Maria Teresa and Ruggero Badano is an ordinary Italian couple in their 70s. But they travel all over Italy and Europe to share about their daughter’s extraordinary life. When their only daughter, Chiara, was born they waited for more than a decade. She was only eighteen years old when she died of bone cancer. Now they are waiting again. This time for the call from the Vatican which will confirm that Chiara will be made a saint. Chiara was beatified on September 25, 2010.
Maria Teresa lights up when she recalls the day she discovered she was pregnant. She was then thirty-seven years old! Ruggero also recalls how he received the news. He was at the barber’s. In his excitement, he ran home with his beard only half-trimmed. He had waited for so long to hold his own child in his arms.
Chiara was born on October 29, 1971. She was an exceptionally joyful child. Sweet natured, easy going, she was naughty at times. With her best friend Chicca, she joined the Focolare Movement when she was nine. The spirituality of this movement was to put her on the path of sainthood. Yet like ordinary teen-agers, Chiara and Chicca loved to go shopping and sports especially, swimming, ice skating and tennis. Among her dreams was to be a flight stewardess, do charity in Africa, get married and have many children.
When she was seventeen, she started to complain about a pain in her shoulders. Everyone thought she had strained it in court during tennis practices. But when the pain did not go away, they sent her for an MRI scan. Her parents were completely unprepared for a terrible diagnosis. She has bone cancer! It was the worst and most painful kind of tumor. She had to undergo surgery and chemotherapy.
In the beginning, Chiara felt sad about her situation. After the surgery, when she asked the doctors about her condition, she was told that things were not good. The treatment would be tough. She will lose all her hair. Her mom remembers, she threw herself on her bed and stayed there for half an hour. It was there that she said her YES to God! After this, she would always be upbeat. She would suffer joyfully.
She would always repeat: “if you want it, Jesus, so do I!” She believed that whatever God decided was best for her. From then on, she did not dwell on her own misfortune and concentrated on how she could use her situation to do good. When she felt her mom was sad she would tell her: “Mom, be more upbeat! That’s the only way.” When she realized that another patient with depression enjoyed walking, she ignored her own pain and went with her. Her friends thought that they were doing it for her when they visit the hospital. Soon they realized that seeing her was more for themselves.
Her favorite prayer was: “For you, Jesus.” She prayed it even when her beautiful, blonde hair was falling. Her heart was always on fire for God. After a two-year battle with cancer, Chiara died on October 7, 1990 few weeks short of her nineteenth birthday. Her life’s message was simple: love God, suffer joyfully and put the needs of others ahead of your own.
In today’s gospel reading (Lk 24:35-48), Jesus’ concern was to strengthen the faith of the disciples by appearing to them. His death brought them terror and trouble. By standing in their midst despite locked doors, he showed them he was alive! Even Thomas touched the nail marks in his hands. He ate cooked fished in front of them to prove he was not a ghost.
Moreover, he explained the Scriptures to them. Jesus opened their minds to understand that all that had happened was in fulfillment on what the prophets had foretold. His death was not accidental but part of God’s redeeming plan. Once they grasped the meaning of it all, the disciples’ hearts were burning with joy and faith! No amount of whipping, threat or persecution would silence their message about Jesus. They have witnessed a most astounding event. They needed to tell it to the world!
For us too, understanding the drama of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection becomes an electrifying experience. Scripture can capture its meaning for us. Once we grasp the message it causes a deep personal revolution in us that whatever happens to us we can also say like Chiara: “For you, Jesus!”
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