Blessed Chiara Badano: Her Secrets to Happiness

by Geri Guadano, Loretta Rauschuber (Illustrator)

Overview

For the first time, the life of Blessed Chiara Badano is narrated for a young audience, with beautiful illustrations showing the key moments of her spiritual journey. Everyone wants to be happy, but very few people learn the secrets to happiness. Chiara Badano discovered those secrets at a young age, and lived them every day. Even when she was stricken with illness, those simple secrets kept her happy, and made her happiness contagious. Chiara Badano's legacy lives on and has spread throughout the world, inspiring young and old to learn her secrets and to put them into practice. Counted among the blessed, she can show us how to be happy, and how to make others happy, too.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781565487024
Publisher:	New City Press
Publication date:	10/20/2021
Pages:	61
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 6.00(h) x 0.27(d)
Age Range:	10 - 16 Years

About the Author

Geraldine Guadagno enjoys writing in a variety of genres for children and adults. Her books include Irene the Elephant, 5 Steps to Facing Suffering, and John of the Smiles.

Loretta Rauschuber's creativity started when she was 15 with scenic oil on canvas artwork. Blessed Chiara Badano is her second book of illustrations to be published.

Read an Excerpt

During the summer of 1988, when Chiara was sixteen, she was in the middle of a tennis game when a sharp pain stabbed her shoulder. It hurt so badly that she dropped her racket. Doctors thought she had a cracked rib. But the pain persisted and she ran a fever. Tests soon revealed that Chiara had a tumor from a rare bone cancer. At that time, Chiara was only told that she was very ill. She took the news calmly. As the months went by, she endured more examinations, treatments, hospital stays, and times of being confined to bed at home, as well as times of remission. Rather than focus on herself, Chiara turned toward others. While in the hospital, she met another girl who was ill. Chiara befriended her and would often take long walks with her around the hospital.

Table of Contents

In Her Own Words 13

Introduction 15

Chapter 1 Chiara's Apple and the Table: A Transgression and a Glimpse of Light 16

Chapter 2 The Least, also Known as Jesus 20

Chapter 3 Human Nature and the World 25

Chapter 4 The Secret of the Abandoned One 34

Chapter 5 Patient Endurance and Joy 42

Chapter 6 Called by a Name 50

Chapter 7 Her Legacy Begins 53

Chapter 8 Bedtification and Beyond 56

Discussion Questions 59

Acknowledgements 60

Bibliography 61

Editorial Reviews

"Blessed Chiara Badano: Her Secrets to Happiness, is an invitation to all, especially to young people, to discover the beauty of a deep relationship with God in the present moment and the joy of serving others even during one’s own trials." Bishop Wm. Michael Mulvey, Diocese of Corpus Christi

"The story of Chiara Luce Badano is the story of the next generation of saints. Young and old alike will be inspired by the story of a saintly teenager who gave her life to others and offered up her suffering. In a saddened and depressed world, we need Chiara’s secrets to happiness. She shines as a bright light in the midst of darkness.” Fr. Edward Looney, author of A Lenten Journey with Mother Mary

"Every child will see a bit of themselves in Chiara and realize the rewards of living life with an eye on Jesus." —Doreen McAvoy, author of Secrets in September

"Geraldine Guadagno captures the spirit of Blessed Chiara's simple yet profound spirituality for a new generation to know and follow. Illustrated by Loretta Rauschuber, this book compellingly shares Chiara's light and love for a new generation of believers." Lisa M. Hendey, author of I'm a Saint in the Making

"What a perfect little introduction to Bl. Chiara Badano! This short but thorough biography is so readable I flew through it in a day, and it comes nicely illustrated, for a bonus." Corinna Turner, author of The Boy Who Knew (Carlo Acutis) and the Carnegie Medal-nominated I Am Margaret series

From the Publisher