Category: St. Sharbel

Innu Indigenous Community in Canada, Installs a Statue of Saint Sharbel in Church.

1/11/2021

On December 24, 2020, the Innu indigenous community of Sheshatshiu [1], Canada, installed a statue of Saint Sharbel in Tshitshitua Shushep (Saint Joseph) Church, Our Lady of Snows Parish [2] in the Corner Brook and Labrador Diocese.

A good question will be: How did this community hear about Saint Sharbel, a saint from the other part of the world?
Here’s the story.

In 2017, Fr. Joe Pichai, from the missionary Congregation of the Mission (Vincentian), founded by St. Vincent de Paul, was asked by the Bishop of the Diocese of Corner Brook and Labrador, Canada to work among the Innu indigenous people in Sheshatshiu, Our Lady of Snows Parish. The Innu people have a long history of strong faith with the Catholic Church, since they were evangelized in 1615. More about the Innu Catholic community history HERE.

Fr. Joe tells The Family of Saint Sharbel his story about encountering St Sharbel and introducing him to the Innu community:

Last year one of my parishioners, Simon Andrew, had a liver transplant in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I prayed for him and the transplant was successful. Simon returned home after the operation. Beginning of June 2020, I remember opening my iPad and while browsing through, I found a movie on St. Sharbel. I watched the whole movie, and then a desire sprouted in my heart to pray to St. Sharbel for his intercession for the healing of the many sick people in my community. I googled and found the email address of The Family of Saint Sharbel. I wrote them an email requesting a medal and holy oil for my friend Simon Andrew. To my surprise I got a quick reply and also a small parcel with all the things I requested.

My friend Simon was not feeling well in the fall of 2020. So he travelled to see the liver specialist at the Health Sciences Hospital in St. John’s, Newfoundland, at the beginning of October 2020. On the basis of his routine monthly blood tests, Simon was told that his body was rejecting the liver transplant. He was very upset about it. He called me that day, I told him not to lose heart and that I am praying for him and moreover I am going to start praying a Novena to St. Sharbel, especially for him. I started the Novena to St. Sharbel on October 3. Simon and his wife Tina returned from St. John’s by car, a three-day trip. By this time, he was so physically unwell that he was unable to drive. He got back to our town and went straight to the Labrador Grenfell Regional Hospital in Goose Bay Labrador and was admitted overnight. He was again told that they could do nothing for him, but they increased his anti-rejection drugs anyway. They did the blood work and reported that his kidneys are not working well. He was devastated. He was really down and gave up hope. I gave him hope. I asked him to join in the 9 days of the Novena prayers and on the last day of the Novena I anointed him and gave him the medal I received from The Family of Saint Sharbel.

The following day, I met him in the grocery store, and he told me that the doctors from St. John’s called him and told him that there was NO problem with his liver. It is perfectly well. An hour after this call, the doctors from the local hospital called him and said that the blood work that was done lately shows that his kidneys are perfectly alright. They concluded that he has nothing to worry about. He shared the news with me, and I began to cry with joy and thankfulness. I told him to wear the medal of St. Sharbel all the time possible.

Simon believes in the power of St. Sharbel to heal. He has not made a public testimony, but I have shared the story with the parishioners, who are encouraged in their faith.

There were many people who have experienced healing after receiving the anointing with the holy oil of Saint Sharbel. That happens only by the mercy and love of God through the intercession of St. Sharbel. Glory to God. Amen.

On Wednesday, January 13, 2021, the community will be screening a movie about Saint Sharbel. The next day Fr. Joe will start the novena to Saint Sharbel, followed by prayer for healing. The novena ends on the 22nd of January. You can check the announcement HERE.

The Family of Saint Sharbel contributed to Fr. Joe’s efforts to acquire a 52-inch statue of Saint Sharbel. Fr. Joe’s hope was that he could install this statue in his church on December 24 which is Christmas eve and the memorial of the death of Saint Sharbel. The statue was delivered on December 21 and installed on December 24; thanks be to God.

[1]. Sheshatshiu is an Innu federal reserve in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located approximately 30 kilometers north of Goose Bay.
[2]. Our Lady of Snows-Sheshatshiu: https://www.facebook.com/Our-Lady-of-Snows-Sheshatshiu-1053670304790206/

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St. Charbel, A Role Model About Preparation for Eucharist

7/22/2020

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By Fr. Richard Kunst

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.

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!

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!

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

At the shrine of Saint Sharbel, the Family of Saint Sharbel offered complimentary prayer cards to pilgrims.

Watch the video.

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Invitation to the Celebration of the Feast of Saint Sharbel July 18, 2020

7/13/2020

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The National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes & The Family of Saint Sharbel, USA invite you to the Celebration of the Feast of Saint Sharbel at the National Shrine Grotto, on Saturday, July 18, 2020.

Confession: 10:45-11:45 am
Holy Mass: 12 pm, followed by the Blessing with the Relics of Saint Sharbel

All Masses will be held outdoors at the Grotto Cave and we can only accommodate 350 attendees per Mass. Please bring hats, water, and umbrellas, and follow ushers' seating directives. In the event of inclement weather, Mass may be cancelled and will be announced. Please keep checking the announcement on the website of the Shrine.
Hope you can join us in prayer on this blessed feast of Saint Sharbel.

National Shrine Grotto of
Our Lady of Lourdes
16330 Grotto Road
Emmitsburg, MD 21727
Phone: 301-447-5318

Visitors are required to wear masks while on the property and to observe 6-feet social distancing protocols.
Try to arrive a little early as the number of visitors is limited to 500 at a time which may lead to waiting periods (in the parking).

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