MUMBAI, MAY 31, 2010: I would say we're young, the youth of today, but in a world where tricycles are exchanged for bikes, potatoes for French fries, water for alcohol, where cyber crime has become increasingly rampant, we're called the 'New' generation, the spoilt ones.
It's a beautiful day, a beautiful world; you wake up, sit leisurely on the couch, a cup of coffee in your hand and open the newspaper. You'll read about, "So-and-so, seventeen years killed so-and-so", “Teen rapes fellow friend, "eighteen year old elopes with lover". This is today’s reality. Not the reality of what’s truly happening in this place we call the world, but it’s about what society chooses to highlight. The bad, the wrong, the dark moments of an adolescents' life is reserved for the front page of every daily.
Beneath this all, within this seemingly terrifying world is another. A world of hopes, of dreams, a different way of life that needs rekindling. Teenagers today - look for good in each one, God doesn’t make junk!
Born in Sassello, a village of less than two thousand inhabitants, sixty kilometres from the city of Genova, Italy, a girl, a ray of light: Chiara Badano. An only child, she was soft, obedient and full of love. A girl full of vitality, she always looked towards heaven in times of sorrow and doubt. She called Jesus her "spouse". She had her wants as a kid, but always gave a second thought to others needs. When she was eight, she met the Focolare Movement-- a movement that has its roots buried in love. A united world where each one loves the other is its ultimate aim. It changed her way of life completely. As the teenage years slowly crept in, it brought with it the usual attractions--parties, boys, late night outings, etc. She had her share of it all, setting reasonable deadlines with her parents.
She was seventeen when it struck- Osteosarcoma with metastasis, one of the most painful forms of cancer. She underwent long periods of hospital visits, treatments and surgery. She had to be under constant supervision. She bore it all with a smile on her face and love in her heart. Sometimes during her treatment, the doctor proceeded to give her 'morphine’, a narcotic analgesic, a chemical substance used for relieving pain, an addictive drug. She plainly refused! She wanted to share her suffering with Jesus; she wanted something to offer him. Such was her strength and will to remain spotless clothed in God's love. Her friends from the Focolare Movement with whom she learnt the art of loving visited her, providing the much needed comfort and support.
Gradually over a period of two years her health deteriorated. On Sunday October 7, 1990, Chiara Badano, left to meet the ‘One’ she loved.
Her charity didn’t end there, after her death her corneas were removed and thanks to her wish, two young people can see again.
This is an example of a teenager, one who lived right. This is our role model. After her death, her letters, words and photographs began circulating in the diocese and amongst those who knew her. The bishop of the area decided to open the diocesan process of canonisation for her. Over a period of time she was declared 'Servant of God'. And on the September 25, 2010, Chiara Badano will be beatified and given the title of ‘Blessed’.
Her life is an open book, an influence and an inspiration for us, the youth of today. Her eighteen years were lived to the full. She had all the normal experiences, yet there was something so different about her way of living, she was a teenager with a difference.
So at the end of the day as you rest your head upon a pillow, think about it, "What is it with this 'new' generation?!!”