A Tabernacle in a Muslim Woman's House

قصة بيت القربان في منزل إمرأة مسلمة

في 9 حزيران 2005، اتصلت بي إمرأة مسلمة.
قالت: "أبونا، أود أن ألتقيك في أسرع وقت ممكن."
قلت: "حسناً، نلتقي غداً. هل أنت بخير؟"
قالت: "لا أعلم. هناك نار في قلبي منذ أول الأسبوع. هناك قوة تدفعني وتقول لي: أخرجي، أخرجي وتحدّثي الى الكاهن. لا أعرف ماذا يحدث لي. أود التحدّث اليك."

ولدت هذه المرأة في الولايات المتحدة الأميركية. وهي مؤثرة جداً في مجتمعها. منذ سنتين عانت من مرض السرطان. فصلّت للأنبياء طالبة الشفاء الى أن صرخت من كل قلبها للمسيح يسوع في عيد الميلاد قائلة: ساعدني. وقضت ليلة الميلاد ساجدة تبكي. في أثناء مرضها شعرت بحضور إلهي يرافقها. فهمت أن هذا الحضور هو الله. وبعد فترة قصيرة، تبيّن من الفحوصات أن المرض إختفى كلياً. الرب استجاب دعاءها. لم يشفها فقط من المرض الجسدي بل كشف لها حضوره الحي. وما إن قامت من فراش المرض حتى بدأت مسيرة بحثها عن الرب.

التقينا يوم الجمعة 10 حزيران 2005 في مطعم. دخلت ووضعت حقيبتها على المقعد وقالت: "أشعر بنار في قلبي منذ أول الأسبوع. هناك قوة تدفعني لأخرج وأتحدّث اليك. لا أفهم ماذا يجري. أشعر بالضياع. لست أفهم أين هي الحقيقة. أفكّر بالمسيح كل يوم وبشدة هذا الأسبوع." تحدّثنا حوالى الساعة شارحاً لها ما تقدّمه كل ديانة للإنسانية وأن المسيحية لا تقدّم آلية Technique أو كتاباً وإنما شخصاً حيّاً. هذا الشخص هو يسوع المسيح، عمانوئيل، أي "الله معنا".
قالت مقاطعة: "ماذا؟ تدعونه "الله معنا"؟
قلت: "نعم. أراك منذهلة."
قالت: "أرسلت عدة رسائل الكترونية عبر الإنترنت هذا الأسبوع عنوانها "الله معنا". لست أفهم."

ثم تذكّرت أمراً مهماً حدث معها هذا الأسبوع، قالت: "ذهبت يوم الإثنين الى جناز صديقتي المسيحية. وهي أول مرة أدخل فيها كنيسة كاثوليكية. كان هناك سلام عظيم. جلست على المقعد في آخر الكنيسة. ثم رأيت الناس يتوجهون نحو الكاهن الذي كان يعطيهم "شيئاً". فقلت لأذهب معهم. فوضع الكاهن "شيئاً" في يدي. لم أعلم ما هذا. أخذته في يدي وعدت الى مكاني. ثم أطبقت يديّ على ذلك الشيء وأغمضت عينيّ قائلة: إن كانت المسيحية هي الحقيقة، فاكشف لي ذلك."

قلت مرتبكاً: "ماذا فعلت بهذا "الشيء"؟
قالت: "أخذته "Souvenir" ووضعته في حقيبتي."
قلت: "ماذا؟"

قالت: "هل ما فعلته خطأ؟"
سألتها: "هل تعلمين ما هو ذلك الشيء؟"
قالت: "لا، أخبرني."
فشرحت لها عن سرّ القربان المقدّس. وأن ذلك الشيء هو قطعة خبز تحوّلت الى جسد الربّ."
قالت: "لم أكن أعلم أنها قطعة خبز".

