In Lourdes, I was smacked by grace!

I went on a day-pilgrimage to Lourdes for young people from the Jura (eastern France), just tagging along with a friend from high school who was afraid of feeling bored on his own. Once there, I was smacked by grace!

There was a penitential vigil that caught me by surprise. Why not try confession? I needed to do a big introspection, having done a lot of stupid things in my short life. I went to see a priest, but I couldn't tell him anything—I just burst into tears. That’s when a whole new world opened up for me.

I felt like a wall had crumbled down inside of me. It took a while for my full conversion to take place. I returned to Lourdes the following year, and there the Blessed Virgin rocked me in her arms!

As a matter of fact, I have been rocked by "metal" music since the age of 8. At 21, I'm still a fan and I play in a Christian rock band called OMG (Oh My God). Some "metal" groups are openly Satanist. But there aren’t only Satanists out there! There are also Christian "metal fans” who don’t have it easy.

Testimony by Alexis Spitz

Famille Chretienne magazine, August 2018