Friends for Jesus

[marie]

I share Ingrid bettancourt's words on her faith, from an interview to a french magazine.

I give thanks to my father for the translation.




INGRID BETANCOURT: “MY FAITH SAVED ME”

The most famous former hostage in the world went to the Sacré-coeur in Montmartre on this Sunday 6th July to thank Jesus and the Virgin Mary for her liberation. After her prayer Ingrid Betancourt spoke to the Pélerin to explain how her faith was present in the most painful moments of her captivity.

It was on Sunday 6th July, in the evening, following the 10 PM mass in the Basilica of the Sacré-Coeur which dominates Paris from the heights of the Butte Montmartre. Ingrid had insisted on making this pilgrimage with those close to her: her children Mélanie and Lorenzo, her mother Yolanda, her sister Astrid and a few others. Because she wanted to keep a promise made during her captivity: to thank firstly and above all Jesus and the Virgin Mary for her liberation.

She and her family prayed in a chapel situated behind the chancel of the Basilica. In spite of the late hour and being tired, Ingrid accepted to give an interview to the readers of the Pélerin for more than half an hour. She explained the faith which kept her going during her ordeal, her love for Jesus and Mary, her readings of the Bible and the Gospels which gave her the strength not to yield to hatred against her jailers.

Your first movement as a free woman was to make the sign of the cross, your first words were to thank God and the Virgin Mary. Why did you feel such a need ?

Whilst I was in captivity, I had resolved, when the moment of freedom would come, to thank firstly Our Lord. Why ? Because had the Lord not been at my side, I do not think I could have grown in stature with all that pain. To be a hostage puts you in a situation of constant humiliation. You are the victim of a totally arbitrary environment, you get to know what is vilest in the human soul.

Faced with this, there are two ways. Either you become bitter, bad-tempered, vindictive, you allow your heart to be filled with rancour. Or, you choose another way, the one shown to us by Jesus. He asks us to “Bless our enemy”. Every time I read the Bible, I could feel that these words applied to me, as if He was in front of me, and that He knew what to tell me. And this went straight to my heart.

Of course, I know that when the enemy is atrocious, it is difficult to be faithful to these words. In spite of this, as soon as I started thinking “Bless your enemy” – whilst I wanted to think the exact opposite – it was magic, there was some kind of…. relief. And, quite simply the horror disappeared. I could tell you about similar things for days. I know and I can feel that I am transformed, and I owe this transformation to this contact, to this capacity to listen to what God wanted for me. It was a constant dialogue with God through the Gospel!

Was this faith, which carried you through all those years, there from the first day? Was there a special event? Was there a particular thought that made you turn towards God?

I shall tell you a story in two phases, which would almost make me laugh, as I remember these episodes so well. At the beginning of my captivity, I told myself: ”Right, you will be spending months and months here, so you might as well read the Bible” which I did not know. When I opened it, my eyes fell on the epistles of Saint Paul. I will quote him from memory, but it was roughly like this “You can ask for what you want, but in any case the Holy Spirit will ask for it better, because he knows better than you what your needs are.” When I read this, I cried to myself: “My God, that’s fine, but what I want I know already, it is to be free!” Six years later, when reading the same epistle, I have at last understood: “ It was fortunate the Holy Spirit was there to pray for me, because I am incapable of asking what is needed.” There we are …..


And this faith never left you? Did you never feel moments of being abandoned, of solitude?

It is true that the first year I was fighting God. I had a terrible grudge against him because of the death of my father.
I used to say to him “Why did you do that to me when you know that I adore you? Why do you punish me?”
Then I understood that I should thank Him for having taken him away, since papa could not have been able to stand these six years of horror. So yes, I can say that my faith increased continually.

It’s curious, but it was as if things were happening in order that I could understand other ones. I must tell you about my discovery of Mary. Papa had a great devotion for the Virgin whereas, I must say, at the time I used to find Mary a little bit…. silly. Let’s say She was not really the image of the woman of my dreams.

And then during my captivity, I read the gospels again and I became full of admiration for the Virgin. Probably because to understand the Virgin, one must have lived, acquired a certain maturity. And I am beginning to find this young girl who accepts to have a child when she had a completely different life plan really sensational. She takes all the risks. For many Christians, these things are well known, but for me, it was a discovery. I found a Mary who was strong, a Mary who was wise, a Mary who had a sense of humour ……

I will tell you: I fell in love with Mary when reading the gospel of Saint John, when he tells the story of the wedding feast at Cana. I find this dialogue between Mary and Jesus quite extraordinary. Their complicity is brilliant. In spite of all the reasons given by Jesus to his mother, she already knows that he will do as she wishes, that he will change the water into festive wine out of love for her. When reading this passage, I couldn’t help thinking of the relationship with my son Lorenzo.

You have insisted in coming tonight to the Sacré Coeur basilica. What meaning to you give to this pilgrimage?

For about seven years, I made a lot of promises to Our Lady and I’ll tell you something that has a special significance for me. On June 1st, I was listening to Radio Catolica Mundial and I learnt that June was the month for celebrating the Sacred Heart. Well, the last time I saw my father, the day before his death, we were sitting in his room, under a picture of the Sacred Heart. Papa took my hand, looked at the picture and asked “Sacred Heart take care of my loved one, take care of my child.” So, when I heard talk of the Sacred Heart on the radio, I took special notice.

I did not immediately understand the story of Margaret-Mary – in fact I have only just learnt her name. But I understood that, like her, one who was devoted to the Sacred Heart would be blessed. I remember in particular one blessing, that of Jesus promising to reach the hard-hearted who make us suffer. So, I prayed: “My Jesus, I have never asked you for anything because you are so great that I am ashamed to appeal to you. But now, I will ask you something quite definite. I don’t know what “to consecrate oneself to the Sacred Heart” really means, but if you tell me the date on which I shall be freed during the month of June, which is your month, I shall be yours entirely.” And on June 27th, one of the guerrilla leaders comes to the camp and tells us to prepare ourselves, because one of us is to be freed. When he spoke, I thought “ That’s it, He is on time.” My liberation happened in a very different way, but the fact that Jesus kept his word: I live it as a miracle.”
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"PRAYER IS JOY, PRAYER IS WHAT THE HUMAN HEART DESIRES"
"IF YOU KNEW HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU, YOU WOULD CRY OUT OF JOY" Our lady of Medjugorje
“If you could see how precious the tiniest of your prayers is,” says the Gospa. “You would pray constantly!”
"O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You."
"pray, pray, pray" Our Lady in Medjugorje
"God doesn't realize all our desires, but he realises all his promises" D.Bonhoeffer

[Amylisa]

Wow....I never heard of this woman before. How amazing!
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For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
1Cor.11:26
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