I've been interested in the Soufanieh events for a while but didn't know very much about them. Then someone on this board sent me some marvelous materials about them. I'm hooked! (Thank you, Vito.
)
I'd be interested in knowing if anyone else here has a devotion to Our Lady of Soufanieh.
Briefly, for those of you who aren't familiar with the events, here's the deal, as far as I understand it: The seer, Myrna Nazzour, is a young Eastern Catholic wife & mother married to an Orthodox man. They live in Soufanieh, a suburb of Damascus, Syria. In the early '80s, the husband, Nicolas Nazzour, purchased an inexpensive reproduction of the icon of Our Lady of Kazan from the Alexander Nevsky (Orthodox) Church in Sofia, Bulgaria. Soon after it was installed in the Nazzours' Damascus home, this icon began weeping 100% pure olive oil. Even before this, fragrant oil had begun oozing from Myrna's hands! The oil from Myrna's hands and from the icon had healing properties -- or rather, Our Lord and Our Lady used the oil to effect rather spectacular healings, many of them verified by doctors and scientists (who'd been quite skeptical beforehand).
Various scientists and government authorities investigated the icon to death -- it was just a piece of paper, not much to investigate -- but they found no possible source of fraud or chicanery.
At first, the Orthodox patriarch was very favorable; the local EO authorities even installed the icon in the Orthodox Church of the Holy Cross for a while. (However, it did not exude oil while it was there. I have no idea why not, and I don't want to speculate. The Theotokos has her reasons, and she hasn't clued me in on 'em.
)
The Greek Melkite Catholic Patriarch was also very favorable, as was the apostolic nuncio. Local priests were initially skeptical but eventually became convinced that the phenomena were for real.
I believe the events have since been formally Church-approved (by the local ordinary) but I'm not sure.
I'm getting ahead of myself, however.
Soon a new wrinkle developed. Myrna began receiving visions of Our Lady and Our Lord. They were full-bodied external apparitions -- at one point Myrna even touched Our Lady's foot and felt that it was real, three-dimensional, and corporeal, just like ours. Jesus and Mary gave Myrna a series of messages, limpid, simple, and concise. The gist of the messages was the urgent need for Christian unity, especially between Catholics and Orthodox. Through Myrna, Our Lord and Our Lady urge us to pray and work for Christian unity. Especially pray!!! Fighting and squabbling come from the evil one.
"He who causes divisions sins," Mary told Myrna, "and he who rejoices in the divisions also sins."
Myrna also bears the stigmata. The book I was sent contains remarkable photographs of Myrna enduring a minuscule (yet almost unbearable) portion of Our Lord's Passion.
The Soufanieh events have apparently borne incredible fruits. Countless healings have occurred, not only involving Catholics and Orthodox but Muslims too. (And Protestants and others also, of course.
) Many conversions have occurred. Thousands of reproductions of the miraculous icon -- scattered all over the world -- have also inexplicably exuded fragrant oil. And Soufanieh prayer groups have formed to pray for Christian unity. The person who sent me the materials belongs to one such prayer group. I am hoping to start one in my parish, too, God willing.
Does anyone here know more? Can you add anything to my brief account?
The website describing the events is here:
www.soufanieh.com [
soufanieh.com]
Blessings,
ZT
