Chapters 1 + 2 + 3 : The first journey + the efforts of life + Toward Heaven

F: His mat, his sleeping and the furniture of his cell
 

        I-Introduction
 

  1 - The monastic cell of Sharbel

It is located in the western part of the convent; its length from the east corridor to west wall is 325cm; its width from north to south is 225cm; its height is 300cm; the roof is made of simple wood, mixed with logs and soil. It has a window in the west wall, and the ground is covered with stone. The door to the east is overlooking the door and the window of the church and facing the main altar.    

                       2 - His cell at the hermitage

Its length from east to west reaches 3m; its width from north to south is 210cm; its height is 240cm. The window to the south consists of simple wood and two shutters always closed with a black curtain, where nobody could see him from outside, and he couldn't see through it except the mountain of Ehmej and the rugged hills. In the eastern wall, an opening is recessed, resemble to a cabinet where he put his lantern oil.  Its ground is paved with stones from the mountain; its walls are made of stones and plastered inside with clay. The roof is very simply made of wood. The door had a worthless wooden bar, and provided from outside with a handle made of wood.

 His cell was almost empty, always opened, blackened with smoke; and had a bed of wood under which he placed a wicker tray where he deposited his spiritual and theological books; also there was a pitcher of drinking water. No one was allowed to enter his cell except rarely, or secretly without his permission. 

                                      3 - His mat

 His mat was filled with gall and oak leaves and with barks. It was wrapped in a sort of carpet woven from goat hair. The whole thing was covered with an old felting. His pillow was a piece of wood wrapped with a black piece of cloth. At this very hard bed with no soft mattress and no blanket, he slept in  summer and in winter; this shabby bed was laid over two planks, raised two margins above the ground and connected with a piece of blanket. Most often he slept on the ground.    

                                     4 - His Sleeping 

He never stayed up at night with the monks; his sleeping was after the Compline and other prayer, about half past eight; he woke up at midnight for the prayer service, according to the hermit's rule, after which he never went back to sleep, except sometimes to rest for an hour, then resumed the meditation and prayer. He never slept during the day, and never played games (playing card, etc.) in his life.  

                                      II-Stories and Events

                     1-Exhausted from sleepiness (Mk 4:38)

Fr. Elias Ehmej witnessed: I realized that he was exhausted by the constant long vigils; sometimes, while he was kneeling upright on the floor, sleep overcame him; he bent his head to one side, his body bent more forward so that it touched the ground. Then suddenly he sat up quickly; overcoming his physical weakness, looking up and sighing from the depths of his heart.  Nobody had ever seen him, resting during the day, closing his eyes on the shadow of a tree.

                           2 - The woolen pillow (Mt 8:20)

 His cell had no lock or key; once, while Fr. Sharbel was working in the field, Brother Boutros Al-Fraidiss took advantage to enter his cell; he took the pillow, consisted from a piece of wood, threw it away and replaced it with a woolen cushion. When Fr. Sharbel came back to his cell and noticed the change in his pillow, he went to Brother Boutros, begging him to take the woolen pillow and bring back his piece of wood; he insisted, until his wish was ulfilled.  

G: Sharbel's food

A-Introduction

1 - In the Convent

I: The intelligence of Sharbe

  I-Introduction

            He had the appearance of stupidity and naiveness, but in reality, he was perceptive, intelligent and honest, unequivocally and frankly talking; when asked he answered clearly and concisely, pretending to be stupid and apathetic. He never uttered except with the necessary words that could strengthen the brotherhood and serve the salvation the soul.

His conversations always focused on theological subjects; motivating all his works for the eternal salvation; his opinion on theological matters was prudent… He was quick-witted, in spite of his absolute silence.

As for his ingenuity, it was reflected in the precision of his work, putting everything in its proper place; in spite of his excellent understanding and the strength of his knowledge he made himself a slave to all. In his mortification and the mastery of his instincts, he reached a level that is found in the Psalm of the prophet David: “I became as a beast before you, but I am each day with you.”  He was humble, in his heart and his intention, with only one goal: God. He wasn't stupid and dispassionate, but he was gifted with the wisdom of the Saints. He didn't commit a single mistake, that his superiors and his colleagues could blame him for, because he offered no opportunity for them to find any blemish in his behavior. His remarkably accurate attention to the regulations shows that he had perfectly understood their meaning.

