SAINTS CORNER - A Story From the Modern Era: Blessed Chiara Badano

Hello there! It's Julia! A lot of the time, the saints we hear about lived during days when people still carried swords to battle. They're so old, we don't have photographs of them! But there are many saints who have died in the last 50 years, and one in particular is close to my heart, and I would like to share it with you.

The story takes place in Italy. A young couple, the Badanos, had been praying for a child for eleven years. Finally, they had a little girl in 1971, and her name was Chiara. She was like every other girl. She loved to go to parties, and play tennis, and hang out with friends. But there was something very special about Chiara that drew her friends to her - the light of Christ was shining in her heart. She joined a movement of Catholics and became very close to the founder - Chiara Lubich. Chiara Lubich gave Chiara Badano the name "Luce", which is Italian for "light". She was always close to Jesus.


One day, while Chiara was playing tennis, her shoulder began to hurt very badly. They went to the doctor and found that it was cancer. Chiara had to go to the hospital to receive treatment many times, but it got worse and worse as the days went on. People wrote letters to Chiara to encourage her, and people would even visit her. Her smile lit up the room.

One day, the doctors told Chiara she would not live. She was happy to be going to Jesus. She and her mother picked the dress she would wear at her funeral - a white one to show she was a bride of Christ. They picked the songs and spent time together. Then, on October 7, 1990, Chiara returned to Jesus. She was only eighteen years old. Chiara gave Jesus all her suffering and sadness and turned it into love for Christ. She said, "I have nothing left, but I still have my heart and with that I can always love."

Chiara is only one year older than my father. Her mother, Maria Teresa Badano, is still alive, and she speaks about her daughter. Take the time to pray for Chiara's intercession, because she died as a child. Blessed Chiara Badano, pray for us!

Making Sacrifices for Others

Now that school is out, we have much more time on our hands. Of course, we always have lots of time on our hands. But this year is different. This year, we can't go to the pool or hang out with friends. We have to stay inside our neighborhood and maybe go to Mass on Sundays if we are in an area that's opening up. While all this is happening, we have to be with our families 24/7, and sometimes we get a little tired of them, right? After all, it's only normal. As hard as being together all the time may seem, this is your chance to make sacrifices and become one step closer to our goal: heaven. It could be the small things, like cleaning the bathroom like setting the table before being asked. Or, it could be something big. 

Now, I'm sure you've heard of Saint Therese of Lisieux (and if not, click here). Saint Therese is famous for doing little things that in the moment didn't seem like much. She didn't faithfully serve a queen, and most of the time the little sacrifices she made didn't require too much pain or effort. But little sacrifices like Therese's did make a difference, and some are even remembered today. For example, once there was a sister in Therese's convent that was very rude to her. Therese's sacrifice in that moment was to smile. Therese recognized that every person is a child of God, a little son or  daughter of the king, and should be treated with respect, no matter how they looked at others. 

Another saint who made a sacrifice was Blessed Chiara Badano. She is such an amazing saint and an inspiration to so many people, including me. And she made a lot of sacrifices in her life. One I like to remember when I'm making sacrifices for others takes place in a hospital. Chiara had cancer, and she had to stay at the hospital a lot. She couldn't walk without a lot of pain, and even the slightest move was hard for her. One day, she heard that there was another patient in her ward that had to walk every day to exercise his legs. The patient was grumpy and did not want to because it was tiring and it hurt. But Chiara laid all her hurt aside to help that patient. And do you know what she did? She walked back and forth, back and forth through the ward with the patient every day until he got better. No matter how hard it was for her, she made that sacrifice for God. 

As you can see, even the littlest sacrifices make a big difference, and every sacrifice moves your focus away from yourself and towards God.