm not a nerd, I'm a Dominican. And we were like, yes, we feel this. And so then I really wanted to take a Dominican name and. And there's a little book by Anne Ball called Faces of Holiness that just has photos of 20th century saints and things, or any saint that there's photos of. And that same photo of him was in there, and it was captioned that he's a Dominican tertiary or lay Dominican. And so I was like, oh, I'm. No, I'm interested. And so then I read that little chapter in there and I was like, well, that's pretty cool. And then I checked out to see what we have in the library. We had a couple of books about him and I read them and I thought, he's really amazing. He loves Our lady, he loves the Eucharist. He is normal and young. Relatable. Hashtag relatable. Relatable. No, I hate the word relatable. It's okay. No, he's relatable. And so I then was like, but your name is so weird. I don't even know if I know how to pronounce. You know what I'm saying? And so we had a long argument about his name being weird, which he eventually won. And then. And you got the name and I got the name. So that's what happened.

[Sister Miriam]

Sister. I'm glad. Yeah. So could you tell us some biographical information about this saint?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yes. Yeah. So Pier Giorgio Frasati lived from 1901 to 1925. He's from Turin, Italy. So he died when he was 24. And he grew up in this sort of like upper middle class family. His dad was the founder of a famous newspaper in Italy, Le Stampa. And then he ended up being a senator and an ambassador. The ambassador to Germany from. From Italy. And so he was sort of living this kind of embassy life there in his. In his midlife when they're having. Hosting parties and things that. That sort of thing.

[Sister Miriam]

This is the dad. Who's the.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

The dad?

[Sister Miriam]

The dad is the ambassador.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

As the ambassador. And so then his mom was an artist. So his dad is like businessman, like newspaper. And he's not really practicing the faith. He's basically agnostic. And then his mom is this like kind of super high strung artistic temperament. She was a painter and really into looking good and like making a good show of things. And. But the two of them, by the time the Frassati. So Peer. Georgia had an older sister that didn't live, that died as an infant. And then he was the second child and then his. And his younger sister Luciana. And he and Luciana were basically raised as twins. And so by the time that they were sort of like old enough to understand their parents were really at odds all the time. And it was a very unhappy marriage basically for both of them. And but for Giorgio, just even sort of in the midst of that, partly under the influence also of his grandmother, Amentis just grew up to be this very pious child and so. And attentive to other people also. There was a time when a beggar woman came to the door with holding an infant at like a Little boy and asked for money, and he didn't have any money. And he knew that his parents were not going to give this woman money, basically. And so he just like sat down, took off his shoes, gave the woman his shoes and like slammed the door because he. And like, he's like, he didn't want to get seen.

[Sister Miriam]

Yeah, that's right.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

That's right. And so, and so then he grew up in this sort of like tense family situation. And he was, he was not a horrible student, but he was not a great student either. He was in particularly wasn't good at Latin. So twice in his life he failed his Latin exam at the end of the year and had to repeat like a whole year. And but to do that, they say his parents sent him to the Jesuit school. So it turns out to be providential because that's where he started to realize he wanted to go to daily Mass and receive the Eucharist daily.

[Sister Miriam]

Okay, so he grew closer to Christ at that time.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yeah, that's right. That's right. And so then he. And then just kind of from there, from this, like, very normal student life, daily Mass, going, going to school, having friends, just sort of in the midst of all of that, started to do a lot of political activism, but then also working with the conferences of Saint Vincent de Paul in Turin, giving that aid to the poor people in the city. Sort of just kind of with his physical strength. He was a very robust, athletic kid. He loved mountain climbing and horseback riding and soccer and like all of it. So sailing, swimming. Yeah, that's his. I'm thinking of. His letters are kind of full of all of these things that he loved to do, skiing. So just kind of with his like, vigor of personality and like, strength, physical strength, he would help people in the city. Scrounging up money, giving away his bus fare and then running home for dinner, that kind of thing. But his parents were kind of mean to him as well. Like his dad sort of thought he'd never amount to anything and said so.

