Posted on 06/25/2012 4:06:32 PM PDT by wagglebee
ROME, June 25, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - When Chiara Corbella learned she was pregnant with her third child, it was a great joy that ended in bittersweet tragedy for the young Italian mother, who died this month after postponing cancer treatment to save her cherished baby.
n a story that echoes that of Roman Catholic saint Gianna Molla, Chiara and her husband Enrico Petrillo embarked on a remarkable journey of faith in 2010 when they learned that they were pregnant with Francisco - and that Chiara had an aggressive form of cancer, reports the Catholic News Agency.
The news was especially poignant for the couple since both of Francisco’s elder siblings, Maria and David, had been lost shortly after birth. In fact, Chiara and Enrico had become popular pro-life speakers for their stories of their few treasured moments with each of their first two children before their brief lives came to an end.
This time, doctors said Francisco was healthy and developing normally. So when Chiara was advised to begin treatment immediately for her cancer, she declined, waiting for Francisco to be born in May of last year. The cancer progressed over the following year, depriving Chiara of sight in one eye before she finally succumbed on June 13, 2012.
“I am going to heaven to take care of Maria and David, you stay here with Dad. I will pray for you,” Chiara wrote to baby Francisco in a letter, one week before her death.
Chiara’s funeral Mass was celebrated by the Vicar General of Rome, Cardinal Agostino Vallini, who called Chiara “the second Gianna Beretta.”
Saint Gianna Molla was an Italian pediatrician who died in 1962 from complications caused by a fibroma on her uterus, after she refused both an abortion and a hysterectomy because she was pregnant with her fourth child.
Although a tragedy to outside observers - and certainly also for Enrico, to whom Chiara was happily married – the couple’s last conversations reveal, in the young husband’s words, “a story of love on the cross” that seemed to conquer even death.
“The truth is that this cross – if you embrace it with Christ – ceases to be as ugly as it looks. If you trust in him, you discover that this fire, this cross, does not burn, and that peace can be found in suffering and joy in death,” said Enrico, according to CNA. “I spent a lot of time this year reflecting on this phrase from the Gospel that says the Lord gives a cross that is sweet and a burden that is light.
“When I would look at Chiara when she was about to die, I obviously became very upset. But I mustered the courage and a few hours before – it was about eight in the morning, Chiara died at noon – I asked her.
“I said: ‘But Chiara, my love, is this cross really sweet, like the Lord says? She looked at me and she smiled, and in a soft voice she said, ‘Yes, Enrico, it is very sweet.’
“In this sense, the entire family didn’t see Chiara die peacefully, but happily, which is totally different.”
Enrico said he would tell his son Francisco when he was older that “the most important thing in life” is to “let yourself be loved in order to love and die happy,” and that “this is what his mother, Chiara, did.”
“She allowed herself to be loved, and in a certain sense, I think she loved everyone in this way,” he said. “I feel her more alive than ever. To be able to see her die happy was to me a challenge to death.”
Read the full CNA story here.
“When I would look at Chiara when she was about to die, I obviously became very upset. But I mustered the courage and a few hours before – it was about eight in the morning, Chiara died at noon – I asked her.
“I said: ‘But Chiara, my love, is this cross really sweet, like the Lord says? She looked at me and she smiled, and in a soft voice she said, ‘Yes, Enrico, it is very sweet.’
What a beautiful story.
God Bless this wonderful family!
Striaght to heaven!!!! No time inpurgatory when one sacrfices one’s life for another!!! Straight to heaven!!
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I need new glasses mine got all fogged up reading this story.
Bless this Dad and child.
I worked in the records department of a large hospital when I was first married. I remember a young doctor coming into my office to work on his records.
As it happened I was trying to decipher the records of one of his patients in order to “code” it so I knew in which catagory to put it. I pointed out to him that there were indications that this was an OB-GYN (obstetrics) record, but there were also indications that it was a CA (cancer) Patient.
“Which is it?” I asked.
“Both”, he replied with tears in his eyes. He went on to explain that treatment for the cancer would most likely cause a miscarriage, but to postpone treatment most likely would result in the tumor growing faster because of the pregnancy, possibly killing both of them.
