Testimony of Sally Quinones
In 1970, while I was on my knees praying the Rosary, I had a vision of a man in a brown robe and sandals. He was standing on top of a hill, and I was kneeling next to him, dressed entirely in white. My hands were in a praying position, and his arms were outstretched. Hundreds upon hundreds of people were making their way up the hill, some with crutches, in wheelchairs, or on stretchers with others’ assistance. As the people approached the top of the hill, simply by being in this man’s presence, they were healed. They came back down the hill rejoicing, singing, dancing, and praising God.
For many years, I wondered who this man, gifted in healing, could be; I never saw his face, but I knew I was meant to work alongside him. For about five years during the ‘70s, I worked with a Franciscan priest, Father Sebastian, who invited me to volunteer with him at the state hospital. I remember thinking that he was the one I was meant to assist - he wore a brown habit because of his order - but I found that working with the special needs children at the hospital was challenging for me. After that, I thought I would help the new Carmelite priests who came to St. Gertrude; they too wore brown robes with hoods. I went to Mass every day, so I met Father Tomas Alkire who, at the time, was the official exorcist of the deliverance ministry at the diocese. I remember after praying with him one day I sat down and told him about my vision. He said, “time will tell. Let’s just see what God is going to do.” God is the healer, that’s for sure, but I was anxious to see and to help. I worked with him for about five years; many people were healed there at the church, and we had many deliverances. Father truly had the gift of healing, but when he left, I prayed and said to the Lord, “This isn’t him; guide me, Lord, so that I can continue to pray for people and see healing from heaven touching them.”
Later in life, I moved to Mesa Arizona and started attending Christ the King Catholic Church; the priest there asked me if I would be interested in being a prayer leader to pray with people who come for healing, and I said sure. I remember looking up to the monstrance with the Eucharist in it and saying, “Lord, is this the man in the mountain that I saw in the vision many years ago? Was it you? No face was there.” Yet after seven years, I moved back home [to California], and here I was again, looking for the person I was going to work with who would heal many people.
Many years later, I met Joe and Nora Semaan when they started coming to the prayer meeting that we had every Tuesday at 7:30pm. They wanted to introduce me to St. Sharbel through his book, but every week that they would come, I would be busy praying over the sick. They would wait if they could, but after some time, they would leave. One day, they waited and gifted me a book entitled St. Sharbel: The Hermit of Lebanon and I brought it home and set it down in my family room so that I would not forget to read it. The following January, while I was hosting a women’s prayer group in my home, one of the ladies attending, my dear sister in Christ Sonny Takhar, saw the book and went over to pick it up. She asked me if she could take it home to read. She went on to say she had heard that many miraculous healings have been attributed to St. Sharbel’s intercession. I told her I was sorry, but I hadn’t opened the book to look at it and had to read it before I could lend it out.
That evening, everyone left at 8:00pm. I cleaned the kitchen, got ready for bed, and prepared for my evening prayers. As I was getting comfortable in bed, I turned over on my side, and there stood a man with a long beard. He wore a white coat that had large buttons on either side of its front. I wasn’t afraid, but the sight startled me as I was not expecting to see anyone there. There was a gold aura all around him that made his beard appear golden as well. I saw him, and I remember what he looked like, but then the vision left. I thought to myself, “who could this be?” but could not imagine who was visiting me. I remember that I was startled because I wasn't expecting to see anything, but after much thought, I blessed myself and fell asleep.
The next morning, I picked up the book on St. Sharbel, opened it, and there he was––St. Sharbel, dressed in the same large-buttoned, white coat as the man who appeared to me the night before. I knew instantly, after all these years, that the man on the hill in 1970 was St. Sharbel. I was so excited; I called all the women from our prayer group to share the wonderful news. I knew in my heart that St. Sharbel had chosen me to be part of his ministry here on earth.
After sharing the good news of St. Sharbel through talks and speaking events for over a year, God put it on my heart to go to St. Sharbel Maronite Catholic Mission in Stockton. Soon after that, I contacted Fr. Ghattas Khoury and asked to meet with him to share my story and tell him what I wanted to start at the church: a healing service, believing that St. Sharbel had called me to, now knowing that he was the one on the hill with me and that, together, we would pray for the sick and see many healings. I had been part of the Charismatic Healing Ministry for many years, but this calling was different from all the others. Fr. Khoury gave his blessing, and it was decided that we would start holding a healing/anointing Mass once a month at St. Sharbel Maronite Catholic Mission. Both Fr. Khoury and I truly believed that St. Sharbel would be here with us to intercede for us and bring about miraculous healings.
