A little more about this extraordinary woman, Mother Agnès Mariam of the Cross:
When I was 13-14 years old I rebelled. I have somewhat of an extreme character and my rebellion led me to break with society. It was 1967: all the hippies – the Flower Power movement – were coming to Beirut because Lebanon had the best cannabis. I loved the hippies, they were free, original, and wore special clothing. One year later I joined them and the year after that I followed them to wander the earth. I crossed all of Europe, staying a long time in Amsterdam and in Denmark which were the hippie-capitals. During my journeys I had several conversion experiences.
One time I was in Amsterdam, after having travelled through all of Europe, India and Nepal, and I was telling myself: “I have lived everything, I have tried everything and nothing has made me happy. My life is a fiasco, it is better for me to die.” At that very moment of utter darkness and misery the Lord revealed to me the mystery of the human being, created after His image and likeness. I felt, at that moment, like a great light visiting me in my darkness. Being in the greatest misery, suddenly I found myself in the glory of God, I saw myself just like God sees me, in the original beauty, after the plan of the Creator.
Clearly, God will not want any of his lost sheep to perish, just as Our Lord promised here:
What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that any one of these little ones be lost (Matthew 18:12-14).
Please look around the site of this community, the Monastery of Saint James the Mutilated*, founded by Mother Agnès Mariam and two other women in 1994.
For a more realistic explanation of what is happening in Syria under the aegis of the "Arab Spring," please read the account linked from this page.
And pray for these dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
* appears to be a Persian Christian, martyred by dismemberment in the 4th century under the rule of King Shapur II.
