Articles

March-April 2001 article from Immaculata magazine

"A Love to Die For"
 by Shevawn Pearson - MI national youth coordinator

“P.S. Honestly, I want to live completely for God. It’s hard and scary, but totally worth it.”

Sixteen-year-old Cassie Bernall wrote those prophetic words in a note the night before she was killed and handed it to her friend Amanda the next morning at school. One of Cassie’s favorite quotes was: “If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live.”

For Cassie, Columbine High in Littleton, Colorado, was a modern day Colosseum where in 1999 she heroically manifested her love for Jesus Christ as something to die for.

The following are testimonies of Cassie’s last moments and how she said yes... it was hard, it was scary, but totally worth it!

Crystal:

Sara, Seth, and I had just gone over to the library to study, like any other day. We had been there maybe five minutes, when a teacher came running in, yelling that there were kids with guns in the hall. Then we heard shots, first down the hall, then coming closer and closer. Mrs. Nielson was yelling at us to get under the tables, but no one listened.

Then a kid came in and dropped to the floor. There was blood all over his shoulder. We got under our table, fast. Then Eric and Dylan came into the library, shooting and saying things like: “We’ve been waiting to do this our whole lives,” and cheering after each shot. Their voices sounded scary, evil.

 Josh:

I couldn’t see anything when the guys came up to Cassie, but I could recognize her voice. I could hear everything like it was right next to me.

One of them asked her if she believed in God. She paused . . . and then she said yes. She must have been scared, but her voice didn’t sound shaky. It was strong.

Then they asked her why, though they didn’t give her a chance to respond. They just blew her away.

If you were staring down the barrel of a gun and asked if you believe in God, would you say yes? Stop and think about it. You are sitting in the school library. Your thoughts are on the upcoming Chemistry quiz, whether or not you will be asked to prom, and what you plan to do when school lets out.

Two guys dressed in black erupt into your world, point a gun in your face and say, “Do you believe in God?”

Suddenly life is jolted into its true perspective.

Do I believe? Would you say yes? Why or why not?

When I was in the fifth grade, this cute little Indian boy from my class handed me a folded up note that read: “Do you like me? Circle one: Yes. No. Maybe.”
Well, though I kind of liked this boy, I wasn’t so sure I was ready to declare my love for him. He was very shy and quiet, but the sweet little things he would do for me always made my heart skip a beat or two.

This could be love!

Then, my senses came back to me . . . what would my friends think of me? After all, he wasn’t at all popular among our classmates and I might be seen as a loser.

“Do you like me?” What was I to say? I was too afraid of “yes,” “no” was less than true, so in my uncertainty I circled “maybe.”

Jesus sends us love notes every day asking: “Do you love me?” In the simple things that come your way, are you ready to declare your love for him? Though he may sometimes seem very quiet, do you see the little and big things he does for you?

If your heart is telling you to say “yes” to Christ’s love, are you too afraid your friends might label you a loser if you were to go public?

Do you love Christ? Circle one: Yes. No. Maybe.

Just the night before Cassie was martyred, she responded to God’s “love notes” by scribbling in a note: “I want to live completely for God!” There was no maybe, no middle of the road. She “circled” yes. Cassie discovered a Love worth dying for; and neither life nor death, nor powers or principalities, can separate her from the love of Christ (cf, Rom 8:38).

The following words to youth from Pope John Paul II lend the perfect backdrop to Cassie Bernall’s heroic testimony of faith and love. If you have ever been afraid of being labeled a “loser” for your love for Christ, read on.

Pope John Paul II:

“You who are persecuted! Blessed are you!” (These) words of Jesus may seem strange. He says to them; “Blessed are you who seem to be losers, because you are true winners, the kingdom of heaven is yours!”

You are aware of another voice within you and all around you, a contradictory voice. It is a voice that says, “Blessed are the proud and the violent, those who prosper at any cost, who are unscrupulous, pitiless, devious, who make war not peace, and persecute those who stand in their way.”

And this voice seems to make sense in a world where the violent often triumph and the devious seem to succeed.

Jesus offers a very different message. His call has always demanded a choice between the two voices competing for your hearts . . . the choice between good and evil, between life and death.

Which voice will the young people of the twenty-first century follow?

To put faith in Jesus means choosing to believe what he says, no matter how strange it may seem, and choosing to reject the claims of evil, no matter how sensible or attractive they may seem. . . .

He is always with you to transform your weakness into strength. Trust him when he says: “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor 12:9)!

Eric and Dylan thought Cassie was a loser for her declaration of faith in the face of death. To that I say, along with Pope John Paul II: “Blessed are you who seem to be losers, because you are true winners, the kingdom of heaven is yours!”

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