"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!
TOP ARTWORK CREDIT: Michael Otteman - www.ottemanarts.com
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