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    • Illustrated Book of Saint Sharbel
    • Saint Sharbel Stained Glass Window
    • Printing of Novena and Prayer Cards
    • Arabic to English Translations
    • The Power of Divine Love
    • St. Sharbel's Shrine Annual Endowment
    • Message center at Saint Sharbel shrine
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A Monthly Healing Mass in Honor of Saint Sharbel

10/26/2022

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Father Vincent Chirichella, pastor of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church (Astoria, New York) began a monthly healing Mass in honor of Saint Sharbel. The first healing Mass was celebrated on Monday, October 24th at 7:30pm, with the participation of the priests of the house and joined by more than a hundred parishioners.​
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St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church
After the Gospel reading, Deacon Michael Chirichella shared his powerful testimony. (Read the full testimony HERE.)

The Mass was followed by the blessing with the blessed oil of St. Sharbel and the veneration of the first-class relic of Saint Sharbel. The Family of Saint Sharbel - USA was blessed enough to attend and distribute literature about Saint Sharbel.
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Deacon Michael Chirichella
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Celebration of the Feast of Saint Sharbel, 2022

8/9/2022

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On the 23rd of July 2022, “The Family of Saint Sharbel” in the US celebrated the Feast of Saint Sharbel at the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, in Emmitsburg, Maryland. 
At 12 PM, Fr. Cesar (IVE), Chaplain at the Shrine, celebrated the Holy Mass in St. Mary's Chapel. The Lebanese community in the area, as well as other pilgrims of the National Shrine, joined “The Family of Saint Sharbel” in this celebration.

After the Holy Mass, Fr. Cesar celebrated the veneration of and the blessing with St. Sharbel’s Relic. ​
The celebration video: 
At the end, Literature on Saint Sharbel were distributed to the faithful.
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The Fourth Anniversary of the Shrine of Saint Sharbel

10/13/2021

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Statue of Saint Sharbel at the Shrine of St. Sharbel in Maryland
​On the 9th of October 2021, “The Family of Saint Sharbel” in the US celebrated the fourth anniversary of the Shrine of Saint Sharbel at the National Grotto of our Lady of Lourdes in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
Faithful during the Holy Mass in St. Mary's Glass Chapel for the 4th anniversary of the Shrine of St Sharbel in Maryland, US
​On this occasion, Fr Cesar celebrated the Holy Mass in St. Mary's Glass Chapel. “The Family of Saint Sharbel, USA” participated in the celebration along with the Lebanese community in the area, as well as other pilgrims. Arabic Maronite hymns were incorporated into the anniversary Mass.
​After the Mass, Fr Cesar led a procession with the relic of Saint Sharbel (placed in a cedar-shape reliquary) while the faithful followed singing the traditional Maronite hymns. At the shrine, they gathered for the final blessing with the relic. In conclusion of the celebration, the faithful approached to venerate Saint Sharbel’s relic placed in front of the statue.
Celebration Video
​October 9, 2021 is also the 44th memorial of the canonization of Saint Sharbel which took place in 1977. 
Biography of St. Sharbel
Miracles of St. Sharbel
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St. Charbel, A Role Model About Preparation for Eucharist

7/22/2020

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By Fr. Richard Kunst

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​When Pope John Paul the Great was criticized for canonizing so many saints, he acknowledged that he did, indeed, deliberately raise more saints to the altar than any of his predecessors, because he believed we are living in a time that needs saints as witnesses more than ever.  There have been books written about the people he canonized and beatified, and it is quite refreshing to read about many of them, because we can identify with people from our own era who lived a heroic faith life. 

As much as I like hagiography, the study of the saints, I have to admit that many of them, living in a different era, seem to be a bit untouchable, or even unreal.  In many cases they became “kitsch,” entering so much into the piety of worldwide Catholicism that they became little more than statues.  I am reminded of St. Therese of Lisieux who has rightly been called the greatest saint of modern times.  Her statue seems to be in a majority of churches, but I’d like to know how many people in the pews actually know anything about her life. 

I very much enjoy reading about those who lived seemingly normal yet holy lives.  They were simply examples of the Gospel, lived.  However, we can also learn something from the “untouchable” saints, those who for whatever reason seem otherworldly to us.  In the month of July we have one such saint.  On October 9th, 1977, Pope Paul VI canonized a Lebanese Maronite Rite monk, Charbel (or Sharbel)) Makhlouf.  While very few saints are honored with a place on the universal liturgical calendar, St. Charbel is one who is so revered that he does, indeed, have a feast day, which we celebrate on July 24th.

