EVERY REASON TO BELIEVE

Témoignages de rencontres avec le Christ

n°217

Bicêtre Hospital operating room, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre (a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris), France

June 2017

Invited to the celestial court: the story of Chantal

Chantal Bonhomme was suffering from a severe form of sickle cell anaemia, a painful and incurable genetic disease. In 2017, her illness was complicated by a double stroke that sent her to the operating table, where she had a near-death experience (NDE). She saw heaven and heard Jesus speak to her, explaining why he was sending her back to earth. Chantal had to leave the peaceful, pain-free place she had just discovered, with great regret. The life she has led since that day has been transformed by her encounter with Christ.

Unsplash / Michael Kroul

Reasons to believe:

There was a radical change in Chantal's person after her "little visit to the celestial court". It is clear that she is striving to conform her life to what Christ has asked of her This gives credence to her testimony: "My life has totally changed because today, everything I do is in relation to the Lord". In particular, she is committed to helping children in Togo and people suffering from sickle-cell anaemia.

Chantal knows the content of a conversation that took place between her sister and a nurse, even though she was under general anesthesia. Only a supernatural grace can explain this knowledge.

During her encounter with Jesus, Chantal immediately recognised Jesus as the person standing before her: "I felt a presence. It was a very strong presence and I knew that it was Jesus. Jesus Christ was there. He didn't need to introduce himself. I felt it, it was him."

Chantal's description of the heavenly court is consistent with Catholic doctrine.

There was an inexplicable improvement in Chantal's health after the NDE. The after-effects of her strokes surprisingly disappeared, and her sickle-cell symptoms decrease considerably. Before her visit to the celestial court, she had four or five attacks a year requiring hospitalisation; now she only has two every five years: "You can judge for yourself",she says. Yet sickle cell anaemia is a chronic, incurable disease, usually accompanied by serious complications with irreversible consequences.

Chantal has written a book to tell the story of her experience: De la nuit à l'Amour (From Night to Love). This book is an eloquent testimony to the reality of Heaven: "You'll see, paradise and eternal life await us at the end".

After her encounter with Jesus during the NDE, Chantal describes a real relationship with a living person: "Today, Jesus is a faithful friend to me: he's always there when I need him, every day. He may be invisible, but in my heart he speaks to me and guides me."

Summary:

Chantal was born in Togo and has suffered from a severe form of sickle cell anaemia (homozygous form) since birth. She arrived in France in the 1990s, when she was seventeen, and managed to lead a successful life despite her serious illness: she obtained a master's degree in law and a job as an analyst in a major French bank. As her illness is mostly invisible, Chantal hides her condition whenever she can. At work, for example, her colleagues were unaware of her illness. At that time, her relationship with God was mechanical: she prayed, but without much fervour: "I prayed like I brushed my teeth." She had no personal relationship with God.

One day in June 2017, her whole life changed. She felt a crack in the back of her neck, followed by immense pain. She told her sister, who was present, that she wasn't feeling well. Chantal lost consciousness, and her sister called the fire department and an ambulance. The EMTs took her to the hospital.

Chantal was initially treated as if she were having a typical sickle cell crisis. The doctors at Hôpital Tenon eventually realised that she had in fact suffered a double aneurysm rupture, which required emergency surgery. Chantal was prepped for the operation. The anaesthetist then said: "All right, we're starting the anesthetic." Chantal made the sign of the cross. Before she was even finished, she felt herself leaving...

She arrived in an unfamiliar place, filled with silence and indescribable peace. She felt very much at home there. She was standing on a platform. In front of her, she saw thousands of people in white tunics, placed in a semi-circle in successive rows : "From their hearts came out all sorts of lights of every colour". In four rows, there were other people, in a similar order to the others, but with one notable difference: no light emanated from them and their tunics were not white, but greyish and dull.

Then Chantal heard a voice. She immediately knew it was Jesus speaking to her. There was no doubt about it. He said to her: "You can look, but you're not ready to be with them. Because I want you to be a being of light, and for that I'm sending you back to earth. For several things: to perfect your soul, to help the destitute, the afflicted, the underprivileged and the sick." But Chantal had no desire to leave this wonderful place, which felt so good... She thought about the suffering there is on earth and compared it to the serenity and well-being she felt in this place. "As someone who has lived with sickle cell anaemia for forty-four years, for once I had no pain. And Jesus was asking me to return to earth. Immediately, selfishly, I thought about my pain and I said no". Chantal said no to Jesus twice. At Jesus' third request, Chantal agreed to return to earth.

While Chantal was at the heavenly court, she was aware of a conversation that was taking place on earth about her. The doctors were telling her sister that it was just a matter of repairing two ruptured aneurysms, and that the operation wouldn't last long. But the operation took longer than expected. Concerned, Chantal's sister called the operating room: the surgeon refused to interrupt the operation, but a nurse from the operating room spoke to her. As Chantal lay sleeping in the operating room, she overheard this conversation: "That's a mystery. I don't know how to explain it. But it's a mystery. It's God."This sign lends credence to Chantal's story.

When Chantal came to after her NDE, she found herself changed. Certain traits of her character were erased, like her chronic resentment; she changed the way she dressed and acted... If what she had experienced had only been the fruit of her imagination or of the drugs she had been injected with, this experience would not have had a racdical and lasting impact on her.

Chantal likes to talk about her NDE as "her little journey", but she also acknowledges the extraordinary nature of what she experienced: "I was invited to the heavenly court." Since then, she has thrived to do what Jesus asked of her, in particular by working to set up orphanages in Togo and for an organisation fighting sickle-cell anaemia.

Chantal Bonhomme, based on her testimony presented on the Notre-Dame-de-la-Lumière YouTube channel.

Beyond reasons to believe:

Chantal's testimony is an incredible reminder of the final goal of our lives and the need to prepare for it. "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour" (Mt 25:13): conversion is a matter of urgency.

Going further:

Chantal Bonhomme, De la nuit à l'amour. Petit voyage mystique au cœur de la maladie, Éditions Emmanuel, 2018.

More information:

Chantal's video testimony on the NDML YouTube channel.
The 1000 Reasons to Believe article: "NDEs confirm Christian doctrine on the last things".
The video on the 1000 Reasons to Believe YouTube channel: We finally know what happens after death.
French prelate Michel Aupetit's video presentation on Christianity and NDEs.