Tim Roos Blessed Chiara Badano,

Mr. Campbell Through your death, you spread

God’s eternal love and joy to
Religion II everyone you met. Help us face every
opportunity, with the same optimism,
12/4/17
knowing that Jesus never asks more
than we can handle. Amen

Chiara had everything going for herself. She was popular,

beautiful, and intelligent. She loved tennis and was ready to become a

flight attendant after high school. She dreamed of raising a big family

one day. She also had a super strong faith, by being an active member

of her youth group and being raised by two Catholic parents. Chiara

lived a normal life, and loved coffee shops, skating, mountain

climbing, tennis, and swimming. She struggled in school, just like most people. Life was good.

But God saw more for Chiara’s future.

One day, while playing tennis, Chiara felt a pain in her shoulder. She was later diagnosed

with terminal osteogenic sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. Unlike many others, Chiara

became more joyful, anytime she experienced pain. One night she was in unbearable pain, and

she said, “I suffered a lot, but my soul was singing.” Her doctors would say how joyful and

inspiring she was. Cardinal Saldarini visited her and asked her “the light in your eyes is splendid.

Where does it come from?” She simply replied, “I try to love Jesus as much as I can.” As her

pain increased, so did her joy. One of her common prayers was, “If you want this Jesus, so do I.”

Soon her hair started falling out. Anytime a lock of hair came out, she would say “for you Jesus.”

She would refuse pain killers, such as morphine, saying, “I want to share as much as possible in
His suffering on the Cross.” Several times Chiara would walk with a depressed girl, reliant on

drugs. Even though it was very painful for Chiara to walk, she refused to stop, saying that she

would have time to rest later. She would frequently say “I have nothing left, but I still have my

heart, and with that I can always love.” As she approached death, she asked her mother to bury

her in a wedding gown, because she would be marrying Jesus. She told her mom, that when she

would get her ready, she would need to keep saying “you have to keep saying to yourself, ‘Chiara

Luce is now seeing Jesus.’” She died happily surrounded by family and friends. Her last words were

“Goodbye. Be happy, because I am happy.”

Even as a child, Chiara found ways to spread God’s love. Whenever her mom would

pack her lunch for school, she would give her food to kids who had nothing. Her mom started

packing her two lunches. Chiara would give both lunches to less fortunate. Her mom talked to

Chiara one day, asking her if she would give some of her toys to kids who didn’t have any. Just

like any child, she didn’t want to give her toys away. Her mom came back later to find her,

dividing her toys into two piles. One was broken toys, and the other had the nicer toys. She told

her mom that she couldn’t donate her broken toys, so she gave all new ones. Chiara was declared

a “Servant of God,” by her local bishop. She was beatified after a dying boy was miraculously

cured from meningitis. The boy’s parents heard of Chiara’s story and asked for her intercession.

A panel of doctors ruled it saying that there was no medical explanation. Chiara’s message is so

beautiful. She understood that this was God’s decision, and that all she could do was accept it

and spread God’s love on Earth while she could. If we all listen and open our lives to the Holy

Spirit, we can hear God’s plan for each of our lives. God is calling each of us; are you going to

answer His call?

 Works Cited

Christine. “Meeting the parents of Blessed Chiara Luce Badano.” Diocese of Westminster Youth
Ministry, WYM, 18 Aug. 2014, dowym.com/voices/meeting-parents-blessed-chiara/.

admin. “Blessed Chiara Luce Badano, Pray for Us! | Real Life Catholic | Reminding the World
of the Truth, Beauty and Power of the Gospel.” Real Life Catholic Reminding the World
of the Truth Beauty and Power of the Gospel, REALCAT, 7 July 2013,
reallifecatholic.com/portfolio-item/blessed-chiara-luca-badano-pray-for-us/.

“Chiara Luce Badano.” Saints Resource, RCL Benziger, 10ADAD, saintsresource.com/chiara-

luce-badano/.

Richards, Querry. “Childhood.” Blessed Chiara Luce Badano, The Servants of the Pierced
Hearts of Jesus and Mary, 17 May 2012,
www.piercedhearts.org/theology_heart/life_saints/bl_chiara_luce.html.