About a week ago, I had the amazing opportunity to hear Immaculée Ilibagiza speak. Many of our readers may be famliar with Immaculée’s name from her best-selling book, Left to Tell, which chronicles her experience as a survivor of the Rwandan genocide. Since the release of her first book in 2006, three more have followed. She now travels around the world sharing her experience, and above all, her journey of faith. I will not get into too many details of the story (you have to read the book!), but you don’t need to know a lot to understand that Immaculée endured incredible hardship, and yet she has incredible faith. As a member of the minority Tutsi tribe, her family was targeted during the genocide. Immaculée, a 20 year-old college student at the time, was the youngest child in her Catholic family, with three older brothers. Afraid for her safety, her parents sent her to a family friend, where she hid in a bathroom with seven other women for 91 days.
While there are many other incredible details of her story, I want to focus on the message of her talk. During her time in hiding, Immaculée had ample time for reflection. In fact, that is about all she could do in the tiny cramped bathroom, where the women literally sat on top of each other to fit. Immaculée found peace in praying the rosary beads that her father gave her the last time she saw him. Those rosary beads and the close on her back were the only possessions she had in the world. With her prayer, which fortified her against her tremendous fears, came some incredible spiritual insights, which she shared with us:
1. “God is there, God is real.” “Even in your darkest hour, God is very near you, even more near you. Perhaps because in the times of joy we forget him.” Above all, Immaculée’s message was one of hope. In her darkest hour, on the brink of being found and killed by her oppressors, she heard God calling to her, Don’t crush, don’t die. I am with you. Remember me? She is living proof that with God, all things are possible. “To think shat I would lose my whole family and could still feel God in my heart is a miracle, the grace of God,” said Immaculée.
2. “Forgiveness is possible. It is completely a grace of God.” God tells us to forgive your enemies, but imagine having to forgive people who are trying to kill you. Imagine having to forgive the person who took the life of someone you love, all because of how you look, the way you were born. As Immaculée said, “God, you don’t know my enemies. They are really bad!” However, reflecting on the Sorrowful Mysteries and the Passion of our Lord, these words came to her: They know not what they do. “When we step into selfishness, hatred, we go to that bad place…No one is evil. All of us are capable to do evil, but also all of us are capable to change.” Immaculée decided she wanted to be “on the side of love”: “Why compete with evil? On the side of love, there are people who have known suffering, injustice, and no matter what they suffered, they will stand up for love.”
3. “God is almighty.” How often we underestimate the power of God! Hearing Immaculée’s story, it is nothing less than miraculous. “Our prayers have the capacity to change our future,” said Immaculée. When she would doubt, sure she would be found and killed, she hear God telling her, I am almighty. Do you know what that means? “If you feel a calling in your heart, if you have a dream, just go for it. Remember that God is almighty…If you focus on just doing your best, don’t even worry about how God will answer your prayers. He has many ways to reach out to you. It’s not an easy thing to keep in mind, but try to.”
4. “Treat people good who are around you. You don’t know how long they will be there.” This was one of the most memorable parts of Immaculée’s talk, because it’s something we can all do. Most of us probably do not fear for our lives everyday, but we all have loved ones to whom we can be kinder. Immaculée credits her family for her faith: “To this day, my family taught me how to live my life…There is not one day for all my life I remember that we did not spend praying together.” She urged all of us, “Be grateful for the people you have in your life. Take a chance to remind them that you love them, because they are a gift and you don’t know how much longer they are going to be there. They are all a gift. Be happy.”
Some of you might be thinking, “That’s amazing, but how sad! I don’t know if I could read that book – it sounds so heavy!” But that’s exactly what’s most remarkable about Immaculée. Despite the immense tragedy and hardship she has experienced, she is joyful. You can see it on her face, hear it in her voice; even in the way she walks and moves – there is such joy. I am not saying that you will hear her story with dry eyes (I sure didn’t!), but I am saying that it is more than just a tragic story to remind us how blessed we are (though it does that, too). It is a story of redemption, and the triumph of the human spirit, the power of faith. Immaculée is truly one of the most joyful and inspiring people I have ever encountered, and truly deserving to be called a Wonder Woman.
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Princess Prayer 