Rođeni smo i nikada ne ćemo umrijeti

by Simone Troisi, Cristiana Paccini, Borna Puškarić (Translator)

Chiara Corbella Petrillo umire u dvadeset i osmoj godini života, od karcinoma na jeziku, otkrivena u petom mjesecu njezine treće trudnoće. No odgađa liječenje, misleći prije svega na dobro djeteta koje nosi.
Chiarin životni put, kao i onaj njezina supruga Enrica i sina Francesca (te njegove starije sestre i brata, koji su već postali stanovnici neba), dotaknuo je tisuće ljudi u Italiji i šire. Stranice knjige o Chiari Corbelli Petrillo donose svjedočanstvo žene koja umire, ostavljajući iza sebe muža i sina, da je život nevjerojatan dar i da nasljedovati Krista i u patnji otvara put prema svjetlosti.

Knjiga koja je pred vama nije samo priča o životu jedne žene koja je umrla na glasu svetosti. Knjiga je to o ljubavi prema životu, o životu općenito. Prateći život Chiare Corbelle Petrillo, učimo kako živjeti s pouzdanjem u Božji plan, kako odnos s Bogom svaku situaciju okreće na dobro, kako Crkva hrani vjeru pojedinca i kako Bog može preobraziti život ako smo otvoreni djelovanju njegove milosti.

(Iz Predgovora hrvatskom izdanju)Nascemos e Jamais Morreremos é a narrativa emocionada desta vida desconcertante, feita por dois amigos íntimos do casal Petrillo. Uma narrativa que coloca em primeiro plano o testemunho dos Petrillo, um testemunho de alegria, paz e serenidade no meio dos maiores sofrimentos, fruto de uma inabalável confiança em Deus e nos caminhos que é possível percorrer a seu lado. Caminhos feitos de "pequenos passos possíveis", nas palavras de Chiara, passos quotidianos, um de cada vez, mas que levam longe.
Nascemos e jamais morreremos exprime a certeza de Chiara de que o amor não se detém às portas da morte. Quem a conheceu pessoalmente pôde experimentar a força transformadora desta certeza. Ler este livro é fazer a mesma experiência e, de um modo misterioso, entrar em comunhão com Chiara, que passa a fazer parte da vida do leitor como uma amiga muito querida e muito presente, porque a eternidade não é uma ideia, é um modo de vida.

Genres: Catholic, Biography, Faith, Nonfiction, Religion, Christian, Spirituality

160 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2013

Reviews

[booklady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you believe that books ‘find’ us, or that we are supposed to read certain books? Recently I encountered two recommendations for this book which were so compelling I felt this book was calling to me. Yesterday after downloading it to my Kindle and finishing it in a marathon session, it would seem my instincts were true. Chiara insisted on ‘trusting herself’, something I am so reluctant to do and yet as I saw how she meant trusting-oneself-in-and-through-Jesus, I saw the beauty, power and wisdom of her vision. A certain amount of questioning of one’s own motives is appropriate/healthy, but Chiara has shown me that when one truly loves the One Who IS Love, doubt has no real place in the heart.

Rarely have I read a personal witness where so much apparent ‘loss’ was met in a way so completely uplifting and joyful. I won’t spoil the story for you by telling you 28 year old Chiara and her 30-something husband Enrico’s story. If you want, you can read the book synopsis but that still won't replace the journey of their love which this book reveals. Theirs is a TRUE-LOVE story and they are an amazing couple!

Below are samples of the quotes which I loved:

The married couple, indeed, reveals to the world how God loves.

Beauty will save the world, Dostoevsky wrote. Yes, but which beauty: the beauty of a face happy in suffering, the face of Jesus? This is the beauty that Chiara showed us.

“If you recognize that you can love only in God, you must love God more than your wife, more than your husband. If you look for consolation in the love of a person who is near you, you are taking the wrong path, because only the Lord can give you consolation; and then, if the Lord wishes, He gives you consolation through another person.” Enrico Petrillo

“The Lord puts the truth inside each one of us, and there is no possibility of misunderstanding it.” Chiara Petrillo

To abort is to give back a gift. The parents who accept a baby accept God.

“We who think we are victims in life change solely before Him. To transform everything is to see Someone who is dying for you while you are killing Him. To transform everything is to see a Son of God who shows clearly that you either give life or you take it — that if you do not love, you kill.” Fr. Vito

“The most important goal of life is to be loved. The important thing is not to do something but to be born, to let ourselves be loved.” To discover that we are children who are loved ... this gives peace.