   His "Spirit word" was sublime, because he was heading towards perfection by the ideal way from which he never moved away a step. In his lifestyle, he put everything in its proper place, not uttering a single word inadequate. His wisdom protected him from detestable superstition and exaggeration. He was a knowledgeable man, who had completed his studies in Kfifane, even though he was from outer appearance as a naive person. 

As for the frequent and increased austerities and the oppression of his body; they caused him no disease, which proves that they were exercised wisely. He was a serious and discreet person, balanced in his behavior which imposed his respect and his esteem to all those who knew him; he had never been "a stumbling block" for anyone rather they all considered him a Saint and asked for his blessing. He was wise, not by the wisdom of this world, but by a supernatural wisdom... Superiors and monks were often advised to follow his example.   

                                              II-Stories and Events

                             1 - Ask and you will be given (Mt 7:7)

Fr. Youssef Ehmej witnessed: Fr. Sharbel had an inflamed and iron Will that made him the master of his inclinations and his emotions; he told me: "My brother, life is illusory, God knows our whole being, those who ask for his grace with confidence, will not be disappointed. Ask him to give you all what you need."  During the whole time I've spent at Saint Maron, neither I nor the superiors or monks, recognized any mistake in his conduct. He desired to be asked to serve, not only by the superiors and brethren, but also by the workers of the convent and the servants; for example, if someone asked him to convey the plowing machine elsewhere, he would carry it immediately.  I myself witnessed numerous incidents of this kind.  I never heard that anyone had complained about him or accused him for any reason; his superiors and his brethren respected and appreciated him and asked for his prayers in sickness and in sorrow. His piety left a great influence on his fellow man.

                                              2 -We have no thieves

Once, a man came to the convent on Sunday to attend the Mass where the farmer-members and other people gathered all Sundays and holidays; he left his stick near the door and entered the church.  At that time Fr. Sharbel was not yet in the hermitage. After the Mass, the man couldn’t find his stick, he yelled, raising his voice and cursed. Fr. Sharbel left the church and said softly and sweetly: "My brother, my brother no one yells in the convent." The man replied angrily: "They stole my stick, are there thieves in the monastery?”  Smiling, Fr. Sharbel replied calmly: "No my brother, we have no thieves. Look at this basin stone, at the entrance of the monastery, it stands here since it was built, nobody stole it." Ashamed, the man silenced and all those present laughed because the basin was a large stone, weighing over a ton, more than twenty people wouldn't be able to move it. 
 

                                         3 - An ingenious Master   

            It was accustomed among the monks or peasants, when a clumsy or stupid brother helped them, to go and complain to the Superior, saying: "Please, Father Superior, don't send us this or that brother because he is in his work more of a hindrance than useful. As for Sharbel, nobody ever complained about him, or about incompetence in his work; his intelligence was remarkable in all his work; his wisdom was reflected in its greatest splendor, through the transparency of his consciousness that reached the peak of the sublimity in his virtues, leaving no way to be said that he had the slightest hallucination or the minimum illusion. His whole behavior was an expression of wisdom. It is true that he had no professional education, but he was ingenious in spiritual subjects, where the monks of the Order, the most known for their knowledge and experience, were failed.

J: The library and the culture of Sharbel

 I-Introduction

 1 - His books

 He derived his meditations from the following books: "Flash in Mind", Preparing for Death of Saint Alphonsus Ligoury, Confessions of Saint Augustine, The Christian Perfection, Moral theology, Imitation of Christ, a book that he was very passionate of reading it. He also read many other books: The theological books, Monks' Garden, Biography of St. Anthony the Great, The Monastic Lamp, Spiritual interpretation, The Holy Scriptures. There was nothing in his room, except the regular mat, and his prayer and meditations' books.

  Also from the books that he read: the Ladder of virtues, of John Climacus; Anchoritic, of St. Basil, St. Ephrem Memri, Excerpts of St. Isaac the Syriac of Nivine, Memri of spiritual Sage in the monastic life, of John Daliyati; Contempt the vanity of the world, the Master Didoxe Stalleh, from St. Francis Order, and for Fr. John Eusebius Nirmubarak the Jesuit, The Balance of time and the trap for the eternity of man.  Also, The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus   Ligoury, the Martyrology, the novice regulations, Rules and Constitutions of 1732.

