The War of the Devil

1- When I told Ahmad's story to the people and the children of our parish, their hearts were burning with enthusiasm for the mission.

They said to themselves, "What are we doing to our country? We're following this leader or that and we're fighting in politics, forgetting our Christian mission to give the light of the world to the thirsty peoples."

At night, I was leaning my head on the pillow to sleep when an evil, satanic calm thought said to me,

"Father, stop telling people true stories. They won't understand them.  Keep these stories to yourself.  Some might accuse you of promoting yourself or of pretending sanctity."

I was disturbed to hear this and I almost believed it.  So I took the Holy Bible and I prayed, "Lord, Jesus, you know my weakness and I know my sin; You talk to me, and no one else, not even my own thoughts."

I opened the Bible and I read a passage from Acts 21:18-19:

       “The next day, Paul accompanied us on a visit to James, and all the presbyters

       were present. He greeted them, then proceeded to tell them in detail what God

       had accomplished among the Gentiles through his ministry.”

When I read this passage, I was filled with joy and peace because Jesus wants me to talk and to tell everything in detail.

2- I got up from my bed and I turned on the computer.  I wrote the whole story and I wanted to publish it on my web site. The moment I pressed the button to publish it, the computer was hit by a virus, which damaged the whole site.

"Oh, my God, what happened?"  I said to myself.  I didn't understand anything. Luckily, the site was saved on a small computer six months ago.  I worked a whole week to get back the information I lost, and I didn't have the courage to publish the story on the internet because I felt that the matter was dangerous.

3- We inaugurated the shrine on the 12^th of September, 2007.  The Virgin had already sent the altar, the statue and the stones from Europe in the travelers’ bags. The Virgin had sent everything you see in the shrine.  I didn't use publicity. After the inauguration I traveled to the United States of America and there through my sermons I told the Americans the story.  Enthusiasm spread through their hearts and they said, "This is what we want to hear."   So they invited me to their homes, schools and churches to tell it for them.

On the second of October, 2007, I was telling the story and a person who was responsible for programs on TV and radio was present.  He took me aside and insisted on telling the story on the radio and the television.

I said, "Be a bit patient."

He said: "You have to tell this story no matter what."

I replied, "When do you want to tell it on the radio?"

He asked me, "Can you go to the radio station tomorrow?"

I agreed and registered the appointment on my schedule.  He then asked, “Can you go to the TV station the day after tomorrow?"  I agreed.  The moment I wrote down the date on my schedule, I entered my office and I received a call, "Father, Deir-El-Kamar is surrounded by fire."

"What?" I asked.  “What has happened?"

"We're in hell; the flames are 17 meters deep. The fire passes near the houses and burns the whole mountain."

I was afraid. I didn't know who caused the fire, but I understood the devil's message. "If you keep on telling the story, I'll burn Deir-El-Kamar and set the Lamb of God Shrine on fire."

I was confused all night, "Shall I go to the radio station tomorrow or not? Shall I tell the story on TV or not?"

I went to see a holy nun and told her everything, she said, "This is a sign that the story must reach everyone. The devil practices terrorism through his thoughts and deeds so that we won't talk about what God is doing in our lives and the lives of others. Thus, if we don’t talk, faith becomes weak. But, if we tell what God is doing in our lives, faith actually gets stronger in the souls.  Faith comes from hearing."

I understood and I went to the radio and the TV and told the story to millions of people.

This is the Good News.  Every Christian has to tell others about what God is doing in his life and the life of others, without fear of pride (you're pretending to be a saint, you're promoting for your own self) or retreating or drawing back before evil thoughts and the devil’s terrifying deeds.

On the 2^nd of October, the flames of fire were very high in Deir-El-Kamar and people were terrified and perplexed and astonished.  Fire passed among the houses but no one was hurt and it burned the whole Mountain of the Cross.  After the destructive fires, people visited to inspect the Lamb of God Shrine.  There was the greatest surprise, which made them cry.  The two trees of the chapel, the tree, which overshadowed the head of the Virgin, and the tree of the blue cross all remained clothed in their green garments. Everything else was reduced to ash or deformed by the flames. In addition, the paper bags surrounding the shrine, in which we put candles, remained intact.

The people who live in Deir-El-Kamar felt that only the Virgin protected the place and she forbade the evil hand to reach it. It was a great sign from heaven that comforted and assured everyone.  The Virgin and her Son, the Lamb of God, were and are present with us.