Yesterday, October 29th, was the feast day of Blessed Chiara Badano, a young Italian woman who passed away in 1990 at the age of 18 from a rare and aggressive form of bone cancer.  She was a typical teenager, active in sports, such as tennis and swimming, and loved hiking and dancing.  And, during high school, she developed a deep life of prayer.

Her relationship with Jesus began when she was nine years old when she met Chiara Lubich, the foundress of the Focolare Movement, a worldwide Catholic-associated spiritual movement founded in 1943 during World War II to bring unity, dialogue and friendship to the troubled world.  Young and cheerful Chiara Badano so impressed Chiara Lubich that she nicknamed her Chiara Luce, meaning “Clear Light” or “Bright Light”.

When Chiara Badano was seventeen, she developed a pain in her shoulder while playing tennis. Shortly afterwards it was diagnosed as bone cancer.  She was told that she would only have a short time to live.  According to a friend of mine who was told by Chiara’s parents (whom my friend knew), on the day Chiara was diagnosed a battle raged within her – was she going to fight against the disease that had been dealt her, or was she going to accept it and surrender to Jesus?  She chose to accept her suffering and offer it up for the conversion of souls saying, “Jesus, if this is what you want, then this is what I want, too!” From that day until her death, it is said that she was constantly joyful and an inspiration to her family and friends.  Near the day of her death she said, “Don’t cry for me.  I am going to Jesus.  At my funeral I don’t want people to cry, but rather to sing with all their voices.”

In 2019 my wife and I were on a pilgrimage to Italy with my friend mentioned above.  We visited a small village in northern Italy where we had dinner with a gentleman and his family who, at the time, was the head of the young people in the Focolare Movement.  We learned about the movement and its history, and we were able to witness the peace and joy that this family exhibited and their deep love for Jesus.  Although we didn’t talk about Chiara Badano, as I look back I can see how she may have been attracted to that movement.

Fast forward to Wednesday, October 29, 2025, about 6:45 p.m.  I was about 15 minutes away from presenting and leading a discussion about some aspect of our faith to catechumens and candidates in our OCIA class, but I needed to stop by the restroom before class began.  While urinating I suddenly passed a significant quantity of blood.  It was not diluted blood, rather multiple large congealed blood clots one to three inches in diameter.  Something was definitely not right.  I asked my assistant to take over the class for me, found my wife who was in a women’s Bible study in a room just down the hall, and we headed for the emergency room.

Upon getting situated in the emergency room, I was asked to give a urine sample.  I had, of course, just emptied my bladder and had nothing to give until I drank some more water.  While waiting for things to happen I remembered that I had not had time that morning for my daily mental prayer.  I pulled out my phone, and called up the scripture for the day.  The first reading caught my attention:  “We know that all things work for good for those who love God….” (Rom 8:28).  I thought, “Lord, Jesus, here I am with no where to go, in a situation I didn’t choose and can’t change, and I have no choice but to love You and trust in You that all will be well.  I offer this up for a greater good.  Amen.”

As I normally do after I’ve meditated on the daily scripture, I look at the saints of the day.  Blessed Chiara Badano, of whom I had never heard before, popped up and caught my attention.  As I read her story, especially of her struggle to accept her suffering, I felt I was in the same place she had been.  I fully expected whatever was going on with me to be a serious matter and there was nothing I could do about it.  After reading about her surrender, I offered the same prayer to our Lord, “Jesus, if this is what you want, then I want it, too.”  Then, I ended my prayer with, “Blessed Chiara, pray for me.”

I was finally able to give the sample the doctors wanted and to my surprise it was barely pink.  I was discharged and told to see my urologist the following day.  The next day, the urologist also needed a sample and my offering had an almost imperceptible tinge of pink.  They scheduled me for a CT scan and a cystoscopy.  Neither the CT scan nor the cystoscopy showed anything of significance.  The cause of the blood clots was never determined.  It’s now been one year and one day and I have not had a single indication since then.  Praise be to God!

Do I consider this a miracle?  Yes, I do.  I believe my surrender and placing all my trust in the Lord was rewarded.  And, in hindsight, although you may think it unpleasantly sick of me, I wish I had had the forethought to take a photo or two of the mess I made in that restroom.  Perhaps I could have used that as proof to help further Blessed Chiara Badano’s cause for sainthood.

“Lord Jesus, thank You for hearing my prayers of surrender and answering me with mercy.  I believe I was somehow meant to bump into Blessed Chiara “Luce” Badano that night, and that she was there to intercede for me.  Blessed Chiara, thank you for your inspiration and your prayers!  Jesus, I trust in You!  Amen.”

(Jesus, If This Is What You Want, Then I Want It Too, was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

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