Are you sometimes aware of God’s intervention in your daily lives? Sometimes He comes suddenly and in a strong handed manner, and at other moments softly and progressively. In this book, life takes place normally on a street, like many others, in a working class neighborhood of Montreal. The coming and going of the neighborhood does not reveal anything interesting at first sight. Yet, God is at work in persons who are honestly earning a living and who secretly share with Him their joys and sufferings. 

God’s action is at the heart of the life of Georgette Faniel, confined to her apartment, where she experiences the Passion of Christ with hope and confidence. Jacques Gauthier, who is aware of the different types of spirituality and who is able to discern God’s action in a receptive soul, relates in simple words  this life sacrificed out of love. 

The life of Georgette Faniel is illustrated by small tableaux more or less impressionistic. Her father, Alfred is a painter. For example, he chooses the face of his daughter to represent Mary showing her son Jesus to Ignatius of Loyola. This moment in the life of the founder of the Jesuits is a turning point in his life, and also in the life of the painter’s daughter. This tableau in the church of the Immaculate-Conception will become a privileged area of marian devotion for her. 

In this ambiance of ignatian spirituality, Georgette Faniel learns to live a life of detachment. Her first spiritual directors were the Jesuits of this parish. Without knowing the didactic side of the Spiritual Exercises and the spiritual teachings of Ignatius of Loyola, she will simply learn to put them into practice. For her, this apprenticeship will not be conceptual but a living experience. She will discover during her meditations on the life of Jesus, the greatness of God’s love. 

This deep and silent journey requires from us an availability in listening to the word of God murmuring in our ear how much He loves us as He has loved Georgette Faniel. Wasn’t it Charles de Foucauld who said that «a saint is not someone to imitate but who shows us the One we must imitate»? 

We have here a well documented and inspiring biography that reminds us what Jean Vanier said in borrowing an excerpt from Patrice de La Tour du Pin: «Each person has a sacred story to tell». More than a biography, this book is a story about God in pictures described in the heart of Georgette Faniel. Even her name disappears as she is affectionately called Mimi! 

My wish for you is to make a beautiful discovery all along these pages. May your thirst for God continue to grow! The source is Jesus Christ hanging from the cross out of love for each one of us. “If you knew the gift of God» (Jn 4,10). I chose this quotation of Jesus to the Samaritan woman in order to express a contemplative note that colors my episcopate. In recognizing God’s gift in our lives, we will finish reading this book with feelings of gratitude. Let us rediscover in our hearts as children of God these joys of wonderment that «no one will take away from us» (Jn 16, 22).  

Enjoy this sacred story in which God takes part in the life of Georgette Faniel in an exceptional manner. She offered herself as a total gift to the Father for her personal salvation and that of all humanity. 

Msgr Christian Lépine
Archbishop of Montreal

Source : Georgette Faniel, le don total. Biographie spirituelle. Montréal, Novalis, 2018, pp. 7-9.