“I don’t know what to do,” he added.
This occurred in the years before there were modern treatments for cancer and before abortions were legalized. I do not know the final outcome because I left that job and moved away. But, I have thought about it often.
True.
I found that to be a very sad... yet beautiful story.
I had to take a break from these threads for awhile. The stories about indiscriminate murder of innocent life was sapping strength from me. This story rejuvenates me.
God is good.
BFL
It’s straight to heaven anyways, when you have Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, no such thing as purgatory.
Ahhh, we Catholics believe one must be cleansed of their sins before they go to heaven....Baptists disagree.....ALL Christians go to heaven they think, no matter what sins they have on their souls when they die....then they say that God can’t look at sin, which is contradictory if one would think about for two seconds.
I cannot stand reading the leftists’ takeover language of “they were pregnant”. It’s ridiculous, plainly untrue, and a rewrite of reality like “gay rights” and “gay marriage”.
“the most important thing in life” is to “let yourself be loved in order to love and die happy,”
wow.
I work with ‘at risk’ teenage boys. This quote is going on my wall. Simple and true. They, had/have mothers that are clueless about what love means.
Truth and beauty.
—I don’t believe in purgatory. ever. This woman is the picture of genuine love.
“What a beautiful story.
God Bless this wonderful family! “
I completely agree. I’d say that He did bless them. Thank you very much for sharing this.
God Bless this woman, her precious child and husband. Amen.
There is nothing you can DO that will get you there.....there is no waiting list, you can't purchase indulgences from the Pope, there are no magic Hail Mary's or Oh My Father's that will get you there. Faith and Faith alone (1 John 5). You don't have to have an intermediary to talk to God to confess. The Bible tells us to call no man on Earth "Father" because you have but one, and that is your Father in Heaven. (Matthew 23:9)
That is the difference between the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament required an advocate on your behalf; the New Testament is about the fulfillment of the the prophesy of Christ and the Law. From that, there is a personal relationship with God and Salvation through Christ (ie there would be nothing on your soul as you're forgiven if you ask for it and accept His forgiveness).
God CAN see sin and does look at sin and it appalls Him. However, our Faith is what saves us and writes us into The Book of Life. For if we know Jesus, He will confess us to the Father and we will be saved. But it isn't for the faint of heart, you can't be a cafeteria Christian; you have to actually believe and have faith.
When Christ lives in you, as clearly this woman had Him-—THAT is who our Father sees. THAT is our cleansing. Jesus alone. No other and nothing we can do or say
Praise God and his tender mercies!! What a lovely, lovely story.
People really believe that? Then why did Christ die for our sins? Was his sacrifice not perfect? Did God not send his only son to die for nothing? I can’t see how one can read the bible and come to the conclusion that Christ’s death was somehow not good enough to redeem us.
Exactly!!!! Straight to Heaven!!!
Thank you. What a beautiful woman.
Scripture says otherwise.
no such thing as purgatory.
Again, Scripture says otherwise. You'd better pray there's a purgatory because as St. John wrote in the Apocalypse nothing defiled shall enter heaven. If you arrogantly think that you'll be perfect upon your death and waltz right into heaven you're going to be in for a very rude awakening.
A few other things which Scripture teaches and which you've quite obviously never read:
"Understanding this first, that no prophecy of scripture is made by private interpretation. For prophecy came not by the will of man at any time: but the holy men of God spoke, inspired by the Holy Ghost." 2 Peter 1:20-21
"And account the longsuffering of our Lord, salvation; as also our most dear brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, hath written to you: As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are certain things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own destruction." 2 Peter 3:15-16
I don’t want to beat you up or anything. Please note, it is not contradictory in the slightest. When you accept Christ’s work on the cross, His blood is what covers your sin. When the Heavenly Father looks upon you he will see His Son’s blood. That is the payment for our sins. Nothing else would suffice.
Ahhh, well it's clear then. Catholics believe this woman, who sacrificed herself to save her child, went to the same hell as anyone else down there - murderers, rapists, pedophiles, whatever.
Clarity is good. Thank you for explaining this.
Brought tears to these jaded eyes. God Bless you Chiara. Mother of the Year.
