Our Lady of Soufanieh

[Monica4316]

Hi

do you know about the Our Lady of Soufanieh apparitions? I was reading about them today and they are very interesting… they are accepted by the Church. Jesus and Mary have been appearing to Myrna Nazzour and giving her messages about many things but one of the points is the unity of the Church (especially the East and the West). Myrna is Eastern Catholic and her husband is Orthodox. She also has the stigmata.

I was wondering something though… for those of you who know about the apparitions… is Jesus here saying that the Orthodox should become Catholic?

Message of Our Lord Jesus Christ - Holy Saturday, April 10th 2004.

This is my last commandment to you:
Each one of you, return back home,
however, hold the East in your hearts.
From here a light emerged anew.
You are its radiance in a world seduced by materialism, sensuality and fame,
so much as to have almost lost its values.
As for you, hold on to your Eastern identity.
Do not allow your will, your freedom and your faith in this Orient to be taken away from you.

or am I interpreting it wrong?

the message is just interesting to me because I’m an Eastern Catholic, and I was baptized Eastern Orthodox, and my family is Orthodox.

Here’s more info about the apparitions
catholicdigitalstudio.com/miracleofdamascus.htm
soufanieh.com/ENGLISH/eemess.htm

 

[Lief_Erikson]

I’ve been watching a movie series on Myrna Nazzour called the “Miracle of Damascus.” It can be watched online. It’s very good and fascinates me. Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten to 2004 in the series, yet! So I haven’t gotten to the apparition you’re reading from.

However, you probably have correctly interpreted this statement from Jesus.

I love what God is doing through Myrna Nazzour. I pray for her sometimes and especially for the unity of all Christians, her mission, which is what she is suffering and bearing the stigmata for. How badly we need unity!

Dear God, through Mary, give us unity!

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the Fruit of thy Womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

 

[Joseph_L_Varga]

I posted about this on another thread (Orthodoxy and Papacy on Non-Catholic Religions), will copy here:​

At www.soufanieh.com you can learn about Holy Mary’s apparitions to a Melkite Catholic housewife, Myrna Nazzour, who is married with two children to a Greek Orthodox husband named Nicholas. Holy Mary has been calling them, and all of us Orthodox and Catholics Christians, to unity through love and unity in the family. Love can transcend the differences of religion in a family. Jesus Christ has also appeared to Myrna, several times, calling for unification of the day of the Feast (Pascha/Easter), as the first step to uniting our Churches. These apparitions, which started in 1982, have been officially approved by the Melkite Catholic Patriarch of Damascus (Soufanieh is a suburb of Damascus, Syria), thus it is OK to mention them according to forum rules. I know a wonderful EO Bishop who has been to Nicholas’ and Myrna’s house in Soufanieh. Many many miracles happened there, a holy icon of Theotokos exuding myrrh, miraculous cures of illness, etc. The good Bishop (see his website at reu.org/public/default.htm ) jokingly told me that in Soufanieh, everybody including the local Baptist pastor believes in the authenticity of these apparitions, which is remarkable because Protestants don’t usually care about Mary. I also own a book entitled “Light from the East”, written by the late Fr. Robert J. Fox who was a Fatima scholar and led the Fatima Family Apostolate.

soufanieh.excerptsofinri.com/

fatimafamily.org/

Fr. Fox says in his book that he felt compelled to write the book after he traveled to Soufanieh, and experienced first hand the great love and spirit of unity among Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and other Christians, and even Muslims praying together in the house of Nicholas and Myrna, and saw the true commitment to reunion of the Church leaders (Patriarchs, Bishops, including Eastern and Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and of the Assyrian Church of the East) he interviewed in Damascus. Had he not experienced the good fruits at Soufanieh, there would have been no need or desire on his part, to write the book. And the Feast has been unified in Damascus, Catholics, EO, and OO celebrate on the same day since 2002, pursuant to an agreement between the Catholic and Orthodox Patriarchs involved (there are a bunch of them, in Damascus), and the enthusiastic approval by Pope John Paul II of their agreement.