  And transcripts found in the library of the monastery Annaya: Part eight of the Science of theology in legislation, the biography of the saints, of Jesus and Mary and the Synod,  Daily practice in the eternal truths, Monastic discussion;  topics came under the form of ask and answer, and sermons about the Virgin Mary, the interpretation of the Breviary,  and untitled book about the explanation in honor of the name of Jesus, and on the cautiousness from the wicked , also mentioned the death, the judgment and purgatory, and the Magnificat of Virgin Mary ,and the Hell and the Confession, and another untitled book , meditation on the passion of Christ, and The spiritual war, and the History of Times or the history of the Muslim by Patriarch Estephen Al-Douaihi, and the Divan of the Maronite Bishop Germanos Farhat Halabi.  

                                              2 - His education

        Fr. Sharbel was a man of pure holiness, we took him as naive, but in the spiritual level, he was expert and well-educated, smart, fluent in moral theology and the principles of the Syriac language, which he translate into Arabic, in addition to his knowledge in Arabic language. He was judicious and convincing in his answers; because in moral theology and spiritual things, he belonged to the school of the famous Fr. Al-Kafri. In the theological discussions with the priests, he spoke voluntarily about spiritual topics, especially regards the soul and the sacrament of reconciliation, in which he talked freely from the fullness of his heart inflamed with spiritual and divine matters. 

                                               II-Stories and Events  

                                               1-Religious discussions

 Fr. Alouan witnessed:  During his presence at the convent, he was helping in the bakery, all day long, while discussing about theological issues that were of great benefit. He was more relevant in his answers than others; where the accuracy of knowledge, breathed with the sweetness of the expression and combined with the virtue of humility. In this also, he did not answer if he hadn't been asked to reply. He exchanged with us, religious discussions that demonstrated the depth of his faith; quoting verses from the Holy Bible and from the Scriptures, asking us to find another verse which must begin with the last letter of his quote, then he explained its meaning.  

                                             2 - Read this chapter 

         Fr. Andari testified: I have personally met Fr. Sharbel in September 1898, in the hermitage of Saints Peter and Paul, on the occasion of my visit to the monastery of Saint Maron Annaya few months after my solemn vows; I was accompanied by Fr. Ibrahim Al-Haqlani "[14]," my classmate, who later died in the reputation of sanctity. Upon our arrival, we entered the chapel of the hermitage, where Fr. Sharbel was kneeling upright on a piece of log, with reverence, without moving. We visited the Holy Sacrament and prayed for a moment, while staring at him, still persisting in the same attitude. Then we went into a narrow hallway that had a simple stone-built oven; there we saw the other hermit Fr. Makarios Sawma from Meshmesh, cooking in a pot made of clay. The hermits ate only once a day, in the afternoon; the dish consisted of a seasoning of lentils, chick peas, beans, cracked wheat, and other grains, a kind of soup called "Makhlouta".

He welcomed us, with a glowing face and a smile that shows his pure heart, like the heart of a child. We sat on two curved stones which were at the bottom of a stony arch; after he chopped the onion, he called Fr. Sharbel, we saluted him he replied in a soft voice, barely audible, looking at the ground, uttering a single word: "Peace." Then, Fr. Makarios gave him a metal pan in which he put a little oil and the chopped onions, saying: "Take and fry the onions." He took them without looking at us. Fr. Makarios brought a tray made of wicker on which he placed two plates, a little bread and purslane, parsley, some bread, known as “the loaves of monks”, some of which were in pieces, others burned, then he told Fr. Sharbel: "pluck off the leaves of purslane."Then, he took the frying pan, poured the contents into the clay pot, and then filled the two plates, while Fr. Sharbel still plucking the purslane, putting the leaves on a plate and the stems in the corner of the tray.

