« SECOND REGARD »
1997 - 1998 SEASON
CREDITS:
Carole-Anne
Petit-Bélanger, director
Pauline Aubut, assistant
Gilles-Claude Thériault,
journalist
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
August 1997
final
version
Date of last update :
COLOR BARS - [
T1 - TEXT 1 -
[
Strange,
astonishing, inexplicable phenomena…
Oil
oozes from an image of the Virgin Mary;
Oil oozes from Myrna’s face and hands,
and during ecstasies,
she sees the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ...
And,
on four occasions, she received Christ's wounds...
T1A - TEXT 1A -
[
« Our
Lady of Soufanieh, Source of Holy Oil,
M1 -
MYRNA 1 - [
I was 18 years old when
the events began,
Six months after being
married.
I like to pray, but not
as much as people imagine.
I was so frightened
then because I didn't understand what was happening.
But when I saw the
first drop of oil oozing from the icon
and
when I heard the message of the Virgin Mary:
“My daughter Mary, do not be afraid, I am with you; open the doors and
don't deprive anyone from my sight.
Light me a candle.”,
I surrendered to God's
will and I asked God to strengthen me and to help me understand what is
happening.
T2 - TEXT 2 - [
On
oil
began to ooze from an image
representing
the orthodox icon of Our Lady of Kazan.
And oil oozes from
Myrna's hands while praying...
M2 - MYRNA 2 - [
At first, when Nicolas
heard that oil oozed from my hands, he told me: “you must have eaten something oily without wiping your hands.
Don't
tell anyone.. I don't want people to make fun of us.”
He didn't believe me in
the beginning.
But when he saw the
icon oozing oil, he knelt and cried.
E1
- FATHER
ELIAS 1 - [
Nicolas
is a very reserved and discrete person
who doesn't like to be disturbed by anyone.
Whereas since 15 years, he is more than annoyed.
Sometimes
he says jokingly:
" Nothing belongs to me anymore. Not even my wife!" .
And
Nicolas, who was very distant from God,
who even thought that he could marry
Myrna without a priest,
-
you can imagine how little his faith or belief was -,
Nicolas
is now a totally changed man...
…a peaceful, discrete and a welcoming person.
…completely disconcerting.
M3 - MYRNA 3 - [
I consider that
Nicolas’ faith is stronger than mine,
and
the Lord chose him to help me in my mission.
As for myself, I have
'seen', and it is a consolation for me,
but he 'sees' through me.
T3 - TEXT 3
- [
Father
Elias Zahlaoui, is a Greek-Melkite Catholic priest
and vicar of the parish of Our Lady of Damascus.
He is one of the spiritual guides of
Myrna and Nicolas...
A privileged witness since the
beginning of the phenomenon,
He accompanies Myrna...
He is almost permanently involved in
the events of
Our Lady of Soufanieh...
G1 - GILLES-CLAUDE 1 - [
After seing Myrna and all these
phenomena,
did you think you were facing a case of hysteria for
example?
E2 - FATHER ELIAS 2 - [
Yes.
I asked myself this question several
times.
Myrna,
as I knew her since the beginning of the phenomenon,
always seemed to be a very simple girl,
a well-balanced person and of a cheerful character.
T4 - TEXT 4
- [
These
events are taking place in the
In
A Moslem city where Christians are numerous.
A
famous city in the history of Christianity
that witnessed the conversion of
Since
15 years, this little house of the Christian neighbourhood
of Soufanieh has been the scene of
astonishing facts:
oozing of oil,
apparitions
of the Virgin Mary
and visions of Jesus
Christ during ecstasies...
Events so disconcerting,
that sound like a fairy tale from the
« Arabian Nights »…
Father
Malouli, Myrna's other spiritual guide
welcomes pilgrims of all denominations
who come to Soufanieh from all over the world.
E3 - FATHER ELIAS 3 - [
Right from the beginning of the
phenomenon, instinctively,
Nicolas and Myrna had, I would say,
an honest reaction by putting a sign in the entrance of their house where one
could read:
« We refuse all donations. »
M4 -
MYRNA 4 - [
Because God gave us His
graces out of pure generosity, in return,
we
also try to give generously.