A sanctuary is a place that tells you: Look at what happens to the one who entrusts himself to God; as God changes his life for him, he changes the lives of those around him.

The rapport between Father Vito and Enrico and Chiara was the picture of a reality much greater than the tie between their vocations and the sacraments. The priest showed the spouses who God is; the spouses revealed to the priest the manner in which God loves.

There was no disharmony between Chiara and her body: yes, she suffered, but her body belonged to her; therefore, she did not scorn it. For her, as it is for all those who say they follow Jesus, she existed only for the present moment.

“I do not think that there is a greater miracle than peace in death. For me this was the most precious pearl, the pearl worth more than all you have.” Enrico Petrillo

“Do not ask so many questions; take the one that comes and be done with it. It works like this: you take the one that is given to you without any explanation and then you find in your hands what pleases you most!” Chiara Petrillo

Chiara Corbella Petrillo, A Witness to Joy was written by the couple’s good friends, Simone and Cristiana, who knew them from when they first got married. Chiara died on my birthday and was buried on the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. May she rest in peace. I know she is happy to be reunited with Maria and Davide.

READ THIS BOOK!

[Don Mario · Rating 4 out of 5]

«Chiara» le chiede [Enrico, suo marito], «ma è veramente dolce questo giogo, questa croce, come dice Gesù?». E Chiara sorridendo, con un filo di voce, volgendo il suo sguardo dal tabernacolo al marito, gli risponde: «Sì, Enrico, è molto dolce».

Della storia di Chiara non mi colpisce che abbia rimandato le cure per salvare la gravidanza: molte buone mamme sono disposte a rischiare la vita per proteggere il loro bambino.

Mi colpisce invece come ha affrontato la morte: soffrendo e sorridendo. Affrontando l'angoscia un giorno alla volta, soprattutto il dolore di lasciare marito e figlio, fino a scoprire di poterlo fare e di aver aiutato tutti a prepararsi a quell'arrivederci. Enrico e Chiara hanno raggiunto in poco tempo un'intensità di amore e di comunione che pochi coniugi raggiungono nel corso di un'intera vita. E proprio "grazie" a quella malattia.

Sono cose che non si spiegano; si possono solo rispettosamente contemplare. Al suo funerale il cardinale Vallini ha ricordato che la vita è come un ricamo di cui vediamo il rovescio: un groviglio di fili che si intrecciano e si annodano. Ma ogni tanto Dio ha la bontà di farci intravedere un lembo del lato dritto, che è una meraviglia. Così la vicenda di Chiara è un dono che Dio ci ha fatto per fugare un po' il timore che accompagna la presenza della sofferenza e della morte nelle nostre esistenze.

[Amanda Foto · Rating 5 out of 5]

“To say yes each day to your story; to trust in Jesus…”

“When listening to God it is necessary to accept not understanding”

“The past to mercy, the present to grace, the future to Providence”

“This death
that torments us
its existence
is only a door,
Hope”

I had been hearing about this book and feeling drawn to it for a few months until a friend handed me a copy in Bible study. I started it one night and finished it the next day!! I truly could not put it down and was crying by the time I finished it.
There is something so simple and beautiful about Chiara and Enrico’s FAITH. They don’t just say things but are actually living them out and believing them. The extent of their suffering put my own into perspective and really made me repent of being angry at God for His will in my life. He truly is always there and there is always beauty!!

A must read.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful testimony...I'm in awe! She really gives a insightful view on how she was able to "dance" through multiple tragedies. She brought so much light to others.

[Clare Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to read this all day every day for the rest of my life. Could type a whole lot but I’ll leave it with this…. Thank you Chiara for living a life that shows suffering and joy can coexist! We need more of it. To heaven we go!

[Zrinka Vuksan-Ćusa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Molim sve da ovo pročitaju :))

[Granger Stimpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that challenges my idea of what it means to hope when it seems like all hope is lost. A testament to the joy that the cross actually is. I would recommend this book only if you are willing to have your heart stretched to its braking.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible! What an amazing woman she was, and her husband too. Her writings are so profound--personally for me even more profound than St Therese of Lisiuux. I would not be surprised if she is canonized very soon. There is so much wisdom in her writings and also her husbands. The letter she wrote to her son for his 1st birthday is a marvel! Something to be read and meditated upon often.She really inspires you to give yourself totally to God!

