July 24 2024 - St. Sharbel and the peace of holy solitude

 In the parable of the sower, this morning, we heard of the different types of soil which represent different responses that people have to Jesus’ Gospel invitation. 

Like the hard soil—some people have hardened themselves to the Gospel

Some people’s hearts are hardened to the Gospel—they have absolutely closed their minds and hearts to receive the Gospel—they are preoccupied with the matters of the world, and have no time and no desire to pursue spiritual realities. Some people are initially receptive and even enthusiastic about the Gospel, but discipleship is abandoned when it becomes difficult. But in some souls the Gospel flourishes—these souls receive the Gospel with understanding, with the willingness to suffer for it, making it the highest priority of their life.

Today we honor a saint, who did just that. St. Sharbel, cultivated the soil of his soul to allow the Gospel to flourish in his life.

A few months ago, a few priest friends and I took an overnight trip up to New York City. And wanting a few moments break from all the noise and cultural insanity of the city, we stopped in the great St. Patrick’s Cathedral, as they have a beautiful quiet adoration chapel behind the main altar. And after spending time with the Lord, and praying for the conversion of the city, honestly, we started to leave, when low and behold we came across a recently installed shrine to the saint we honor today: St. Charbel. 

The beautiful shrine consists is adorned with a hand-crafted mosaic depicting Saint Sharbel in his hermit’s robes standing amidst the mountains and cedars of Lebanon with his arms outstretched in prayer. And there at the center of the shrine is a niche containing first-class relics of Saint Charbel and a kneeler,  inviting pilgrims to spend time in silent prayer, much like that experienced by this renowned saint in his remote desert hermitage.

In the quiet and solitude of his desert hermitage, St. Sharbel made his soul into soil where the life of God flourished. St. Charbel said, “He who loves solitude loves God, for God is the only refuge where the soul finds true peace.” 

We are not all called to be hermits, though what a blessed life that would be. But we must all go to deserted places, like Jesus, to cultivate that inner peace that only comes by approaching God in quiet prayer. 

Our souls crave quiet contemplation more than our bodies crave food and drink, but we so often deny our souls what they need, and we are unhappier for it. We allow the thorns of worldliness to choke out divine life.

May St. Sharbel help us to clear away the thorns and seek the peace of holy solitude with God, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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That every member of the Church may cultivate minds, hearts, and souls to receive the Word of God more deeply and fruitfully.

That leaders of nations may find guidance in the Word of God for proper governance and the pursuit of justice for all.

That Christian families may be places where the Word of God is studied, understood, obeyed, and cherished.

That the word of God may bring consolation to all those who suffer: for the sick, those affected by inclement weather or political turmoil, the indigent, those who will die today, and those who grieve.

For the deceased members of our families and parishes, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, and for N., for whom this Mass is offered.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all goodness, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain

July 24 2020 - St. Charbel - To liberate the soul in its ascent to God

This morning’s Gospel should sound familiar, we just heard it a week and a half ago on the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time.

In the parable of the sower, the different types of soil are the different responses to the Lord’s Gospel. Some souls' hearts are hardened to the Gospel, they have no inclination to understand what the Lord is teaching or why he is teaching it. Some souls are initially receptive and even enthusiastic about the Gospel, but discipleship is abandoned when it becomes difficult. Some souls do not make room for the Gospel amidst all the distractions of the world. But in some souls the Gospel flourishes—these souls receive the Gospel with understanding, with the willingness to suffer for it, making it the highest priority of their life.

Today we honor a saint, who did just that, St. Charbel the hermit, who made his soul into good soil where the Gospel flourished. Let’s examine how.

At the closing of the Second Vatican Council, on December 5, 1965 Charbel was beatified by Pope Paul VI who said:

"...a hermit of the Lebanese mountain is inscribed in the number of the blessed...a new eminent member of monastic sanctity is enriching, by his example and his intercession, the entire Christian people... May he make us understand, in a world largely fascinated by wealth and comfort, the paramount value of poverty, penance, and asceticism, to liberate the soul in its ascent to God..."

