Yesterday
was the third anniversary of the death of a young Irish nun who perished along
with 5 postulants of her order in the 7.8 magnitude earthquake which struck Ecuador ,
killing 480 people in 2016.
As
we like to say: there are no
coincidences in heaven When our Abbess
was here recently she told us how the
youngest novice at our Abbey was given her name. Have you heard of SISTER CLARE CROCKETT, Mother Abbess
asked us? Just the week before I had
told the community how I had chanced on a movie recommended by Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland (see Blog 3/5/19
on sacred music). It turns out Lisa, as Sister Chiara ( the Italian for Clare) is now called, was a
friend of Sr. Clare of the Order of the Servant Sisters of the Home of the
Mother, and like all who knew her, the death of the 33 year old nun greatly
affected her.
Her Order stated: “We discovered that her loss
afflicted us, while her memory filled us with joy.” It became obvious that the
33-year-old had left a lasting impression on everyone she met; the Irish
“live wire” was infectious with her energy, joy, and love of Jesus. Soon the
Servant Sisters were inundated with messages revealing how Sr. Clare had helped
them: “Strangers who spoke to us of conversions, vocations discovered or
recovered, and special grace.”
As a result
the Order decided to gather testimonies and stories relating to the life of Sr.
Clare and make a documentary. The young Clare had a passion for acting and desire
to become famous. Then as she grew older she shared with great enthusiasm how
“Jesus Christ stole my heart.”
It
is no surprise that everybody loved her. She resonated joy and love for Christ, and a desire to share this love
with everybody she met. While people gravitated towards her, one participant in
the documentary simply states: “She didn’t want them to come to her but to the
Lord.”
One girl says:
“I owe a lot to her for the salvation of my soul.” The testimonies of the teens she worked with are gripping, as she obviously gave the youth a love of the Lord.
The
documentary, All or Nothing: Sr. Clare Crockett can be found now on Youtube. It
is well worth watching and very fitting for Holy Week- a body given for her people.
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