For over five years now Lebanon has been going through a profound crisis. Many people have become impoverished and are experiencing feelings of anger, helplessness and despair. Many families are suffering great tensions. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has only brought still greater fears for the future. People are leaving the country whenever they can. And sadly, the suicide rate has also increased. Mother Maguy Adabashy, the general superior of the Missionary Sisters of the Most Blessed Sacrament, has written to us. „The people are despairing and looking for meaning. They are hungering for hope and peace.“
The sisters want to be able to help by organising retreats, training courses, workshops and other activities, especially for youth groups and couples, but also for other religious so that they too can bring new strength and hope to others. The activities will be held in the Saint John Paul II Centre in Ehmej, around 35 miles (57 km) from the capital Beirut. The idea is for the participants to stay there for a day or two, in order to recharge their spiritual batteries and be given support in their search for stability and meaning. Altogether, some 3000 people are expected to be able to benefit from the offer.
The centre in Ehmej is a quiet, peaceful place in the mountains, just a few miles from the monastery of St. Maron Annaya, where Saint Charbel is buried. Saint Charbel lived here as a hermit in the 19th century and is renowned worldwide for the miracles attributed to him. Thousands of remarkable healings and other miracles and graces are attributed to his intercession. The monastery where he is buried is one of the most important pilgrimage centres in Lebanon today, and so staying at the centre in Ehmej can easily be combined with a pilgrimage to his tomb.
We are proposing to support this excellent initiative with 9100 Euros, so that fresh hope can be born again in as many human hearts as possible, and so that families may find the strength to tackle the challenges in their lives with confidence.