[Sister Miriam]

And they would tell him that.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

He would tell him that. Yeah, his mom was like, well, since you're fundamentally good for nothing, then, you know, whatever. So they kind of didn't understand him at all. And his sister did more, but even she was sort of caught up in their sort of glamorous embassy party hosting life that they live in a way that he wasn't.

[Sister Miriam]

Could you give us a little rundown of lay Dominican? He's a lay Dominican. People might not know that he is connected to the Dominicans, but what is a lay Dominican.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Right. So the Dominicans have. Are primarily the Friars founded by St. Dominic. Right. And then also the nuns who also were founded by Saint Dominic to pray kind of for the work of the friars. And then there's people like we are that. That are following the Dominican rule. Four sisters. But we're not cloistered. Right. Like, we're still doing a more active apostolate. But then there's also sort of this group of laypeople who don't necessarily live in community, but they gather in communities around. Usually around some of the friars or the sisters. And they feel called to participate in the Dominican charism. Right. Of teaching and preaching and study.

[Sister Miriam]

And they could be married people.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

They could be married people. Exactly. Single people. Yes. And they. They make promises that relative to like upholding Dominican traditions, etc.

[Sister Miriam]

Yeah.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

So we have a great group of lay Dominicans that we work with.

[Sister Miriam]

Even today the lay Dominicans are around. That's right. And doing wonderful things. Exactly. Supporting the Dominican. The. The universal charism of our Dominican.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yes.

[Sister Miriam]

Life.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

That's right.

[Sister Miriam]

To teach truth and. Yep. Lead people towards God.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yeah.

[Sister Miriam]

Okay. So Saint Frassade, now I hear he has some saintly holiness. Life hacks. Is that how you put it?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

That's how I put it.

[Sister Miriam]

Life hacks.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

The life hacks from Pier Giorgio of like, how to be a saint. So I just kind of thinking through his life and like, how would I frame. Like, how did he become a saint? What would I say? So I have five.

[Sister Miriam]

So you came up with these?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

I did, yes.

[Sister Miriam]

Okay. Yeah.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

It's based on my reading of being. You heard it here first. That's right. Okay. So the first one is you can't do it alone. I'd say that's kind of very fundamental. And by. By it I mean holiness. Like you can't. Or you can't do your life alone. And so that is manifested for Pier Giorgio in a number of ways. One is the Eucharist first, primarily all the time. So after he starts receiving daily communion, it's just. His life is kind of transformed by Christ. Right. And he would say, like, about his visits to the poor. Christ comes to me every morning in Holy Communion. How can I not go out to others? Right. And so when Aquinas talks about the mixed life being the most perfect life. Right. In the summa, he. He says that it's for two reasons. That it's the best kind of life. Like instead of just the contemplative life, one is the kind of life that Christ lived, that he was Both prayerful and. And had this active apostolate. But the second reason is that the activity comes from an abundance of contemplation, is what he says. So Frasadi sort of lives his life in this principle of overflow right from his life of Christ. So first there's this. His relationship with Christ, and that's overflowing into all of his other relationships and, like, giving them strength and courage, etc. So the Eucharist, also the Blessed Mother, not only did he pray the rosary, and he would sometimes on a train trip, like, pretend to be asleep but be praying the rosary, or he would get up early to pray the rosary in his family's country home in the mountains, there was a shrine to Our lady that he would climb to. So the Lady. But also he's devoted to the saints. He has friends. So that's kind of the first thing is that he's just surrounding himself with people that tell him he can't. He can't do it alone. Okay. So don't. You can't do holiness alone.

[Sister Miriam]

Okay. Okay.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Second, one hack.

[Sister Miriam]

Second hack.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Second hack. Second life hack from Prasadi is. Would be. I called it. I was thinking. How do I say this? Like, I called it stop and smell the roses.

[Sister Miriam]

Okay.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Because he was really good at just seeing things that were there to be seen. I guess you could also say live in the present moment.