T5 - TEXT 5
- [
It
is in this atmosphere that Myrna and Nicolas raise their children...
M5 -
MYRNA 5 - [
... God chose a young
bride and in several messages,
He insisted that my
married life remains unchanged.
T6 - TEXT 6
- [
John-Emmanuel
is now 9 years old, and Myriam is 11.
E4 - FATHER ELIAS 4 - [
Seeing how Myrna, Nicolas, and the
children react,
one is really astonished…
which points us to a supernatural
presence.
T7 - TEXT 7
- [
In
the first days of the phenomenon, the Greek-Orthodox Patriarchate
sent a bishop and two priests to the Nazzour's home...
And
in front of them, oil oozed again from
Myrna's hands…
E5 - FATHER ELIAS 5 - [
On
four officers from the Syrian secret
services and a physician came to the house to investigate.
Two of the officers introduced
themselves as government officials,
while the other two mingled with the
crowd.
They
wanted to examine the image.
They
disassembled the frame to check if there were hidden tubes in it.
Oil
was exuding from the image.
They
examined it and put it back to its place.
They
had also heard that oil oozed from Myrna's hands.
They
asked her to wash her hands in front of them, and so she did.
She
wiped her hands with a dry towel.
E5A - They took her to the living room and
told her:"now, pray!".
After
a few moments of silence, and in front of everyone,
Myrna's
hands were covered with oil.
The
physician held her hands,
scratched her palms and turned them on both
sides.
Her forearms were completely dry
while her palms were full of oil.
He
then looked at the officers and said:
God is great!
And
that was it.
T8 - TEXT 8
- [
The different analyses of the oil in
M6 - MYRNA 6 - [
I
think that oil is a light.
Because many people recovered their
faith because of this drop of oil.
And many were healed.
Of
course, it is not the oil that heals, but the person’s faith,
through
this drop of oil.
I consider oil as a light, but I cannot say more than
that
because I don't know.
I don't know why the oil,
why it oozes from my hands, from
my face.
I
don't know.
T9 - TEXT 9
- [
Since 1990,
Myrna travels all over the world and
the signs are almost always present.
Very
often, during the Divine Liturgy, oil oozes from Myrna's hands...
and she anoints the people with it.
Prayer
associations have been established in
the
Volunteers
from everywhere commit to live the spirituality of Soufanieh:
that is the unity of their life with the Lord,
in their family and in the Church,
to promote Christian Unity and the unity of the Feast of
Easter.
E6- FATHER ELIAS 6 - [
Friends of Soufanieh invite us and
finance these missions around
the world…
But beforehand, we ask them to get
the consent of the local religious authorities of their country.
Otherwise,
we do not leave
I can assure you that we can leave
and return back as we left.
All
we need is the travel tickets and the passports.
We depart by plane and when we
arrive at our destination,
friends welcome us and lodge us in their
homes.
And believe me,
the quality of these friendships created through the Soufanieh phenomenon is
exceptional.
Truly exceptional.
We
go there to pray and to give our testimony; that’s all.
T10 - TEXT 10
- [
The children often accompany their
mother in her missions overseas,
like here, in
M7 - MYRNA 7
- [
In the summertime,
I dedicate a lot of time to my
missions and to the people while I also take care of my children.
But in the winter,
I give my children all my attention
because of their studies,
since it would be unreasonable for me to
leave the children behind
while I go to pray.
I consider that taking care of my
children is a part of my prayer,
and that my children are also part of
my mission.
Of
course, the family is a small church and marriage is a sacrament.
Maybe
my mission is to be at the same time a wife and a mother;
so the unity of the church begins through the unity of the
family.
Especially
that I am Melkite-Catholic and my husband Greek-Orthodox.
But
I don’t oblige the children to pray.
In
the evening, we read the Bible and we all pray together;
Myriam, John-Emmanual, Nicolas and myself.
On
Sundays, we attend Mass together, and that’s all.
T11- TEXT 11
- [
Several
times, the Virgin Mary appeared to Myrna.
All
the apparitions took place at night, on the terrace...
