Think of the choices you have made today. You probably made easy decisions like what to eat for breakfast or which shoes to wear to school. If you have the same kind of cereal every morning or you wear the same shoes almost every day, may be it didn’t even seem like a choice. It was a habit, a choice you make often.
Maria Clementine had to make a very difficult decision. But, because she was in the habit of pleasing God in all of her actions, she didn’t have to think a long time about it. Maria Clementine lived in the Republic of Congo, in Africa; she was baptized when she was four years old, along with her mother and one of her sisters. From the very beginning, Maria listened carefully when her teachers talked about God and how to live as a Christian. She developed good habits and the virtues of obedience, generosity, purity and faith.
When she was 15, Maria Clementine chose to give her whole life to God by becoming a sister. Told at first that she was too young, she eventually stowed away on a truck that was taking postulants to the convent and was allowed to join the Holy Family sisters. Her parents were present when she took her vows and gave two goats to the convent in her honor. Later, however, her mother would urge her to leave the convent to come home and help support the family. But Maria remained in the Convent for 10 years, joyfully praying and working with the sisters. She was willing to do unpleasant chores that others avoided, but she sometimes lost patience with those who had shirked their duties.
this time there was political upheaval in the country as two groups vied for power. The rebels suspected the native-born monks and nuns of collaborating with foreigners. On December 1, 1964, Maria and a small group of sisters were being moved by force, supposedly to another convent, when they were stopped by a troop of soldiers. The soldiers began to harass the sisters, and two colonels began beating Maria. When she said,” I forgive you, for you do not know what you are doing,’ he became so furious he had her stabbed and then shot and killed her.
People admired her courage and strength. But Maria Clementine would have told you that it was not a hard decision to make. Her love was very strong because she had been making loving choices all of her life.
Maria Clementine was buried in a mass grave with other prisoners, but later her body was moved to a cemetery near the Isiro cathedral. She was canonized in 1999, becoming the first Congolese woman saint. |