[Eliz · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars!! I deeply appreciated that the authors let her life, suffering, joy, and abandonment to divine providence speak for itself and didn’t have to add fluff to describe her virtue. Her life spoke for itself. The images of the husband walking their deceased children down to the morgue had me weeping. They honored the Lord in accompanying their babies as long as they could. The Lord answered their prayers in mysterious ways. I also appreciated how you could enter into Chiara’s mindset and got a really intimate view into her life.

As I am on the cusp of a sweet baby being out of my womb and into my arms, I reflect on all the “planning” I’ve done (figuring out logistics of maternity leave, advocating for and securing pumping breaks for when I’m back at work, filling the deep freezer, picking a pediatrician, meeting with a lactation consultant, seeing a perinatal mental health counselor to prepare for postpartum, pelvic floor physical therapy, packing diaper bags, a million other things). She and her husband literally just took things day by day and did NOT really have a plan whatsoever and yet the Lord abundantly provided. The Lord is providing in my life abundantly already but her example is really encouraging me to loosen the reigns a little bit and just sit back in this last month of pregnancy just reflecting on the gift of the life within me and just taking it easy. My love language is also planning which makes me laugh.

Thank you, Chiara, for your witness to the dignity of the human person and to suffering with grace.

[Kennedy Kellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

So beautiful and illuminating. 5 stars for Chiara but 4 stars for the book itself. The writing was a little hard to follow at points. Some paragraphs (and chapters) were not linear, which I don’t mind, but it was hard to distinguish what was in the past and what was currently happening. It truly could be a me problem, but in any case that was really my only qualm.

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went to bed late and got up early to finish this book. The depth of sanctity, of joy, of surrender to the will of God in the life of Chiara is absolutely inspiring. This modern saint not only makes sainthood seem possible, but makes you desire it all the more. Her friends recounting of her life, and particularly her "Way of the Cross", is so beautiful. A must-read.

[Ramón S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una historia real preciosa. Me ha ayudado mucho en la fe y a mirar al misterio de la muerte con nuevos ojos.
Chiara Corbella Petrillo ruega por nosotros.
Recomiendo este libro vivamente

[Grace Furka · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were some KEY parts in here that I think will continue to stick with me for the rest of my days. The last chapter especially…wowza (for context, I read it while standing by a night-light in our bathroom wayyyy past my bed time because I didn’t want to put it down, and let me tell you I love my bed time). I will always remember how Chiara trusted the Lord enough to know her children were not her own, and that they truly belonged to the Lord. (Like that is one thing to put on paper but she truly lived this with JOY??? What????). And that the death of her children allowed her to accept her own holy agony and death. Oof. I’m going to need to sit with this for like years I think. It’s just not a 5/5 for me because I thought there were parts of the story that were translated weirdly and not the most clearly written. But otherwise, it’s a story to read and remember.

[Holly Walling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chiara Corbella Petrillo is certainly a saint for our times. In many ways, a modern day Gianna Beretta Molla, her story moved me to tears on multiple accounts. I think, honestly, what stunned me the most was the simplicity of her acceptance and the raw reliance on the Lord that thus informed her joy. As made evident in her small, possible steps, she simply accepted that which came to her, and with each unheard of trial she clung to the Lord, who in turn, turned her suffering into a dance. No other story has so profoundly defined true joy for me, and no other Saint’s perspective moved me to tears so often. She is truly a model to be marveled at for her trust, as is her husband Enrico. Keeping this one in my back pocket for future reference, and adding Chiara to my list of loved saints in Heaven.

[Grace Snakenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super inspiring! Taught me about the sweetness in suffering!

[Sandra Vel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un testimonio impactante sobre cómo “aceptar lo inaceptable”. La vida (y muerte) de una chica de 28 años marcada por tres “desgracias” que es capaz de vivir con fe, alegría y amor: dos bebés fallecidos al nacer y un cáncer terminal cuando está embarazada de su tercer hijo. Una historia sobre la aceptación, el desprendimiento, la fe y el Amor. Imposible leerlo sin lágrimas. Desgarrador, y a su vez, un ejemplo de cómo “abrazar la cruz”.

[Madison Bertucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! Showed me how marriage can lead to sainthood and how the Lord uses our sufferings

[Doherty Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second time reading this!!! Super powerful reading it with my own babe in my womb!

