A new saint -- wife and mother

Some are calling Chiara Petrillo a second St. Gianna Beretta Molla -- a woman who gave her life so that her child might live.  It's a touching story -- the loss of her first two children almost immediately after birth, a diagnosis of cancer during her third pregnancy, and a healthy son given life because Chiara sacrificed her own.  She died a few weeks ago.


It's a story that causes me to think, too, because Chiara and I are the same age, 28.  Chiara's situation could happen to anyone, and yet she accepted it extraordinarily, trusting God's plan and surrendering herself fully to Him.  It leads to a self-examination of where I need to grow in trust and surrender.


It's the Chiara's of the world that remind us that we, too, are called to be saints.  And it's the Chiara's of the world that gently ask us if we are fulfilling that mission.    

I'm eager to read more about Chiara and to watch her cause for canonization begin, as I am sure it will.  Meanwhile, let's also pray for her husband and young son as they grieve the loss of Chiara and begin to share her in a unique way with the world.  You can read her story here.