[Sister Miriam]

Okay. Yeah.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

He was just good at being where he was and noticing the things there. So instance, once coming into school, there was like a security guard who would sit at the door, and he came in one day and the security guard was really sad, like. And he. And he saw that. Which, first of all, seeing the security guard at all, when you're a young person coming into school, and he. And then he stopped and asked. Asked what it was, and he said, well, my son just died. And he was like, oh, my gosh, I will pray for him. And. And a year later, Farsad is coming in on that same day, and he said, this is the day your son died. And I remembered him at mass this morning. So. So that kind of just attentiveness to the people he's with, and he would always just even literally stop and smell roses. Like, when he was out climbing mountains, he would stop and he would bring home flowers for the garden, and he'd bring home, like, rocks that he wanted to his rock collection and. And that kind of thing. So he was just good at knowing that kind of nothing is too small to be an instrument of grace, I think. So that's he's just. He was just good at being present in the. In the present moment for that. So stop and smell the roses.

[Sister Miriam]

That's true.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Love it. Okay, number three. Number three is read good books. Which sort of brings the other to that. I know. I mean, I'm. I'm into books. You know, as it turns out, Dominicans are. You know, and so sometimes, because he failed Latin, people are like, oh, he wasn't a good student. And he didn't. He didn't love school. And it's like, well. But he was a Dominican, though, so let it be known. He read books. And so he had this. He had a passage from. From the end of Dante's Paradiso where Saint Bernard is praising Our lady copied out in his own handwriting, and it's, like, tacked on his bedroom wall, really. And he would recite these passages of Dante. So he read, like, Shakespeare and Goethe and Manzoni and, like, all of these really, really important authors. And so I think that's part of both, like, the building community. Like, there's a way in which books build community with other people who've read them and with the people in them kind of. And. And also the sort of, like, cultivating that ability to see, I think is something he also. Confessions. That was another one. He's. In his letters, he writes about how amazing. St. Augustine's Confessions. So. So he read good books. So I think that that's. That's another way to kind of extend those first two more or like, how to get formation in those first two. Right. Okay.

[Sister Miriam]

So, okay, three. Yeah.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Okay. Okay. Oh, the fourth one is vaguely weird. Okay, so this is when I. When I'm having the, like, professorial shorthand. Okay, I said create green spaces. We were talking about this yesterday, so. Oh, no. Everything's connected to Shakespeare in my mind. Okay, so. So there's this Canadian theorist about Shakespeare who talks about his comedies. The theorist is named Northrop Fry, and he's got a theory of Shakespeare's comedies that they all work the same way. And basically all rom coms work this way. Okay, so you have, like, a guy who wants something, usually a girl, and then there's some sort of irrational block, like her dad is crazy or obstacle, or, like, she's from a different social class, or, like, you're a jock and she's a nerd or something. You know, whatever. Okay. And so then to circumvent this obstacle, we have to retreat into this green space. And so in Shakespeare plays, it usually literally is a green space. Like they go into the forest. Yeah, like the Forest of Arden, or, like the forest outside the city. And, like, everything there is, like, works by different rules. And it's kind of topsy turvy. I feel like in a rom com, you probably, like, go on a school trip or, like, you know what I mean? Like, you, like, have some sort of different kind of experience, a getaway. And then somehow in that, you circumvent that obstacle and then. And there's this, like, new society forms out there in the forest, and you, like, come back and it's like. Like, you. The resolution, you know, Guy gets the girl, whatever it is.

[Sister Miriam]

Okay.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

And so I think that Frasadi was good at sort of living that way in a way that he made these creative green spaces in. So. In so far as his friends are kind of just, like, going along, doing their thing and, like, not really thinking about their life. And he's like, come to me with them to come with me to the mountains, you know, Come play pool with me. And, like, if you win, we go to a bar, and if I win, we go to the church, you know, so he's. He was just creative. Creative, absolutely. Like, being attentive to the people around him and, like, kind of what would work. And he's, like, hosting dinners. He had a whole friend group named the Tipilowski, I think is how you pronounce it.