On October 26, 2019, the first healing service took place at St. Sharbel Mission, but due to COVID-19, churches were soon forced to close. God’s miraculous healings through St. Sharbel’s intercession, however, did not stop; they continued to happen all over the world, and now with God’s and Fr. Khoury’s blessing, we are ready to be a channel for them here again.
St. Sharbel, pray for us!
For many years, I wondered who this man, gifted in healing, could be; I never saw his face, but I knew I was meant to work alongside him. For about five years during the ‘70s, I worked with a Franciscan priest, Father Sebastian, who invited me to volunteer with him at the state hospital. I remember thinking that he was the one I was meant to assist - he wore a brown habit because of his order - but I found that working with the special needs children at the hospital was challenging for me. After that, I thought I would help the new Carmelite priests who came to St. Gertrude; they too wore brown robes with hoods. I went to Mass every day, so I met Father Tomas Alkire who, at the time, was the official exorcist of the deliverance ministry at the diocese. I remember after praying with him one day I sat down and told him about my vision. He said, “time will tell. Let’s just see what God is going to do.” God is the healer, that’s for sure, but I was anxious to see and to help. I worked with him for about five years; many people were healed there at the church, and we had many deliverances. Father truly had the gift of healing, but when he left, I prayed and said to the Lord, “This isn’t him; guide me, Lord, so that I can continue to pray for people and see healing from heaven touching them.”
Later in life, I moved to Mesa Arizona and started attending Christ the King Catholic Church; the priest there asked me if I would be interested in being a prayer leader to pray with people who come for healing, and I said sure. I remember looking up to the monstrance with the Eucharist in it and saying, “Lord, is this the man in the mountain that I saw in the vision many years ago? Was it you? No face was there.” Yet after seven years, I moved back home [to California], and here I was again, looking for the person I was going to work with who would heal many people.
Many years later, I met Joe and Nora Semaan when they started coming to the prayer meeting that we had every Tuesday at 7:30pm. They wanted to introduce me to St. Sharbel through his book, but every week that they would come, I would be busy praying over the sick. They would wait if they could, but after some time, they would leave. One day, they waited and gifted me a book entitled St. Sharbel: The Hermit of Lebanon and I brought it home and set it down in my family room so that I would not forget to read it. The following January, while I was hosting a women’s prayer group in my home, one of the ladies attending, my dear sister in Christ Sonny Takhar, saw the book and went over to pick it up. She asked me if she could take it home to read. She went on to say she had heard that many miraculous healings have been attributed to St. Sharbel’s intercession. I told her I was sorry, but I hadn’t opened the book to look at it and had to read it before I could lend it out.
That evening, everyone left at 8:00pm. I cleaned the kitchen, got ready for bed, and prepared for my evening prayers. As I was getting comfortable in bed, I turned over on my side, and there stood a man with a long beard. He wore a white coat that had large buttons on either side of its front. I wasn’t afraid, but the sight startled me as I was not expecting to see anyone there. There was a gold aura all around him that made his beard appear golden as well. I saw him, and I remember what he looked like, but then the vision left. I thought to myself, “who could this be?” but could not imagine who was visiting me. I remember that I was startled because I wasn't expecting to see anything, but after much thought, I blessed myself and fell asleep.
The next morning, I picked up the book on St. Sharbel, opened it, and there he was––St. Sharbel, dressed in the same large-buttoned, white coat as the man who appeared to me the night before. I knew instantly, after all these years, that the man on the hill in 1970 was St. Sharbel. I was so excited; I called all the women from our prayer group to share the wonderful news. I knew in my heart that St. Sharbel had chosen me to be part of his ministry here on earth.
After sharing the good news of St. Sharbel through talks and speaking events for over a year, God put it on my heart to go to St. Sharbel Maronite Catholic Mission in Stockton. Soon after that, I contacted Fr. Ghattas Khoury and asked to meet with him to share my story and tell him what I wanted to start at the church: a healing service, believing that St. Sharbel had called me to, now knowing that he was the one on the hill with me and that, together, we would pray for the sick and see many healings. I had been part of the Charismatic Healing Ministry for many years, but this calling was different from all the others. Fr. Khoury gave his blessing, and it was decided that we would start holding a healing/anointing Mass once a month at St. Sharbel Maronite Catholic Mission. Both Fr. Khoury and I truly believed that St. Sharbel would be here with us to intercede for us and bring about miraculous healings.
On October 26, 2019, the first healing service took place at St. Sharbel Mission, but due to COVID-19, churches were soon forced to close. God’s miraculous healings through St. Sharbel’s intercession, however, did not stop; they continued to happen all over the world, and now with God’s and Fr. Khoury’s blessing, we are ready to be a channel for them here again.
St. Sharbel, pray for us!
