TWO TO INSPIRE US

The main theme of this Blog is sanctity- that of others, as well as our own. How you may ask can we ever hope to be like someone who reached perfection in this life? We tend to forget that they were human with all the negative traits we possess. Some knew sin before a conversion, some experienced depression, discouragement, hopelessness. Others dealt with hatred, lack of care of others, selfishness. For every problem we experience in our own life, there is a saint who experienced the same suffering in their life.

In April 2019, we considered the life of a young nun who died in an earthquake in Ecuador. She, along with an American Benedictine nun, is now being considered for canonization.  In her short life she knew sin, hated in her Irish town, and had a major conversion, even though she thought she wanted to be “famous”.

 At a retreat in Spain (she thought she was going for the “entertainment”), she found her true calling.

 “I don’t know how to explain exactly what happened. I didn’t see the choirs of angels or a white dove come down from the ceiling and descend on me, but I was certain that the Lord was on the cross, for me.”

For more on her life, I highly recommend the 90 minute movie  "All or Nothng"  which can be viewed on Youtube.The postulator of the cause  of Sister Clare is Sister Kristen Gardner, a member Sister Clare’s order,  the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother.  In 2020 she wrote a biography about Sister Clare titled "Sister Clare Crockett: Alone with Christ Alone". 

 Father Gerard Mongan, parish priest of Sr. Clare’s native parish of St. Columba’s, in Derry, said she is already credited with bringing many back to the faith through her conversion story.

 “The people of Derry and beyond are overwhelmed by the possibility that one day, they will have their own saint. In particular, she has been an inspiration to many young people who have been inspired by her life, especially her infectious joy.She has already brought countless people back to the practice of their faith. We all look forward to the official opening of her cause when she will become (a) servant of God. Exciting times ahead!”

Perhaps a less typical, hopefully soon to be saint, is the Benedictine nun, SERVANT OF GOD SISTER ANNELLA ZERVAS (see Blog June 24, 2017) from Moorhead, Minnesota., She was born in 1900, the second of six children into a devoutly Catholic family.

 At age 15 (not too young in those days), she entered the convent of the Benedictine Sisters in St. Joseph, Minnesota. She was given the name Annella, to which her mother said:  there is no saint with this name. The young nun answered: “Then I shall have to be the first one.” She made her final vows in 1922.

 A year later, Sister Annella began experiencing a chronic and debilitating skin disease that caused extreme itching and other serious discomforts.  It was diagnosed as pityriasis rubra pilaris.

 I have always said that itch is worse than pain, and yet this young nun, who was musically inclined, taught music in Bismarck, North Dakota. She  was known for her good humor,  offering up her suffering in union with the suffering of Jesus, finding in the Eucharist her “greatest consolation.”

 Her body began to swell from head to toe, her skin turning a deep red and burning with an insatiable itch.  She developed sores and her skin sloughed off in chunks and strips, with "thornlike stickers" developing within her pores, which had to be painfully removed. At the time, there was no significant treatment or cure.

 She died at age 26 in 1926 on the eve of the solemnity of the Assumption, which was fitting since she had a great devotion to Our Lady. 

After her death, people began to report receiving favors and miracles through her intercession.

Patrick Norton, a Minnesota man, born in 1962 in India, was rescued from the streets of Mumbai by sisters from the Missionaries of Charity, the congregation of (St.) Mother Teresa. He was adopted by a wealthy couple from Fairfield, Connecticut, and raised Catholic along with 13 adopted siblings.

He claims to have had a vision in 2010 while working at Sister Annella’s grave and was inspired to spread devotion to her. A father of three from Avon, he has dedicated his life to sharing her story by reprinting and distributing booklets about her life as well as giving talks.

 "I'm a nobody, I'm just a painter. All I know is paint brushes and drop cloths; I've never promoted a saint. But I am promoting her. I said to the Lord, 'Let me promote her through my deafness, my uselessness, my nobody. Let me live each day for you, and I will tell the people (of her) through my nothingness. " 

She certainly is one to pray to for any skin ailment.

Sister Clare and Sister Annella’s short lives can be an inspiration on how each of us can pursue holiness in our own life, reminding us that God calls each of us to sanctity in a unique way- no two saints are alike!