[Sister Miriam]

Okay.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

And that they had a little motto. Few but good. Like macaroni. That doesn't even mean anything. Like, it didn't even mean anything, but, like, this whole secret kind of friendship society. Yeah, it was a. It was a. It was a culture. And that he had. That had its own, like, secret language and code names and all of these things. And it was very elaborate. Right. And, like, you can almost. Not their letters to each other almost incomprehensible because you're like, what? What? You know, because it was. But that was a way that he didn't just, like, go out and, like, fight the culture or worry about, like, the culture in which he lived. Like, he built a culture kind of in response to that culture and, like, was forming this little society to, like, help them face life in the big society, I guess, as it were. So that. That kind of. So creating green space. I don't necessarily mean literal green space, although it could be, like, trips to the mountains, whatever, but. But kind of those creative spaces where people step out of their regular life and, like. Like, have a chance to encounter Christ in a new way that they wouldn't have had if they were just still doing their normal thing.

[Sister Miriam]

Encounter Christ and I think also to encounter the other.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yes, absolutely.

[Sister Miriam]

In. In ways. Because. Because the distractions of life can be the obstacles of encountering the other. And we're made for communion. So.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yes.

[Sister Miriam]

Establishing a forum where you can just be with another and. And to love them that way and to know them and to be known.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Absolutely.

[Sister Miriam]

Okay, Sister.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

I like it. Like, the hack. Okay. And then the. The fifth one is the last one. I would call it Do Things Badly.

[Sister Miriam]

Oh, interesting.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

As opposed. As opposed to. Not at all. Right, okay. Because I think we live in a culture where so often. Because, like, if it's not going to look good on Instagram, like, I don't want to do it. You know what I mean? Or if it's not going to be perfect, like, I was like, why would I. I'll just. I'll just ask AI to do it for me. I'll, you know, whatever. Like, like, so. As opposed to just sort of getting your hands dirty and, like, getting in there and doing stuff. So he. So Farsadi's got this friend group, and. And it's, like, not perfect, and it's probably a little clicky and whatever, but, like, that. I mean, he did do a lot with this conference of St. Vincent de Paul, but his, like, main apostolate, in a way, was to his, like, 10 friends. And he became a saint by, like, ministering to his 10 friends. You know what I mean? Like, that's amazing. And so he just has this. It's not like he set out to, like, evangelize all of Italy, you know what I mean? He's like, could. He's like, what do I got? I got some friends. I got a big house. I got the mountains like this. Like, look, I can work with that, you know? And so he's. He was willing to sort of do what he could do, like move. Move furniture for people. Like, whatever it is that's kind of on. On deck, he's, like, ready to do it, and he's not worried about, like, is it going to be perfect? Is somebody gonna be mad? What are people gonna think? Like, he's just. He just, like, jumps in there and does it. And so let's say do things badly as opposed to not doing them at all.

[Sister Miriam]

Yeah, Yeah. I think there's a confidence there.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yes.

[Sister Miriam]

In. In the fact that God can make things beautiful, and even if we don't plan it out perfectly, but God can still work through things. Exactly, sister. These are very practical.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yes, exactly. Well, that's. He's a practical kind of saint, you know?

[Sister Miriam]

