St. Charbel – a friend to God and to people

By Bartłomiej Grysa,
Love One Another! 2017-40
Faith

Even though he was the best theology student in Kfifane, he didn’t write any books. They say of this Lebanese hermit that every moment of his life was filled with Christ; that he took up his cross and followed Him, and that he was fascinated with God’s mercy.

St. Charbel lived completely concealed from the world. His contemporaries said of him that he was “drunk on God”. He allowed Jesus to so transform his heart that he became a visible sign of His presence. Even today, the Lord Jesus performs spectacular healings of people’s souls and bodies throughout the world through St. Charbel’s intercession. St. Charbel perfectly fulfilled Jesus’ instruction: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves?” (Lk 9:23-25). After his death on Christmas Eve 1898 St. Charbel was buried in a common grave. Thus did his earthly life end. However, from the first night after his burial mysterious rays of light of unheard power emanated from his grave. Hence, it was determined that the body of the deceased monk should be exhumed, and in the process it was revealed that the body had not undergone decay. It was just as supple as though it were still alive, and beyond this, blood and water were “sweating” from the body profusely.

Over the course of three months, while the body of the saint was exposed for public veneration, 3800 miracles took place through his intercession

The beatification process for Fr. Charbel began in 1927. Up until 1950 the fluid issuing from his body again filled a new metal casket in such quantity that it began to cause corrosion. After this it was determined that the casket should be opened to drain off this “oil” into a collector. Over the course of three months, while the body of the saint was exposed for public veneration, 3800 miracles took place through his intercession. In thanksgiving after each miracle, the monks went on a procession with the Most Holy Sacrament to his cell in the hermitage. Fr. Louis Matar, who was responsible for documenting the miracles brought about by St. Charbel, explained that while the processions were being held, they were accompanied by the unceasing ringing of the monastery’s bells.

For God nothing is impossible

When representatives of the Love One Another! editorial board visited the monastery in Annai on April 2, 2016, Fr. Louis also told us another incredible story from March of the same year. A daughter, Iliana, was born to an Assyrian family from Beirut who were living in Holland. The baby was born seriously ill: her skull had not closed properly, her nose was not properly located on her face, and she was deaf, blind, and paralyzed. Over the course of three-anda-half years after her birth, her distraught family took her to more than 100 specialists. Finally, her father decided to take his daughter to Beirut, to her grandmother, whom he knew had great devotion to St. Charbel. The grandmother didn’t hesitate, and immediately hurried Iliana to St. Charbel’s hermitage in Annai. The whole way to the hermitage, she prayed for a miracle. When they arrived at the parking lot of the hermitage and opened the doors of the car, the child got out of the car and went to St. Charbel’s cell on her own! The grandmother, surrounded by other pilgrims, went up the hill praying and begging the holy Hermit to bring about the healing. After praying in the hermitage the grandmother and granddaughter returned to Beirut. While Iliana slept that night, St. Charbel appeared to her. He laid his hand on her eyes, then on her ears, on her nose and mouth, after which they conversed the whole night in the Syriac language. When the girl woke up in the morning, she was completely healed. She could see, hear, and speak. Her skull had closed, and her nose had become straightened. Seeing this, the father took the first flight back to Holland, and went to the doctors who had treated his daughter without success. They were all amazed at what had happened. The father gathered all the medical documentation relating to his daughter, and flew back to Lebanon with his whole family to thank God for the miraculous healing of his child through the intercession of St. Charbel.

While he was asleep he saw a monk who smeared powder into his eye saying: “you will suffer greatly, but you will be healed”, then he disappeared. Alexander also saw an inscription on the ground that read “Servant of God Charbel”

Another miracle took place for Fr. Louis himself. Specifically, more than two years ago, during the celebration of the Eucharist in St. Charbel’s hermitage, the monk lost consciousness. There was another priest there who anointed him, thinking that he had died. Fr. Louis was quickly transported to the hospital. His blood had ceased to flow through his body, and no pulse was detectable. The doctor in charge had requested permission from the prior of the monastery to permit him to operate on Fr. Louis’ heart, but ultimately decided to perform a coronary angiography. The accumulation of plaque was so thick that the apparatus would only go a centimeter and a half into the femoral artery. After administering the medication, the doctor began to extract plaque from the artery, ultimately removing more than 70 of the deposits which resembled stones. Unfortunately, one of the “stones”, instead of coming out, became lodged in the artery and completely blocked off the flow of blood. At that point, there was nothing more the doctor could do. He passed the information to the monks waiting there that Fr. Louis had died. His blood had ceased to flow, and the display on the monitor went black. When the monks heard that Fr. Louis had died, they all called out in unison: “Saint Charbel!”. At that moment the monitor reactivated. Fr. Louis’ blood vessels were miraculously unblocked, his blood began to flow through his body, and the dead man returned to life. As Fr. Louis tells it, he received at that moment a new life from God in order to continue praying, doing penance, and telling the story of the miracles worked through the intercession of this great saint.