[Megan Bullert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chiara's story has emotionally and spiritually torn me apart. This book follows the immense suffering Chiara has peacefully endured throughout her life. It is extremely humbling to see how someone so holy can take everything from the hands of God joyfully and without hesitation. I highly recommend reading Chiara's story as she has taught me so many things and has revealed to me the things I still need to learn. It is also so encouraging to see a modern (almost) saint- she passed away only 12 years ago!!
My only complaint is that a lot is lost in the translation from Italian to English and it can be difficult to read at some points, but you will still take away so much from her story!

[Max Marko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seldom have I read the recounting of a holy person and found hope that I too can become a saint. I am immensely grateful for this testimony and how it has given me fresh eyes for God’s unconquered love.

[Karli Ramos · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unbelievable story of Chiara’s path of suffering, love, and serenity of having trust in God. It is so tragic but beautiful to see her continually configured to Christ’s suffering and eventually transfigured by His love at her death.

4 stars only because I wish it was longer and the English translation can be hard to follow at times.

[Natalia Sánchez de León · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una historia conmovedora. Te hace reflexionar y recordar que la vida sólo tiene sentido cuando la empleamos en Amar con mayúsculas. Una preciosidad.

[Hayley Shaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

A timely book given my life circumstances. I’m always a sucker for stories of heroic virtue in people not that far removed from me ¨̮

[Román · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Está muerte que atormenta nuestra existencia solo es una puerta a la Esperanza".

Es así, como nos muestra Chiara, que el amor lo transforma todo. Amor puro, radical, en mayúsculas y, sobre todo, amor a Dios.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title is very true - a witness to Joy! Beautiful to see how little sufferings, well lived, enabled greater ones.

[Chad Leleux · Rating 5 out of 5]

10 out of 10 would recommend to a friend 🌝

[Grace Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful witness of how to live and die well. It is the portrait of a beautiful, holy young bride who lived her life so she could meet her Bridegroom.

[Andrés Jiménez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Los autores, amigos de Chiara, hacen una biografía a partir de una petición de su marido, Enrico. La vida de Chiara rezuma trascendencia, alegría y amor. Sorprende que en medio de la vicisitudes -la pérdida de dos hijos, el cáncer con metástasis- ella sepa dar una cierta normalidad a su vida. No hay palabras -como continuamente testimonian quienes la han tratado- para definir la vida interior que poseía Chiara, capaz de ver la mano de un Padre misericordioso en medio de sus "infortunios". No sólo ella, también su marido tiene ese algo santo que permite a su esposa acercarse más a Dios. Son un matrimonio en el que ambos se ayudan a buscar al Esposo.

No obstante, el tono hagiográfico y homilético que impregnan sus autores resta fuerza al texto. Es difícil, claro, porque ellos quieren transmitir lo que han visto y han oído. Quieren, en fin, hacer justicia a una figura que emanaba santidad. Pero, creo, está el peligro que no hacer cercana la figura de la Chiara: ya no es una mujer, como otra, sino una "santa". Cada suceso está apostillado con reflexiones que nos llevan a entender el misterio encarnado en sus actos. Pero, ¿y si sólo se mostrase lo visto y oído, dejando al lector la oportunidad de entender el por qué?

[Tania · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Decía: <así os envío yo a vosotros >>,
Pero solo ahora he entendido el sentido,
solo Dios puede amar así.
Solos no era posible lograrlo,
nosotros somos la maravilla de la primavera
que da vida al invierno
sabiendo que se morirá feliz,
porque muriendo vencerá a la muerte.
Te amo como la primavera ama el invierno
con dulzura y en silencio.
Me has derretido la nieve
Para volver a maravillarme todavía más. "


Es imposible parar de leerlo. Es imposible porque es impactante; es un testimonio muy humano - desde el punto de vista que este matrimonio no pretende mostrase perfecto - pero apegadísimo a un Cristo, a un Dios que los acompaña siempre; es evidente .

Las escritoras nos cuentan la historia efectivamente como si estuviésemos viendo una película. Es totalmente clara, la imagen de Chiara, lo que siente, lo que piensa, lo que decide realizar. Es totalmente palpable el amor de Enrico. Es impresionante cómo ésta familia ha calado en amigos y cercanos en vida y luego en El Paso de Chiara...


La palabra que busco es precioso. Es un tesoro.

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful, and so easy to read. The ending left me with a soaked pillow!
A warning to read up on official Church stance (or lack thereof) on the visions in Medjugorje before giving too much weight to Enrico and Chiara's devotion to the events occurring there, though.

Chiara and Enrico are truly inspirational!