Yes. So how. I'm. I'm. I'm wondering what advice you might think be able to. To. To give based on Frassadi and the way that he lived that you would want our viewers to. I know you gave. You gave the hacks. What. What would you want our listeners to. To know or to hear in terms of encouragement or advice?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yeah, I mean, I think that the chief thing is we get so caught up in, like, My holiness checklist, and, like, am I doing the things and am I praying the rosaries enough? And I'm, you know, and I think, what for Sadi shows us or, like, am I on? Am I in this camp of people or in that camp of people? And he just, like, love Jesus, like, make Jesus the number one thing, and everything else will fall into place. Like, if you focus your life on Christ and that, and you're really trying to focus your life on Christ, nothing else. Not that nothing else matters, but nothing else matters, you know, like, that's. That's the. He's the one thing that matters. And so, so Farsad. He's got this, like, crazy family. He dies. He dies of polio when he's 24. When he was 24, which he caught by working in the slums with people. His grandmother died just a few days before him. And that's when his family's like, you're completely useless. You're never there when we need you. I can't believe you're sick right now. Like this. Just like you, you know, but in the midst of his, like, crabby family and his, like, you know, dad making him give up his job that he wanted to have so that he could take over the newspaper, like, all these kind of things, and sort of of. There was a girl he was. Had a crush on that he didn't pursue a relationship with because he knew his parents would just flip out and it would finally break their marriage down and that kind of thing. And so just like, in the midst of all that, like, it, like it mattered, but it didn't matter because Christ was the most important thing. There's one of his famous letters he talks about. He writes to Luciana after she's married, which is also very painful for him. He says that, you know, he asked me if I'm happy. Like, I'm. Like, I'm in pain, but I'm not, not, not joyful. You know, like, so he could distinguish, like, life can be hard, but, like, fundamentally like Jesus. And so how could I not Be joyful. And so that's kind of what gave him the. The ability to do all the things that he did and the confidence to do all the things he did. So if we can live our identity in Christ and, like, make him the most important thing we do, like, everything else will fall into place.

[Sister Miriam]

Sister, that's beautiful. Yeah. Now, just briefly. Yeah, I think it's cool that you were at the canonization.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

It was extremely cool.

[Sister Miriam]

Just, can you give us, like, what was that like for you? I mean, to be there? This is your saint.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yeah. It was so fun to introduce myself, first of all, to everyone. I'm like, I'm Sister Mary's daughter, you know, like, oh, are you related? You're like, no, but kind of, I guess I don't. You know. So it was just such a cool opportunity. And of course, the date moved, which was, like, very special.

[Sister Miriam]

That's right. Yeah.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Thanks, Leo. But it was so cool to be. To be in Rome, first of all. It's just cool to be in Rome, full stop. Like, then everywhere you go in Rome, it's Rome the whole time. Like, it was amazing. And then just to be there with so many people that were, like, so excited about Frasati and, like, wanted to celebrate him, and about Carlo Coutis, obviously, who's. Who's Canadian, also was. And he was, like, more people were there for him. It's fine.

[Sister Miriam]

It's fine.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

I'm okay. But it was just so Pier. Georgia likes to send me on adventures.

[Sister Miriam]

Oh, okay.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

And so, instance, I've been to five World Youth Days. Like, some of the sisters have never been to any world.

[Sister Miriam]

Yeah, I've never been to one.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

So I've been to five, Sister. And it just. It just. I just know that this is, like, what Forsatti does. You know what I mean? And then, anyway, so the canonization, its original date. During the Youth Jubilee, Sister May Michael wrote to me and said, well, we're going to send someone with you. So how physically rigorous is this going to be? And I was, oh, Sister, it's not going to be like a World Youth Day. You know what I mean? Like, it's just gonna be like one, like, long day. On your feet. She was like, okay. And so Sister Margaret's coming with me. Then I got the schedule, and I

[Sister Miriam]

was like, this is rigorous.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

It's a World Youth Day. Like, that's. I was like, pedro Joe. Because the last World Youth I went to, I was like, pedro Joe, I'm kind of old. Like, I'm no longer a youth like, this is so fun. But it was in Lisbon. I was like, maybe. Maybe we cannot. Maybe we're done. You know, you're good. And so I could just feel him be like, what is the World Youth Jubilee? Totally different, you know, I was like, okay, listen, no more sleeping in a field with a million friends. Like, I'm not. We're not doing this. And. And so then the. And then it was like. Then he was like, fine. So then the date changed. So it's pretty much my fault. Like, that.

[Sister Miriam]

Oh, that. That happened.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

That happened. Yes. And so. But just to be there with Sister Mary Margaret, who had, like, introduced me to him, so that was a fun bookend, you know?

