Today (April 28th) is the feast day of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla. She is an amazing modern saint and an inspiration to many all over the world. She was canonized in 2004 and is the patron saint of the pro-life movement, mothers, physicians, and unborn children.
Gianna was a woman of great faith, hope, and love. She was an Italian mother, wife, pediatrician, and a great lover of Christ. From the time she was very young, she was very involved in her parish, as well as in a local Catholic Action group. In 1954, she was married to the man that she had been praying for. She and Pietro had 4 children together, all of who are still alive and well today. During her fourth pregnancy, her doctors found that she had a tumor in her uterus that was endangering the lives of both she and her unborn child. The doctors gave her 3 choices for her pregnancy, along with the recommendation of immediate surgery to remove the tumor. She could either have an abortion, ensuring her own survival but killing her baby, have a complete hysterectomy, unintentionally killing her child, or she could deliver her child and risk complications from delivery. She chose the latter, telling her husband and the doctors that if it came time to choose between saving her life or the life of her child, they should save the baby. Her youngest child, Gianna Emanuela, was born on Holy Saturday (April 21) of 1962. Gianna suffered for many days after the birth of her child, finally dying on April 28, 1962, at the young age of 39.
As I mentioned in the Saint of the month section of this blog, Gianna is my confirmation saint. She showed true love and was a great example of a Catholic wife and mother (both of which I hope to be someday!) I really feel that she chose me because of my passion for the pro-life movement, as well as my love for children. I hope to be a youth minister someday, so her love for youth really spoke to me. Another thing that sticks out to me about her was her immense love for Christ and her abandonment to His divine will. One of her more famous quotes is, "Whatever God wants." She truly surrendered her life to the will of God by giving all that she had for Him and for her children.
Gianna is a wonderful example of sacrificial love. You can do no more to show someone you care for them than laying down your life for their sake. In the end, Gianna got to save her baby's life, as well as go to Heaven and be with her Lord.
We, as teenagers living in a world so full of people who advocate for women's right to abortion, need to be a voice for life. We need to show the world that all lives matter and are loved by a God who will never let them down. If we, the next generation of parents, law-makers, and leaders live and love as Saint Gianna did, our world will be a much better place.
Let's ask St. Gianna to intercede for us as we work and pray towards a better, more pro-life world so that all lives are valued, just as they are in the eyes of God. Let's also ask her to intercede for us, the next generation of saints, that we may live holy lives and spread the love of the Lord everywhere we go and to everyone we meet.
Saint Gianna, Pray for us!!!
Resources:
Here's a prayer to St. Gianna: http://www.stgiannaphysicians.org/prayer_to_st_gianna
I know she is smiling down on you today and is very proud of the way you spread the love of Jesus and make her known to more people.
Happy Feast Day,Gianna!