March 23rd - Blessed Rafqa Shabaq al-Rayes, Mystic
(also known as Rafka, Rebecca, Pierina, or Boutrosiya)
Born in Hemlaya, Lebanon, June 29, 1832; died October 23, 1914; beatified
November 17, 1985.
Too often we forget that there are other rites within the Catholic Church
beyond the Roman Rite. Blessed Rafqa (Rebecca) is God's gift to the
universal Church from the Maronites, which hale from Lebanon. Raqfa, like
the bride in the Song of Songs, listened to her Beloved's call: "Come from
Lebanon, my promised bride, Come from Lebanon, come on your way. Look down
from the heights of Amanus, From the crests of Senir and Hermon, The haunt
of lions, The mountains of leopards. The scent of your garments Is like
the
scent of Lebanon. She is a garden enclosed, My sister, my promised bride;
a
garden enclosed A sealed fountain Fountain of the garden, Well of living
water, Streams flowing down from Lebanon!" [vv. 4:1-15].
Pierina (Petronilla), the only child Mourad Saber Shabaq al-Rayes and his
wife Rafqa Gemayel, was named after Saint Peter on whose feast she was
born
in the land of the Canaanites and Phoenicians. This blind seer, known as
the
"Little Flower of Lebanon," the "Purple Rose," and the "Silent, Humble
Nun,"
related the story of her life to her mother superior months before her
death.
Life in Lebanon was not easy even in the 19th century and was made more
difficult for Pierina by the death of her mother when she was six years
old.
She worked as a house maid in Syria for four years (1843-1847) and a few
years later (1853) entered the Marian Order of the Immaculate Conception
as
a postulant at the convent of Our Lady of Liberation in Bikfaya. Saint
Maron's Day 1855 she was received as a novice and took the name Anissa
(Agnes). Five years later she witnessed the massacre of Christians in
Deir-el-Qamar. In 1871, her order was united with that of the Sacred Heart
of Jesus to form the Order of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Each
nun
was given the choice of entering the new order, another existing order, or
being dispensed from her vows.
Throughout her life, Raqfa was gifted with extraordinary revelations by
voices, dreams, and visions. In 1871, Sister Anissa went to Saint George's
Church in Batroun to pray about the future of her vocation. That night she
dreamed that Saint Antony the Hermit told her to become a nun in the
Baladiya Order of the Maronites. At the age of 39 (July 12, 1871), she
responded to the dream by entering the ascetic Baladiya Order at the
cloistered convent of Saint Simon in El-Qarn, where she was known as
Boutrosiya from Hemlaya. She made her perpetual vows and received the veil
from Father Superior Ephrem Geagea al-Bsherrawi on August 25, 1873, and
took
the name Rafqa (Rebecca).
As a member of an ascetic order, in 1885, Rafqa asked our Lord to let her
share in His suffering. From that night on her health began to
deteriorate.
Shortly she was blind and crippled and still she imposed greater penances
upon herself, such as eating only the leftover scraps of food. She
continued
to share in the prayers of the community and its work by spinning wool and
knitting of stockings. By 1907, Sister Rafqa was totally paralyzed and in
constant pain, but by uniting her suffering with Christ's she was able to
bear all with joy, without complaint.
Four days after her death, her superior, Sister Doumit experienced the
first
of many miracles wrought at the intercession of Blessed Rafqa (Hourani,
Zayek).
Also See:
http://www.tanbourit.com/lebanese_saints.htm
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St. Anthony's prayer for the help of the Holy Spirit
O God, Send forth your Holy Spirit;
into my heart - that I may perceive,
into my mind - that I may remember,
and into my soul - that I may meditate.
Inspire me to speak with piety,
holiness, tenderness, and mercy.
Teach, guide, and direct my thoughts
and senses from the beginning to the end.
May your grace ever help and correct me,
and may I be strengthened now
with wisdom from on high,
for the sake of your infinite mercy.
St. Anthony of Padua
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The first glorious mystery prayer of the Eucharistic Rosary, to
be offered before the Blessed Sacrament:
The Resurrection of Our Lord, offered for Faith, Hope, and
Charity:
O Christ Jesus! Thou comest forth glorious from the tomb,
victorious over all infernal powers; henceforth sufferings and
death have lost their empire over Thy glorious humanity.
What a consolation for us to know that, though confined to
the humble condition of Thy sacrament, Thou art in full
possession of the life, joy, and glory of Thy resurrection!
We adore Thee, O immortal King of ages, and we beg of
Thee, through the intercession of Thy holy Mother a lively and
loving faith in Thy real and life-giving presence in the Blessed
Sacrament.
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