             Fr. Makarios invited us to eat but we apologized and thanked him, he turned to Fr. Sharbel and said: "Eat." Fr. Sharbel prayed and then began to eat carefully, sitting on the floor, legs crossed, looking straight ahead him, in silence. He ate the stems of purslane that others don't eat; he did not eat the leaves seasoned with salt and oil.

             Fr. Makarios went to the vineyard, and brought us grapes of the highest quality. Meanwhile Fr. Sharbel finished his meal, residing in the same position, arms crossed, head bowed, waiting for the order; so his companion told him: "Go, visit the Blessed Sacrament and then come back to do the dishes." At sunset we said goodbye, collected and very excited, we went back to the convent amazed at what we had seen.

            In the summer of 1898, I spent the holiday at the convent of Annaya in the company of the brothers scholastic. One day, around 9:00am, we went to visit the hermits, we found Fr. Sharbel in church, kneeling straight on the same piece of wood, at the same place, as we saw him the first time last year.

While I was praying before the Blessed Sacrament, I turned my eyes towards him I saw him motionless as a statue, a rosary in his hand, eyes fixed on the altar, I felt he was in total ecstasy; he didn't even pay attention to us. After we prayed, we looked at him, hoping that he would look back, but he remained motionless and did not look towards us. We then walked into the courtyard of the church on the west side; while we were discussing and yelling. Fr. Sharbel opened the door and stood in silence; watching us, arms crossed, with a smile on his brilliant face, as if he wanted to tell us; do not make noise, not to disturb my prayer in my solitude. We have taken in such veneration, went up to him and asked for his blessing and the kissing of his hand. Whenever someone approached him to greet him, he bent his right knee slightly, bent his body, then he quickly touched with the tip of his fingers each of us, preventing us from kissing his hand. He greeted us with a smile, repeating a single word in a whisper: "Peace". We stood for one minute in front of him, in reverence, he closed the door and returned to his prayer, we withdrew into the woods, west of the hermitage, tiptoeing, whispering, not to disturb his prayer in solitude. We were filled with joy and reverence for seeing him; but then I left my brethren and returned alone to church, to see him again and talk to him, but I didn't find him, I went into the hallway, he was not there, I looked all over the hermitage, I didn't see him. Then I went up to the roof, and saw him sitting on a roller, near the church wall, as if he was avoiding me, holding the biography of Saint Anthony the Great. When I approached him, he handed the book to me saying: "Read this chapter." I read it standing in front of him while he was listening; as soon as I finished reading, he took the book, and without saying a word he disappeared into the church. I thought, he had just given me this passage, in order to avoid a conversation with me.

 ( [14]He frequently visited the patients infected with smallpox disease, to console them and give them the sacraments.  He got this contagious disease and died in 1906.)                                

                                         3- Professor in Theology

            He probably founded the school of Annaya, where Fr. Antonius Meshmesh taught. Also Fr. Youssef the son of Fr. Youssef Saad Al-Marouni from Meshmesh, who was born in1876, and was a neighbor of the monastery of Saint Maron Annaya; he studied theology at the hand of  Fr. Antonios Meshmesh in the monastery itself, and pronounced his solemn vows in May 31, 1898. Sharbel, himself, was teaching the priesthood students in the monastery of Saint Maron Annaya.  

                                          4 - Never tired of reading the Bible

"La Croix" newspaper wrote:  Sharbel is a saint according to the Gospel; Christ was his only teacher, Sharbel consulted Him and listened to Him.  He was never tired of reading the Bible and reflecting on the life of Christ. Sharbel is a living example for the Gospel; he followed Jesus Christ and practiced the virtues due to the disciple of Christ as:  obedience, mortification, humility, love and prayer; that grew up by the pure water of the Gospel.  

 K: The Confession of Sharbel

I-Introduction

1 -Revealing thoughts

            Sharbel revealed his thoughts daily in accordance to the law :"Outside the confession, the novice  must reveal his thoughts to his superior or his novice master, every night if possible; he kneels before his spiritual father, with humility and reverence, uncovering his head, kissing the ground... and saying respectfully: Father, my heart is far from God ... I am fully flawed and unworthy servant before God ... then he externalizes his thoughts, both good and bad ... asking his spiritual father his advices and guidelines that he must keep.    

