The Family of Saint Sharbel celebrated the birthday of Saint Sharbel on Saturday, May 7th, 2022, at the Shrine of Saint Sharbel, at the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, in Emmitsburg, MD. At 12 PM, Fr. Theodore Trinko (IVE), Chaplain of the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, celebrated the Holy Mass in St. Mary's Chapel. After the Holy Mass, Fr. Trinko celebrated the veneration of and the blessing with St. Sharbel’s Relic. Watch the video Click HERE to read the homily of Fr. Trinko.
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The Family of Saint Sharbel USA hosted, an inspirational talk by Mr. Raymond Nader, Founder and Superior of the Family of Saint Sharbel. The event was held remotely over Zoom on April 23, 2022. Below are excerpts from that talk. Family of Saint Sharbel Founder and Superior, Mr. Raymond Nader, was a guest on "Sarde After Dinner", a popular podcast produced in Lebanon. The podcast is in Arabic, with English subtitles for all to enjoy. Mr. Nader's episode was part of a series on spiritual topics, where he spoke in great detail about his encounters with St. Sharbel, which greatly influenced his life and understanding of God's message to us. Some of the topics discussed were: - The hard and isolated life of Saint Sharbel - Living alongside death during the Lebanese Civil War - Reconciling his past as a fighter with his present as a peacemaker - How to fix the transactional relationship with God - Science vs. Religion: reconciling the two - Who is the Creator? - How unconditional love will break the cycle of evil - Choice vs. Destiny: are our lives written for us? Mr. Nader's episode has had great success (close to 59.8K views so far), and we would like to invite you to watch it and share it within your circles. The Family of Saint Sharbel (FSS) in Nigeria continues its prayer meetings and gatherings on a regular basis, and participates actively in the spiritual activities of the parish
At times, after the regular prayer meetings, the members pay a visit to the sick offering spiritual support, and sharing some of St. Sharbel’s resources: prayer cards, holy oil, books... Occasionally, they may provide financial support for medication. Meetings-Visits And Gifts We join in prayer for the ministry of The Family of Saint Sharbel.
“Passion of our Lord” was the main theme of a retreat which a group from the Family of Saint Sharbel, USA, had attended with the Maronite Monks of Adoration at the Most Holy Trinity Monastery in Massachusetts from Thursday, March 17 to Sunday March 20, 2022. The monks, the group and some of the faithful, gathered on Saturday, with Br. Theophilus, to witness and celebrate his Profession of vows.
For over sixteen years, the Family of St. Sharbel has been able to extend its apostolic work to India by providing spiritual resources and devotional items to various parishes, missions, and individuals. Brother Lloyd Butello, the Family's national coordinator in India, has served as the hands and the feet—the extension—of the mission of the Family of St. Sharbel in India. Though there is currently no Family of St. Sharbel prayer group founded in India at this time, that hasn’t stopped the spirit of the Family of St. Sharbel from spreading there. For nearly twenty years, Lloyd has collaborated with the Family of St. Sharbel, USA to provide the faithful in India with resources, both spiritual and temporal. Most recently, during the month of October—World Mission Month—there was a collaborative effort to assist several projects, one of which ministered to the faithful of St. Peter’s Church, Koliwada.
Seeing the need in such difficult times, Sr. Janet reached out to the Family of St. Sharbel to supply the community with some devotional items including, Old Testament and New Testament Bibles in the local language, Rosaries, Scapulars, Medals, Holy Pictures, and other sacramentals. Sr. Janet has also been instrumental in spreading devotion to St. Sharbel to many sick and needy faithful. According to Lloyd, “These simple fisher folk, God fearing and devout people were so glad to receive these precious gifts…They had words of sincere gratitude for the Family of St. Sharbel and have assured their daily remembrance in prayers for their kind benefactors abroad.” Another missionary and collaborator is Fr. Gregory Butello, a Missionary of St. Francis de Sales (MSFS) and uncle of Lloyd. Fr. Gregory has been a missionary in India for over seventeen years and works among the poor, most of whom are not Catholic. Most recently, he was transferred to St. Anthony Church, Kalambist, a mission located in the Sindhudurg Diocese where he serves a humble community of 300 Catholics. Much of the faithful have moved to nearby cities like Pune and Mumbai to seek out a better lifestyle and living conditions, but Fr. Gregory, along with the other MSFS fathers, continue to provide pastoral care to the faithful there. Upon his request, the Family of St. Sharbel was able to supply them with religious materials and devotional items in addition to catering to some of the pastoral needs of the mission. In a recent correspondence detailing the fruits of the collaborative projects, Lloyd expresses his deep gratitude to the Family of St. Sharbel abroad: “Amid these trying times that the world is facing, we Catholics are called to be a beacon of hope and I am delighted to say that the Family of St. Sharbel is truly a beacon of hope. I hear with interest of all the various charitable projects back home and abroad, that this Family of God tries to take into hand and see to its fulfillment.
