Rafka was born in Lebanon in 1832. She was an only child. Her mother died when Rafka was seven years old. In time, her father remarried, but Rafka never got along with her stepmother. Rafka turned to Jesus when she was sad or upset. She trusted that our Savior would help her.
When she was fourteen, Rafka announced that she wanted to become a nun. She joined an order called the Mariamettes. After she took her vows, Sr. Rafka was put in charge of the kitchen at a seminary. In her free time, she taught the village children about Jesus.
Wars between political groups were common in Lebanon. One day a battle began while Rafka was teaching her young students. She saved a boy from certain death by hiding him under her cloak.
When her superior noticed her gift for working with children, she asked Rafka to be a teacher at one of the order’s schools. After only a year, Rafka and another nun were asked to establish a new school. She taught there for seven years.
Sr. Rafka was faced with an important decision. Her order was being combined with a different order. The nuns were given three choices: they could be released from their vows; they could become part of the combined order; or they could join another order. Rafka prayed for the wisdom to make the right decision. Then she had a dream in which St. Anthony of the Desert appeared to her. She joined the Lebanese Maronite Order, a community devoted to prayer, silence, and sacrifice. It was a very different life than Sr. Rafka was used to!
During her years with the Maronite’s, Sr. Rafka grew even closer to our Lord. She experienced many problems with her vision and health. She saw these problems as a blessing that allowed her to share in Christ’s sufferings.
We thank God for St. Rafka. Her love for Jesus was more important than anything else in her life. Like St. Rafka, we can love the Lord with all of our heart, with all of our soul, with all of our mind, and with all of our strength, as the Great Commandment teaches (Based on Mark 12:30).
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