Barbara Castro Garcia
Posted on 07/13/2012 2:34:37 PM PDT by NYer
Barbara Castro Garcia
July 13, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – One day early in 2010, newlyweds Ignacio Cabezas and Barbara Castro Garcia were sitting in a café eating breakfast. The couple both had smiles on their faces that, in the words of Ignacio, were “impossible to erase.”
After 11 years of dating, the couple had gotten married several months before, and now they had just found out they were expecting their first child. “We were crazy about getting married and once married, we wanted very much to be parents,” Ignacio remembers.
Little did they know that this pregnancy, which had already brought them so much joy, was also the beginning of a saga that would test their faith to the limit—and ultimately take the life of the young mother.
Four months into the pregnancy, Barbara took a trip to the dentist complaining of a sore in her mouth. The dentist sent her on to a specialist, who diagnosed her with mouth cancer.
The couple was presented with a conundrum: Barbara urgently needed life-saving treatment, but the treatment had the potential to harm their unborn child.
Bolstered by her Catholic faith Barbara, who worked as a journalist in the communications office of the Catholic diocese of Cordoba, made the difficult decision to forgo all treatments except for a surgical procedure that left her in immense pain.
But Ignacio says that throughout the ordeal, Barbara remained strong. “My wife said from the beginning that our daughter would be born the day that God wanted, not one before,” he says.
A statement on the diocese of Cordoba’s website remembers Barbara’s faith at this time. “Anchored in the heart of Christ, the inexhaustible source of love, Barbara opted first for the life of her daughter,” the diocese says. “At all times she has maintained an unwavering faith, and has been the encouragement and hope for all who have surrounded her during this long and painful illness.”
Their child, Barbarita, was born on Nov. 1, 2010 – a healthy baby and the source of much consolation to the couple.
But within days the pains of Barbara’s cancer were flaring up, and the couple went to Madrid to see a surgeon. The news wasn’t good. The surgeon told Barbara that there was little hope, and that he was amazed she even survived as long as she had.
Thus began the grueling rounds of chemotherapy and other treatments that left her without a tongue and part of her jaw, rendering her incapable of speaking or eating. She had to be fed through a tube.
Ultimately the cancer would get the upper hand, and earlier this month Barbara died, after having sacrificed everything for her child.
The Spanish publication La Gaceta reports that it spoke to Ignacio the day after Barbara’s death, and that he seemed “serene.”
He told the paper that he feels “a strength of faith that I had never felt before.”
“I feel invincible…God is holding on to me and he doesn’t want to let me go.”
In part of a letter from Ignacio to his wife, quoted by La Gaceta, Ignacio wrote: “I sensed we were going to suffer a lot, that it would be very hard and probably very long, but I also assured you that, no matter how hard it was, afterwards I would make sure you were the happiest person in the world, that all the effort was worth it, that we would enjoy our daughter and that we would have to prepare ourselves for an uncertain and horrible period.”
The statement on the Cordoba diocese’s website concludes: “The Good Father, Lord of Charity, who embraced [Barbara] tenderly in her lifetime, today opened the doors of Paradise. The angels have come to her and the Blessed Virgin gave her the crown of victory, because she, better than anyone, knows what it takes to give her life for love.”
For his part, Ignacio says he simply wants to “honor her as she deserves.”
The story of Barbara’s heroism closely parallels that of Chiara Corbella, an Italian woman who died just last month, also after foregoing cancer treatment to save the life of her unborn baby.
Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace.
Prayers for Ignacio and Barbarita.
The word, “hero”, is not too strong. Enjoy life eternal, Mama Barbara.
“Enjoy life eternal, Mama Barbara.”
She did a wonderful and brave thing and she deserves honor, but let’s hope she placed her trust in Christ and Him alone. Dying to save her child contributed nothing toward her eternal salvation.
A saint in every sense of the word.
True heroism. Lovely woman.
Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord. May perpetual light shine upon her.
A saint from an earthly perspective sure, but salvation cannot be earned by sacrificing yourself for a baby or 10,000 babies. Scripture makes it crystal clear that salvation is by grace through faith and not of works.