I can only hope and pray that we all stay focused on the infinite love of this woman for her 3rd child and her loving, unselfish act of sacrifice, and not get side-tracked on the path to Heaven.
For once, lets just enjoy this beautiful story of a mother’s love for her child without detracting from it. Just drink it in. Just bask in this mother’s love for her child and the joy with which she surrendered herself to the painful ravages of cancer. Pure joy. She was gleeful for the cancer to consume her, that her baby would live.
I can’t imagine such sacrifice. I can only be humbled by it.
My monitor got all blurry. Words fail me.
Regards,
GtG
Suffering is necessary in this life in order to follow the example of Christ Who suffered, not for His own sins (He had none) but for ours. Peter instructs us NOT to needlessly suffer for our sins since Christ has already paid that penalty.
Suffering after this life is pointless because we will be free from sin including any temptation when in the presence of Christ. When we see Him, we will be made like Him, according to the scriptures.
Contrary to what you say Baptists believe, they and other evangelical churches recognize that not everyone who calls themselves Christian will make it to Heaven. Only the blood of Jesus can wash away sin and redeem us to God. When we suffer for our sins in this life, it is discipline by a loving Heavenly Father, but it is not payment for our sin. Only Christ’s blood can pay that debt, set us free, and make us fit for Heaven where no sin exists.
Relying on penance and hail Mary’s in this life, or hoping purgatory in the next life will allow the sin debt to be paid to avoid Hell are both false doctrines which are leading many souls into that place prepared for the Devil because these lead people astray from total faith and dependence on the blood of Jesus and His finished work on the cross for our redemption.
Here are FR threads about St. Gianna Molla
Prepare to be amazed! The 2nd miracle of St. Gianna Molla
Daughter of St. Gianna Molla to Visit U.S. for the First Time
A Holy Couple Reunited in Heaven—Death of Pietro Molla, Husband of St. Gianna Beretta Molla ....
Catholic Health Center for Women Opens in Manhattan (Gianna Center)
Daughter of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla Attends US March for Life
A patron saint for life (Gianna Beretta Molla)
Pope Canonizes Gianna Molla; Secular Media at a Loss
Bl. Gianna Beretta Molla
Gianna Beretta, Who Died for Her Unborn Child, to Be Canonized (She Refused Cancer Treatment)
Gianna Beretta Molla Offered Life For Her [Unborn]Child
Blessed Gianna[Gianna Beretta Molla]
Purgatory has the misconception of being a bad place. I am not here to change your mind nor convince you any way or the other. As a Catholic I do not fathom to understand God and I certainly do not assume that because of something I choose to do will effect my standing in Heaven. I choose Love as I would hope you do.
Christians bought with the blood of Christ have no sin or stain on their soul. It has been removed as far as the east is from the west. Why would God lobe us so much to die for us but leave the work unfinished? If you are in Christ you are a new creation, part of the spotless Bride right now! No further payment or purgatory needed
“Suffering in this life is necessary in order to follow the example of Christ.” What do you think Penance is? It is doing the will of God. Not just having the right thoughts or the right intentions, but actually doing. Our actions might not be heroic, like the Italian mother, but what we do must be the right things. If not, well, as Catholic saints or Puritan divines alike told us, we may be on the road not to heaven but perdition.
When we die, we are then confronted with the truth of our lives. If we have been faithful to Christ, are pure in out thoughts, words and deeds, then when we face him, it will be with joy. But if we have not, then what? If we hate him in this life, we will hate him in death. But Most of us have been inconstant lovers: when we confront him knowing how we have failed him and let him down, shall we not shed tears of remorse? Shall we not burn with shame?
I’m not sure what that has to do with a belief in purgatory. When we stand before Christ in the judgement of believers, we will be rewarded extravagantly for the least little thing we did for Him. Our worthless deeds will be consumed and disappear. Heaven is a place of eternal joy not shame and remorse. I guess we will have to agree to disagree, but I think Scripture is clear that Christ has made us a new creation already at the time we first believe. We are anxiously awaiting to see and have revealed to us what He has already made us. His sacrifice is sufficient.
My point, Robby, is that purgatory is a fictitious invention of man, not something God made. It doesn’t exist.