 

[Joseph_L_Varga]

I met Fr. Fox in 2006…

I attended Holy Mass celebrated by Fr. Fox and after Mass, I asked him whether God (or his messengers, which was implicit in my question) said anything about the Russian Orthodox Church, at Fatima. He replied that the Angel St. Michael, who appeared to the three children of Fatima, taught the children to prostrate and worship God in a way that’s being practiced by the EO. And he directed me to look up his book “Light from the East” at the Shrine’s bookstore, as something relevant to my question. I’ve not met Fr. Fox again, and for my next chance to meet him, I should work really hard to get to the Heaven, because Fr. Fox deceased on Thanksgiving day, 2009, and I’m convinced he is in Heaven now. But I think I came to understand better, what his answer was to my question. Fatima is about reunion, and Soufanieh is also about reunion. It will happen eventually, because God wants it, and because He sent Holy Mary at Fatima, and at Soufanieh, to make it happen.

 

[CB_Catholic]

There is a Byzantine church near me that has a Shrine to Our Lady of Soufanieh. Myrna has visited the church and at the time this Shrine was the only one to Our Lady of Soufanieh in America and Europe. When Myrna visited, her hands exuded olive oil, I read. They pray the Rosary every Friday night to Our Lady for Church unity. I have never been there, but it actually is within walking distance from me. I know the priest well, as he is the chaplain at the hospital where I work, and he has invited me to attend the DL there. After reading your post, I think I will go. Father said they pray the Rosary before the DL.

I have hesitated going because the congregation is very small, I’ve never been to a DL, and I will stick out like a sore thumb and not have any idea what to do. But now I am curious to see this shrine, and attend a DL, so I’m going to get my nerve up and go. Thank you for posting about this.

 

[Holly3278]

I interpreted the same way that you did. I believe that Jesus is asking the Orthodox to come back home.

 

[Joseph_L_Varga]

There is a Byzantine church near me that has a Shrine to Our Lady of Soufanieh. Myrna has visited the church and at the time this Shrine was the only one to Our Lady of Soufanieh in America and Europe. When Myrna visited, her hands exuded olive oil, I read. They pray the Rosary every Friday night to Our Lady for Church unity. I have never been there, but it actually is within walking distance from me. I know the priest well, as he is the chaplain at the hospital where I work, and he has invited me to attend the DL there. After reading your post, I think I will go. Father said they pray the Rosary before the DL.

I have hesitated going because the congregation is very small, I’ve never been to a DL, and I will stick out like a sore thumb and not have any idea what to do. But now I am curious to see this shrine, and attend a DL, so I’m going to get my nerve up and go. Thank you for posting about this.

Carolyn, have you gone to the DL, yet? I would love to attend a church where Our Lady of Soufanieh has a shrine, and where the Rosary is being prayed for Church unity, and then we would stick out like TWO sore thumbs but alas, I’m nowhere near Ohio.

I knew that Myrna visited the USA and she has been to California, but didn’t know about Ohio. The miracle of oil (a symbol of the Holy Spirit) exuding from the Theotokos’ icon of Soufanieh, and from Myrna’s hands, has happened many times and has been witnessed by countless people, including bishops and priests (both Catholic and Orthodox). It is very interesting that God would use a simple housewife (not a nun, not a consecrated religious) and a family’s living room (Nicholas and Myrna’s) for these apparitions, miracles, and messages. The Nazour family’s home is always open, day and night, anyone can just walk up from the street, enter the living room of their home, and pray in front of the miraculous icon. My acquaintance, the EO Bishop who has been to Soufanieh, told me that Syrian policemen, big and tough-looking guys who are mostly Muslim (well, some 80-90% of the population is Muslim there), would ask the little old ladies down the street, “Are you going to Myrna’s house? It’s right there, let me help you accross the street!” It was quite a sight, according to the good Bishop!

 

[Lief_Erikson]

I knew that Myrna visited the USA and she has been to California, but didn’t know about Ohio. The miracle of oil (a symbol of the Holy Spirit) exuding from the Theotokos’ icon of Soufanieh, and from Myrna’s hands, has happened many times and has been witnessed by countless people, including bishops and priests (both Catholic and Orthodox). It is very interesting that God would use a simple housewife (not a nun, not a consecrated religious) and a family’s living room (Nicholas and Myrna’s) for these apparitions, miracles, and messages. The Nazour family’s home is always open, day and night, anyone can just walk up from the street, enter the living room of their home, and pray in front of the miraculous icon. My acquaintance, the EO Bishop who has been to Soufanieh, told me that Syrian policemen, big and tough-looking guys who are mostly Muslim (well, some 80-90% of the population is Muslim there), would ask the little old ladies down the street, “Are you going to Myrna’s house? It’s right there, let me help you accross the street!” It was quite a sight, according to the good Bishop!

