THE LEGACY OF PRAYER

The beauty of God has no limits, nor the great Mercy of him. The testimony that I wish to share with you on this occasion is that of María Ignacia Valbuena Báez, a native of Güicán de la Sierra, a Municipality located in the Province of Gutiérrez, in the Department of Boyacá. She had 9 siblings, 4 from her father's first marriage, and 6 from the second marriage, in which she was born.

She grew up in a family of practicing Catholic Parents. The habit of prayer could be said to be a bit rigorous. She prayed a Rosary for herself in the morning, and another at night. The Celebration of the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was a great family celebration, led by her Father. As for the devotion of the first Friday of the month, she was guided by her Mother, and everyone had to attend Mass, as well as Sunday Eucharist. María Ignacia comments that always in dangerous situations, she went to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, generally unconsciously.

In college, she was sent to a boarding school where she attended Mass, not out of conviction, but out of compliance. At the University, she dedicated herself to study and work, as she began her working life, before finishing her degree. She makes the observation that she, by then, was no longer attending church.

She is a graduate of the Universidad Javeriana, where she obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry, and a Master's Degree in Environmental Management. Since many years ago, she settled in Bogotá.

She says that, in the difficult situations of her life, on repeated occasions, she has invoked the Sacred Heart of Jesus, almost without realizing it, and despite everything, she has always saved her from many dangers.

She remembers that on one occasion she was riding in her car with a brother, and a niece, to a farm that she did not know, located in Bituima. During the journey, almost at the end of the route, she reached a point where the climb was quite steep, which had to be done very steeply, and she did so, thinking that the road continued straight, but to everyone's surprise and fear, she found a "T", in which there was a ditch, on each road. They frightened they believed that they would die; she blocked and lost consciousness, for a few minutes. When she woke up, to her great surprise she saw the car lined up, in perfect condition, parked towards one of the tracks, and away from the ditch.

They continued on that route and with joy they saw that it led them to their destination. Her relatives told her after her that she all the time she begged the Sacred Heart of Jesus to save them, she did not remember anything.

On another occasion, she one day she woke up at 3 in the morning worried, and she did not know why. She thought of an Agronomist brother, and of a niece that she had not seen for a long time. Finally she went out to look for his niece, she went away praying, she also repeated Psalm 91. When she got to the neighborhood there was an extensive green area, and she did not know what direction to take, she decided to continue in a certain direction, when she saw her niece's older girl 5-year-old, and asked about her mother, to which the little girl replied: "she has a child," and they ran away. When they arrived at the house, they were at the entrance, a Lord who had collaborated to attend the birth and the father of the newborn. She immediately went up to the room of her niece, who told her that at 3 in the morning she had started the labor pains. María Ignacia was helping him as much as she could and she fed him.

She remembers another case that occurred on Av Boyacá, when she was walking on the platform near her house. Suddenly he saw a girl coming who was walking slowly and staggering, at one point she caught with both hands of the fence of the Set through which she was passing, and began to whisper for help, she ran and realized that she was having child. There was no one around.

María Ignacia began to ask for help from the apartments, from the cars, suddenly a car of Papas “Margarita” stopped and went to the pharmacy to bring help, they treated her on the street, they cut her umbilical cord, and when they arrived two police patrols took them to the “Reina Sofía”.

María Ignacia had to take responsibility for everything, and she was the baby's godmother, since they baptized him because he was in danger of death.

At the Clinic she found out that the Girl was 23 years old, that she worked as a domestic worker, in that sector, and that day she had got up early and worked a lot, and she did not know that she was pregnant. When she arrived at the hospital, her husband cried, and she also did not know about the pregnancy.

Regarding her spiritual growth, she recalls that she began with an invitation from a coworker to a prayer group. Since she attended, she began to participate in all activities, she returned to church, and was linked to various Apostolic groups.

Currently, María Ignacia is a practicing Catholic, has studied Sacred Scripture, has been active in the different Movements, likes to help the causes of children, and pregnant women. She is a fervent Devotee of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, she fulfills the devotion of the first Friday of the month, and preserves many of the prayer habits of her house.

Faith is the best inheritance that we can receive and give to our children. "Bequeath the faith" Pope Francis told us in 2016 from the Sistine Chapel.

It is wonderful to see the Mercy of God in our life.