ثم تذكّرَت أمراً ، قالت: "أعتقد أنه معي في الحقيبة".
قلت: "ماذا؟ أعطيني إياه فوراً".
فتحت حقيبتها وأعطتني جسد الربّ فانفتحت عينيّ وعرفت كل شيء.
الربّ كان حاضراً معنا لأكثر من ساعة دون أن نعلم. حقيبتها كانت بيت القربان. بيت القربان كان في منزلها لمدة أسبوع.

فشرحت لها:
"لذلك كنت مشتعلة من الداخل، لأن الربّ كان حاضراً معك.
لذلك كتبت رسائل عنوانها "الله معنا"، لأن الربّ كان معك.
لذلك شعرت بقوة تدفعك للخروج والتحدّث الى الكاهن.
لذلك كنت تفكّرين كل يوم وبشدة بيسوع المسيح. كنت تبحثين عن الربّ فجاء الربّ إليك. سألته أن يكشف لك الحقيقة، فأجابك. الربّ سمح بذلك لأنه يحبك".
عندما قلت ذلك بكت المرأة بكاء شديداً وقالت: "هذا أمر عظيم لا أستطيع إدراكه".

وبعد عدة أشهر لم تعد تستطيع إحتمال البعد عن يسوع. فصامت عدة أيام واتخذت قرارها الحرّ أن تصبح مسيحية.

A TABERNACLE IN A MUSLIM HOUSE

 On June 9, 2005, a Muslim woman called me on the phone. She said: “Father, I would like to meet you very soon. Can we meet tomorrow?

- “Yes, sure. We can meet on Friday afternoon. Are you Okay?”

- “I don’t know. There is a fire in my heart for the whole week and I am experiencing a power that is telling me: ‘Get out, get out’. I don’t understand what is going on in my life. I would like to talk to you.”

 This woman was born in the USA, of Mid-Eastern descent. She is very influential in her environment. A few years ago, she had cancer. That’s when she cried out to God with all her strength: “God, please help me.”

 God answered her prayer. He not only healed her body but He also revealed to her His powerful Presence. Since then, she became wounded by His Love. She would seek Him everywhere. She was also in search for the Truth because many things were disturbing her in her community. Many things she would never accept. Things around her seemed to be untrue.

She began to feel confused: “Why do I feel outside of my environment?”

Other questions concerning the Prophet of her religion arose in her mind for the first time. These questions were very disturbing: “How could he allow himself to marry more than 6 women? I don’t understand this. I feel torn apart. I love God but I can’t accept this. Sometimes I feel drawn to Jesus because He was pure. But I am afraid. I am troubled. Where is the Truth?”

On Friday afternoon, we met in a restaurant.

 She said: “I’ve been on fire for the whole week. There was a power telling me ‘get out, get out.’ I don’t understand this. I felt I needed to talk to you, to someone who is close to God. I feel confused and troubled. I don’t know where the Truth is. I’ve been thinking of Jesus the whole week, everyday, from Monday to Friday.

 We talked around one hour, then, I explained to her what every religion offers to humanity. I told her that Buddhism offers a technique to reach Nirvana. But even Buddha did not reach it. So, there is no evidence for its existence. Islam offers a book, the Qur’an, which is considered the word of God. It is like God gave this book to humanity to follow and there is no more dialogue with Him. I said: “Christianity does not offer a technique or a book, but a Person Who Is Alive. This Person, Jesus Christ, is called Emmanuel, which means ‘God with us’”.

When I said that Jesus is called ‘God with us’, she interrupted saying: “What? Is He called ‘God with us’? I didn’t know that?”

- “Why, what’s wrong here?”

- “Yesterday, I wrote on my screen ‘God with us’. I don’t understand.

Then, she recalled something that happened during the week.

She said: “On Monday, I went to a funeral. It was the first time that I entered a [Catholic] church. It was peaceful. I sat down on a pew. I saw people going in line. A priest was giving them Something. So I decided to go with them. I approached the priest. He gave me Something.

The priest gave me “something”. I didn’t know what was that.

- “What???”

- “I didn’t know what That was. I took It in my hand and went back to my place. I saw a cross on that Thing. So I closed my hands on that Thing and said: “Lord, if this is the Truth (Christianity) let me know.”