The
Virgin Mary appeared on a branch from an eucalyptus
tree
about fifteen meters away from the house,
and Myrna
was the sole person to see Her.
M8 - MYRNA 8 - [
I felt a hand pushing
me in the back directing me to the terrace,
on
the roof of the house.
I went up and knelt,
but I don't know why I knelt.
Suddenly, I raised my
head and I saw the Virgin Mary.
I could not look at Her, She was surrounded by a bright light.
And I ran away.
I wasn’t able to see Her very well.
The second apparition
happened three days later,
Once again I felt a
hand pushing me in the back.
I went up, I saw Her, and... She was...
I cannot describe Her very well
because
She cannot be described,
She is so beautiful…
She was dressed in
white,
with
a blue belt, and a blue shawl on the shoulder.
When I saw Her,
She was shining and was
surrounded by a lot of light…
and
She is very beautiful, very beautiful.
T12 - TEXT 12
- [
At first, Father Elias asked Myrna
and Nicolas not to say anything about the apparitions...
E7 - FATHER ELIAS 7 - [
...
because we were already accused of madness,
to speak about the apparitions, we would have been locked up
!
T13- TEXT 13
- [
Since
1990, Myrna doesn't see the Virgin Mary anymore...
M9 -
MYRNA 9 - [
During
the last ecstasy, the Virgin Mary told me:
“Do not fear my daughter if I tell you that it
is the last time that you are seeing Me until the Feast is unified”,
that is when the Feast of Easter
amongst Catholics and Orthodox coincide.
We always pray for this intention.
E8 - FATHER ELIAS 8 - [
The
first ecstasy took place on
There
were a total of 33 ecstasies.
G2 - GILLES-CLAUDE 2 - [
What is an ecstasy?
E9 - FATHER ELIAS 9 - [
An ecstasy…
You see, while praying, Myrna's face
is suddenly covered with oil,
and her hands are also covered with oil
suddenly !
We
don't know where it comes from.
On
oil had oozed from Myrna's eyes and all
her face prior to the ecstasy.
Then we carried Myrna to her
bedroom,
-because she
lost her balance slightly, whereas Myrna is very natural-,
we placed her on her bed
and after a short while,
Myrna made the sign of the cross and
crossed her arms
and then became absent from our world.
She
doesn't hear, doesn’t see nor feel anything…
M10 -
MYRNA 10 - [
My
parents thought I was dead!
E10 -
FATHER ELIAS 10 - [
And after a while, she makes the
sign of the cross,
opens
her eyes, looks around her and smiles !!
M11 - MYRNA 11 - [
The inner peace that I feel cannot
be described accurately.
Because
I am afraid not to express myself precisely.
But
it is enough for me to say that I feel so much inner peace and love,
that I
forget my family,
I mean... when I am in
this state,
I forget my children, I forget my husband, I forget everything.
And
I wish to remain in this state.
T14 - TEXT 14
- [
When Myrna must see Christ, oil also
oozes from her eyes...
and it burns them ...
M12 -
MYRNA 12 - [
I
saw Jesus during several ecstasies,
but I don't know how many times
exactly.
I saw Him in the Shape of a human being surrounded by
light.
And
I heard His voice.
T15 - TEXT 15
- [
Myrna regains her sight very slowly
after seeing Christ,
but in 1984, at the end of an ecstasy...
Myrna
painfully realizes her blindness.
She
will remain in this state for three days...
E11 - FATHER ELIAS 11 - [
Myrna
received the stigmata four times.
The first time occurred on
two days before the first anniversary
of the Phenomenon of Soufanieh.
That day, the wounds opened around
on her side, hands, palms and feet.
At
That day,
we had convoked 8 physicians from different medical
specialties
to come and to perform various
examinations.
The
three other times were in 1984, 1987 and 1990,
-the years when Catholics and Orthodox celebrated Easter
together-,
which is the essence of the Message of Soufanieh: the
unity of the church.
M13 -
MYRNA 13 - [
Before I receive the
stigmata,
I
feel an atrocious pain in all my body,
until the wounds open.
T16 - TEXT 16
- [
The Catholic Church is always very
reserved about the stigmata.
