Homily on Saint Sharbel by Msgr. Aggugia at St. Pancras Church, Glendale, NY, 2026
Homily delivered by Msgr. Aggugia during the Holy Mass and installation of a first-class relic of Saint Sharbel at St. Pancras Church, Glendale, NY, on July 15, 2026.
St. Sharbel is inviting himself into our lives as a parish community.
Perhaps we are here because we know a little bit already about St. Sharbel. Perhaps we're here because we have heard that through his intercession, many, many miracles have taken place. And that’s okay because even the miracles of Jesus Himself were meant to show forth the glory of God. The miracles of Jesus were meant to show that God enters into our lives deeply, profoundly, and sometimes changes things, and that happens because God is the creator and so God can create as He wills. But we're here today to honor St. Sharbel. So, what is the connection? What is the connection between a saint who is very well known for the miracles that sometimes happen in his intercession and the glory of God that is manifested because of it?
Well, let's think for a moment. Think about a window. A window doesn't have any light of its own. A window doesn't create anything or generate anything. It doesn't shine on its own power, but put that window into a wall and suddenly the sunlight pours through it. A dark room is enlightened. The whole purpose of that window is to get out of the way and let something greater pass through, and that is exactly what a saint is. A saint is a window. The saints don't have their own light. They are not the source. They get out of the way, and they let God's light shine through. When we look at, admire, venerate, honor a saint like St. Sharbel, we are really admiring, honoring, venerating the light that shines through.
I think St. Sharbel understood this better than a lot of people. A simple monk who had no title, no following in his own lifetime, who lived in a hermitage praying, working, fasting, celebrating the eucharist, praying before the tabernacle— by every measure that the world has, Sharbel was invisible, and yet after his death, miracles connected to his intercession are almost too many to count. Healings, conversion, prayers answered. And they still happen. Why? Why such a powerful intercession? Because St. Sharbel was a window; he recognized the presence of God and let that light shine through. He spent his whole life being transparent, getting out of God's way so completely that he allowed God’s light simply to shine through him. And that’s why we can ask his intercession so confidently because now he sees face to face what we hope for.
Sometimes, we may be tempted to think that miracles belong to another era, a different age, maybe in the time of Jesus. Sometimes, we may be tempted to think that they don't happen anymore. Sometimes, we may even be tempted to think that God is absent. St. Sharbel and the other saints—they didn't see the world that way. They understood God's presence in all things. They saw God's presence in the poor and the sick, in the world around them, in the kindness of people. In the hardships, in the sufferings, God is present. That's not because they were naive or they thought about these things in some way that was different from the way we do. It's because they learned how to see. They learned how to see God at work in all of those things, and once we learn to see like the saints—once we learn to see like St. Sharbel, with open eyes, eyes of faith—then we will see that the world has not run out of miracles; they're all around. So, the question that we ask ourselves is not, “why don't miracles happen anymore?” The question we ask ourselves is, “why are we not recognizing them?” Because the light is still shining, and the light is still shining through windows whom we call our saints. Now, it’s up to us to imitate them, to get out of the way and let God’s light and God’s word and God’s presence shine through us, and that can happen because we, like the saints, recognize, appreciate, and rejoice in the presence of God in our lives and God at work all the time.
St. Sharbel, pray for us. Pray that we become windows like you so that we may let the light of God’s presence shine even through us. Open our eyes so that we may look for that light, so that we may recognize that miracles still happen.
Perhaps we are here because we know a little bit already about St. Sharbel. Perhaps we're here because we have heard that through his intercession, many, many miracles have taken place. And that’s okay because even the miracles of Jesus Himself were meant to show forth the glory of God. The miracles of Jesus were meant to show that God enters into our lives deeply, profoundly, and sometimes changes things, and that happens because God is the creator and so God can create as He wills. But we're here today to honor St. Sharbel. So, what is the connection? What is the connection between a saint who is very well known for the miracles that sometimes happen in his intercession and the glory of God that is manifested because of it?
Well, let's think for a moment. Think about a window. A window doesn't have any light of its own. A window doesn't create anything or generate anything. It doesn't shine on its own power, but put that window into a wall and suddenly the sunlight pours through it. A dark room is enlightened. The whole purpose of that window is to get out of the way and let something greater pass through, and that is exactly what a saint is. A saint is a window. The saints don't have their own light. They are not the source. They get out of the way, and they let God's light shine through. When we look at, admire, venerate, honor a saint like St. Sharbel, we are really admiring, honoring, venerating the light that shines through.
I think St. Sharbel understood this better than a lot of people. A simple monk who had no title, no following in his own lifetime, who lived in a hermitage praying, working, fasting, celebrating the eucharist, praying before the tabernacle— by every measure that the world has, Sharbel was invisible, and yet after his death, miracles connected to his intercession are almost too many to count. Healings, conversion, prayers answered. And they still happen. Why? Why such a powerful intercession? Because St. Sharbel was a window; he recognized the presence of God and let that light shine through. He spent his whole life being transparent, getting out of God's way so completely that he allowed God’s light simply to shine through him. And that’s why we can ask his intercession so confidently because now he sees face to face what we hope for.
Sometimes, we may be tempted to think that miracles belong to another era, a different age, maybe in the time of Jesus. Sometimes, we may be tempted to think that they don't happen anymore. Sometimes, we may even be tempted to think that God is absent. St. Sharbel and the other saints—they didn't see the world that way. They understood God's presence in all things. They saw God's presence in the poor and the sick, in the world around them, in the kindness of people. In the hardships, in the sufferings, God is present. That's not because they were naive or they thought about these things in some way that was different from the way we do. It's because they learned how to see. They learned how to see God at work in all of those things, and once we learn to see like the saints—once we learn to see like St. Sharbel, with open eyes, eyes of faith—then we will see that the world has not run out of miracles; they're all around. So, the question that we ask ourselves is not, “why don't miracles happen anymore?” The question we ask ourselves is, “why are we not recognizing them?” Because the light is still shining, and the light is still shining through windows whom we call our saints. Now, it’s up to us to imitate them, to get out of the way and let God’s light and God’s word and God’s presence shine through us, and that can happen because we, like the saints, recognize, appreciate, and rejoice in the presence of God in our lives and God at work all the time.
St. Sharbel, pray for us. Pray that we become windows like you so that we may let the light of God’s presence shine even through us. Open our eyes so that we may look for that light, so that we may recognize that miracles still happen.
