Louis, soon to be baptized, has ‘finally found God’

“I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” These are the words that thousands of catechumens around the world are preparing to hear on Easter night when they are baptized. Throughout Lent, Aleteia is sharing with you the stories of some of these men and women, who are happy to become children of God. Read all of the testimonies here.

“As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?” (Ps. 42) Louis searched for God for a long time. Although he only came to faith later in life, this former soldier, who is now at the head of his metrology consultancy, proudly admits that he chose to become a Catholic.

“I’m fortunate to have made this profound choice. The great grace of catechumens is to receive this vibrant call to follow Christ,” he tells Aleteia. “I’d never really believed in it until I really felt it.” After years of journeying, Louis is preparing to be baptized at Easter at the age of 53.

Louis, born Karim, is the product of a mixed marriage between a Tunisian of Muslim tradition and a woman from the Vendée region of France, of Catholic tradition. Although he was raised for part of his life by rather conservative Catholic grandparents, he wasn’t baptized and didn’t attend mass at all. He recalls, “Without being a stranger to the Catholic faith, I didn’t really know it. Having a Muslim father and a Christian mother had led to a form of flexibility, while growing up in a communist city (Bègles, editor’s note) where atheism was strong.”

I’m not afraid of abandoning my faith, but of not being able to live up to this love during the time I have left to live. If only I could give back a thousandth of what he does for me!

However, at the age of 21, Louis had his first encounter with God. This encounter was as fleeting as it was powerful. While on a commando course in the mountains, not far from Barcelonnette, Louis found himself with his comrades on a ridge line.

Faced with the immensity of creation on the top of these jagged Alps, the young man was overcome. “I felt something indefinable: I felt both great and very small. I felt that I wasn’t alone. Later, I understood that I had finally had a first encounter with God.” But God likes to take his time. His time, which has no measure, except that of eternity. He’s the master of circumstances. So, the second encounter would take place only 20 years later.

Louis was in Tunisia, where he was going through a “great inner upheaval” related to a broken heart. “I felt lost. I was going through a kind of crisis and I needed to refocus,” he recalls. With a group from an association, he left Carthage to follow a pilgrimage route (the Via Augustina, in the footsteps of St. Augustine). For a fortnight, he walked alongside religious sisters. His conversations with them illuminated his soul.

And then, in front of a baptistery of an abandoned basilica, an inner explosion occurred. “There, I knew. I knew that this was what I was looking for; that I had finally found God.” Since he was married to a Muslim woman, who wasn’t very religious either, Louis was concerned about how those around him would react.

“I was afraid of rejection. I was very apprehensive, especially that people would look at me differently. But my wife has been a great support, and she even accompanied me when I applied for baptism,” he admits.

When Louis went to Mass for the first time, he had an almost mystical experience. “When Mass ended, I was unable to leave the church,” he recalls. “It was as if I were glued to my chair, and I was petrified by the grandeur of what I had just experienced. I was like a newborn baby just out of its mother’s womb; leaving the church felt like being torn away. But I was finally complete. A deep inner joy flooded through me.”

After a year and a half of catechumenate, Louis says that his conversion has “soothed” him. He makes no secret of his eagerness to receive the sacrament of baptism, for which he has chosen his new first name. “I’m no longer searching for God. I’m with him, or rather he’s with me, but I’m never alone. I’ve found a confidant and a friend.”

A few weeks away from the long-awaited day, Louis says he feels his faith strengthened “day after day.” His only fear is that he will run out of time on this earth to bear witness. “Receiving God’s message is a great grace, but it must be shared, otherwise all is lost. I’m not afraid of abandoning the faith, but of not being able to live up to this love during the time I have left to live. If only I could give back a thousandth of what He does for me!”

Read more:Thomas, soon to be baptized: “Christ never gave up on me”

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