                                            2 - The weekly confession                                                      

 He hated the sin and the causes that lead to it, even he hated to mention it.  All those who knew him, testified that he did not voluntarily committed a venial sin. What was known to all, that in his life he had never thwarted the Ten Commandments and those of the church; rather he suffered when someone trespassed. However, every night he examined his conscience on all the acts of the day, as the wise merchant; to discern whether he was a winner or a loser, in the first case, he gives thanks to God, seeking more graces in order to increase his efforts in work and thereby increase his gain and his merit. In the second case, although the loss was minimal, he takes the resolution to heal the existing weakness. He confessed continuously, once a week, whether in his secular life or in his monastic and priesthood life. He was smart and wise, without being scrupulous, for he knew the true spirit very well and never rejected any good advice throughout his life.

In the convent of Kfifane, he had two spiritual fathers:  Fr. Nehemtallah Al-Kafri, who was later elected as a Superior General, and St. Al-Hardini Nehemtallah, also early in his anchoritic life, Fr. Alishaa was his spiritual father. After the death of Alishaa, Fr. Libaos Al-Ramaty became his companion, later he transferred to the convent of Qattara. Finally, Fr. Makarios Meshmesh accompanied him till he died.

                                   3-Serving the faithful

 He got permission from the Patriarch Boulos Massaad, to practice the sacrament of reconciliation… on February 20, 1863. But he heard only the confession when his superior told him, because he was not appointed for the pastoral ministry.  Those who had come to him in order to confess and to listen to his guideline, they testified and praised his zeal for their own good,  and the effective influence of his advices on their soul;  as it penetrates deep into the heart, and leaves a spiritual influence in the spirit. So they have all praised his insight and his wise advices, for the construction of the others and their progress in their spiritual life; and if necessary, he was not holding, his advices from those who associated with him. 

    He loved a lot the souls, and suffered for the perished ones; so he prayed for the sinners, and gave them wholesome advice at confession, he strongly admonished them for their sins, and gave them a strict penance.  He heard the confessions of women, only when the Superior ordered him.

                                  II-Stories and Events

                           1 - Pour the hope in his heart

His example had a great influence over others, monks and laity: working his best to sow the seeds of hope in their hearts. If a monk fell seriously ill, he would ask the superior to send Fr. Sharbel to provide him with the last rites; confession and holy communion ... to comfort him and pour into his heart the hope and the expectation that he could depart from this world in the hope of the resurrection; so he came and spent the night at the bedside of the patient, sat on a chair, and did not leave him, except to recite the prayer service. When the Superior ordered him to go and pray for a patient, he went willingly and with joy. 

                             2 - Alone among the monks

            According to the calendar of Annaya: Brother Sarkis Ehmej died a natural death, provided with the last rites in the presence of Fr. Youssef Issa and Fr. Sharbel from Bqaakafra, on March 14, 1874.  

                                           3 - A wise counselor

Fr. Youssef Ehmej witnessed: He was smart and wise in his spiritual speech. I remember that he once told me: "Never speak a word that could cause a sin, if it is beneficial say it, or don't." 

                    4-I felt a deep reverence after his advice 

            Fr. Tabet Mubarak testified: When Fr. Sharbel left the church to return to his cell, I stopped him, begging him to hear my confession he came back and told me "Follow me." After the confession, I looked over inside the church where I saw cracks in the ceiling and in the walls, that can cause the collapse of the stony roof, so I told him: "Father, you spend all night in this chapel, this hermitage is exposed to lightning, a thunder is sufficient to cause its collapse over you, why don't you renovate it?" He replied: "Don’t care". I said:" I will tell the Father Superior to restore it." He answered: "No! Don’t tell him, my son, where I could find a more sacred place than this altar, to die over it?"

 I felt a deep reverence because of his response, the same feeling I had after listening to his advices during the confession. Then he went back to his cell, and we left.

            5 - He met the qualifications of the confessor

      Fr. Ramyah testified: He was intelligent and very competent; he delighted the hearts of those who confessed to him, by his advice and guidance. I myself have been several times in his confessional, and now I wish with all my heart, that I get the chance to find a priest like him to confess to him throughout my life; because Fr. Sharbel had a unique ingenious memory, in which one might think that he had an access even to the invisible world; as he remembered, even after a long time, the situations that were presented to him by his parishioners. 