That is so beautiful!

Praise God! And praise His own Immaculate Virgin!

 

[Joseph_L_Varga]

And here’s Rick Salbato’s first visit to the Icon of Soufanieh, and his first encounter with Nicolas and Myrna - quoted from his book entitled “The Miracle of Damascus”:

reu.org/public/soufan/damas.txt

We then walked down a narrow street called “Bab Touma.”
I would later learn that the entire area was called Bab Touma,
which means “Thomas’ gate.” Five minutes from the Sisters’
home we passed through the “Thomas gate” in the old wall
of Damascus. It stands between Bab As-Salaam (gate of peace)
and Bab Sharki (east gate).

“Between the East and Peace was Thomas,” I thought. Peace
between the East and West was only a dream. I said a prayer
to St. Thomas and went on. It is only a four-minute walk
from there to the House of Ananias and only a ten-minute
walk to Bab Kisan, where Paul was lowered over the wall
in a basket.

Passing the gate, we crossed a bridge over the Barada River.
We then walked down the left side of the river a few hundred
yards. On one side of the river was a large park. There was
a circus in the park. People were busy taking it down and
preparing to move on to another location. The park had some
trees and grass in it, but on the other side of the river was
a continuous row of three to five story old buildings. In front
of the buildings was a paved road and the stone wall to the
river. The road was about twenty feet above the water.

One of the houses was older and smaller than the rest.
It was only one-and-a-half stories in the front with an upper
deck that was covered with a tin roof. The back part was
two stories. It was an old stone building with long, narrow
windows. The first floor was partially underground. On the
left side was a tall, thin door. By American standards, it was
the slums. By Syrian standards, it was middle class.

The House of Soufanieh

It was 9:00 A.M. We went through the door without knocking.
Through the door was a thin stairway up five feet to
the second floor. We had to be careful because there was a
young girl mopping the stairs, and they were wet. We went
past her and into the patio room. I could tell that at one
time it was a central patio, but it was now covered with a
corrugated fiberglass roof. In the center of the room was a
water fountain. My priest guide walked me right into the
room without knocking or talking to anyone and took me
to the far wall. On the wall were many religious pictures,
flowers, and candles. In the center there was a marble box
that looked like a little church. It had a pointed top, four
marble columns, and glass on three sides. There was a large
padlock on the right side.

Inside the box (or tabernacle) there was a marble dish half
full of some kind of oil. Over the dish was a small, inexpensive
picture of the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child (postcard
quality). It was an old Eastern style of painting, similar
to “Our Lady of Perpetual Help.” The picture was in a broken
plastic frame. It was no more than three inches tall and two
inches wide. Its value was probably less than one dollar. Considering
the frame was cracked on the lower left side and
the picture was torn on the upper right side, it was most
likely worthless.

“This is the Miracle of Damascus,” Father said. “This picture
pours out oil.”

continued…

 

[Joseph_L_Varga]

…continued (quote from Rick Salbato’s book)

I looked into the glass. There were oil drops clinging to
the bottom of the picture frame, but they were not falling,
just clinging there. I waited for him to tell me the rest of
this story. Instead he said, “Let’s pray the Rosary.” He pulled
out his beads and started praying.

I was not mentally prepared to pray the Rosary, but other
people came in and were saying some prayers before the little
Icon, so I went along with him. As we prayed, the same
mop-woman moved into the room and mopped the floor
on her hands and knees.

I was very uncomfortable saying (not praying) the Rosary.
Fortunately, I was saved. A man with a mustache came over
and spoke good English. “Father, my name is Nicolas. Have
you been here before?”

“Yes, I’ve been here, but my friend is from America, and
he has never heard of Our Lady of Soufanieh. This is Rick.”

I shook his hand and was glad to have the Rosary stopped.
I hadn’t come to pray but to see. Besides I was not sure what
“Mary” I was praying to.

“You never heard about Soufanieh?”

“No! Father just told me about it yesterday.”

“It started right after my wife and I were married. Oil started
pouring out of her hands. . .”

“Oh, so you are the husband?” Even the priest didn’t know
we were talking to Mirna’s husband.

