NEWS OF OUR LADY OF SOUFANIEH...............................FREE BULLETIN

SOURCE OF THE HOLY OIL (Damascus, Syria)

VOL. 1, No 1, March 1996

Pray, Forgive, Unite.

Announce the Emmanuel.

Teach Unity, Love and Faith.

Sanctify Marriage.

Work for the Unity of the Church.

EVENTS:

SYRIA: SOUFANIEH: Celebrations of November 26: The 13th anniversary of the phenomenon

was celebrated in the cathedral of Our Lady of Damascus. His Excellency Mgr Battikha, the Greek

Catholic bishop of Damascus, was among the dignitaries who were present. He addressed to the

thousands of faithful a magnificent speech, full of emotion and sincerity. Later in the evening, in

Myrna's house, a mass was celebrated followed by a happy anniversary commemoration. Again, the

oil oozed from Myrna's hands. There were pilgrims from France, Haiti, Holland, Germany, USA,

Belgium, Lebanon, etc. As usual, the house is opened every day for prayers until late in the

afternoon. Many pilgrims come by bus, sometimes as early as 7:00 a.m. They enter the house very

respectfully, sometimes on their knees. The icon still displays the magnificent marks from the oil that

oozed in 1990.

ALEPPO: In November 1995, in the Armenian Catholic church of St-Barbara, an altar was

dedicated and consecrated to Our Lady of Soufanieh by Mgr Pierre Mrayati.

MONTREAL: Every month, for almost three years now without interruption, masses and/or prayer

meetings are celebrated to spread the message of unity between Christians of all denominations and

the wish to reunify the feast of Easter in one of the following churches -- Greek Catholic or

Orthodox, Syrian Catholic or Orthodox, Maronite, Armenian Catholic, Latin, Coptic Catholic or

Orthodox. Thanks to all the churches and communities who prayed Our Lady of Soufanieh with us.

On the 12th of every month, rosaries and hymns to the Virgin Mary are prayed in the house

where Myrna and her family prayed the day before their departure from Canada, to honour the

Virgin Mary for the gift she gave, when oil oozed from one of the Soufanieh reproductions.

Since July 1993, nearly every week without interruption, rosaries and hymns are prayed to the

Virgin Mary and her beloved Son in the house of the family where Myrna and her family stayed in

Montreal in 1993. In this same house, on November 26, a beautiful ceremony gathers friends of

Soufanieh to celebrate A HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, uniting their prayers to commemorate the

phenomenon.

During the Virgin Mary's month of May, and on request, Mgr Michel Sayde, our chaplain and

counsellor of Soufanieh in Montreal, visits homes with the icon of Soufanieh and prays with the

faithful.

Graces and thanks to God for the tangible and continuous signs of His power by making the holy

oil ooze from reproductions of images of Our Lady of Soufanieh in several homes in Montreal.

On January 25, 1996, during the week of Christian unity, Radio Ville-Marie religious station

broadcasted a two hour program "La joie ça s'apprend" (Joy Can Be Learned), from 2:00 to 4:00

p.m., hosted by

Mr Gilbert Charron who invited one of our members to talk about Soufanieh. An on-line tribune was

offered to the public to ask questions about the Soufanieh phenomenon. Mr Charron, who displays

usually a very critical judgment toward such phenomenons, was this time enthusiastic about

Soufanieh, which impressed favourably his audience. If you have listened to the program and

appreciated it, please call Mr Charron to tell him so. Every day, Mr Charron continues to receive

many phone calls, letters and moving testimonies. An audio cassette of the program is available. If

interested, call the Radio Ville-Marie station and ask for a new broadcasting of the program. Call

and encourage Radio Ville-Marie's employees', because they are also volunteers in their apostolate.

Listen and get interested in another program "Regards sur l'orthodoxie -- L'autre poumon du corps

mystique du Christ" (Glances on Orthodoxy -- The Other Lung of the Mystical Body of the

Christ), every Sunday from 11:00 to 12:00 a.m. In the near future, we might broadcast another

program on Our Lady of Soufanieh in Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières.

Summer of 1995: His Holiness patriarch Ignatius Zakka Iwas I, from the Syrian Orthodox

patriarchate of Damascus, Syria, made a pastoral visit to Montreal. His Holiness gave a very

interesting and touching interview on the unity of the Christians, which was videotaped. During the

interview, His Holiness repeated the testimony of his full support for the Soufanieh phenomenon.

OTTAWA: On January 20 and 21, 1996, during the week of Christian unity, the responsible of a

youth group in Ottawa invited one of our members to make a presentation about the phenomenon of

Soufanieh. The presentation took place during a retreat on oecumenism, at the monastery of the

Redemptorists, with father Sleiman Hajjar, a Greek Catholic and father Maxim, a Russian Orthodox.

