“I believe in God and my life is only for God.” Those words from Anne-Sophie, 60, sum up the path she has been traveling since she was young. A mother of three and a grand-mother, she came to the Shrine at Montligeon to attend all Saints’ Day celebration in 2024. She comes back each year, convinced that prayer unites the living and the departed. She regards this pilgrimage as a way to pay tribute to the members of her family registered with the Fraternity, and also to entrust her loved ones to the love of the Lord. Her faith builds on a promise that she received as a teenager from her grandmother when she was dying. Her words conveyed a spiritual treasure to her.
I believe in God
Anne-Sophie has never forgotten the phone call she received from her grandmother, hospitalized in Martinique. As she was about to die, her grandmother said to her: “My little darling girl, the only friend you will ever have in your life who will never forsake you is the Lord Jesus.”
Those words still echo in her heart, 38 years later. She says in confidence: “I have been clinging to the Lord and still cling to Him every day.” Her faithfulness to God built on that certainty that was conveyed in suffering. Today, she gives thanks for this living faith which guides every decision she makes and encourages her to share her testimony. Thus, her “I believe in God” is rooted in a deeply personal experience, hallmarked with trust and hope.
A prayer that crosses borders
Anne-Sophie has been coming to Montligeon faithfully for five or six years. She registers her deceased as well as other people she has met in her life. She regards this as a way to make sure that a prayer will always be said for them. “If no member of their family prays, at least someone here and other people in the world will pray for them.” She knows that the Fraternity’s prayer crosses borders and meets the souls through Christian hope. Her commitment does not stop at that stage though. She chose to register some living people too, because she knows for sure that a number of them do not go to Mass and do not pray. She entrusts their names in particular, because she is convinced that the Lord supports them and that the Blessed Mother protects them under her mantle.
God holds everyone by the hand
Anne-Sophie’s approach to faith is reflected by her joy, simple but deep. “I am happy when I come here. So happy.” Her testimony is proof that saying “I believe in God” is not a theoretical assertion but a living relationship with Christ and Virgin Mary. She knows that despite ordeals, God holds everyone by the hand. This particular certainty drives her to come back year after year in Montligeon, in a momentum of love and gratitude. Her story is an invitation to avoid from keeping faith for oneself but to offer it as a gift through prayer, for the living as for the deceased.
Join the Fraternity Notre-Dame de Montligeon and entrust your deceased or living loved ones to our prayers. Together, let us proclaim: “I believe in God.”
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