Medjugorje: The inexplicable healing of a Belgian woman

Pascale Gryson-Selmeci, an inhabitant of the Belgian Braban, bride and mother of the family, testifies to her healing which took place in Medjugorje on Friday 3 August after taking Communion during the Holy Mass. The lady suffering from a "leukoencephalopathy", a rare and incurable disease whose symptoms belong to those of plaque sclerosis, participates in the pilgrimage organized at the end of July, on the occasion of the pilgrimage of young people. Patrick d'Ursel, one of the organizers, witnessed his recovery.

According to witnesses, this inhabitant of the Belgian Braban was sick from the age of 14, and was no longer able to express himself. After taking Holy Communion, Pascale felt a strength within him. To the surprise of her husband and loved ones, she starts talking and ... gets up from her chair! Patrick d'Ursel collected Pascale Gryson's testimony.

„I had asked for my recovery for a long time. You have to know that I was sick for more than 14 years. I have always been a believer, a deeply believer, in the service of the Lord throughout my life, and therefore when the first symptoms (of the illness) manifested themselves during the first years, I asked and pleaded. Other members of my family also joined in my prayers but the answer I was waiting for did not arrive (at least the one I expected) but others arrived! - at a certain point, I said to myself that, without a doubt, the Lord prepared other things for me. The first responses I got were graces for being able to better bear my illness, the grace of Strength and Joy. Not a continuous but profound joy in the deepest part of the soul; one could say the supreme point of the Soul which, even in the darkest moments, remained at the mercy of the joy of God. I firmly believe that the hand of God has always remained on me. I never even doubted His love for me, although this illness could have made me doubt God's love for us.

For some months now, my husband David and I have received a pressing call to go to Medjugorje, without knowing what Mary was preparing for us, seemed an absolutely irresistible force. This strong call surprised me a lot, especially for the fact that we had received it in pairs, my husband and I, with the same intensity. Our children, on the other hand, remained completely indifferent, it almost seemed that they were refractory to illness as far as God ... They asked me continually why God granted healing to some and others not. My daughter said to me: "Mom, why are you praying, not praying for your recovery?". But I had accepted my illness as a gift from God after many years of walking.

I would like to share with you what this disease has given me. I think I wouldn't be the person I am now if I hadn't had the grace of this disease. I was a very confident person; the Lord had given me gifts from the human point of view; I was a brilliant, very proud artist; I had studied the art of speech and my schooling had been easy and a little out of the ordinary (...). In summary, I think this disease has opened my heart wide and cleared my gaze. Because this is a disease that affects your whole being. I truly lost everything, I hit rock bottom both physically, spiritually and psychologically, but I was also able to experience and understand in my heart what others lived. Illness therefore opened my heart and my gaze; I think that before I was blind and now I can see what others are experiencing; I love them, I want to help them, I want to be next to them. I was also able to experience the richness and beauty of the relationship with others. Our relationship as a couple has deepened beyond all hope. I could never have imagined such depth. In a word I discovered Love (...).

Shortly before leaving for this pilgrimage, we decided to bring our two children with us. My daughter therefore has me - I can say "given the order" - to pray for my recovery, not because I wanted or wanted it, but because she wanted it (...). I thus encouraged them, both she and my son, to ask her for this grace themselves, for their mother and they did it by overcoming all their difficulties or interior revolt.

On the other hand, for my husband and I, this trip represented an unimaginable challenge. Starting with two wheelchairs; not being able to stay seated, we needed an armchair that could recline as much as possible, so we rented one; we had an unequipped van but "willing arms" showed up several times to bring me, to go out and then come back ...

I will never forget the solidarity which, for me, is the greatest sign of the existence of God. For all those who have helped me since I could not speak, for the welcome of the organizers, for each person who has had even a single gesture of solidarity towards me, I begged the Gospa to grant him her special and maternal blessing and to give him back a hundredfold of the good of what each of them had given to me. My greatest wish was to witness Mary's appearance in Mirjana. Our escort made it possible for my husband and I to participate. And so I lived the grace that I will never forget: various people took turns in carrying me with the sedan chair in the compact crowd, challenging the laws of the impossible, so that I could reach the place where the apparition of Mary would take place (... ). A missionary religious spoke to us, repeating to us the message that Mary had intended above all for the sick (...).

