THE TREE OF GROANING

 It was Easter Sunday, April 16, 2006. I had midnight Mass. After that, I greeted the faithful. We had chocolate and wine. Then, I went to sleep at 2:30 am in the morning.

While asleep, I had a dream. I saw myself talking to 3 Druze people. Then, I saw the face of Jesus with his powerful presence. He was looking at me but the 3 people could not see his face. There was like a silent but very clear conversation between me and him. I don't know how to explain. It's like our hearts were conversing. Then, Jesus said: "Talk to them. Show them my love." When he said this, I experienced an overwhelming feeling of love towards the Druze people. It was like I wanted to embrace them all. Then, Jesus said: "Tell them that I am not here to eliminate their values but to fulfill them. Tell them that every wisdom in every religious book in every religion is not enough. All the wisdom of the world cannot give peace to man. It is just the Way of the cross that is the only true way for peace."

Then I woke up and  I forgot everything about the dream. It was like it never happened.

I said Mass at 9:30 am for the nuns. Then, I helped the pastor at his 11:00 am Mass. After that, I went down to the Hall to meet all the people and greet them: Happy Easter, Jesus is Alive.

I had a cup of wine and a piece of chocolate. Then, I left and went back to the church. The church was empty. I noticed a man in the shrine. He was with his wife and his daughter (20s). The man was picking a small paper from a basket that I set up last week. These are the sayings of Padre Pio. So, I asked the man: "What is Padre Pio saying to you?" He read: "On this earth everyone has his cross. But we must act in such a way that we be not the bad, but the good thief. " Then, I explained Padre Pio's word. Then, I asked them: "where are you from?" "Kfarhim" they said. “O, gosh, Kfarhim is 100% a Druze town” I said to myself. I wondered what are they doing here in front of the Icon of Our Lady of the Hill. Then, the woman began to tell me her story. She said: "We came here to fulfill a vow to Our Lady. I've been sick for so long. I had a chronic disease. My doctor told me that I must go through a lot of surgeries. When I heard this, I got sick, felt desperate and I prayed. Then, one night, a lady came to me in a dream. She was beautiful. She saw me crying. She told me not to be afraid. I asked her what I can do? She said, go to the "tree of groaning" and you will be healed. I asked her, what is the tree of groaning? She answered, Go and search for it and you will find it. Then, I woke up. I asked myself the whole day, what would the "tree of groaning" be? Then, I said to myself, may be it is a Christian symbol, “Groaning=Christ suffering”. So, I decided to go and visit Our Lady of the Hill (Saydet El-Talle) Maronite church in Deir El Kamar. That was 3 years ago. I came to this church and I prayed. Since then, the disease disappeared completely. I was totally healed and I did not have to go through any surgery. Today, in this great day, the day of Easter, I told my husband that we should go visit this Church to pay homage to Mary, and here we are, we came here."

Then, the husband said that he felt a power that brought them today to this church.

I was struck by the woman’s story. God gave me the gift to explain dreams, so I explained the woman’s dream. I told her that “the tree=the Cross” and “Groaning=Christ’s Passion”. When I explained everything, her 25 year old daughter got encouraged and asked me: “Father, I had a dream but I couldn’t understand it, can you explain it to me?” “Sure” I said. “I saw a man dressing in white. He was shining. He was turning his back so I just saw his back. When I looked at him (turning his back) I got scared. Then, he said to me, “You saw my back and got scared, what if I show you my face, what would you do then?”

When the young daughter said these words “my face”, I remembered the dream that I had this morning. I remembered it very clearly. Then, I said to them, “Wait a minute, this is no coincidence you are here. This morning I had a dream talking to three Druze, and you are three.” I told them about the dream concluding that Jesus has a message for you. They asked: “What is the message of Jesus for us?” I said: “Jesus says to you: I am not here to eliminate your values but to fulfill them.” He also says that every wisdom in every religious book in every religion is not enough. All the wisdom of the world cannot give peace to man. It is just the Way of the cross that is the only true way for peace.

Then, we talked for about an hour before they left with joy.

Jesus is truly alive. He is working in people's lives.

Praise be to God.