- “What did you do with It?”

- “I put It in my purse.”

- “What????”

- “Why? What is wrong here? Did I do something wrong?”

- “Do you know what was the Thing that you received?”

- “No, tell me.”

 I explained to her the Mystery of the Eucharist in a very simple way. I did not want her to be overwhelmed. I said: “This is what Christians believe. This is the bread transformed into the Body of Christ.”

- “I did not know it was bread.”

Then, she remembered something.

“I think I have It here with me.”

- “What? Give It to me immediately.”

She opened her purse. She took the Eucharist in her hands and gave it to me. I wrapped it in a cloth and placed it in my pocket.

I had just spent more than an hour with her without knowing that the Lord was literally with us. Her purse was a Tabernacle. It has been a Tabernacle in her own apartment for the whole week!!!

 She asked me to explain. So I told her:

“This is why you have been on fire for the whole week.

This is why you wrote on your screen ‘God with us’, because the Lord was with you.

This is why you felt you needed to talk to a priest.

 This is why you have been thinking of Jesus the whole week.”

 “You had a desire to meet God and God came to you.”

 I said: “You asked Him in prayer while holding the Eucharist “If this is the Truth, let me know” and he answered your prayer.”

 “He allowed this to happen, because He loves you!”

When I said that Jesus loves her, she cried very much.

She said, “this is too overwhelming.”

I said, “There are many things that I can see in your life, but I can’t tell you now, because you cannot bear it.”

She said, “Why don’t you tell me?”

I said: “I don’t want to tell you everything (that the God Who is calling her can be seen and known in Jesus Christ). I will let God work in your life. I believe He will reveal Himself to you gradually. Don’t be afraid, you will find the One you love.”

After this meeting, I felt overwhelmed by this story. It is amazing how Jesus works in people’s lives.

This Muslim woman has a pure heart. Therefore, she will find God because Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God.”

 This woman prays with her heart not with her lips.

 This woman is searching for the Truth with a sincere heart. Therefore, she will find Jesus who said, “I am the Truth.”

 She is longing for something deep. She has a tremendous desire to find the Lord, but the Lord went to her house. He made a Tabernacle of her purse. She carried Him with her for the whole week. Her heart was set on fire and she did not know the Source of this Fire.

 This story taught me a great lesson, that Jesus is thirsty for souls and that there are millions of people who long to find the Lord but they don’t know where to find Him. While many of the Catholics who know where to find Him (in the Eucharist), they are still lazy and do not get up and help these souls to find the One they are thirsty for, and the One Who Thirsts for them!

 At the end of June, she said to me: “I believe that the whole world should follow Jesus Christ.”

 Finally, she feels peace and no more confused because now she found the role model in her life: Jesus Christ.

THE STORY CONTINUES

Then, I left the US back to Lebanon for a new assignment. She had a contract in an Arab country, So, she left the US and went there. In that country, she would do her work and go back to her apartment. On the road, she would cry asking Jesus, “Why do you make me feel what you feel, and how people are lost for they do not know you? Why? What do you want from me?” Then, she would go to sleep and when she put her head on her pillow, she would feel His Presence. Finally, she said to herself, “I can’t continue this way. I have either to accept him or to run away.” So, she decided to fast for 3 days, in order to take her most difficult decision. She began her fast, and on the third day, her mother called her from the US. She said to her daughter, “I read your horoscope. It says that you’ve been trying to take a decision for three days. And I tell you honey, take your decision, take it my dear.” The Muslim woman laughed at how God sometimes works through silly things. She took her decision, went back to the US and got baptized secretly.

Her first night as a Christian at her parent’s house was strange. She felt a dark presence inside the house. She couldn’t sleep. So, she went from one room to another making the sign of the cross saying, “In the name of Jesus, get out from here.”

The newly baptized woman went back to the Arab state, joined a Christian community, and began her mission to make Jesus known to many.

Praise be to God.