The phenomenon of Our Lady of Soufanieh was presented in detail (videos, documentaries, solid

signs of group cohesion in Montreal, etc.). Youth from the Coptic Orthodox and Catholic, the Greek

Catholic and Orthodox, the Maronites and the Armenian Catholic communities were represented.

They are quite interested in following the example of the Montreal group.

EGYPT: Myrna and her family just came back home from a trip to Egypt. In February 1995, when

Myrna got her first audience with His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, oil started oozing from her hands

before his holiness. The venerable patriarch wiped up the oil with his handkerchief and kept it

preciously. Very nice pictures were taken in souvenir of this meeting.

LEBANON: May/June/August 1995: Myrna went to Lebanon and visited several places

(Mansourieh, Mie-Mie -- near Sidon --, Maghdouche, Beirut, Byblos and Jounieh). Every time, oil

oozed from her hands. Catholic, Maronites and Orthodox clergymen testified the power of God

through the oozing of oil from Myrna's hands. Mgr Cueter, reluctant at first, became interested in the

phenomenon of Soufanieh eleven years later, because of its permanency and its gratuity in the

context of humility. His Excellency Mgr Khalil Abi-Nader, the bishop of Beirut who impregnated his

hands with the sacred oil from Myrna's hands, gave a very emotional testimony. For more

information, please contact us.

EUROPE: In September 1995, the ecumenical chorus "Jawqat el Farah" (Choir of Joy) of father

Elias Zehlaoui went on a tour in France, Holland, Germany and Belgium. The 105 young people

sang byzantine liturgical hymns and songs for the unity of Christians, all in relation to the messages of

Our Lady of Soufanieh.

USA: August/September 1995: Myrna in San Francisco and San Jose (with her son

John-Emmanuel). She was invited by the reverend Girios and Mouin Hanna, with the consent of the

Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem. A Lutheran, relative of the above named two priests,

became converted to orthodoxy and received baptism. During the ceremony of baptism, oil oozed

from Myrna's hands.

NEW JERSEY, October 1995: Videotapes and testimonies on Our Lady of Soufanieh were

presented to the faithful by a group of Montreal. The group also presented the activities held in

Montreal. A Greek Orthodox and a Syrian Orthodox priests attended the presentation with father

Sami Baroody from the Greek Melkite Catholic St-Ann's church. A mass for unity took place the

next day.

ELMWOOD PARK, CHICAGO: In the house of Mr Daoud Hanna, a Syrian Orthodox native of

Hassake in Syria, the oil continues to ooze from a reproduction of an image of Our Lady of

Soufanieh. The house is always opened for prayers. Father Zeitoun has been transferred to

Australia, and the new priest, Ablahad Shara, knows very well the Soufanieh phenomenon. Note

that the Hanna's house is very close to Cicero (see Pilgrimage Projects).

INDIA (NEW DELHI): August/September 1995: A large image of Our Lady of Soufanieh was

consecrated at the St-Mary's Syrian Orthodox Malabare church, where it occupies a honourable

place. A videotape about Our Lady of Soufanieh (interpreted by father Varghese Palantharaham)

was presented to a crowd of thousands of people in October 1995. During the feast of the

Assumption of the Virgin Mary, celebrated in a very warm ceremony in the St-Dominic's Latin

church, father Joseph Francis proceeded to bless the icon and distribute reproductions of the image

of Soufanieh to the faithful. The Catholic bishop of New Delhi and the vicar of the Sacred Heart

cathedral promised to organize a mass for unity in honour of Our Lady of Soufanieh. They also

promised to present initially a videotape about the phenomenon to the members of the pastoral

Council.

EVENTS TO COME (With the help of God):

In June/July 1996: The itinerary of Myrna's trip to North America will be as follows: Montreal,

New Jersey, Mid-West, Chicago, California and Hawaii.

Pilgrimage Projects (Organized trips): To Damascus, for the feast of November 26, 1996. Also,

to Chicago, to celebrate the second anniversary of the 14th of July, when oil oozed from an image of

Soufanieh at the Hanna's, and to visit, pray and meditate before the Weeping Madonna of Cicero --

a suburb of Chicago -- in the St-George Greek Orthodox Antiochian church. If interested, please

call us.

FINALLY: A petition for the unity of the feast of Easter is in circulation. Please, do not sign it more

than once. As you can see, the messages of Our Lady of Soufanieh reach the entire world. The holy

oil oozes from Myrna's hands where GOD wants it, and when HE wants it. If we continue to open

our hearts to the divine work of God, the messages of Soufanieh will spread even more and more.

FOR ANY INFORMATION, INCLUDING THE SCHEDULE OF SUBSEQUENT

MASSES, PLEASE CONTACT:

Mgr Michel Sayde: (514) 288-7753;

Emile and Marie Sara: (514) 333-0336;

Gabriel Berberian: 955, 40e avenue, Lachine (Qc) Canada H8T 2G7; Phone: (514) 634-0371; Fax:

(514) 639-1587.

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