Ephesians 2:8-9
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
What a wonderful witness to faith, hope, and love.
Jesus says "Whatever you did to the least of my brothers, you did it to Me." We are judged and our eternal destiny is determined in accordance with our works.
Scripture says a whole lot of things ...
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. -- John 15:13
And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. -- 1 Pt 4:8
Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. -- 1 Tm 2:15
Why do you ignore those verses in order to harangue us about how she couldn't be saved except by grace through faith, both of which -- grace and faith -- she certainly had, since she was a believing Catholic?
I ignore those verses because those verses say nothing about how God justifies a human soul. However, the two verses I quoted do.
My purpose wasn’t to harangue anyone. As I said, I respect what she did and find her death both heroic and extremely sad, but no one should believe her death secured her eternal salvation.
Salvation cannot be rendered down to a single verse or bumper sticker, it must be taken as a whole, each verse in the context of all others. Nor is Salvation the same for each of us. God ask us all to do what we can do and for those to whom much is given more is expected. Scripture tells us than there are many things that save us;
-God (2 Timothy 1:8-9),
-Jesus (Matthew 1:21, 1 Timothy 1:15),
-The Holy Spirit (John 3:5, Titus 3:5, 2 Thessalonians 2:13),
-Grace (Ephesians 2:8),
-The Blood of Christ (Romans 5:9), Jesus’ Name (Acts 4:12), Jesus’ Life (Romans 5:10),
-The Gospel (Romans 1:16, 1 Corinthians 1:18, 15:1-2; 2 Thessalonians 2:13),
-The Implanted Word (James 1:21),
-Faith (Acts 16:31, Romans 1:16, 10:9-10, 1 Peter 1:9),
-Obedience (Matthew 7:21, Hebrews 5:9, 1 Peter 1:21), Works (Philippians 2:12, James 2:24),
-Loving God and others (John 14:21-24),
-Confession of Faith (Romans 10:9-10),
-Repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10),
-Baptism (Mark 16:16, 1 Peter 3:21, Acts 2:38, 22:16),
-Doctrine (1 Timothy 4:16),
-Evangelization (Romans 10:13-14, 11:14; 1 Corinthians 1:21, 7:16, 9:22; James 5:20).
Peace be with you
“We are judged and our eternal destiny is determined in accordance with our works.”
You believe that at your own peril because that’s not what Scripture says.
Scripture says, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20)
And Romans 3:28 says, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”
“Nor is Salvation the same for each of us.”
Salvation is precisely the same for every man who has ever walked the planet. Those who lived during the Old Testament days looked forward to the cross and we look backwards. Regardless of the era, all the work for salvation was done by Him and through Him.
Hmm. Would killing her child to try to save herself have worked against her eternal salvation?
I don’t think a true Christian would abort her child to save herself, but Christ died for all of the sins of His sheep, including abortion.
She had grace to do what she did. She was also graceful in her living. You could learn from her.
RIP.
**I ignore those verses because those verses say nothing about how God justifies a human soul. **
And you know God’s mind now?
The why did Christ give us the Beatitudes to follow from th Sermon on the Mount?
Happiness: Blessed are Those who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness (Part 3)
Happiness: The first three Beatitudes (Part 2)
Happiness: Ancient and Modern Concepts of Happines (Part 1)
The Beatitudes: Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted for Righteousness’ Sake
Learning the beatitudes during Lent -- use your Rosary to learn the Beatitutdes [Catholic Caucus]
The Beatitudes: Blessed Are the Peacemakers [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
The Beatitudes: Blessed Are the Pure in Heart
The Beatitudes: Blessed Are the Merciful
The Beatitudes: Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness
The Beatitudes: Blessed are the Meek
The Beatitudes: Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
The Beatitudes: Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit
The Beatitudes
Lists Every Catholic Should be Familiar With: The 8 Beatitudes
The Beatitudes: Generosity and Happiness
Beatitudes by Bishop Fulton Sheen
Happiness of Sacrifice
The Danger of Spiritual Sloth [Reflection on The Beatitudes]
Satan's version of the sermon on the mount [Difficult read]
The Eight Beatitudes
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