On behalf of the hundreds of lives in India that you have touched and have helped to come more closer to Jesus-A Big Thank You!” A group of the Family of Saint Sharbel, USA, attended a Christmas retreat (December 9 to 12) at Most Holy Trinity Monastery (Maronite Monks of Adoration ) in Massachusetts. On Friday, Fr. Robert gave one of the talks on the Visitation and the Magnificat. On Saturday, Abbot Patrick gave a talk on the birth of our Lord. On Sunday, the retreatants attended the Divine Liturgy for the Revelation to Joseph, received from the monks the blessing for the travel and left back home.
The Family of St. Sharbel Port Harcourt 1 is a young and vibrant community in Nigeria that was founded on October 3, 2021. Just a few months before, St. Sharbel, the hermit of Lebanon, was unknown to most at the Parish of St. Francis of Assisi, which is located forty-five minutes away from Port Harcourt, the Capital of Rivers State. It all began with the initiative of Brother Charles Opara to give a talk to the church. With the permission of Fr. Abel Okeke, the pastor of the parish, Opara shared about the life and times of St. Sharbel, which touched many of the parishioners deeply. With the help of religious books on the life of St. Sharbel, prayers cards, and sacramentals, devotion in the parish grew, and the Station Council soon adopted St. Sharbel as one of the church’s patrons with the permission of Fr. Okeke. Several individuals and families were moved to do the same and began adopting him as the patron of their own families. Brother Charles Opara attributes this increasing devotion to the impelling life of St. Sharbel: “The pious life of St. Sharbel as narrated in the book became a turning point for most of us who read the book. It was awesome.” From there, a prayer group was born and inaugurated by Fr. Okeke on October 3, 2021 taking on the name, “Family of St. Sharbel Nigeria, Port Harcourt 1.” There are currently twenty-two members who come together for prayer meetings every Sunday following mass. There are members who have testimonies of the importance and impelling force to spread this spirituality in our current day and age, one of whom is Grace Osigweme of St. Francis Parish. After reading the life of St. Sharbel, she was so moved by his story and miracles, that she “cried out so deeply” to St. Sharbel to reveal himself to her in the spirit and use her to perform such miracles. This community is vibrant in living out their faith and devotion in their own parish community but also in their desire to share it with others. Port Harcourt 1 is the first foundation in Nigeria and only the beginning. They have taken it upon themselves to spread this devotion and spirituality beyond their own parish with the plan of visiting other Catholic Churches in Port Harcourt to share the life of St. Sharbel and make him known. They have sought to acquire books, novenas, and booklets, as well as statues and sacramentals to distribute to individuals and families to promote this ever-growing spirituality.
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. 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.
A group from the Family of Saint Sharbel, USA, attended a retreat (August 19 to 22) with the Maronite Monks of Adoration at the Most Holy Trinity Monastery in Massachusetts. The retreat conferences included the following topics: Our calling – Word of God (Teaching of the Church) - Holy Scripture on Sin - Christ’s commands - Healing, prevention, strengthening & growth - on track with the mission. Besides the retreat conferences, the group attended the liturgies celebrated by the monks: Morning Prayers (Safro), Divine Liturgy, Midday Prayers, Evening Prayers (Ramsho), Night Prayers (Sotooro), Confessions & time for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
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Publishing DepartmentThe Family of Saint Sharbel has established a new Publishing Department. More
ProjectsLearn about our ongoing projects to help introduce Saint Sharbel and the Maronite spirituality to the English speaking communities. Check out our YouTube Channels
Saint Sharbel's Miracles & Healings .
Family of Saint Sharbel, USA.
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