Raymond Nader is a Maronite Catholic who was born in Lebanon, who was always fascinated with the universe and its creation. A devout man, and loving father, he holds a degree in Electro-Mechanical Engineering which he received from St. Joseph University.
After returning from London to serve his community during the Lebanese war, Raymond became the CEO of a company in Lebanon, which allowed him to frequently visit the Hermitage of St. Sharbel. On the night of November 10, 1994, a miraculous event changed Raymonds life forever. While he was praying, he was enveloped in a bright light where he experienced a miraculous illumination, which revealed a special experience of Gods love.
In his own words, which can be found on the Family of St. Sharbel, USA website:
“I was praying, as was my custom of many years, and this time in front of Saint Sharbel’s hermitage in Annaya. I found myself in another world… everything had stopped. I could no longer see the candles I had lit, nor the trees, nor the ground. I could hear no sound at all. I could not feel my body. I started seeing – but not with my eyes – things I had never seen in my life. I stopped hearing with my ears, but started hearing things I had never heard before. I started feeling in my heart what I had never felt before as if my heart was no longer made of flesh and blood. I saw a strange and amazing Light unlike any light I had ever seen; it was a sea of light that extended from one end of the universe to the other. The sun would look like a small candle compared to that Light. It was not a natural light; despite all its strength, it neither dazzled nor burned. The Light was soft and smooth, gentle, yet strong and powerful at the same time. It had a crystalline color and was an extremely clear and pure Light. I felt as if I were a tiny drop of water, swimming in a very great sea of wonderful crystal Light. I felt very safe like a tiny baby swimming trustfully in the water of his mother’s womb. I felt indescribable joy and great amazement!
I felt as if I were perhaps standing, sitting, or swimming or something else that I do not know. I was either present before a great being or in the heart of a very powerful and marvelous being. This presence is the perfection of power, knowledge, compassion, and love. I felt as if I were in contact with one being while, at the same time, I was in contact with all the creatures of the universe. It seemed that the whole universe had become one and I was a part of it. As if the universe melted in this Light, and so did I. I then entered into a dialogue with that Light. It would talk to me without words, without voice, without language, but in a way clearer than any words, and more eloquent than any language. That Light was talking directly to my soul and addressing my mind and my heart directly -without passing through my ears or my eyes or any of my earthly senses, of which I was no longer aware of.”
I said to myself,“I must be dreaming.” He answered me in His way and in His language, which is devoid of words, sounds or languages. He made me understand – in a very clear way that can neither be misinterpreted, misunderstood nor wrongly explained – that I was not dreaming. Yet, I repeated to myself, “I am certainly not conscious.” In the same marvelous and clear way He explained to me that I was at the pinnacle of consciousness and that I had never in my life reached a level of awareness of my existence as I had at that moment. It was as if He were telling me: “You are now more conscious than you have ever been in your life. You are at the most conscious moment of your life.”
Then I started wondering: Where am I? What is this Light? Who is this talking to me? At that moment, I felt the most awesome sensation a person can ever feel: a very great peace, an indescribable joy, an intense and absolute happiness. It was a complete and wonderful clarity, a pure and strong love that exceeds by millions of times the love that exists in the hearts of all human beings together… a great and tremendous love, yet unlike that of humans, a different one. A great divine love which only that Light can grant.
As I was overwhelmed by that wonderful feeling, and completely melted in it, I ‘heard’ Him telling me: “This is me.” It was as if I had known Him for a very long time, since my birth, or even perhaps before I was born. I felt as if He knew me perfectly since I was formed in my mother’s womb and even before that. As if He knew every atom of my body; and knew each cell of my brain. As if He knew the thoughts of my soul, and my feelings far better than I did. I felt completely naked in front of Him and I felt that the Light went through my body from one side to the other. This Light does not cast shadows; He passes through everything… I felt that He entered every corner of my heart.
I wanted that Light to stay permanently. I wanted to remain in Him always and that if He wanted to go away, that He might take me with Him. But He answered me in His way as if He were saying to me: ‘I am always here and everywhere; I do not go anywhere. I am always in time, and out of it; in space and out of it.”
The experience lasted hours, but changed Raymonds life forever. As he was returning to his vehicle, near a statue of St. Sharbel, Raymond noticed a handprint on his arm. When he returned home and showed his wife, she immediately made the sign of the cross and knew something miraculous had occurred. It was soon revealed by a plastic surgeon in Beruit, Dr. Hokayem, that the markings on his arm were third degree burns. With this visible sign from St. Sharbel that the vision was true, Raymond dedicated himself to serving God and started the Family of St. Sharbel with a group of Priests, Monks, Nuns, and Laypeople in Annaya, Lebanon.
St. Sharbel has repeated this experience with Raymond multiple times, continuing to spread Gods message of Fatherly love, that God is real, and the importance of the sacraments in our daily lives. To this day, Raymond remains the Founder and Superior of the Family of St. Sharbel.
To learn more about each of these experiences, click here.