“If I am afraid, I will say without shame, ‘I’m afraid’ and the Lord will give me the strength.”
In 1936, Blessed Benedetta Porro was born in Italy as the second of six children. She was baptised in necessity (meaning she was likely to die) with water from Lourdes, receiving her formal baptism later. When Benedetta was three months old, she contracted polio, which caused her to wear a brace on her left leg. Before she turned one year old, she suffered several severe bouts of bronchitis.
When this child turned five years old, she started keeping a journal in which she wrote things like, “The universe is enchanting! It is great to be alive!” when she was only seven years old.
Once, when she was a child, her brother became involved in a brawl because another child called her a cripple. And Benedetta responded, “He called me ‘the cripple’ – what is wrong with that? It’s the truth!”
When she turned thirteen Benedetta began to lose her hearing and also needed to use a cane as she began to lose movement and control in her legs.
When she was seventeen she travelled to Milan to study physics, but decided to study Medicine instead and, though she had additional needs, Benedetta proved to be a brilliant student.
Despite her studies, Benedetta’s illness continued to progress until she was admitted to a nursing home for rehabilitation and treatment in 1955. While there she continued her studies and passed with excellent results.
In 1957, Benedetta diagnosed herself with Von Recklinghausen’s disease, which would leave her blind and deaf. While this idea terrified her in 1955, through prayer, Benedetta came to live in peace, “If I am afraid, I will say without shame, ‘I’m afraid’ and the Lord will give me the strength.”’
Benedetta was forced to stop her studies and slowly lost the use of all her senses. She underwent several operations on her head, after the last she realised she was blind, and asked that the surgeon not be informed so as not to sadden him. And she accepted her cross of blindness, saying, “There is nothing to do but trust in God, with eyes closed. I am in the process of living simplicity, that is, the stripping of the soul. How beautiful it is! One becomes so light and free!”
During her illness, Benedetta grew in intimacy with Jesus. “We need to give God to others, without love, nothing matters,” she wrote in the diary.
And I have been reflecting on that today. For who would have believed that a person would only grow closer to God through such a terrible struggle in life as that. And seeing this example before me today, it occurs to me that I should be grateful for my challenges, because if only I could learn to trust in my God, perhaps one day I too could be blessed… And after all, is that not the most important thing in this life?
Blessed Benedetta Porro pray for us who have recourse to thee…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.