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
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