You are invited to join our Prayer Family: the Oblates of Abana- Our Father
Genesis of the Laure Abana
Translated by Randa Khayat
Two Oblates of the Community
Pray with the Abana Community in Lebanon
Paragraphe par Amma Brigitte
Marie of Bethlehem
Sister Laurence Delacroix prays with us
I fly…
Sister Laurence Delacroix prays with us
In the silence
Sister Laurence Delacroix prays with us
Marie l’egyptienne
Sister Laurence Delacroix prays with us
THE MARONITE CHURCH MONASTIC COMMUNITY
The Maronite Church: Origins, Persecutions, and Heritage of Fidelity
The Maronite Church owes its name to an important monastery, Saint-Maron, named in honor of a hermit named Maron (Maroûn). This saint lived in the north of Syria and retreated to a mountain to lead a life of prayer and penance like all other Syrian monks.
Unfortunately, we have little information about the life and activities of this solitary monk. The only account that gives us certain details comes from Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrrhus (in Syria). This great historian provides no information on the date of birth or death of Saint Maron. Nevertheless, thanks to him, we know that the monk Maron was born in the 4th century. Having renounced the world, he led an ascetic life in his hermitage, often in the open air. His reputation attracted disciples who, eager for Christian perfection, sought a model and an experienced spiritual guide. These disciples followed his teachings, sharing his solitude and discipline. After his death around 410, his body became the subject of disputes among the inhabitants of various cities in the region. Each wanted to have the body of this holy hermit; ultimately, the inhabitants of the largest and strongest town managed to seize the body and placed it in a temple built specially in his memory. This sanctuary soon became a place of pilgrimage. In the year 452, Emperor Marcian built a large monastery near Apamea, the capital of Second Syria, for the disciples of this saint. This monastery of Saint-Maron is the cradle of the Maronite Church.
The importance of this convent grew increasingly. The faithful from the surrounding areas were connected to this monastery and shared the lives of its monks. In the 8th century, following the Arab invasion, when the seat of Antioch became vacant, the powerful monastery of Saint-Maron, having jurisdiction over the local population, declared itself independent and formed a true Church headed by a patriarch.
Constituted as a patriarchate and constantly faithful to the true doctrine of the Christian faith, the Maronite Church continuously faced violent persecutions from heretics and Arabs. Forced to endure these persecutions or change their faith, the Maronites preferred to emigrate to Lebanon, which became their refuge and the center of their Community. However, in Lebanon, as in the Orontes Valley, the Maronite Community maintained its original monastic character, such that the patriarch, bishops, priests, and faithful continued to share the lives of their monks.
At that time, the Byzantine Empire was divided into Prefectures, and these into provinces. Lebanon (or Phoenicia), as well as Syria and Palestine, were then provinces of the Diocese of Antioch in the Prefecture of the East. This is why the Maronite patriarch is even today the patriarch of Antioch and all the East. The liturgical language of the Maronite Church has remained Syriac or Aramaic, the language Christ spoke when He became man.
Subsequently, the Maronite Church quickly established itself as a nation, with the patriarch being both its spiritual and temporal leader. Thus, the Maronites could preserve themselves in a theocratic East and especially help separated Christian Communities to rebuild their new Churches, which became Catholic again.
In short, Sister Rafqa of Himlaya is the daughter of this nation, which forms the only Eastern Church that has always remained faithful to the Apostolic See. There have never been Orthodox Maronites; all have been and are Catholic, and the role they played in preserving Catholicism in the East was highly appreciated by the Sovereign Pontiffs. If the Maronites are the faithful heirs of a tradition of holiness and Catholic unity defended at the cost of their blood, Sister Rafqa is one of its most faithful heirs.
Damia
30/10/2024, 12:06 PM
Elles ont partagé avec moi tous ce qu’elles avaient, dans cet environnement naturel le plus propice à la guérison. Je ne me suis jamais sentie autant dans ma zone de confort, en sécurité. Leurs expériences personnelles, et leur combat respectif pour l’humanité,
Damia
30/10/2024, 12:03 PM
Musulmane de confession, mais partageant profondément le courant spirituel de mère brigitte et soeur laurence, la connexion, voir même la fusion entre nos âmes fut quasi immédiate. Dieu nous a rassemblé… elles m’ont chaleureusement accueillies durant 3 semaines,.
Damia
30/10/2024, 12:01 PM
Souffrant de blessures intérieurs et de stress post-traumatique, en état de burn out sévère avec des séquelles cliniques importantes, j’ai suivi les signes qui m’ont amené à la laure abana, sentant profondément que j’avais besoin d’un accompagnement psycho spirituel.
Christelle Nohra
08/08/2024, 10:11 PM
Par dela les idees du bien et du mal, il ya un champ, ou on se retrouve pour s'aimer et se reconnaitre, et moi je l'ai trouve dans le coeur de amma brigitte et soeur laurence la ou mon coeur se recharge a l'instant meme d'amour de gratitude de paix et de joie profonde 💗🙏
Ceasar Sleiman
11/04/2024, 5:55 AM
I had the chance to visit and spend time at abana back in 2021 get to know about this beautiful mission and community. It's an amazing place to pray and be closed to god, mother amma brigitte and sister laurence very welcoming and it was a blessing to pray with them. God bless!
Gendronneau Delphine
04/01/2024, 3:57 AM
Bonjour je souhaite tous mes vœux pour cette nouvel année plein de belle chose depuis ma venu au liban en 1995/1996 je reste amoureuse à ce pays grace a brigitte mon cœur mes prières son pour vous je pense à vous j espère revenir je n oublie pas brigitte milliers de bisous du fond de mon cœur 😍😘❤️
Lenglet
04/11/2023, 11:56 PM
Ô marie debout près de la croix Ô communautÉ de la laure abana-notre-père debout sur la terre du liban Ô votre prière du silence pour tout porter oasis de paix intÉrieure rencontre de jésus la seule volonté du père, le souffle de l'esprit Ô marie si présente sûres de sa victoire sur la croix !
Prskalo Martina
10/10/2023, 3:55 PM
Bonjour. J'ai regardé le témoignage de sœur brigitte. J'ai été très touché de tout ce dont elle a été témoigné. J'aime beaucoup notre jesus et notre mère la vierge marie. Priez pour nous,mari et moi, pour la vie sainte, le mariage sainte. Nous sommes mariés 7ans, sans l'enfant.
Stéphane Lebeau
12/09/2023, 6:59 AM
Votre dévouement inébranlable envers les enfants et les familles dans le besoin est une source d'inspiration pour tous. Votre lumière d'amour, de compassion et d'espoir brille intensément, éclairant le chemin de ceux qui traversent des moments sombres. Avec ma gratitude. Stéphane
Boursier Christophe
10/09/2023, 2:25 PM
Bonjour a la communauté je m appelle christophe mon chemin religieux est normalement catholique romain traditionnelle mais je suis intéressé par les maronites qui sont pour moi les premiers chrétiens donc actuellement je fréquente notre dame du liban le samedi soir merci a vous de prier pour moi
Elise
02/07/2023, 12:26 PM
Tu es à la recherche du paradis sur terre, de la paix : alors "viens et vois toi-même". La laure abana est un lieu extraordinaire, un havre de paix, c'est une véritable ecole de la vie intérieure. "viens, suis-moi" : tu en sortiras grandi, rempli d'amour et de lumière.
Perrot
01/07/2023, 11:46 AM
Si votre corps est épuisé si votre coeur est oppressé venez à la laure abana notre pére et vous trouverez le repos
Dumortier La Rivièroise' Chantal
28/06/2023, 8:38 PM
Bonjour ami(e)s du liban 🌳. Très beau site☺️💚✝️ pour la gloire de dieu 🙏 félicitations ! Avec toutes mes amitiés de france. Chantal.
Dumortier De La Rivièroise Chantal
10/06/2023, 9:41 PM
Amis du liban, félicitations pour ce site. Vous avez tout mon support et êtes dans mes prières. Tous mes vœux pour votre continuation. Bien à vous 🙏
Hind El Hindi
10/06/2023, 7:32 PM
Je suis oblate 10 ans a la laure abana. C une ecole de la vie interieure ou tu auras la guerison.C le ciel sur la terre. Courage de faire l experience
Evelyne Watiau
10/06/2023, 4:33 PM
Merci beaucoup pour cette présentation. Union de prières avec vous tous ; amen !
La Laure Abana- Notre Père se veut une Porte sur l'Invisible capable de nous dire quelque chose de l'indicible : un peu de lumière dans nos nuits, un peu de silence dans nos bruits.Toi, l'Ami Visiteur, Merci de signer ici Ta Présence, Ton passage pour nous encourager tous et toutes dans cette Aventure sainte, avant peut-être de venir et voir !
THE NAME "ABANA - OUR FATHER
THE ABANA "LAURE - OUR FATHER
ORIGIN
According to Chitty, the Greek laura (“tube”) derives from the Aramaic suq (in the sense of “alley,” hence the Arabic souk “market”) found in the name of the third laure founded by Chariton the Confessor, souka, because of the arrangement of cells lined up next to each other – somewhat like the Abana Laure – rather than being scattered in the landscape (as was the case in Egypt).Conversely, subiba, attested in Greek to designate two monasteries in the Jordan Valley (referred to by John Moschus), comes from the Aramaic word meaning “circle,” with the cells arranged in a circle.
HISTORY
Cyril of Scythopolis said of Euthymius that he founded his laure “on the model of Pharan,” the first of the three laures founded by Chariton the Confessor in Palestine at the beginning of the 4th century. Therefore, the term “laure” primarily referred to the mode of prayer: the monks prayed alone in their cells (except once a week) and not communally in the church as in cenobitism. Indeed, the monks of the laures in the Judean desert or the Jordan Valley during the Byzantine period, except for exceptions, lived in the same monastery like any other cenobites.A description by the poet Sidonius Apollinaris suggests that this was the way of life for the monks of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie in the 5th century.
TODAY
“At all times, men and women who have dedicated their lives to God in prayer — like monks and nuns — have established their communities in particularly beautiful places in the countryside, on hills, in valleys, between mountains, by lakes or the sea, even on small islands. These places unite two very important elements for contemplative life: the beauty of creation, which reflects the Creator’s, and the silence guaranteed by the distance from cities and major thoroughfares. Silence is the setting that best promotes recollection, listening to God, and meditation. The very fact of enjoying silence, of allowing oneself to be ‘filled’ by silence, predisposes us to prayer. The great prophet Elijah on Mount Horeb — that is, Sinai — experienced a whirlwind of wind, then an earthquake, and finally lightning, but he did not recognize God’s voice in them; he recognized it instead in a gentle breeze (cf. 1 Kings 19:11-13). God speaks in silence, but we must know how to listen. This is why monasteries are oases where God speaks to humanity; within them is the cloister, a symbolic place because it is an enclosed space but open to the sky.”Benedict XVI, Audience of August 10, 2011
Thank you for filling out this form if you wish to subscribe to our newsletter!
Event - founding advent of Abana
ABANA
After her intense "Person to person" encounter with Jesus Christ in her artist's cellar in Paris, Brigitte May flew from Mont Sainte-Geneviève to Mount Lebanon to become a hermit.
She was followed by Laurence Delacroix, who, after hearing her testimony, discovered the living Christ Jesus. Both realized that they shared the same wound and the same existential quest... From this arose the founding light of the Abana laure, which has become a place of reconciliation and peace in the Diocese of Batroun in Lebanon. This book takes us, heart pounding, in the footsteps of these two hermit apostles journeying toward an unlimited Love.
AUTHOR: Mother Brigitte May is the founder of the Abana laure located in the village of Toula in northern Lebanon. She is assisted by Sister Laurence Delacroix, co-founder. Both are French and have been living in Lebanon for thirty-three and sixteen years respectively.