[Sister Miriam]

Yeah.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

And just to be, like, there with everybody wanting to celebrate his life. And I think in his sort of way that he does for me is he made it kind of about communion. And so it was about communion with the sisters who were there. Communion with, like, people I had already known. Some of the. One of the priests from the Diocese of Lansing has also got. Father Fons has also got Frasadi as his patron. And so he took us out for pizza. And, like, some of my students, graduates from UST were there, and, like, some other priests and, like, random people praying for us in gelato shops, you know, like, it was just, like, such a joyful time of, like. Of communion. And Sister Mary Margaret and I both kind of didn't have a lot of goals. We're just like, the canonization is the goal, and, like, everything else is kind of a bonus. And so then we're just able to just, like, receive everything that happened as, like, great. This is what we're doing today, or what we're not doing today. You know, like, it was so fun. It was so fun.

[Sister Miriam]

I think we were all celebrating that you were able to be there.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

It was super cool.

[Sister Miriam]

And on behalf of our sisters, too. You're representing our sisters there, and.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

No, just remembering that. And then Pope Leo saw us also. That's right. So Sister Mary Martin Margaret, her great uncle, was the vocation director that brought Pope Leo into the Augustinians. And so she literally made a sign that said, dudley Day, OSA is my uncle.

[Sister Miriam]

She's like, wait, she's.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

When we're holding it up, you know? And you could. It was so funny to see other people see it because they were, like, like, smiling at us, and they're like, what?

[Sister Miriam]

But Leo saw that.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

But Pope Leo saw it, and he

[Sister Miriam]

was like, thumbs up.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Oh, yeah. He was, like, shocked. And then he wanted to know which One of us. It was. And we're like, it's her. And then he. And then he just, like, totally, like, thumbs up, you know, like, he was delighted.

[Sister Miriam]

Yeah. We watched the footage.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Okay.

[Sister Miriam]

And we put it on slow mo.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Oh, yeah, yeah. No, it's really. So you could take it in. And it felt like it took forever. It took, like, one second. You know what I mean? But it just felt like we had this extended interaction with the Pope, you know, so it was like everything else, and the Pope saw us, so.

[Sister Miriam]

Yeah. Wow.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yeah.

[Sister Miriam]

A gift from St. Frasadi.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

It was.

[Sister Miriam]

Are you ready for speed round?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

I am.

[Sister Miriam]

This is going to be our wrap up here, Sister. All right.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Okay.

[Sister Miriam]

What is your favorite liturgical season and why?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Christmas. Best music.

[Sister Miriam]

Do you have a hobby?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yeah, hobbies are my hobby. I have so many hobbies.

[Sister Miriam]

What is your favorite game at the moment?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Ooh, I love collaborative games. We have one at the Mother House called Ito. I think that's. You rank things in order, and it involves a lot of conversation and colorful cards.

[Sister Miriam]

Nice.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yeah.

[Sister Miriam]

What is a book that you would recommend besides the Bible for spiritual reading?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Yeah. One of my go to recommendations is He Leadeth Me by Father Walter Chisik. Just when you think your life is hard, you're, like, not in the gulag, you know what I mean? So, yeah.

[Sister Miriam]

Titles of Our Lady. What's your favorite? And why Mary?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Cause of our joy. Just because it's awesome.

[Sister Miriam]

What age group do you most enjoy teaching and why?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Gosh, I have taught them all.

[Sister Miriam]

But college kids, if you could have dinner with a saint, who would it be? And what would you ask them?

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Probably for Saadi and just. I don't know that I'd ask him anything in particular, but we would just, like, hang out. You know,

[Sister Miriam]

name an activity that brings you peace and refreshes your spirit.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Oh, this is going to sound weird, but teaching. I love teaching and I'm so happy. While teaching. Grading papers, not so much, but teaching, yes. Is amazing.

[Sister Miriam]

Sister, thank you so much for coming on.

[Sister Maria Frassati]

Thanks so much.

[Sister Miriam]

History. Your love of Saint Frassade, it really comes through when you're talking about him. So thank you for coming and we want to encourage our listeners. Thank you for being with us. And please feel free to pass along this podcast. If you know a family member or a friend who might benefit from knowing St. Frasade more and hearing his story, please pass it along and know that our Dominican sisters are praying for you, and we pray for God to bless you and all of your loved ones. Have a great day.