| Date | 3rd of July 2008 | Type | "Alfa y Omega", supplement of the ABC newspaper |
| She felt called to something very special | |||
| Marta, a modern girl, on her way to the altars | |||
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Marta Obregón died in 1992 at the age of 22 , murdered after resisting a sexual assault. The diocese of
The death of Marta provoked the conversion of Montserrat, mother of two children and friend of Marta's mother: «I have experienced how my life as been changed –she tells us- The Lord as turned me inside out like a sock. All that I am and have is because of what He has given me. Like St. Paul, I talk about what I have seen and lived. I am not the same person any more. I only live for Him. I see Him everywhere, in my friends, in my family… If you love God you cannot help loving your brothers also. The Lord is stripping me of many things… I have fallen in love with God, like Marta.» The amazing thing is that something similar happened to Marta. She came home transformed by a trip to Taizé with the Neocatechumenal Way. Although in her adolescence she drifted a bit away from the Church, she had always received a Christian education in her home. She didn’t like her mother to warn her of dangers, wanting to stumble herself so that she could learn from experience. Fr. Saturnino López Santidrián teaches in the faculty of theology and is head of the section for degree in Spiritual Theology and professor in history of the Church. He is collecting information in order to open the process of Marta’s beatification. In the biography that he has written about her he tells us how Marta discovered in Taizé «new aspects, and, according to her mother, she returned unmistakably touched by the Lord. A prodigious re-conversion took place in her. » This profound encounter with Christ is reflected in a letter which Marta writes from France that summer to a Segovian friend: «I find myself in Taizé, on the French-Swiss border, in a sort of marvelous “summer camp” with about 6,000 people. They are people full of the joy of life who are united by Our God. We have come to spend a week here, from Sunday to Sunday…
It is curious that when you discover something important in your life and you become aware of things that are fundamental, which until then had passed unnoticed by your side, you basically feel good, at peace … Life is just great. After the storm always comes the calm.›› Marta was always a lively girl, full of overflowing and contagious joy. She reached the maximum of generosity and thought more of others then of herself. Her perseverance was immense; she was a fighter and tried to finish everything she had started. She also had a very strong personality and according to her mother she trusted in everyone. Those who knew her affirm that she was impulsive, spontaneous, very communicative and at the same time discreet and prudent, very affectionate and attentive with a firm, frank and joyful spirit.
Her last boyfriend Francisco Javier, with whom she maintained an exemplary relationship, wrote in the magazine “Círculo Joven” of February 1992 a few days after her death that True and only peace is found in God and we are all just passing by in this life. «Marta triumphed wherever she went: everyone wanted to be with her, and although she profoundly lived with us, she had her eyes placed in God. In her last notes, her articles which pointed out that, "If only we would realize what is really important in our life," is only the tip of the iceburg of the greatness of her soul. The Lord gave me Marta and the Lord took her away, but He has been so galant with me that before taking her, He separated her affectively from me so that my suffering would not be greater. I would like to finish with some words from Marta which I shared with her:
God had forgiven her
Marta had studied journalism in Madrid and was studying the last year of her career in Burgos where her parents lived. She was very studious and got good grades. She loved sports like roller-skating, track, swimming and tennis. Full of life, she made a mistake in her adolescence with a boyfriend she had, of which she later repented greatly. On coming home from Taizé, she confessed with a Priest who did not give her absolution and no one knows why. However, one day she met a priest with whom she could confess without problems. From that moment on, the oppression that she felt inside her disappeared and she experimented that God loved her in spite of everything. Full of joy and peace, she told this to her friends. God had forgiven her, she had experienced the divine mercy and she decided to get to know the Neocatechumenal Way.One of her friends, Stella tells us that << On feeling herself forgiven, she wanted to give everything to God in thanksgiving>>. She also wanted to be an itinerant lay person in order to preach the Gospel.
Her mother, Pilar, affirms that she was a girl who wanted to go about doing good, and that since she was seven years old she had wanted to be a famous journalist and transform the world. She didn’t have enough time to do it but she had time to discover the only thing that mattered: God. This was her answer to a priest who asked her how her life was going: « Right now, I only have God in my head. » Marta asked the Lord to show her the path that she should follow and to show her soon: « Oh, God, help me right now please! (There is no time… Life is much shorter then what we poor fools think. When You want You may come to get us and take us from this land where we have had to live.) Help me to quickly find You. Open wide my eyes and my heart ».She looked for God more and more and felt called to something very special, although she didn’t know what.
María del Pilar Blázquez
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