St. Charbel

Feast Day: July 24

On May 8, 1828, in a mountain village of Biqa-Kafra, Lebanon, Charbel was born to a poor Maronite Family. From childhood, his life revealed a calling to "bear fruit as a noble Cedar of Lebanon."

Charbel "grew in age and wisdom before God and men." At 23 years old he entered the monastery of Our Lady of Lebanon (north of Byblos) where he became a novice. After two years of novitiate, in 1853, he was sent to St. Maron monastery where he pronounced the monastic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

Charbel was then transferred to the monastery of Kiffan where he studied philosophy and theology. His ordination to the priesthood took place in 1853, after which he was sent back to St. Maron monastery. His teacher provided him a good education and nurtured within him a deep love for monastic life.

During his 16 years at St. Maron monastery, Charbel performed his priestly ministry and his monastic duties in an edifying way. He totally dedicated himself to Christ with an undivided heart and desired to live in silence before the Nameless One.

In 1875 Charbel was granted permission to live as a hermit on the hill nearby the monastery at St. Peter and Paul Hermitage. His 23 years of solitary life were lived in a spirit of total abandonment to God.

Charbel's companies in hermitage were the Son of God, as encountered in the Scriptures and in the Eucharist, and the Blessed Mother. The Eucharist became the center of his life. He consumed the Bread of Life and was consumed by it. Though his hermit did not have a place in the world, the world had a great place in his heart. Through prayer and penance, he offered himself as a sacrifice so that the world would return to God.

It is in this light that one sees the importance of the following Eucharistic prayer in his life:

"Father of Truth, behold Your Son a sacrificed
pleasing to You, accept the offering of Him who died for me…"

On December 16, 1898, while reciting the "Father of Truth" prayer at the Holy Liturgy Charbel suffered a stroke. He died on Christmas Eve at the age of 70. Through faith, this hermit received the Word of God and through love, he continued the Mystery of Incarnation.
 

Source: Three Lights From the East, by Father Mansour Awad