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Christmas is known as the season of miracles, and St. Charbel is known as “the Miracle Monk of Lebanon” and “the wonderworker.” Are you praying for a miracle this Christmas? St. Charbel is the perfect saint to intercede for you.
This saint has a special connection with Christmas Eve, December 24, because it is the feast upon which he died.
St. Charbel was a Maronite Catholic priest who lived from 1828-1898. He was a hermit who spent great amounts of time in prayer. He is a patron saint of those who suffer in body and in soul.
St. Charbel spent hours kneeling in prayer before the Eucharist. He preferred to spend all the time he could before the Tabernacle. On December 16, 1898, he fell ill while saying Mass, having consecrated the bread and wine and while elevating the Host and Chalice (which was the focus of his life). He languished until his death a little over a week later.
It was fitting that his last act before he lost his health was saying Mass, doing what he most loved, as this saint had a tremendous devotion to the Eucharist.
Light shone forth
When St. Charbel was buried, a mystical light shone forth from his tomb for days and his body gave forth a holy sweat and blood. Over 33,000 miracles have been attributed to the intercession of St. Charbel!
Best of all, this saint helps inspire us to increase our love of the Eucharist. After all, “Bethlehem,” means “house of bread,” and the very manger in which the Christ Child is placed is a word that comes from the Old French “mangier” rooted in the Latin, “mandere,” which means “to eat.”
The newborn King was born to redeem mankind and bring his faithful the great invaluable treasure of the Eucharist.
Charbel’s light
Here are three quotes by St. Charbel to increase our love for the Eucharistic Lord this Christmas:
1
My sweetness
“I am speaking to Him Who knoweth all things, to Him Who seeth the bottom of my heart … replenish the strength of Thy beggar who dieth of hunger, warm my heart of ice with the fire of Thy love in Thee, enlighten my darkness with the light of Thy presence. May from this moment henceforth and forever nothing be so sweet to me as Thee only. Thou only, indeed, art my meat and drink, my love and my joy, my sweetness and all my good.” (St. Charbel was speaking of the Eucharistic Lord.)
2
Living the mystery of existence
“A man who prays lives out the mystery of existence, and a man who does not pray scarcely exists.”
Our prayers are our true offerings at Holy Mass, and the Eucharist is the source and summit of our lives which is the treasure of our existence. This quote is a reminder to allow the greatest prayer, the Mass, to pervade our lives … to attend Mass every Sunday and holy day of obligation and as frequently as possible on other days.
3
A heart with the Eucharist
St. Charbel’s dying words were (translated here into English): “Father of truth …” referring to the Eucharistic prayer. As he died, his heart was with the Eucharist. Here is the full text of that prayer, truly an inspiration:
“Father of Truth, behold Your Son, a sacrifice pleasing to You. Accept this offering of Him who died for me; behold His blood shed on Golgotha for my salvation. It pleads for me. For His sake, accept my offering. Many are my sins, but greater is Your mercy. When placed on a scale, Your mercy prevails over the weight of the mountains known only to You. Consider the sin and consider the atonement; the atonement is greater and exceeds the sin. Your beloved Son sustained the nails and the lance because of my sins so in His sufferings You are satisfied and I live.”
And today we celebrate...