The NDE of Saint Christina the Astonishing, a source of conversion to Christ

Saint Christina the Astonishing (1150 - 1224) was a young Flemish girl who died at the age of twenty, but woke up in the middle of her funeral. She recounted having visited heaven, purgatory and hell. She was so moved by what she saw that she decided to spend the rest of her life suffering for the salvation of poor sinners. She was a pioneer among the "holy women" of the Liège diocese. An itinerant preacher and beggar, she inspired her contemporaries to conversion and accompanied the dying, when she was not subject to mystical ecstasies. The story of her life reads like a spiritual adventure novel.

Saint Christine the Admirable / © CC BY-SA 4.0/Patrick3Lopez

Reasons to believe:

The life of Saint Christina the Astonishing is recounted by the theologian Thomas de Cantimpré, her biographer, contemporary and fellow Belgian. Christina's "resurrection" was witnessed by all the people present at her funeral, and "amazed the whole town of Sint-Truiden, which had witnessed this miracle".

After her experience of death, Christina devoted herself fervently to the search for God, thrrough a rare vocation of a "willing victim for souls in danger of perdition". Her life of extreme asceticism and penance was motivated by the very powerful and extraordinary "next life" experiences she had, like the visit to purgatory and hell she describes.

Her life was full of extraordinary mystical phenomena that amazed the people of her time. In particular, her gift of prophecy was reported: she accurately foretold the capture of Jerusalem by the Saracens (1187), the massacre at the Battle of Muret (1213), as well as events affecting people around her.

Saint Robert Bellarmine (1542 - 1621), a Doctor of the Church, wrote of her four hundred years later: "God willed to silence those libertines who make open profession of believing in nothing, and who have the audacity to ask in scorn, Who has returned from the other world? Who has ever seen the torments of Hell or Purgatory? Behold two witnesses. They assure us that they have seen them and that they are dreadful. What follows, then, if not that the incredulous is inexcusable, and that those who believe and nevertheless neglect to do penance are still more to be condemned?"

Having lived before Pope Urban VIII, Christina was not formally canonised by the Holy See, but only by the vox populi. She was stubbornly considered a saint in her native Limburg, which bears witness to the extraordinary aspects of her life and the impression she made on people who knew or met her.

Summary:

Christina was the youngest of three daughters born to devout farmers. She was orphaned at the age of fifteen and was responsible for taking the herds to pasture.

Her death

In the 1170s, Christiana was in her early twenties when one day, in the field, she had a major seizure and died in the middle of the day, surrounded by the people of her village. Her body was taken to the parish church and placed in a coffin, which lay open for three days, awaiting her funeral.

Her resurrection

That day, the whole village gathered in the church; her sisters wept. But during the service, Christina suddently "rose in full vigour, astonishing the whole town of Saint-Trond, which had witnessed this prodigy". Christina sat up in her coffin, arms crossed. The audience was petrified. They rushed over, comforted her and fed her.

Her testimony

Then, "the astonishment increased when they heard from her own mouth what had happened to her after her death. She described what she had seen. Her story is exactly similar to modern NDEs (Near Death Experiences) popularised by the accounts of the American doctor Raymond Moody (Life After Life, 1983).

Christina recounts how, at the moment of her death, she first left her body and flew above the assembly of those who were with her. This first phase of her story deeply impressed the people of her time, who depicted her wearing wings and taking to the skies.

Purgatory

She continued, according to the account by the theologian Thomas de Cantimpré: "As soon as my soul had been separated from my body, I was received by the angels who led me to a very dark place, entirely filled with souls". The angels conducted her to a very gloomy place, entirely filled with souls enduring such torments that it was impossible to describe them. "I saw many of my acquaintances among them and, deeply touched by their sad condition, I asked if it was hell, but was told it was purgatory."

Hell

Christine then recounts that her guardian angels took her to hell, where she recognised people she had met in the past. She says she couldn't stand the smell of the sinners next to her.

