"Nothing created has ever been able to
fill the heart of man.
God alone can
fill it infinitely." - St. Thomas
Aquinas
In 1875 Fr Sharbel
was granted permission to live as a hermit nearby his monastery at St. Peter and
Paul hermitage. His 23 years of solitary life were lived in a spirit of total
abandonment to God.
Sharbel's companions
in the hermitage were the Sons 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 his Life and was consumed by it. Though this 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 sacrifice pleasing to You, accept this offering of Him who died for me..." On December 16, 1898 while reciting the "Father of Truth" prayer at the Holy Liturgy Sharbel 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 Ministry of Incarnation.
From www.catholicculture.org
St Sharbel
Makhluf
Lebanon
~ 1828-1898
Priest
and Hermit
Perfume of
Lebanon
Incorrupt
Feast Day - July
24
When Sharbel was canonized (1977), Bsp Francis Zayek, head of the
wrote a pamphlet entitled “A New Star of
the East.” Bishop Zayek wrote:
“St. Sharbel is called the second St.
Anthony of the Desert, the Perfume of Lebanon, the first Confessor of the East
to be raised to the Altars according to the actual procedure of the Catholic
Church, the honor of our Aramaic Antiochian Church
St
Sharbel, pray for us!
Artwork (top): Michael Otteman - www.ottemanarts.com
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