St. Alphonsa, the first native woman saint of India, who lived as an unknown simple Clarist nun within the four walls of the Franciscan Clarist convent at Bharananganam, in the state of Kerala, is now known all over the world. Her extraordinary power of intercession before her beloved Spouse Lord Jesus Christ, made her dear to everyone. Thousands of people from all walks of life irrespective of caste, creed, religion or country flow to the tomb of the saint to pray for their various needs and to pay homage and gratitude for the innumerable favours they received.
St. Alphonsa was born on 19th August 1910 as the fourth child of Joseph and Mary Muttathupadath, in the parish of Kudamaloor in the state of Kerala. She was baptized on the 27th August. Her baptismal name was Anna and her pet name Annakutty. Her mother passed away three months after her birth.
Annakutty started her schooling at Arpookara and left for Muttuchira Govt. School for pursuing her studies from the fourth class onwards under the immediate supervision of her maternal aunt Annamma Muricken. The aunt brought her up extremely affectionately, but equally strictly also. Her one ambition was that the child should be brought up as a respectable housewife for a deserving bridegroom. Annakutty had a vision of St. Theresa of Liseux whose life in spired her to become a religious. She therefore did not yield to any marriage proposal. Finally when she was almost compelled to be betrothed at to the church, she extricated herself from it by voluntary burning her foot placing it an ash pit of burning husks. Against such determine resistance the aunt succumbed to her desire and permitted her to join a convent.
Annakutty joined Clarist convent at Bharananganam in 1927 on the feast of Pentecost. She received the veil postulant on second August 1928 with the name Alphonsa. Her vestition was on 19th May 1930. Later she joined the St. Theresa’s School Changanacherry for higher studies, on completing which she engaged in teaching for a period of one year at Vakakkad. Sr. Alphonsa entered the novitiate on 12th August 1935. During this period, she had a sever attack of haemorrhage and it was feared that she would have to be sent back. But on the ninth day of novena held by her and the community seeking intercession of Fr. Kuriakose Elias Chavara, she was miraculously cured her. She completed the novitiate and made the solemn profession of her religious vows on 12th August 1936.
Sr. Alphonsa continued to have her repeated spells of sickness and pain. She was on a bed of thrones torn and tortured by excruciating pain and prolonged agony. She was longing to suffer even more for her own sanctification and that of the world.
She constantly advised her companions and novices to accept suffering cheerfully citing the biblical references to the grain of wheat which has to fall down and decay for raising new sprouts; it has to be ground in order to be turned into hosts for transformation as the body of Our Lord. She also reminded them of the grapes which have to be crushed for yielding wine to become the blood of the Lord.Her death (28th July 1946) was unnoticed by the public. The funeral was simple and thinly attended. But soon the school children, who loved her received favours through her intercession. Her tomb at Bharananganam turned into a great centre of pilgrimage attracting people from far and near.
H.E. Cardinal Tisserant inaugurated the diocesan process for her beatification on 2nd December 1953. The Long diocesan and subsequent apostolic processes bore fruit when on 9th November 1984 the Holy Father officially declared that she had practiced the Christian virtues heroically. A miracle wrought through her intercession was also formally approved by the Pope on 6th July 1985. Providence has been pleased to bestow on this generation the grace to see a daughter of the soil, a seed of the ancient Christian community of Kerala and India, beatified (8th February 1986) in her homeland by the Supreme Pontiff during his visit to this chosen land. The Canonization of Bl. Alphonsa was on 12th October, 2008 by H. H. Pope Benedict XVI at Vatican.
St. Alphonsa stands as a challenge to the modern world who deplores their grief and miseries. She was meant by our good God to teach us in this pleasure intoxicated age this truth: ‘unless a grain of wheat fall to the ground and decay, it cannot bear any fruit’ and that ‘he who doth not carry his cross and follow our Crucified Master is not worthy of Him’.
The striking aspects of her life were her childlike simplicity and her identification with the Crucified Christ. She had lofty esteem for the passion of Christ and was eager to fulfil in her body what was lacking in the affliction of Christ. She has held up before a questioning world, her conviction of the ultimate triumph of resignation to the Will of God and her tremendous faith in the redeeming value of suffering - physical and mental - endured on behalf of Christ. The keynote of her life was death to self and life to Christ and in Christ.
God has sent St. Alphonsa, to show us that suffering is not only useful, but necessary. She considered suffering as a gift from God. She teaches us by her example that we must suffer not only for our own sins, but for the sins of others too, as we are all members of the same Body of Christ. As Christ suffered for us, we too must suffer for one another and thus make up for what is wanting in the sufferings of Christ, since Our Lord can suffer no more, we have to suffer.
The central message that comes from the life of Alphonsa is thus only a living experience of Christ can lead us to a loving appreciation of his suffering for us and a meaningful acceptance and offering of our sufferings to the Lord in love. Because the suffering accepted with the crucified Lord is saving and redeeming.
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