Miracles for beatification and canonization

Two miracles were documented and sent to the Vatican for St. Charbel’s beatification process.

The first was the case of the healing of Alexander Obeida. Obeida was a Lebanese metalworker from the town of Baabdat. In 1937 he injured one of his eyes in an accident, and was unable to see through it. The doctor who treated him confirmed that the infection that was introduced into the injured eye threatened to affect the healthy one as well. He advised him to have the sick eye removed. Another specialist from Beirut advised him the same. However, Alexander didn’t want to submit to the surgery, but waited in faith at the grave of St. Charbel for a sign for a miraculous healing. He prayed without ceasing, until one night St. Charbel appeared to him advising him to take his appeal to the monastery in Annai. There Alexander spent the entire day in prayer, after which he fell asleep at St. Charbel’s grave. Then, he began to feel a pain in his eye. The next day he determined to return to Baabdat, but the pain in his eye grew so great that he couldn’t bear it. Ultimately, Alexander managed to nap for a moment. While he was asleep he saw a monk who smeared powder into his eye saying: “you will suffer greatly, but you will be healed”, then he disappeared. Alexander also saw an inscription on the ground that read “Servant of God Charbel”. When he woke, he covered his healthy eye with a handkerchief, and looked at the portrait of the saint, seeing it clearly with the eye, which to that point had been blinded by his accident. Doctors examined him and confirmed that Alexander could see through his healed eye despite the extent of the previous damage.

The second miracle submitted for the process of beatification was the healing of Sister Marie Abel Qoumari. Sister Marie, of the Congregation of the Most Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary, was from the town of Hammany. She entered the congregation in 1929. A few years later she began to suffer from a malady in her abdomen. She was unable to keep any food down. The doctors confirmed the presence of ulcers in her stomach. Beyond that, her liver, bile duct, and kidney were so tightly connected that they had virtually formed a single organ which was not functioning properly. After a fourhour operation, the results were unfavorable. Sister Marie still could not eat anything, and her pain was only increasing. Furthermore, pain began in her bones, her right hand was paralyzed, and she was having problems with her teeth. She could not walk without a cane, and recognized the imminent approach of death. When she learned of the miracles being worked through the intercession of Fr. Charbel, she began to appeal to him for healing. Fr. Charbel appeared to her in her sleep, and blessed her. At the same time, Sister Marie, along with other sisters, decided to make the trip to Annai. She reached the monastery in a very poor state, so they determined to lay her at the grave of the saint. At a certain moment the nun reached her hand out toward the gravestone. Praying, she saw engraved on the stone the name “Charbel”, surrounded by shining droplets of perspiration. She dampened a handkerchief in the fluid, and wiped it with faith across the afflicted parts of her body. Then, it was as though a current had coursed through her back, and she began to walk! She experienced complete healing through the intercession of St. Charbel.

Blessed Paul VI pronounced Fr. Charbel’s beatification on December 5, 1965, as one of the crowning acts of the Second Vatican Council. It was attended by representatives of all Christian denominations, as well as other religions. The event thus became a prophetic herald of the heavenly aspect of Fr. Charbel’s mission to the entire world.

Another miracle took place on the day of St. Charbel’s beatification, and contributed to the cause for his canonization twelve years later on October 9, 1977. Mariam Assaf Awwad came to the saint’s grave. She was suffering from cancer. After operations on her liver and intestines, where the cancer had been diagnosed, they also operated on her neck. None of the surgical interventions brought any success: the cancer subsequently attacked Mariam’s tonsils. The woman would not agree to any therapy, appealing only to St. Charbel to either heal her or give her the strength to endure the illness. “Won’t you heal me from this illness, St. Charbel? After all, you are a great saint, who obtains healing for the blind and the lame. When I am healed of this disease, I will come to thank you at your shrine”, Mariam said. The day after offering this prayer she awoke healthy, and went to the shrine of St. Charbel to offer her thanks.

Among the Maronites the Feast of St. Charbel is celebrated annually on the third Sunday of June. In the time period from June 21, 2015 to April 2, 2016 eighty-eight miracles have been entered into the annals of the monastery, of which 12 pertained to unbaptized persons – Sunni Moslems, Shiites, Druze, and Alawites. Currently, the total number of cures has exceeded 26,000.

Through signs and miracles St. Charbel in his great humility directs us toward the Risen Lord, who is present in the sacraments of penance and the Eucharist. He calls us also to repentance, and to radical separation from all sin, which is the source of all human unhappiness. He makes us aware that the essential condition for healing is total trust in divine mercy, constant daily prayer, immediate severance from every sin through the sacrament of penance, and the most frequent possible acceptance of Jesus in Holy Communion.

Source: https://loamagazine.org/archive/2017/2017-40/st-charbel-a-friend-to-god-and-to-people

The above article was published with permission from Miłujcie się! in May 2021.

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