   Although he was knowledgeable and accurate in guiding the souls, prescribing the medicine according to the disease without mercy; he was capable to attract the heart of the confessor, despite the apparent severity of his exhortations to the sin committed, and the severe compensation he imposed. His personality combined all the qualities of the Confessor; he was very relevant in his advice, his questions and his admonitions; a judge perceiving in his spiritual theology an excellent knowledge; a clever doctor who gave the right treatment; a loving father who opened his arms to the sinner, and gave him the passion for repentance and confession.  

                                      6 - Very Impressive

Skandar Beik Khoury witnessed: He listened to the confessions of men, only to those who asked him; he usually sent them to his companion in the hermitage. His instructions were very impressive, to all those who heard him in the confessional, as my father told me; who, himself, in age of twenty-five, had confessed to him, about seven or eight times. 

L: Servant for everybody (Mt 20/28)

I-Introduction

            The law orders: “The gestures and works of the monks must be low and with degrading, regarding to his brethren." So, when Sharbel obeyed this rule, his surroundings, the secular and especially the monastic order, didn’t understand him;  some people disrespected him for his despicable clothes, and some of the monks  laughed at his naiveté and even some of them used to mock him for his arduous austerities, including the one that put him water in the lantern. They talked with him with anger and scolded him, to the extent that Sharbel who was known by his utmost patience and his ultimate silence, he once said to the hermit Makarios: "If I am stupid, be patient with me, for the sake of Christ."

   He embodied the example of Christian by his humility, trying to conceal his virtues and his good deeds. He felt sad and began to tremble when others praised him. He was the reflection of modesty, held aloof from people and brothers, preferring hiding, isolation and silence; he was human, apparently, living in heaven, actually.

 When he is informed about something even if he wasn't at fault; he would kneel down with folded arms, asking for forgiveness, bowing his head towards the ground, and did not get up till he is ordered, due to the novice's regulation:

" If the novice is admonished, he must Kneel down silently and quickly with folded arms, without trying to justify himself and do not get up until the Superior orders him, so he receives his blessing and goes to work." 

   He was so meek and humble, more humble than a lamb, and more pleasant than a spirit flowing in the body, yet he was the humility itself, never talked about himself, as if he was dead from this world.

   He humbled himself till he faded,  petered out completely if he could; he appeared without a will, and somehow with no mind and no senses; despicable in his clothes, in his food, in his sleep, in his kneeling, in his mat, in his cell,  in his hard work,  totally forgetting himself. 

    He willingly accepted the contempt of others; rather he felt happy if someone insulted him; he wasn't embarrassed from his despicable habit, neither from his poor food, nor from his miserable cell.

  He always looked for the smallest service, the least position. We heard him once saying: I do not deserve to be among my brothers, or to achieve their dignity, because I am inferior to everyone; his words are the evidence of his deep humility. He considered himself entirely lower than all the monks, claiming every pettiness and lowliness for him, forgetting himself totally.  He behaved as if he was a servant for all who worked with him in the field; choosing, willingly, the modest services, such sweeping and washing the dishes; therefore, these services weren't accounted for ordained priests. When the monks tried to kiss hid hands and receive his blessing, he was doing his best to stop them. 

                                  II-Stories and Events

                                        1 - Stranger

Fr. Maron Karam explained: The monk of the region, became dependent on his district, and couldn't be transferred without the permission of the superior; so the monk who was outside his region, considered himself a stranger, and some of the monks told the alien one: "What have brought you here?  No bread remained in your country?"  Therefore, Fr. Sharbel was a stranger in the province; he was the only one in the convent, who came from northern Lebanon, from the region of Jebbeh.  Yet he obeyed, in an exemplary manner, all those who lived in the monastery; monks and laymen gave him orders, to make fun of him or to joke, and he never rejected any order. Nobody defended nor respected him, except the Superior who became angry on those who tortured Sharbel or mocked from him. As for Fr. Sharbel, he devoted himself to work, prayer and obedience, without indignation against his mockers, he rarely spoke, only when he answered a question. In this context St. Therese cried out: "What contempt, on the strange shore, didn't you endure for me? I want to disappear from the earth and be the last in everything, for You, O Jesus."