Our (i.e. pertaining to believers not unbelievers) suffering here and now is NOT to pay for our sins. It is to learn holiness and to set an example to others so they can see Christ in us.
No penance or self-affliction or other human effort will ever pay for, purge or redeem us from sin. These are ONLY and EXCLUSIVELY accomplished by the blood of Christ through faith in His blood.
Prayers, fastings, watchings, and spending time in quiet solitude communing with God can be beneficial to put our hearts in tune with God. These are worthless if there is any hint of doing them to earn forgiveness. We must do them BECAUSE of the great debt we have already been forgiven, IF WE HAVE INDEED BEEN FORGIVEN.
If anyone seeks forgiveness from God, let him first and only flee from God’s wrath through the blood of Christ. There will be no second chance after this life because it is appointed to man once to die and after that the judgment.
Catholically speaking, love is irrelevent. This mother loved her child enough to sacrifice her life to save it, yet the Catholic position is that the best this non-Catholic can hope for is purgatory, and that only to escape hell.
Even then, it's dicey. For what if she doesn't accept Catholic teachings in purgatory? What if the best conscience of this noble, loving, courageous mother makes her choose, oh, Protestant beliefs instead (I won't strain the point by bringing in brave, loving Hindu or Buddhist mothers, who, as everyone knows, would never be allowed into purgatory no matter what they did). Nope, in that case, eternal purgatory, or eventual hell, it is for her.
Yet ole' Teddy Kennedy... well, he was Catholic all the way, and had enough golden-robed prelates swinging incense around his fat corpse to shovel it straight to purgatory, if not grease the palm of St. Peter himself and let him belly right up to heaven's best bar.
Change my mind or convince me in any way?
Don't worry about it.
Feel free to ignore the fact that neither Christ or the Apostles ever even implied that anything in the Septuagint was in error or wasn't the Word of God, but I'll stick to all of the Scriptures Christ and the Apostles taught from. Since you prefer to agree with the Pharisee canon that Luther fell back on to avoid what he didn't like, why not toss out the rest of what Luther didn't like? You know, James, Hebrews, Jude, and Revelation and so on? Sorry, but people who claim to believe in the Bible but throw out a portion of His Word aren't reliable interpreters of Scripture.
In fact, even according to the subset of the Bible such folks do accept, it's clear they shouldn't throw out portions of the Scripture Christ never said were in error :Gal 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema.
Of course, no where does Scripture say all such false apostles will even know they're false apostles. In fact, they've probably been deceived themselves, but still:
2 Cor 11:13 For such false apostles are deceitful workmen, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2 Cor 11:14 And no wonder: for Satan himself transformeth himself into an angel of light.
have a nice day
Can we please carry on this dispute elsewhere? Thank you.
Sorry, I got a ping for this and didn’t realize it wasn’t in the Religion forum.
Regards
Well, it is nothing that can be resolved here. An irrelevant given the great trust that this woman had in God.
A beautiful and magnificent story of God’s love shining tenderly through death. Reading this brought tears to my eyes. Tears of sadness, joy and wonder.
You BLASPHEME!!! I never said any such thing and YOU are a SICK PUPPY!!
Fine, that’s what you believe, I believe I will go to purgatory if I am not sinless when I die.
No purgatory.
The thief on the cross was admitted to paradise, with Jesus, that day.
When I accepted Jesus, He covered me in His righteousness. That is what God will see. Not me. Please, not me. Jesus took on al my sin that day on the cross.
Thank you Jesus.
Do you really believe that, in this life, you CAN be sinless?
WE all like sheep have gone astray.
He who says he is without sin is a liar.
We will all die as sinners. ALL.
Some of us sinners will have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and will be covered by His perfect, PERFECT, sacrifice. He is sufficient. Those will go to heaven, stand before God, who will see the righteousness of His Son.
Some will die unsaved, unrepentant. They will stand before God in the rags of their OWN righteousness. And be dismissed for it.
For me, Jesus is all I need for heaven. Nothing man can do will add to that.
If I just walked out of the Confessional and was killed, yes, I would be sinless.
So your road to heaven is a roulette wheel of chance.
You really are thick.
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