Posted on 07/24/2012 12:38:17 PM PDT by NYer
.- On July 24, the Catholic Church celebrates the life of St. Charbel Makhlouf, a Maronite Catholic priest, monk, and hermit who is known for working miracles both during his life and after his death.
On the occasion of his beatification in 1965, the Eastern Catholic hermit was described by Pope Paul VI as “ a new, eminent member of monastic sanctity,” who “through his example and his intercession is enriching the entire Christian people.”
Born into humble circumstances in Lebanon during 1828, Yussef Antoun Makhlouf was the youngest of Antoun Zaarour Makhlouf and Brigitta Elias al-Shediyaq's five children. Antoun, who had been taken away from the family and forced into hard labor, died when his youngest son was only three.
Yussef studied at the parish school and tended to his family's cow. Engaged in prayer and solitude from a early age, he spent a great deal of time outdoors in the fields and pastures near his village, contemplating God amid the inspiring views of Lebanon's valleys and mountains.
His uncle and guardian Tanious wanted the boy to continue working with him, while his mother wanted him to marry a young woman. Yussef had other plans, however, and left home in 1851 without informing anyone.
Yussef would become “Brother Charbel,” after making a pilgrimage on foot to his new monastic home. In this, he followed the example of his maternal uncles, who were already living as solitary monks at the Hermitage of Saint Paul in the Qadisha Valley.
Charbel took his monastic vows in November of 1853, during a solemn ceremony which was closed to the public and off-limits even to his family. He subsequently studied for the priesthood and was ordained, returning to the Monastery of St. Maron.
The priest-monk lived and served in the monastery for 19 years, showing great devotion to the life of prayer, manual work, and contemplative silence.
Charbel's superiors observed God's “supernatural power” at work in his life, and he became known as a wonder-worker even among some Muslims. In 1875, he was granted permission to live as a solitary monk in a nearby hermitage dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul.
Rigorous asceticism, and a profound union with God, continued to characterize the monk's life for the next 23 years. Deeply devoted to God's Eucharistic presence, he suffered a stroke while celebrating the Divine Liturgy of the Maronite Catholic Church on December 16, 1898. He died on Christmas Eve of that year.
St. Charbel's tomb has been a site for pilgrimages since his death. Hundreds of miracles are believed to have occurred through his intercession with God, both in Lebanon and around the world.
He was canonized in 1977 by Pope Paul VI, who had earlier hailed the Lebanese Maronite saint as an “admirable flower of sanctity blooming on the stem of the ancient monastic traditions of the East.”
[The last Prayer of the Saint before he died.]
| Father of truth, Here is Thy Son, The sacrifice in which Thou art well pleased. Accept Him for He died for me. So through Him I shall be pardoned. Here is the offering. Take it from my hands And so I shall be reconciled with Thee. Remember not the sins that I have committed In front of Thy Majesty. Here is the blood which flowered on Golgotha For my salvation and prays for me. Out of consideration for this, Accept my supplication. I have committed many sins But Thy mercy is great. If Thou wilt put them in the balance, |
Thy goodness will have more weight Than the most mighty mountains. Look not upon my sins, But rather on what is offered for them, For the offering and the sacrifice Are even greater than the offenses. Because I have sinned, Thy Beloved bore the nails and the spear. His sufferings are enough to satisfy Thee. By them I shall live. Glory be to the Father Who sent His Son for us. Adoration be to the Son Who has freed us and ensured our salvation. Blessed be He who by His love has given life to all. To Him be the glory. |
Saint Charbel Makhlouf - One of the Greatest Saints of Our Time
St. Charbel, please pray for my brother Nicholas: he has ischaemic small-vein disease and is thought to be incurable.
May God the Father of Mercies restore him to full mental acuity.
+ I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, true God and true Man +
“St. Charbel, please pray for my brother Nicholas: he has ischaemic small-vein disease and is thought to be incurable.”
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Prayers for your dear brother agere.
I listened to the homily of the 11:00 a.m. Mass given today on EWTN. It sounded like dear Father Mitch Pacqua? Father Pacqua shared how important prayer is and gave an example. A modern hermit, I can’t remember his name. Father actually met him. This hermit’s prayers helped to end the war in Lebanon.
Seee...top of the page ~
http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/inspiration.asp
Bump for later reading.
Don’t you love a Heavenly testimony (story).
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July 23, 2012
From ‘The Best of the Spirit of Medjugorje’:
I felt prompted to send you the following story since tomorrow is St. Charbel’s feast day. This story is from The Best of “The Spirit of Medjugorje” Volume II.
I’m Here Waiting For You Every Day
By Jane Monica Spurrier
In 1987, on my third trip to Medjugorje, I purchased a book about Modern
Saints by Ann Ball, and therein was a story about St. Charbel. I loved him
instantly and discovered, lo and behold, he was canonized on my birthday,
October 9th.
I lived in New York City at the time and my church was Notre Dame on the
upper west side by Columbia University. Daily Mass was said in the grotto of
Our Lady of Lourdes each day at 8 A.M. One particular Saturday I woke
up late, and was so hungry I ate my oatmeal.....but didn’t leave myself
enough time to fast before Communion. I kept praying, “Oh Jesus, what miracle
could allow me to receive You” since I knew I needed one hour of fast time.