The following day, Friday 3 August, my husband walked through the mount of the cross. It was very hot and my biggest dream was to be able to accompany him. But there were no porters available and my condition was very difficult to manage. It was preferable that I stay in bed ... I will remember that day as the "most painful" of my illness ... Although I had the apparatus for the respiratory system attached, every breath was difficult for me (...). Even though my husband had left with my consent - and I never wanted him to give up - I was unable to perform any of the simpler actions such as drinking, eating or taking medicine. I was nailed to my bed ... I didn't even have the strength to pray, face to face with the Lord ...

My husband returned very happy, deeply touched by what he had just experienced on the way of the cross. Full of compassion for me, without even having to explain the least thing to him, he understood that I had lived the path of the cross in my bed (...).

At the end of the day, despite the fatigue and exhaustion, Pascale Gryson and her husband went to Jesus the Eucharist. The lady continues:
I left without a respirator, because the weight of several kg of that device resting on my legs had become unbearable. We arrived late ... I dare hardly say it ... to the proclamation of the Gospel ... (...). Upon our arrival, I began to implore the Holy Spirit with unspeakable joy. I asked him to take possession of my whole being. I again expressed my desire to belong completely to him in body, soul and spirit (...). The celebration continued until the moment of Communion, which I awaited intensely. My husband took me to the line that had been created at the back of the church. The priest crossed the aisle with the Body of Christ, passing all the other people waiting in line, heading directly towards us. We both took Communion, the only ones in the row at that time. We moved away to give way to others and because we could start our action of grace. I felt a powerful and sweet scent (...). I then felt a force crossing me from one side to the other, not a heat but a force. Unused muscles up to that point have been hit by a current of life. I therefore said to God: „Father, Son and Holy Spirit, if you think you are doing what I believe, that is, to realize this unthinkable miracle, I ask you for a sign and a grace: make sure that I can communicate with my husband ". I turned to my husband and tried to say "do you feel this perfume?" He replied in the most normal way in the world "no, my nose is a bit clogged"! Then I replied "obvious", because he didn't feel mine voice for a year now! And to wake him up I added "hey, I'm talking, can you hear me?". At that moment I understood that God had done his work and in an act of faith, I pulled my feet out of the armchair and stood up. All the people around me at that time realized what was happening (...). The following days, my status improved hour by hour. I no longer want to sleep continuously and the pains related to my illness have given way to incurvations due to physical effort that I had not been able to perform for 7 years now ...

"How did your children hear the news?" Asks Patrick d'Ursel. Pascal Gryson's answer:
I think the boys are very happy but it must however be specified that they have known me almost only as a patient and that it will take some time for them to adapt too.

What do you want to do now in your life?
It is a very difficult question because when God offers a grace, it is an enormous grace (...). My greatest desire, which is also that of my husband, is to show us grateful and faithful to the Lord, to his grace, and as far as we are capable of it, not to disappoint him. So to be truly concrete, what seems clear to me at the moment is that I can finally take on the responsibility of being a mother and bride. This thing is a priority.

My deep hope is that of being able to live a life of prayer in the same way parallel to that of incarnated, earthly life; a life of contemplation. I would also like to be able to answer all those people who will ask me for help, whoever they are. And to witness the love of God in our life. It is probable that other activities will come before me but, right now, I do not want to make some decisions without a deep and clear discernment, helped by a spiritual guide and under the gaze of God.

Patrick d'Ursel thanks Pascale Gryson for his testimony, but asks that the photos that may have been taken during the pilgrimage not be disseminated especially on the Internet to safeguard this mom's private life. And he states: „Pascale could also have a relapse, because such events have already occurred. We need to be cautious as the Church herself asks for it. "