After you’ve spent six dreadful years in the jungle

What would you do? How do you come out of that experience with your sanity intact?

The former hostages held and abused by FARC guerillas in the dense jungles of Bogota for over six years have been amazing witnesses of human dignity and grace. As soon as they landed in the rescue helicopter we learned that the source of strength for Ingrid Betancourt has been her faith, and all the prayers that she and many others offered on her behalf.

Including Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, who prayed the rosary from the presidential palace every week on public radio. This operation was a more amazing mission that we even knew, and we knew it was breathtaking.

Here’s a Spanish version of news reported in Colombia about the role faith played, up to the higest levels, thanks to German Martinez who forwarded it in response to that MercatorNet article linked above.

And here’s a Reuters story about what Betancourt will do in the next few days, within her first week of freedom from the hellish bonds of captivity by “diabolical” captors committing “monstrous” acts that must have disgusted even themselves. We don’t want to even imagine what that might mean. After being given a near miraculous clean bill of health after that ordeal, she is not going off on a restful vacation. She’s going to one of the best known and beloved Marian shrines in the world.

Freed Franco-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt, a devout Catholic who prayed daily during six years in captivity, will visit the shrine of Lourdes in southwest France this week, a source close to her said on Monday.

Betancourt, who was held in the Colombian jungle by guerrillas of the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, has compared her rescue by the Colombian army last week to a miracle.

This awkward secular media-speak for her saying that her rescue was a miracle.

Betancourt, emerged from the jungle clutching a wooden rosary which she made during her captivity.

There is a big story here. The people are telling it, and the Latin American press, servng a population where faith is transmitted in a more devout way than most other countries, fills in the details. German Martinez shared this information in the comments:

On the day of the rescue, the Commander of the Colombian Army Forces met with the team assigned to this rescue operation and they read from Acts 12:1-11, where St. Peter is rescued by an angel while he is in jail sleeping between two soldiers.

Here is an excerpt from the website of El Tiempo

“El propio comandante del Ejército viajó al sitio de concentración entre Villavicencio y San José del Guaviare. En la madrugada se reunió con sus hombres y en un momento que todos califican como dramático y solemne a la vez leyeron el libro de Los Hechos de la Biblia. El pasaje no podía ser mejor: ese en el que Pedro es rescatado por un ángel y pasa por entre los guardias que lo tienen preso sin que ellos se den cuenta: “Ahora me doy cuenta realmente de que el Señor ha enviado su ángel y me ha arrancado de las manos de Herodes”.”

I would like to add that this happened just after the Church celebrated the Feast of St. Peter and Paul on June 29th

And finally the Army Commander added:

“Ustedes saben que este puede ser un viaje sin retorno. Nos vamos con la Virgen y los ángeles” that means “You all know that this could be a journey without return.  We are going with the Blessed Virgin and the Angels”

The President and the Army Commander submitted themselves and their mission before God and the angels. And they are faithful in giving thanks for a mission well accomplished.