This kept on, and when the Consecration occurred I did not have the
required one hour to receive. During this time a rather odd looking old man
entered the side door. He was dressed like a monk but didn’t look like our
Franciscans, and I was rather annoyed by his appearance since I thought he
was some psychotic New Yorker.
After Mass ended, I stayed in the grotto to pray. I noticed to my right
I could see into the Sacristy and there was the priest who just said Mass
changing out of his vestments and the “odd” looking monk changing into
vestments. The little monk was coming out to say Mass! We never have a
second daily Mass, but this visitor was going to say one and this would give me
the chance to receiving Our Lord! I was overjoyed.
During the Mass the monk was praying in a language I didn’t understand.
It wasn’t Latin, because I know Latin, but I couldn’t decipher what language
it was. After Mass I stayed in the grotto to praise Our Lord and thank
Him some more for sending the stranger to say Mass. I was the only one there
and during the Consecration the monk looked at me and his eyes said, “Do
you want to receive?” I eagerly nodded back “Yes!” We both could
understand each other without saying a word.
When Mass was over, I went in to thank the pastor (the first priest who
said Mass and functioned as the altar server for the monk). I said, “
Father, you don’t know what a great miracle this was, that I got to receive
Communion!” The monk smiled with a look of abundant joy, happiness and humor -
the look of someone who laughs a lot and is very happy. The pastor didn’t
seem to get my point.
The next day I went back again. I saw the pastor and couldn’t stop
telling him what a great miracle it was for me. Then I said to him, “Father, by
the way, who was that priest?” “I don’t know,” he replied, “I never saw
him before.” I couldn’t believe my ears! What priest would allow another
one to say Mass without knowing who he was?
Several months went by. I opened my book of Modern Saints again. I
turned to St. Charbel and honestly, almost had a heart attack when I saw his
picture. HE WAS THE MONK!!! He had appeared to say the Mass for me. Can
you imagine? I later found out he has appeared numerous times since his
death. I was glad I didn’t know at the time who he was or I would have had a
stroke. St. Charbel had a great devotion to Mass and the Blessed Sacrament.
Anyway, I haven’t seen him since, but I know there is a picture of him in
Charlie’s store in Medjugorje. I’ve asked those brothers to sell me the
picture, but they declined because it was a gift given to them. I thought the
miracle of St. Charbel was so awesome and then today a voice inside of me
said, “But I’m there waiting for you in the Eucharist everyday, to show you
how much I love you. I sent Charbel so he could carry Me to
you.....that’s how much I wanted to receive you too.”
Jesus waits for us every day in the Mass. He performed the greatest
miracle on earth when He created the Eucharist. A small piece of bread,
blessed, transformed into HIS presence, waiting for us. The graces we receive at
Mass are incalculable. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet Jesus in
person...
“The Lord bless you, and keep you! The Lord let His Face shine upon you,
and be gracious to you!
The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!” (Numbers 6:24-26)
June Klins
http://www.spiritdaily.com/charbelmiracle.htm
Earlier this month, a recently ordained priest of the RC Diocese of Albany, assisted at our divine liturgy. Prior to the mass, our pastor introduced him, noting that this young priest had recently returned from retreat with the Maronite Monks of Adoration, in Petersham, MA. Interestingly enough, all of these monks were once Roman Catholic but have embraced the Maronite liturgy and monastic way of life. During the consecration, while our pastor chanted the consecration in Aramaic, I could see the Latin Rite priest's lips moving as he quietly chanted along. Last week, we had another Latin Rite priest visit and assist at the mass. It was his first experience with the Maronite liturgy. Afterwards, I asked him what he thought of it. His face lit up with a joyful expression.
I know there is a picture of him in Charlie’s store in Medjugorje.
Back in the 90's, a russian newspaper printed a photograph of St. Charbel, accompanied by information on the saint and the numerous miracles attributed to him. They asked their readers to write, if they were healed through the intercession of St. Charbel. Letters began to pour in from all parts of Russia and 5000 requests for a copy of the picture. You can read more here - The Phenomenon of Saint Charbel. You can read more miracle stories here.
Read more about the life of St. Charbel here.
“Earlier this month, a recently ordained priest of the RC Diocese of Albany, assisted at our divine liturgy. Prior to the mass, our pastor introduced him, noting that this young priest had recently returned from retreat with the Maronite Monks of Adoration, in Petersham, MA. Interestingly enough, all of these monks were once Roman Catholic but have embraced the Maronite liturgy and monastic way of life. During the consecration, while our pastor chanted the consecration in Aramaic, I could see the Latin Rite priest’s lips moving as he quietly chanted along. Last week, we had another Latin Rite priest visit and assist at the mass. It was his first experience with the Maronite liturgy. Afterwards, I asked him what he thought of it. His face lit up with a joyful expression.”
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Thank you for the links and helping explain a question in the miraculous story and about the photo too. St. Charbel makes himself known and oh do we need his help. The above is very touching. I have a devotion to the Latin Mass. I can’t always attend the Extraordinary Form, one of these days....
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