Louis Massignon and Mary Kahil

FR. LOUIS MASSIGNON and MARY KAHIL – BADAL

In the 19th century an important part of the Apostolate of Prayer emphasized a spirit of sacrifice inspired by a love for Jesus. It unified two forms of giving oneself to God: renunciation and offering. Today we might understand renouncing oneself for God as a way of allowing God's life in us to increase in order that we grow to become more like Christ in our daily interactions and relationships with others. In the early part of the 20th century the idea also included an offering of oneself for the sake of another.

This was grounded in the understanding of the meaning of the mystery of the sacrifice of Jesus who accepted his death on a cross that we might have life. In imitation of Jesus, those who followed this path felt called to offer their lives to God for the spiritual well being of others.

Pope John Paul ll chose Assisi to gather world religious leaders together to pray in honor of Saint Francis' mission of peace. In 1934 a renowned French Catholic Islamic scholar and an Egyptian Christian woman also prayed together before the altar of a Franciscan Church in Damietta, Egypt. In a passionate plea to the God of Abraham, father of Jews, Christians, and Muslims, they made a vow to dedicate their lives to pray for the Muslim people, to stand before God for them.

As a young man, Louis Massignon had lost interest in his Christian heritage. After an unusual conversion experience while on an archeological mission in Baghdad he became a devout Roman Catholic believer. Through years of research in the Arab world he came to love his Muslim friends and colleagues. Mary Kahil was a Melkite Christian who grew up in Cairo, Egypt where she became active in the Muslim women's political and social causes.

Louis discovered the roots of his spirituality and his faith life in his belief that to be a follower of Christ we must substitute our own lives for the salvation of others as Jesus did. Thus the vow that Louis and Mary made in Damietta on February 9th, 1934 was grounded in a deep conviction of the heart, a call to what Louis named the Badaliya, an Arabic word meaning substitution. (Dorothy Buck)

BADALIYYA – PHILIPPINES

May 19, 019