Mirna

“Yes, I am her husband. Anyway. . .” and he went on with
the story. He talked to us for over thirty minutes giving a
good outline of the entire phenomenon. As he talked, the
girl kept mopping the floor with a rag and bucket. Father
indicated that he had to leave, but I was becoming more and
more interested. I asked if I might come back that evening.
Nicolas said he would be happy to tell me all I wanted to
know. As we started to leave, I said,

“Where is your wife, Mirna, now?”

“That’s Mirna.” He pointed to the woman mopping the
floor and called her over in Arabic. She stood up and wiped
the water offher hands with her apron. She came and shook
my hand without saying a word and then went back to her
work. I have to admit I thought she was a servant. Her clothes
were very plain. She wore no makeup, and servants were very
common and very cheap in Syria. I was shocked.

I had personally seen seven so-called seers and mystics. This
one was very different.

As we left, more people came in to pray. No one knocked
on the door. This was their home? This was where they ate
and drank and slept? But the door was always open!

That night I went back to their home by myself. It was
about 4:00 P.M. There was a group of people praying before
the Icon. Before I left, there were more than sixty people
crowded in the little patio praying the Rosary and singing
songs to Our Lady.

Nicolas spotted me and invited me into his living room,
which was in the front of the house and two steps higher than
the central patio. In the living room was a small iron stove
with a pipe that ran up about ten feet and then off to the right
and through the wall. There were another ten people in the
living room which had five old couches in it. There were two
coffee tables. Four of the people on the couches were priests.
I could tell by their dress one was Greek Orthodox and the
rest were Roman Catholic. They were talking in Arabic.

Nicolas sat me down and we talked. Mirna came and went
into the patio without talking to anyone. She passed out prayer
cards, took care of her children, changed the diapers of her
youngest boy, served tea to the priests, sang songs with the
crowd of people, but never led in the prayers or in the songs.
In fact, no one seemed to pay any attention to her. She didn’t
give anyone any special attention. If I hadn’t known who
she was, I would never have guessed it was she.

Nicol (we were getting more personal) continued to tell
me the story. I told him for the first time that I was a writer.
I started to ask some very difficult questions. I had decided
I was going to write this story whether this was from God,
from Satan, or simply fraud. There was a lot more to this
apparition than any I had written about so far, and the others
were known all over the world.

This one was almost unknown in the Western world. The
story became more and more interesting. My questions became
more difficult. Nicol had never had anyone ask these kind
of questions. He confessed that he and Mirna almost knew
nothing of theology. He was Greek Orthodox. She was Catholic.
He had some religious education. She had almost none.
The priests in the room couldn’t speak English

Nicol phoned Father Elias Zahlaoui. He had witnessed the
miracle from almost the very first day. He was also very well
educated in theology. Nicol asked him to meet with me. Father
E. Zahlaoui spoke some English but not very well, so Nicol
recommended that he bring along a translator.

Really, I didn’t understand why I was getting all this special
attention. Many other people came and went in this house
without even meeting the family. I had already met the aunts,
sisters, brothers, grandmothers, everyone. Although, at this
point I hadn’t heard Mirna say one word. She seemed like
a Martha to me (re: Martha and Mary story in the Bible).

 

[CB_Catholic]

Carolyn, have you gone to the DL, yet? I would love to attend a church where Our Lady of Soufanieh has a shrine, and where the Rosary is being prayed for Church unity, and then we would stick out like TWO sore thumbs but alas, I’m nowhere near Ohio.

I knew that Myrna visited the USA and she has been to California, but didn’t know about Ohio. The miracle of oil (a symbol of the Holy Spirit) exuding from the Theotokos’ icon of Soufanieh, and from Myrna’s hands, has happened many times and has been witnessed by countless people, including bishops and priests (both Catholic and Orthodox). It is very interesting that God would use a simple housewife (not a nun, not a consecrated religious) and a family’s living room (Nicholas and Myrna’s) for these apparitions, miracles, and messages. The Nazour family’s home is always open, day and night, anyone can just walk up from the street, enter the living room of their home, and pray in front of the miraculous icon. My acquaintance, the EO Bishop who has been to Soufanieh, told me that Syrian policemen, big and tough-looking guys who are mostly Muslim (well, some 80-90% of the population is Muslim there), would ask the little old ladies down the street, “Are you going to Myrna’s house? It’s right there, let me help you accross the street!” It was quite a sight, according to the good Bishop!

