Posted on 04/08/2008 11:06:57 AM PDT by NYer
I don't know what Mary exactly wants from the Shrine on this mountain. All I know is that God put the desire in my heart to make this mountain of 200,000 m2 a place for prayer, an oasis of peace in this region of the Middle East, a place for reconciliation between all people.
This is my dream, to transform this mountain which was a source of death, to a mountain that radiates peace.
On Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008, I had 3 Masses. On the third one, I put one intention "Lord, I need a big fish". Immediately after Mass, a young non-Christian girl came to see me.
- "I need to talk to you Father."
We sat down in the church and talked.
- "That was my second Mass in my life and I feel overwhelmed by a peaceful powerful presence."
Then, she told me her story with the first Mass she had in her life.
It was on March 19, 2008, when the Director of her school divided all classes between Christians and non-Christians. He sent the non-Christians home and he sent the Christians in a bus to the Lamb of God Shrine, to attend Mass before Easter.
This 18-year-old girl wanted to go to the Shrine. She succeeded through her wisdom to go with her Christian classmates. There, at the Shrine, we had Mass together. She felt the powerful Presence of Jesus for the first time in her life. She read the brochure of the shrine. It was a deep conversion for her.
When she was telling me her story, she cried. She told her parents about her feelings and convictions, but they forbid her to attend another Mass.
Now, she needs your prayers to be able to live her "new way" and find out the will of Christ in her life.
Some Background
Fr. Elfeghali was inspired by the Blessed Mother to build this shrine. He had no money and neither did the local residents. But with much prayer and hard physical work, items were donated and financiers, total strangers, would call Father and send him the money for one aspect of the shrine. On the evening before the Shrine was to be dedicated, he wrote:
Mass ended at 7:30 pm. There was dark. We lit candles outside. We had an evening with the Lord in the Eucharist.
One month after the Shrine was dedicated, a major catastrophe befell the town where Father serves as parish priest. And, it happened while Abouna was in the US.
Once again, local citizens and people across the globe, sent Father the money to replace the trees. Today, not only is the Shrine attracting pilgrims but Father has constructed an underground grotto.
She felt the powerful Presence of Jesus for the first time in her life. She read the brochure of the shrine. It was a deep conversion for her. When she was telling me her story, she cried. She told her parents about her feelings and convictions, but they forbid her to attend another Mass.Now, she needs your prayers to be able to live her "new way" and find out the will of Christ in her life.
Nothing is more potent than the power of prayer! Please remember this girl in your prayers and also the work of Fr. Elfeghali at this beautiful Shrine. For those who wish to send a financial contribution to the work of Fr. Elfeghali, here is the contact information.
Donation to the Lamb of God Shrine:
May God bless and abundantly reward you!
Prayers for the girl in the first story. May she persist despite her parents and become Catholic.
**- Everybody in the town are talking about the Shrine. It is a miracle. You look at the mountain, you see it black but the Shrine was not touched. I went up to the Shrine after we controlled the fire. I saw the statue of the Virgin untouched. The chapel was not touched. The blue cross which was in the forest was not touched. Even the cistern you received which is up in the forest was not touched. The toilets between the trees were not touched. This is a miracle.
Mary has saved the town.**
Wow! What a narrative!
Wonderful testimony. Thank you for posting.
Ping!
Happy Easter. Christ is risen!
Alex.
Anti-Catholicism, Hypocrisy and Double Standards
Why I Returned to the Catholic Church. Part I: Darkness
Why I Returned to the Catholic Church. Part II: Doubts
Why I Returned to the Catholic Church. Part III: Tradition and Church
Why I Returned to the Catholic Church. Part IV: Crucifix and Altar
Why I Returned to the Catholic Church. Part V: The Catholics and the Pope
Why I Returned to the Catholic Church. Part VI: The Biblical Reality
His Open Arms Welcomed Me
Catholic Conversion Stories & Resources
My Personal Conversion Story
My (Imminent) Reception into the Roman Catholic Church
Catholics Come Home
My Journey of Faith
LOGIC AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF PROTESTANTISM
"What is Truth?" An Examination of Sola Scriptura
"Have you not read?" The Authority behind Biblical Interpretation
The Crisis of Authority in the Reformation
Our Journey Home
Our Ladys Gentle Call to Peace
Mary did?
Great story, and fascinating account of the Divine preservation of the place.
People DO, however, very much need to get one critical point clearly fixed in mind: the power exerted to work this miraculous deliverance was NOT Mary’s power, for she has none of her own. What power was made manifest was SOLELY the power of God, Himself, and it is HE — not her — who needs to be the object of glorification and praise for preserving this place on behalf of the Blessed Virgin.
Our God is throughout Scripture described as jealous for the glory due His Name, and it is a firmly established point of Christian orthodoxy that God wills to share that glory with NOBODY, and with NOTHING, for ONLY He is worthy of it. So, we would do well to consider the wretched end of Herod, who usurped glory that was due God alone, and was immediately struck down dead and consumed by worms. The horror of that demise ought to be front-and-center in the mind of everyone whenever glory is due the Holy One, for He will not overlook non-payment of that debt, nor will He overlook payment of that debt to another.
Yes, be thankful for the preservation of the good Fr.’s work on the mountain, but do not dare to praise Mary. No, praise God, Himself, for He alone has done it by His own hand. In this way, Mary is actually even more honored, because since the miraculous preservation of the shrine was accomplished by the power of God Himself, it evidences Him expressing His own Divine honor for her. And that is a higher honor than all of us together can bestow.
So it is fine for us to honor Mary, but we should let her be glorified by God alone, as HE so desires. And let us reserve the giving of glory for God only, as the Scriptures prescribe, that we not provoke His jealousy.
An excellent point and thank you for making it.
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