From
the Editor’s Desk (Wednesday, 11-04-2015, Gaudium Press) The first biography of
Chiara Corbella Petrillo has just been released by the Sophia Institute Press:
“Chiara Corbella Petrillo, a witness to joy” by authors: Simone Troisi, Cristiana Paccini, preface by: Enrico Petrillo and translated by: Charlotte Fasi. This book tells the story of
an amazing Italian woman, died in 2012 at age 28, maybe a future canonized
saint.
Chiara
Petrillo was seated in a wheel chair looking lovingly toward Jesus in the
tabernacle. Her husband, Enrico, found the courage to ask her a question that
he had been holding back.
Thinking
of Jesus's phrase, "my yoke is sweet and my burden is light," he
asked: "Is this yoke, this cross, really sweet, as Jesus said?"
A
smile came across Chiara's face. She turned to her husband and said in a weak
voice: "Yes, Enrico, it is very sweet."
At
28 years old, Chiara passed away, her body ravaged by cancer. The emotional, physical,
and spiritual trials of this young Italian mother are not uncommon. It was her
joyful and loving response to each that led one cardinal to call her "a
saint for our times."
Chiara
entrusted her first baby to the blessed Virgin, but felt as though this child
was not hers to keep. Soon, it was revealed her daughter had life-threatening
abnormalities. Despite universal pressure to abort, Chiara gave birth to a
beautiful girl who died within the hour. A year later, the death of her second
child came even more quickly.
Yet
God was preparing their hearts for more-more sorrow and more grace.
While
pregnant a third time, Chiara developed a malignant tumor. She refused to
jeopardize the life of her unborn son by undergoing treatments during the
pregnancy. Chiara waited until after Francesco was safely born, and then began
the most intense treatments of radiation and chemotherapy, but it was soon
clear that the cancer was terminal.
Almost
immediately after giving birth to Francesco, Chiara's tumor became terminal and
caused her to lose the use of her right eye. Her body was tested, and so was
her soul as she suffered through terrible dark nights.
She
said "yes" to everything God sent her way, becoming a true child of
God. And as her days on earth came to an end, Enrico looked down on his wife
and said, "If she is going to be with Someone who loves her more than I,
why should I be upset?"
Each
saint has a special charisma, a particular facet of God that is reflected
through her.
Chiara's
was to be a witness to joy in the face of great adversity, the kind which makes
love overflow despite the sorrow from loss and death.
“You
must abort this baby,” Chiara’s doctor insisted.
“The
baby has no skull. She can’t survive outside your womb.
“She
is alive. She is there,” Chiara replied.
Chiara
refused to abort her child.
Baby
Maria lived but 40 minutes after her birth. In that brief time, Chiara had her
baptized, holding her closely until she breathed her last.
Then
. . .a second pregnancy!
And
the same demand: “You must abort this baby.
“He
has no legs, and his lungs and kidneys will not develop. He cannot live
outside the womb.”
Chiara
refused to abort her son.
Baby
Davide was born and his mother received him and embraced him tenderly.
“My son, my love,” she whispered to him.
He
was baptized, and died 38 minutes after his birth.
Chiara
would say he had, “an appointment in paradise.”
A
third pregnancy! This time good news: you’re
going to have a healthy baby!
And
then bad news, almost immediately, while Francesco was still in the womb. “Chiara,
you have cancer.”
Once
again, the doctors proposed treatment that would risk the life of Chiara’s
unborn child.
“I
have no intention of putting the life of Francesco at risk,” Chiara responded, despite
knowing it might cost her her life.
It
did.
Although
baby Francesco was born healthy, his mother, Chiara Corbella Petrillo, just 28
years old, soon died from her cancer.
Smiling
in the face of death’s horror that had stalked her and her three babies since
the very first days of her marriage, happy she had chosen her young son’s life
over her own, and joyful she would soon be with her beloved Jesus.
What
strength! What courage! What faith!
Now
Chiara’s biography – just published by Sophia Institute Press – shares with you
the sources of Chiara’s strength, so that when life’s troubles and sorrows
threaten to overwhelm you, you will be able to stand firm like Chiara – and
joyful – even in the face of death.
You
see, like you, Chiara was not born a saint, nor was she particularly holy as a
young adult. Her stormy engagement with Enrico was punctuated with frequent
quarrels, breakups, and reconciliations.
She
had to learn – and her example can teach you – many essential things about
living a good life in our turbulent modern world, including:
How
abandonment of self leads to recovery of the person you are actually called to
be
How
to defeat the anger and despair that suffering too often breeds, and use it as
a means to bring you closer to those you love
How
to treasure – even more than you do already – life in the womb as well as the
gift of those persons God has chosen to bring into your life
Why
you need never lose faith in God’s goodness, even in the face of horrors as great
as those faced by Enrico and Chiara.
Chiara Corbella Petrillo died in June 2012.
This
biography of Chiara, written by two friends who walked with her every step of
her way of the Cross, even unto death, shows how we can transform our own
crosses, no matter how painful they may be, into occasions of holiness and even
joy. That’s a skill no Christian can afford to live – or die – without.
Source:
Sophia Institute Press
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