The businesswoman Sarindhorn Mativachranon shares her testimony of losing wealth, her family, and business fortune and then finding Christianity, which helped her forgive her enemies and recover her real treasures. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
Business magnate Mary Sarindhorn Mativachranon of Thailand was a fugitive from the law for more than a decade, accused of a crime that she didn’t commit.
She told delegates of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress that in her desperation, she nearly wanted to kill herself.
“I kept asking God to take me away. I looked around my room for a knife, or a rope, anything that could end my miserable being. I prayed feverishly, and was jolted awake when I felt like someone had spoken to me—it was God telling me not to give up,” Mativachranon said.
Today, after being cleared of liability, it’s been her mission to evangelize her countrymen.
“In Thai society where the majority of the population is Buddhist and most Christians do not dare announce their religion, I try my best to live my life in such a way that people see Christ in me,” said the 66-year-old grandmother.
A 54-year-old delegate from Mindanao, Rosanna Alona, said she could relate to Mativachranon’s story since she lived in a predominantly Muslim province where she often feels persecuted for being Catholic.
“Her story has inspired me to believe that one day, my internal persecution will end, and I will be able to live out Christ freely, attend mass freely, and share my stories about the Eucharist as well,” Alona said.
Alona, a mother of two, said she was moved by the final catechesis of the Congress Proper, given by New York Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan on Mother Mary’s role.
“The Eucharist is the family meal, and Mary is the Mother, the light of that meal, and right there on that table is Jesus Christ. You want to be closer to Jesus? Then be close to Mary because she is right there next to him,” Dolan said.
Davao City delegate Mercedita Ang said of her eight-day experience in the IEC that she appreciated Dolan’s emphasis on Mary’s role in the Eucharist.
Others who shared their experiences were Chinese priest Joseph Cardinal Zen, Belgian Catholic Marianne Servaas, circus juggler Paul Ponce and his family, Japanese Kei-ichi Sugawara, and former scavenger and street child-turned-advocate Ma. Georgia Cogtas.
“I feel that with everything I have learned in the past few days, I can go to the Statio Orbis Mass, prepared and spiritually ready, then return to my home and live out Christ in my community, and especially in my family,” said Andrew Tyler, a 31-year-old Australian delegate.