Diving into the unknown

Though, given the current coronavirus situation, physically it has not been possible to hold the International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest, faithful are not entirely left without the guest speakers. At first, Jean-Luc Moens, a former professor of mathematics gives us an insight into his life.

“I was in a church, madly praying. I had already been engaged then and was close to finishing my favourite class, the math studies that I loved so much. So, I told God: please give me a sign. If you want me to continue my life as a good Christian, who prays for you every Sunday, but no more…well, it is fine with me and I’m going to carry on as it is. But, should you need something else, then guide me please! If you want something from me, show yourself! Look, here is this young guy just next to me in the church. Make him pray for me. Minutes were running for a while, I was waiting, still nothing happened. I was already about to leave, my hands on the doorknob, when I heard someone running after me. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder: “Wait, I have to pray for you”. I turned and the young guy was standing in front of me. And he started to pray for me. I haven’t heard a single word: by then I had already fallen into a trance. I knew God existed. And that He cared about me. It was an unbelievable, appalling episode. This story has definitely changed my life.”
When young, Moens was a passionate parachutist, thus no wonder that he has found similarities between evangelization and the human soul with this extreme sport.
‘Whenever I jump, only one thing puzzles me: will the parachute open? This has always filled me with excitement, and then oops, it has opened. Prior to the jumping should anyone want to check whether the parachute opens or not, they can do so on the plane. Surely it opens already in the plane, though if someone jumps this way, then he will definitely die. Thus, the only solution is to press the button after the jump only. The very same happens when it is about the Holy Spirit: the only way to really experience it, is to jump! In other words, let’s convert! Believe me, I have experienced both, be it either the parachuting or the conversion.”

Photo: CHARIS International