St. Sharbel Makhluf, Priest
Feast day: July 24
St. Sharbel Makhluf (also spelled St. Charbel Makhlouf) was a priest and a monk who never traveled far from his home village of Bekaa Kafra, Lebanon. Yet his influence as intercessor after his death has extended to non-Christians to include Muslims. Born in 1828 as Joseph Zaroun Makluf, his father died when he was three years of age, and he was raised by an uncle and a very devout Catholic mother, who was adamant that he marry. Nevertheless, at age 23, St. Sharbel was ordained a priest in the Maronite church and lived in a monastery for 16 years, then as a hermit in the mountains for a further 23 years.
He took the name of Sharbel in honor of a second-century martyr with that name, and he lived a life devoted to prayer, particularly in honor of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Known for his holiness as an obedient cleric, St. Sharbel was called “the saint inebriated with God” and as such he was sought after by many pilgrims, even during his lifetime, for healings from physical diseases and also from spiritual ones involving casting out demons.
“Father of truth, behold your son who makes atoning sacrifice to you. Accept the offering: he died for me that I might have life,” so prayed St. Sharbel.
After 16 years at the Monastery of St. Maron in Annaya, Lebanon, St. Sharbel chose to be transferred to the mountainous hermitage of Sts. Peter and Paul, where he worked with hands, fasted and prayed in complete solitude. He was especially devoted to praying before the Eucharist. But unwavering in his obedience to his superiors, St. Sharbel gladly did what they asked him to do and administered the sacraments to nearby villages or visited the sick. His was a life of sacrifice for Our Lord.
In living this total detachment from his own desires, St. Sharbel shined the love of God for his people. He followed the example of a fifth century saint, St. Maron, a Syriac Christian priest who also later became a hermit. Like the hermit fathers before him, St. Sharbel knelt before the Holy Eucharist, quietly immersing himself in Jesus throughout the night.
St. Sharbel died on Christmas Eve in 1898 after quietly suffering the effects from a stroke which happened while he was celebrating the Divine Liturgy on Dec. 16. While sick, St. Sharbel kept repeating the prayer he could not finish in the Divine Liturgy: “Father of truth, behold Your Son, the sacrifice in whom You are well pleased. Accept Him who died for me…”. He also kept repeating from his sickbed the names of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, as well as Sts. Peter and Paul, the patron saints of the hermitage.
Today tens of thousands of Christians and non-Christians visit St. Sharbel’s tomb every year. Since his death, 29,000 miracles have been attributed to him, including some helping the unbaptized. After the recent civil war in Syria, many Syrian refugees have found solace in praying to St. Sharbel.
Reflection
Dear Jesus, thank you for the example of St. Sharbel, who teaches us to love all of humanity through you. May I remain close to you in prayer and live in obedience to your Word through the Church.
Prayer
O God, who called the Priest St. Sharbel Makhluf
to the solitary combat of the desert
and imbued him with all manner of devotion,
grant us, we pray,
that, being made imitators of the Lord’s Passion,
we may merit to be co-heirs of his Kingdom.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