St. Charbel was born in 1828 in Northern Lebanon.  In 1859 he became a priest with particularly strong devotions, both to the Blessed Mother and even more so for the Eucharist.  For the last decades of his life, he was a hermit, living in the mountains in complete poverty. This austere behavior is one of the reasons he seems to be untouchable: how many of us can identify with a Lebanese Maronite monk, living in complete solitude, eating hardly anything, and all the while performing miracles?  Probably not many of us.  Yet it is St. Charbel’s prayer practice that makes him even more unique, while at the same time giving us an incredibly relevant example.
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St. Charbel’s life was centered on the Eucharist and the celebration of Mass, and this devotion intensified in his last twenty years.  He would regularly celebrate Mass at noon, but he would awaken eight to ten hours beforehand to pray continuously in preparation for receiving Christ in the Eucharist.  Imagine! Ten hours of prayer in preparation to receive Communion! But it doesn’t end there.  Afterwards, he would spend another eight to ten hours in a prayer of thanksgiving for having received the Eucharist! 

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The Eucharist was literally the center of his life, and everything else revolved around it.  This seems to add to his otherworldly status; who among us could do something like that, day in and day out for decades?  Who among us would want to?  And yet, what a beautiful example!
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Image by Fr. Shadi Beshara
​Reflecting on the life of St. Charbel calls to mind a common frustration among my brother priests and me.  On a regular basis, many people come into Mass late. Often they are so late they miss one or two of the readings.  It is even more common for whole portions of the church to be empty after communion.  While we are happy that these people at least come to Mass, think of the contrast between our experience and that of St. Charbel, who would spend hours in prayer both before and after receiving communion. 

We would never go to a movie late, or leave before the story was over.  Why in the world, then, would we do that with the Divine Liturgy where heaven and earth meet?

St. Alphonsus de’ Liguori (1696-1787), born 130 years before St. Charbel, believed that if we didn’t receive our first communion until we turned 100, we would still not have sufficient time to prepare.  At another time, he said that once we receive communion, twelve angels surround us, worshiping what we just consumed.  Obviously, that is not dogma, but it is food for thought if we are tempted to leave Mass early.
​The saints are always icons of having lived the Gospels, including those who seem to be so different from us.  St. Charbel is a great example of this.  I pray to him that through his intercession more people will grow in awe and reverence for Christ’s Eucharistic presence.  —Father Rich

St. Charbel, pray for us!
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Blessed Pope Paul VI canonized Charbel Makhluf on October 9, 1977.
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Celebration of the Feast of Saint Sharbel, 2020

7/20/2020

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On the 18th of July 2020, “The Family of Saint Sharbel” in the US celebrated the Feast of Saint Sharbel at the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, in Emmitsburg, Maryland, one of the most prominent Catholic shrines in the US.
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​The Divine Liturgy for this feast was celebrated by Father Theodore Trinko (Institute of the Incarnate Word). “The Family of Saint Sharbel” participated in the celebration along with the Lebanese community in the area, as well as other pilgrims of the National Shrine.
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​After the Holy Gospel, Father Trinko, indicated in his Homily, that Saint Sharbel spent 23 years as monk and priest in the monastery and the last 23 years of his life as a hermit; He lived the monastic virtues of poverty, chastity and obedience; He spent hours adoring the Blessed Sacrament and showed a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin; He was venerated and loved by people in Middle East and around the world.
 
Father Trinko pointed out to the multitude of miracles and favors the saint offers to those who ask with faith from all over the world.
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​Father Trinko concluded: “Everything in him was God’s and because of his generosity he received the promise of our Lord, a hundred times more than he gave up in his life, and eternal life and in the age to come. We can imitate Saint Sharbel’s generosity, and all of us can say yes to God no matter what He asks and no matter what He expects from us. Cheap souls will never make it to Heaven, and we will never save ourselves if you continue to put limits on what we will give to God.
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​​After the Mass, the priest carried the Relic of Saint Sharbel, processing with it among the faithful and blessing them as he went by. Meanwhile the choir director chanted in English and Arabic the proper traditional Maronite hymns.  At the end, the priest returned to the altar and gave the final blessing with the Relic of Saint Sharbel.
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​At the shrine of Saint Sharbel, the Family of Saint Sharbel offered complimentary prayer cards to pilgrims.
Watch the video.
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9340 Braymore Circle, Fairfax Station, VA 22039
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