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Apparition of Saint Charbel to Raymond Nader leaves a trace of five fingers imprinted on his arm
Raymond Nader is a Lebanese Christian Maronite citizen born in "Ghineh" village in "Ftouh Keserwan", on the 10th of November 1961, married with a family of three children. He graduated from the Jesuit University in Lebanon with a degree in Electro-mechanical engineering. He then left Lebanon to work in the United Kingdom, where he specialized in Nuclear physics. He began to search through science and technology, for answers concerning creation, the universe and God’s mystery. The mystery of the Eucharistic Sacrament has always perplexed Raymond since his childhood. His grandfather, being a priest has incited him to search for the truth, and to find answers revolving around the Sacrament of the Eucharist. “ Does God truly exist? Where is He? Is Christ really the Son of God? Was He truly crucified? Did he die and rise from the dead? Why does God become incarnate? How does the bread that we bake become the Holy Body of Christ when the priest prays on it? And why people after receiving it, are supposed to love each other and God?
Since 1985, Raymond persevered in his prayers and regular spiritual retreats in hermitages and monasteries (one of them was the hermitage of Annaya). On the eve of November 9th, 1994, Raymond arrived at St Peter and Paul hermitage in Annaya, carrying the Holy Bible and five candles in a bag. He lit the candles and began prayers and meditations. Suddenly, he started to feel changes in his surrounding. The wind grew stronger, the temperature began to rise and the flames of the 5 candles stopped flickering, but continued to burn with no motion. Raymond suddenly felt that he is in a different world. He lost his sense of hearing, sight and feeling. He felt as if he has been transported from darkness to the center of a brilliantly radiating light. However, the light didn’t emit any temperature. It was warm, smooth and had no color, like a pure crystal. He felt the presence of someone addressing him with no language, no audible voice, and no words. However the greeting was amazingly clear. At the thought of asking a question, Raymond felt someone answering him. “ You are not dreaming… you are now more conscious than any other time in your life!” This transcendental situation lasted for four hours; Raymond felt them as less than one second! Raymond returned to our world at around 3:35am. He then, tried to comprehend what has happened. Was it a dream? Or hallucination? He remained in this state of mind until he discovered the mark on his arm: a trace of five fingers imprinted by a strange flame of fire. Raymond immediately notified the Father superior of Annaya monastery, Tomas Mehanna, and the Maronite bishop of Beirut Abi Nader, who knew him since his childhood. They both asked Raymond to consult credible physician specialists and obtain from each a medical report that explains the cause of the mark. All reports stated that the cause couldn’t be established, and that the mark looks like a third degree burn without any pain or inflammation. Besides, the color was not typical of any deep burn that is usually gray or black, but instead, was pinkish and red. It was a precisely drawn lesion that healed within 5 days without any treatment.
Since the 10th of November, these apparitions were repeated several times. During each apparition, Saint Charbel gives Raymond a message and often renews the mark on his arm. Learn more about these events at The Hand of St. Sharbel website
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