Joseph, I have sent you a PM. I have not yet attended the DL, hope to this Sunday. I am on the RCIA team at my parish, and we meet at the same time as the DL is said. I am reading a book called The Apparitions in Damascus by Christian Ravaz. I have not read the book you are referring to in your subsequent posts. This is a fascinating apparition because of the message of Church Unity. I believe it is an important one, but so few know about it in this country, although Father says that people do come to the shrine to pray. He does his best to spread the message.

 

[Lief_Erikson]

Grrr, Joseph! You’re cruel! Now I want to read the whole book!

 

[Joseph_L_Varga]

Grrr, Joseph! You’re cruel! Now I want to read the whole book!

Then read it!

Here’s the link again:

reu.org/public/soufan/damas.txt

 

[Lief_Erikson]

Whoah, it’s all online! Awesome! Thanks for the link!

 

[coco2]

How do I get Rick Salbato’s book? I can’t find it online anywhere, I don’t want a book that talks about other marian apparitions, just this one.

 

[coco2]

Where in Ohio? also, several posts refer to the DL. What is the DL? I’m not familiar with that term. I’m Roman Catholic and happy to have just found out about this apparition. I want to get my mom some books about it because she is a devoted Medjugorje and Garabundal believer and I am uneasy with both of those. What books can I get that speaks only to this and not to other apparitions.

 

[puzzleannie]

Hi

I was wondering something though… for those of you who know about the apparitions… is Jesus here saying that the Orthodox should become Catholic?

or am I interpreting it wrong?

the message is just interesting to me because I’m an Eastern Catholic, and I was baptized Eastern Orthodox, and my family is Orthodox.
m

as for the so called messages, the interpretation of their meaning should be left to the Church, specifically the bishop who has, or who will, have authority to rule on their authenticity. It is not for an individual to interpret either Divine Revelation, or private revelation, in a way that makes a dogma or instruction to the whole Church. That is for the Church herself. Like all such apparatitions and messages, if it is authentic, it is addressed primarily to the people in the time and place where it is received, and should first be interpreted in light of their condition before universal application is extrapolated.

if the messages in general are calling for Christianity there would be nothing in that conflicting with either Scripture or CAtholic doctrine, since Christ himself called for unity as his last plea before he died.

 

[Joseph_L_Varga]

How do I get Rick Salbato’s book? I can’t find it online anywhere, I don’t want a book that talks about other marian apparitions, just this one.

Rick Salbato’s book is available here online:

reu.org/public/soufan/damas.txt

Just click on the link above. Maybe, you could print out the book for your mom to read. Unfortunately, I don’t know whether Rick Salbato’s book is available to buy in traditional, printed and bound format.

Another excellent book is Fr. Robert J. Fox’s book entitled “Light from the East”. Fr. Fox was a holy priest who died recently, on Thanksgiving day 2009. His book can be downloaded as a free e-book from the internet, or you can order and buy it in traditional (printed and bound) book format. Please click the link below:

soufanieh.excerptsofinri.com/

The above link brings you to a webpage where you can see a link to download the free e-book, just click on it. And, if you want to buy the paper book, click the link below:

fatimafamily.org/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_2&products_id=49

You can trust the book of Fr. Robert J. Fox, he is not someone to talk in his book about apparitions that have not been approved by the Church, such as Garabandal or Medjugorje. Soufanieh has been approved by the Melkite Catholic Patriarch in Damascus, Syria. Fr. Fox mentions occasionally another apparition in his book about Soufanieh, namely the apparition of Our Lady at Fatima, Portugal, 1917. But Fatima is a major apparition approved by the Catholic Church, and it pertains to Russia, a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country. In this way, Fatima is relevant to Soufanieh, since the city of Damascus (Soufanieh is a suburb of Damascus) and Syria have a mixed population of Catholic and Eastern Orthodox people (and Oriental Orthodox, as well). I heartily recommend you Fr. Fox’s book because he is an obedient Catholic and he also sticks in his book with what has been approved by the Catholic Church.

DL is the abbreviation for Divine Liturgy. That’s how the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics call what we call “Holy Mass”.

 

[Joseph_L_Varga]

coco2: I found a link to Fr. Fox’s book, click it below. It shows up in pdf format, easy to read on your computer or to print it. The many colored pictures in this edition of the book are SO nice! Enjoy!

soufanieh.com/ENGLISH/LIGHT.OF.THE.EAST/Light%20from%20the%20East%20Book.pdf

 

[coco2]

Thank you Joseph! Why has it taken so long for me to find out about this?? Thank goodness for the internet!