How did St. Charbel make his soul into good soil where the Gospel could flourish? Prayer, poverty, penance, and asceticism. A good gardener needs tools to cultivate soil. Well here are the indispensable tools if the soul wishes to ascend to God: poverty, penance, and asceticism.

We are not all called to be hermits, but the hermits to love quiet and solitude in which we can seek the heart of Christ and the face of God.  Jesus himself would often go to quiet deserted places in order to seek His Father’s Will.  We too must go to God in prayerful solitude, every day, to be refreshed.

The hermits are witnesses that the kingdom of noise and distraction of our digital age is not the true kingdom.  So we must practice penance and asceticism, yes, guarding our minds and eyes from that which corrupts, but also intentionally turning away from the non-essential, in order to focus on the spiritually essential.

May St. Charbel teach us cultivate our souls so that the Gospel may flourish within them, that we may be effective in spreading the Gospel in the world, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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That every member of the Church may cultivate minds, hearts, and souls to receive the Word of God more deeply and fruitfully.
That leaders of nations may find guidance in the Word of God for proper governance and the pursuit of justice for all.
That Christian families may be places where the Word of God is studied, understood, obeyed, and cherished.
That the word of God may bring consolation to all those who suffer: for the sick, those affected by inclement weather or political turmoil, the indigent, those who will die today, and those who grieve.
For the deceased members of our families and parishes, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, and for N., for whom this Mass is offered.
O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all goodness, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain

July 24 2019 - St. Charbel Mahkluf - Seeds grow in silence

One of the characteristics of the Parables of Jesus, is that they are not always immediately comprehensible. They take a little figuring out. Though Jesus uses symbolism and images that regular folks were familiar with, the meaning of the parable still needed to be pondered.

Our Lord puts the responsibility on the listener to take the time to understand, to take the lesson to heart. We do well to take the Scriptures, sit down with them, to ponder the message and applicability to our own life. Bible study, both individual and with others, should be undertaken often.

Today’s parable is one of the few that Our Lord takes the time to explain in detail, and we will hear do that in Friday’s Gospel. So, I won’t belabor that too much today, especially since I’d like to say a word about the saint we honor today.

The saints, like St. Charbel Makhluf who we honor today, are a lot like those parables. From a distance, we hear the lives of the saints, and respond, “oh that’s nice.” But they have so much to teach us, when we study their lives. Pope Benedict would say that the saints are a “school of prayer”, they instruct us how to nurture that deeper intimacy with God, to not settle for a superficial prayer life, like seed that fails to take root.

St. Charbel was a Maronite Catholic, born in a small mountain village in north Lebanon in 1828. Charbel spent his early years as a shepherd, and spent much time in quiet reflection and prayer.  At age 23, he joined the monastery of St. Maron, was ordained a priest, and lived as a hermit until his death in 1898.  His deepest desire was to live a life of prayer and solitude where he could focus his attention on Christ. 

We are not all called to be hermits, but the hermits remind us that each of us does need a great love of quiet and solitude in which we can seek the heart of Christ and the face of God.  Jesus himself would often go to quiet deserted places in order to seek His Father’s Will.

The hermits are witnesses that the kingdom of noise and distraction of our digital age is not the true kingdom.  The graces of the true kingdom—prudence, temperance, fortitude, justice, faith, hope, and love— are found when we withdraw from distraction in prayer. Seeds after all, grow in silence.

May St. Charbel and the holy consecrated hermits continue to enrich the Church by their, meditation, silence and penance, and teach us to seek first the kingdom of God, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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That every member of the Church may cultivate minds, hearts, and souls to receive the Word of God more deeply and fruitfully.

That leaders of nations may find guidance in the Word of God for proper governance and the pursuit of justice for all.

That Christian families may be places where the Word of God is studied, understood, obeyed, and cherished.

That the word of God may bring consolation to all those who suffer: for the sick, those affected by inclement weather or political turmoil, the indigent, those who will die today, and those who grieve.

For the deceased members of our families and parishes, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, and for N., for whom this Mass is offered.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all goodness, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain.