Sister Clare Crockett and the Flood of Ten Years Ago Today
In a handful of days — on 16 April — we will recall the 10th anniversary of the earthquake that ushered the Servant of God, Sister Clare Crockett, into the paradise. A few minutes before dying, she had been singing the song I Prefer Paradise, and a few hours previously she had proclaimed:
I am not afraid of death. Why should I be afraid of death if it is the encounter with the One Whom I’ve spent my entire life desiring to be with?
We wrote about her first on her birthday in 2024, and again a few months later on the date when she was declared a Servant of God; finally, we wrote about her on 16 April of last year, Spy Wednesday and the 9th anniversary of the earthquake. In that post, we drew out the connections between Sister Clare and the mission she saw herself having as a Sub-Shepherdess in relation to the Pope, and we suggested she would make a good intercessor for the Pope. We wrote:
How consoling is the promise of our Lord! He promised to build His Church on Peter and his successors, the Popes, and He promised this Church would last till the end of time. He prayed for Peter, and thus gained a perpetual faith for Peter and his successors, the charism of infallibility.
He built His Church as a visible communion, promising a faith that would never fail, a union of sacraments that would never cease, a continuation of governance in his vicars, the Pope and the Bishops, that would last until He returned. He promised a visible Church, one, holy, Catholic, apostolic, and (since the death of Peter) Roman, the only Church, outside of which none is saved; and He promised to abide with her till the end of time.
The script is already written. The victory already won.
God is at work these days. Jesus Himself applies the fruits of His Passion to wounds of His Church, the wounds especially that her members have contracted in the past year.
We mentioned a little above that the promises of the Lord for the Church are sure. His gifts are irrevocable. And yet there is that situation of the “already” and the “not yet”. The promises are sure, the victory assured, but the struggle now is what is going to gain it. For this reason we must pray especially for the priests, the bishops, and the Pope during these three days when the Lord will act.
As we enter into this time of showing mercy, when the Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep, Sister Clare can be a powerful intercessor for us and for the Church she loved so dearly. Now from heaven she can accompany us, as once she accompanied the Lord.
This post gained a certain poignancy when Pope Francis died the next Monday, and how could we lack confidence that Sister Clare was accompanying him with her prayers?
This year, Sister Clare’s heavenly birthday falls once again in Easter, as it did in 2016. There is something about her end that radiates the joy of the resurrection. A providential coincidence for us at the monastery is that it falls on a Thursday this year. Every Thursday is a Pascha for us, and how much more the first Thursday after the Paschal Octave!
The Flood
Ten years ago today–the traditional feast day of Pope Saint Leo the Great, who shepherded the Church in very tempestuous times–Sister Clare and the others in Playa Prieta endured a sudden flood.
Sr. Estela turned to Sr. Clare. “Let’s get sand and try to block the main entrance gate.” As they were walking toward the gate with the sand, they saw water suddenly flow from the street into the school property. They attempted to heap piles of sand in front of the gate.
“The sand isn’t helping,” Sr. Clare remarked.
“You’re right. Let’s try stones,” Sr. Estela affirmed, not imagining the amount of water that was yet to come.
The water destroyed all the hard work they had been doing mere weeks before school registration was supposed to begin.
When they reached the front door together, the first floor was flooded above their knees.
The pews in the school chapel were floating around along with plants and other varied objects.
This discouragement could have caused them to give up.
Darkness seemed to triumph that afternoon. Not a single ray of sun penetrated the thick clouds. The electricity had gone out soon after the flood began. No one knew how the situation would evolve or how dangerous it would become. The Sisters and the girls tried not to allow discouragement to overwhelm them as they looked down upon the school from the terrace. Everything was submerged in water and full of mud, and the new school year was about to begin. They also had to accept that they would not be able to go to Mass that day, the font and summit of their spiritual lives! It was difficult to maintain the habitual environment of joy in the midst of such material and spiritual desolation.
But a moment of grace intervened.
However, our Heavenly Mother would not let Her daughters fall into the devil’s snares and inspired Sr. Estela to have the community pray the rosary together. As they recited Hail Marys, our Blessed Mother slowly lifted the shadows that were weighing down upon them. Sr. Clare led them on the guitar with songs to Our Lady of Garabandal, and the Sisters took their candles and playfully began a candlelight procession from the picture of Our Lady of Garabandal to other pictures or statues of Our Lord and Our Lady throughout the house. They were filled with joy and peace. Our Lady had crushed the head of the serpent in their hearts.
The next five days — before the earthquake — would be days of hard work, but very great joy, as we can see reflected in the picture of Sister Clare. Those who saw her reported that she had an unearthly beauty and radiated joy.
Each trial in our life is also a potential moment of grace. We must be careful not to forget this. If they had not responded the night of the flood to the grace of making a sacrifice of thanksgiving, would they have had the grace to make the joyful sacrifice of the next week that prepared them to enter eternity?
Let us always say with the Saints, “Yes, Father. Yes, and always yes.”