The
first known stigmatist was Saint Francis of
Since
then, more than 300 people would have received the stigmata,
200
of which were in the 20th century.
Thérèse Neumann, Padre Pio and
Marthe Robin are probably the most well known stigmatists of our century.
M14 -
MYRNA 14 - [
What is wonderful
during the stigmata,
is
that my body endures a lot of pain but my soul rejoices.
T18 - TEXT 17
- [
Stigmatists
are a sign of contradiction.
They
are venerated by some, discredited by others.
A
sort of puzzle for theologians and physicians...
No
satisfactory explanation to this day...
When fraud is dismissed,
the question is not really the origin
of these wounds
- for the believer, they come from
God -
but what they mean and convey to the faithful ...
G3 - GILLES-CLAUDE 3 - [
... What is the purpose for a person
to receive in his or her flesh,
the stigmata, the wounds of Christ ?
E12 - FATHER ELIAS 12 - [
It
is quite significant for a person to participate in Christ's passion.
To
remind us that Christ suffered,
had His hands, feet, side and head pierced.
And
in the Middle-East, in a Moslem country;
that is very significant !
And
believe me,
a lot of people have been shaken at
the sight of these wounds.
Because the house is often visited by a lot of Muslims.
T18 - TEXT 18
- [
Priests
and physicians are preoccupied...
And
television permits us to see Myrna's stigmatization.
Troublesome images, to say the least.
Nearly
unbearable...
G4 - GILLES-CLAUDE 4 - [
Are
we in the midst of a mediatic curiosity?
E13 - FATHER ELIAS 13 - [
Several
people in
As
far as we were concerned, we were documenting everything.
Regardless
of what people said.
We knew that ecclesiastical and
scientific authorities would eventually need to know all the facts.
These
facts span several years.
Eventually,
even the most opposing ones will have to
study this phenomenon.
M15 - MYRNA 15 - [
Sometimes I feel the
sufferings even though there are no wounds.
The presence of blood
is not important.
The Lord always reminds
me of this when I am tired,
disturbed
or irritated whether by the ambiance in the house,
the
children or the people.
The pains remind me to
become stronger,
and
that no matter what I endure, I won't endure as much as He did.
G5 - GILLES-CLAUDE 5 - [
What meaning do you give to all
these phenomena?
Do we really need to hear about them
again?
E14 - FATHER ELIAS 14 - [
I think that if we didn't need them,
then the Author of this Phenomenon would
not have done so.
You see, nowadays, in a world that
has put aside God,
spirituality and the life after,
more than ever God creates ways to
remind us:
“My
children, I am present! ”...
G6 - GILLES-CLAUDE 6 - [
Do you consider
yourself like another Christ?
M16 - MYRNA 16 - [
No! I am
a Christian, not a Christ.
I thank people for their love...
but
I ask from them not to make me endure more than I can.
That is to make me feel
that I am Myrna, the normal person.
Because there are a lot
of people who come to me,
thinking
that I am a saint
and
that bothers me and makes me suffer,
because
I consider myself quite far from sainthood.
Help me to remain
faithful to my mission and not to lose my humility.
That is the most important.
My mission is to sow
the seed of love in the heart of the church.
Because
without love, unity is not possible.
And to spread the
message that unity is,
first
of all, unity with oneself,
with
others and with God.
The unity of the family
is part of my mission.
And I pray for the
divided families
so
that God reunites them by the ties of unity and peace.
I have a small chapel
in my house.
From time to time, I go
there to pray silently.
I don't say anything, I
meditate on the crucifix and I write my diary.
My prayer is:
meditation and writings.
And when I write, I
always ask God: « when will You take me? »
This wish is not an escape from my responsibilities.
Sometimes ... when I wish to die,
it looks as if I am escaping
from my responsibilities towards
my husband and my children...
In fact, it’s not that at all;
it’s only the total desire of
God, nothing else.
And I always wish to die when I am in state of grace,
while oil is oozing from my body
or during an ecstasy.
I ask God to take me,
and not to let me die when He is
not happy from me.
Pray for me.
END - [24 :50]