Paradise

"After that, I was transported to paradise, before the throne of the divine majesty, where I was looked upon favourably." There she experienced extreme joy.

Her mission as a collaborator in redemption

God spoke to her in these words: "In truth, my dear daughter, you will be with me one day. Now, however, I allow you to choose either to stay with me from now on, or to return to Earth to carry out a mission of charity and suffering. In order to free from the flames of purgatory the souls who have inspired so much compassion in you, you will suffer for them on earth: you will endure great torments, without dying from their effects. And not only will you bring relief to the dead, but the example you will give to the living and your continual suffering will lead sinners to convert and atone for their crimes. After completing this new life, you will return here loaded with merit."

Her return to her body

On hearing this, Christina saw the great benefits she could obtain for souls, and decided without hesitation to return to life, resurrecting immediately. She told those around her that her only purpose in coming back was to relieve the dead and convert sinners, and that no one should be surprised by the penances she would practise or the life she would lead from then on. She is reported to have said: "It will be so extraordinary that nothing like it has ever been seen before."

Victim soul for the salvation of poor sinners

Christina prepared herself for the mission she had accepted from God, renouncing all the comforts of life and restricting herself to a life of asceticism. She was homeless most of the time, roaming the woods, sleeping outdoors in the greatest poverty, in order to atone for the sins of suffering souls. At first, she encountered many pitfalls and faced incomprehension from her contemporaries who, instead of seeing her as a saint, believed her to be possessed.

An explosion of extraordinary mystical phenomena

In winter, she would plunge into a frozen river for hours, days or even weeks, praying to God for mercy. Sometimes she let herself be carried away by the currents to a mill below where the wheel "made her spin in a way that was terrible to see". Shewas also chased by dogs that bit and tore at her flesh. She tried to escape them in thickets of thorns and, despite being covered in blood, she returned without a wound or scar.

Initially imprisoned by her frightened sisters, her relatives eventually set her free, but she resumed her life as an extreme penitent. After being imprisoned a second time, she moderated her sacrifices and was finally accepted as she was.

Some time later, she developed a gift for prophecy: she accurately foretold the massacre of 1213, the capture of Jerusalem by the Saracens, and, more closely, events linked to the people around her. During her predictions, as well as at other times, she was often seized by ecstasy and trances.

Her second death

Christina died in the Dominican Convent of Saint Catherine in Sint-Truiden, of natural causes, aged 74. It is said that forty-two years had passed after her return to life, which would indicate that she died in 1182. The prioress later testified that, despite her vocation and extraordinary gifts, Christina always humbly and fully obeyed every order given to her by the prioress.

In 2015, Arnaud Dumouch, who holds a degree in religious studies, and Abbé Henri Ganty founded the Institut Docteur Angélique, which offers a complete online training programme in Catholic philosophy and theology, in line with Benedict XVI's hermeneutics of continuity.

Beyond reasons to believe:

The vocation of victim souls who atone for others was revealed in the Old Testament, in Isaiah: "It was our pain that he bore, our sufferings he endured." (Is 53:4). Saint Paul was one of the first to receive this vocation (Rom 9:2 and Col 1:24). This spirituality was later developed by Sister Josefa Menendez (1890 - 1923). The French mystic Marthe Robin (1902 - 1981), to give another example, helped save her brother Henri Robin.

Is suffering for sinners a vocation? How does it work? Can we carry everything for others?

God's purpose with this special vocation is to have a few people willing to do penance atone for the sins of many who won't do it for themselves. At the same time, it is a way of holiness for the victim souls themselves. It is not advisable to ask for this vocation.

Going further:

The Life of St. Christina the Astonishing by Thomas de Cantimpré, Kindle edition

More information:

Words of Love: Revelations of Our Lord to Three Victim Souls in the 20th century by Mary of the Trinity, Josefa Menendez, Consolata Betrone, TAN Books (January 1, 1985)