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.
“
The world of the Lord is real. Every
person is called to realize himself in the world of the Lord.
There is no other way to this world but one.
This way is Jesus Christ. The only provision and protection needed for
this journey on this way is love. We
must all love one another with no return, no conditions or limitations. In order
for us to extend such love, we must immerse ourselves in the fountain of love:
Jesus- Christ, through prayers and Eucharistic sacrament.”
Some
of the other messages are:
“ A king wants to build a big temple with the
help of the people of his kingdom. The required stones are available at the
quarry of this world. Some of the people hear the word of the king and do his
will: they cut the stones to sizes amenable to lift and carry them jointly and
affectionately. They build the
temple according to the will of God, thus becoming themselves the living stones
of this temple. While other people
take the stones and divide them among themselves according to their means and
claim ownership of the stones. They
transport the stones to build their private little temples, thinking that they
will live forever. They ultimately
pass away along with their temples. Only
the temple of God remains forever. “ Build the temple of God, do not build
your own little temples!” “Let
the sound of your mattocks fill the valleys, and your sickles be a reminder of
the harvest season”.
7.
All people have ears to listen. Few listens, few of who listens
understands and few of who listens and understands, works. “
Listen, understand and do the will of God.”
“The person who prays lives the mystery of
existence, and the person who does not pray hardly exists!”
“ Examine your conscience, reflect, repent and
renew your life!”.
After
the first apparition and the “mark” on Raymond’s arm, a small prayer group
was formed and met weekly to share in prayers and Bible meditation.
This
group met on Friday the 11th of August 1995 in front of Saint Charbel
hermitage at Annaya for an evening prayer, which lasted until the late hours of
the night. Soon after, they agreed to meet every Friday and celebrate the Holy
Mass with Father Makram kozah, and pray under the hermitage’s oak trees.
Later
father Yohanna khawand joined the group. During a homily in one of the Liturgies
he celebrated at the hermitage, he spoke about the splendour of this
“gathering” around Saint Charbel, as if all those who were present were like
one family. Since then, the group adopted the name “Family of Saint
Charbel”.
Prayer
meetings became regular, every Friday evening, at the monastery and at the
hermitage of Saint Charbel, Annaya. The number of worshippers grew in the
thousands. They celebrate the Holy Mass, pray the Rosary and attend Bible study.
In addition to the spiritual and religious activities held by “the Family”
every Friday under the supervision of the monks of Annaya’s monastery, there
are also spiritual exercises and retreats that take place once every two months.
Moreover,
on the first Wednesday of every month a meeting is held to study the Bible in
depth, and to focus on the spirituality of Saint Charbel. And every second
Friday of each month, the Bishop of Jbeil, Most reverend Becahra ElRahi, teaches
and explains the apostolic exhortation given by His Holiness Pope John-Paul II
to the Church of Lebanon.
Since
the beginning of Saint Charbel’s apparitions to Raymond, he took upon himself
to spread the content of the messages, wherever and whenever he was asked, under
the supervision of the Church and her blessing. During the last five years, he
visited many churches, institutions, and schools in every region in Lebanon
sharing his life testimony and transmitting Saint Charbel’s messages. More
than 1000 meetings were held so far, and he continues to testify to his
experience with Saint Charbel inviting the people to witness to Jesus Christ,
commit themselves to His One, universal, Holy Apostolic Church, rationally live
the teachings of the Bible and build the culture of love.
During
the Holy Lent season of 1997, Raymond Nader arrived in Australia. He held
testimonial talks in the churches after the celebration of Holy Mass. One of the
most important gatherings was held at the hall of Our Lady of Lebanon’s
Church. It lasted more than three hours and was attended by more than 2000
people.
During lent 2000, Raymond witnessed to Christ in more than 25 parishes in both Maronite dioceses of the US. He also held testimonial talks in the United Kingdom and Mexico.
After being touched by the fire of the Lord’s Love that reached the depth of his soul, Raymond Nader strives to deliver the message to every corner of the world, carrying the word of God in his heart, and the “sign” of Saint Charbel on his arm.
Email Raymond Nader: