A great French mystic

During the history of the Church, a significant number of people have been united with Christ to the point of experiencing his Passion, during which the different states of Jesus are lived out: the surrender at Gethsemane, the way of the cross, the crucifixion, the agony of the cross, the sense of abandonment by the Father, the surrender into his hands when he said, "all is accomplished".

During such mystical experiences, the world outside no longer exists. Most of the time, those in attendance cease to be present. The person is in Jerusalem, 2000 years ago. When the person speaks, you can follow the various steps until the moment of death that seems to be real. Then, more or less quickly, the stigmatic comes back to life. Sometimes, the person is able to resume normal activity immediately. This was not, of course, the case for Marthe.

In the early 1930s, Marthe received the stigmata (wounds of Jesus Christ). At first, they were not visible. It was only later that the phenomenon became visible. Every Friday, until the end of her life, Marthe relived the Passion of Christ. The duration of the phenomenon varied over the course of time and steadily lengthened. Even though Marthe remained extremely discreet about the subject, her spiritual father gradually allowed some people to be present at this Passion. This event was witnessed by so many people that it is indisputable. The stigmata did not last throughout the life of Marthe, except for those of her forehead that remained after her death. This disappearance of the wounds is common among the stigmatics.

Around 1960, Marthe spoke of her mission to a priest:

Marthe rejected any form of morbid fascination with the cross and with suffering. To those who asked her, "Marthe, help us to love the cross, " she answered sharply : "No! We must love Jesus on the cross!"

Her life was totally directed towards this union with God, which entailed the union with Christ on the Cross. She experienced, in a very profound way, the reason for the gift of Jesus' life for men and the gift that is revealed by his death and resurrection on a cross.

Her suffering did not diminish; her body was still gravely ill. But Marthe had now "chosen" her life and had begun her mission. She wrote the following words about it:

Until her death in 1981, the radiance of her life for mankind, for the Church and for the world was rooted in God.