St. Charbel

St. Charbel became my priestly patron when I myself was ordained a priest in 1996. I did not choose him. He chose me. I never knew a whole lot about Charbel other than the fact that he was a Maronite hermit, who died in Lebanon on Christmas Eve 1898. And that he was the first Middle Easterner officially canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. Other than that, he was just another saint about whom I was clueless. However, as ordination approached I was given a series of gifts, which I interpreted as a sign of

Charbel's patronage. My spiritual director at the time, Fr. Justin Matro gave me a beautiful Charbel icon. Bishop Gregory Mansour my first spiritual director and the man who introduced me to the sublime beauty of the Maronite Rite; presented me with a medal from the saint's canonization. And finally, a dear spiritual friend, Molli Vasar gave me a relic of St. Charbel.

The more I have learned of this saint the more I am convinced that none of this was coincidental. Fr. Mansour Awad, in his book Three Lights From the East, writes that "Charbel's companions in hermitage were the Son of God, as encountered in the Scriptures and in the Eucharist, and the Blessed Mother. The Eucharist became the center of his life. He consumed the Bread of Life and was consumed by it." Those are words that one day I would hope (minus the whole hermitage part of course!) could be spoken of me.
For a wealth of information of Charbel visit Charbel.org