“Sister Noha is one of those people who mark lives and who will not be forgotten”.
This is how the whole Religious Province of the Orient, through sister Pascale, and with her the whole family of the Sisters of Charity, wished to begin the tribute to sister Noha, during her funeral. Tribute that we report here in full.
Kfour, 26 August 2024
Tribute to Sister Noha
Some people mark our lives forever. Sister Noha is one of those who cannot be forgotten. Her life is intimately linked to the history of our Eastern Province. Her departure for heaven leaves a huge void in our hearts.
We certainly mourn her… but I believe that, from heaven, she invites us to give thanks to the Lord for her life filled with hope and faith, courage and determination to proclaim the Kingdom without fear, in the image of the great founding saints like Paul of Tarsus, the holy philosophers and theologians like Augustine, John Chrysostom and Thomas Aquinas, the holy Fathers of the Church and poets like Ephrem… not forgetting mystical saints such as Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Francis of Assisi and so many others.
We can compare her to our Foundress St Jeanne Antide, an intrepid woman who went ahead without fear of danger, braving all obstacles for the glory of God and the advancement of the poor.
Who among us does not recognise her natural aptitude for clarity of speech, the breadth of her knowledge and the finesse of her interventions in all circumstances?
Born in Deir El-Kamar on 14-9-1934, Noha entered the novitiate here in Kfour in 1964, taking her first vows on 1-9-1966.
From 1966 to 1973, while still a university student (religious and philosophical training), sister Noha taught at Sainte Anne Beyrouth. In 1974, she was sent to the Sorbonne in Paris, where she obtained a doctorate in philosophy and a master’s degree in Islamology.
From 1975, the Superiors appointed her to the service of authority, first as Regional Superior, then as Provincial Superior, a position she held until 2010.
We recognise in her the gift of forming, leading, founding, encouraging, risking, believing in others and pushing them to surpass themselves.
Allow me to expand on three points that describe her perfectly.
Sister Noha, an incomparable teacher
She opened our eyes to the richness and depth of the theology of the Fathers of the Church, and to the beauty of the mystical current in both Christianity and Islam. She introduced us not only to an open religious culture, but also to reading current events according to criteria based on a solid foundation of faith. There have been so many days and sessions to count. Not only at the level of the Province of the East, which includes six countries, but of the entire Congregation, especially in Italy, France and America. She has given conferences on Islam in the dioceses of Switzerland and Besançon. She was part of a reflection and research group on Islam at the Jesuit University in Beirut. With great difficulty, she agreed to publish some of her lectures, which appeared in three volumes in 2014 with the title GUETTE L’AURORE, toi l’assoiffé de Dieu [WATCH THE AURORA, you thirsty for God]: a collection of spiritual poems, sprung from a philosophical soil watered with the Word of God; a sample of the ocean of reflections and research she produced for our formation.
Sister Noha, an intrepid woman
The years of civil war in Lebanon proved her fortitude in braving the danger of shells, saving our homes, sheltering our sisters, closing one school and opening another in very precarious conditions. Through her actions, she taught us that ‘life is stronger than death’. There was no stopping her, she led us towards the main objective: to live for others by fixing our gaze on Christ and holding the hand of the Virgin Mary ‘Saït el Tallé’, and this at a time of war when everything speaks of the dead, the mutilated, exiles and refugees, a time when fear takes over and paralyses. Noha always proves to be a fearless woman! What adventures she encountered during her travels to encourage the sisters and support them in their hope. We loved listening to her recount her memories of journeys on roads trapped by armed groups, her meetings and her outspokenness with leaders to save the house in Baabda from occupation. Unfortunately, she never agreed to write down her painful memories.
Siste Noha, a visionary and dynamic Sister of Charity
We recognise in sister Noha the gift of seeing further ahead, of seizing God’s hour to open a mission or close one. We are witnesses to the fact that throughout her mandates, she did not hesitate to explore new mission fields in response to the Church’s calls, whether in Lebanon, Egypt… but above all in Sudan, India and Ethiopia. A pioneer, she drew us into her enthusiasm for the new. «Difficulties fade away – she used to tell us – when our hearts are attuned to the Spirit, who inspires in us a love of risk». Her stories filled us with enthusiasm and prepared us to respond courageously to new calls.
Thank you, sister Noha, for being the sister and authority who helped us grow in the total gift of our lives as followers of Christ.
Before concluding, I have drawn a message of hope from the treasure trove of your writings. I quote:
‘If we listen to the cries of our world, we can hear a great deal of suffering. The disease from which our society suffers today is despair. We are faced with fatalities and, as a result, we can do nothing. Our time is a time of despair!
And now, in the midst of this despair that gnaws at our hearts, the Lord knocks at our door and tells us: ‘I am the Resurrection and the life’ Volume II p. 56.
Dear sister Noha, you who now contemplate the Risen Christ face to face, intercede for us, don’t forget your sisters who, weeping, give thanks to God for your life, so beautiful because it was so generously offered.
Sister Pascale