                     2 - God give me strength to obey [15]

Hanna Al-Houssaini witnessed: When my uncle, Abdel Ahad Al-Houssaini, was superior of the convent of Kartaba, I was a deacon serving there. One day we came to St. Maron monastery where the monks in Annaya and the workers were busy preparing a furnace. Fr. Sharbel was taking care of the firewood, it was then, when Fr. Hanna Roukoz Meshmesh turned to him and joked in front of all present: "We all decided to throw you into the furnace for the lack of branches, because the human body, fueling more than logs, and his flesh fed well the furnace, so the stone will soon burn." As soon as, Fr. Sharbel heard this, he knelt down and said: God give me strength to obey, which means I am ready to sacrifice my life, to obey. Deeply moved, Fr. Elias Meshmesh, reprimanded him saying: "Shame on you! Why are you joking like that with Fr. Sharbel? Don't you know that the Spirit of God is upon him? May God grant us the blessing of his intercessory prayers." Then Fr. Roukoz asked forgiveness from Fr. Sharbel who replied: God forgives everyone. 

([15] According to the hermit, Fr. Youhanna Al-khawand, this expression means, it is impossible! Used by the monks when they were asked to do something impossible! )  

                                              3 - I am a great sinner

            Nobody was aware of his presence, because he was attached to the life of isolation. When the visitors asked for his blessing and his prayers, he gave them his blessing without looking at them, saying: "Ask the Lord to give you according to your faith." If someone told him: You are a saint, he got disturbed and said, "I am a great sinner." At the Hermitage, he performed the lowest and the most humble works. Though he was the Superior in the hermitage, he imposed himself to the obedience of his companion Fr. Makarios, who was younger than him; he was the one who washed the dishes and swept the floor. If it happened that the superior admonished a monk in his presence, or warned him for something, even if he wasn't at fault, he would kneel, according to the monks' custom, seeking forgiveness and never got up until the superior asked him.

                                            4 -The cat's leftovers

            Fr. Bernardes Ehmej testified: I am telling you a story that I saw with my own eyes and I was deeply touched; I always remember this scene with great emotion, respect and wonder.  Fr. Sharbel was eating with his companion at my presence; their dish was composed of cracked wheat cooked with chard leaves. After having finished, Fr. Makarios wiped the pan with a piece of bread and threw it for the cat, but the cat wasn't hungry, so she licked the remaining meal without eating the bread. Meanwhile, Fr. Sharbel, who was washing the dishes, came back and found the bread on a floor, he picked it up, passed it over his head and after shaking the dust, he made the sign of the cross and ate it, without noticing my presence, because he never raised his eyes. At that moment, I became aware that he never looked at anyone, because he repeatedly asked, "Who are you?" Although I answered him, he was asking me the same question in the second day, because he never raised his eyes and looked at me. 

                        5 -His homeland is in heaven! (Phil 3/20)

 Fr. Youssef Ehmej witnessed: He liked to be despised by all. Throughout his life, he kept his eyes lowered and he looked neither to his brethren nor to the natural landscape. One day I was with Fr. Nehemtallah Meshmesh, holding binoculars, looking towards Beirut; Fr. Sharbel came along, carrying a rope to tie a load of wood, I told him: Take this telescope you can see Beirut very close to you. He replied; "No, why should I care, about these things?" Then he went to his work.  Fr. Roukouz Meshmesh added, so I told him follow me to the roof of the hermitage, he obeyed.  I gave him the binoculars, to see Beirut, he replied: Watch, by yourself!  and he went back.    

                                   6 - Do not put him to the test

Hanna Al-Houssaini testified: I heard Fr. Elias Meshmesh warning the visitors of the convent not to put Fr. Sharbel to the test, neither verbally nor otherwise, saying: “This is a man of faith, the Spirit of God is upon him, so respect him.”  Fr. Elias liked and esteemed him, for his unique virtues. He once said to me: Many times, I tried to dissuade Fr. Sharbel from practicing the arduous work in the field, and to give him an easier job in the convent, for the rest of his body, but he was immediately finishing the work in the monastery, and going to the field.  

                                      7 - Insults

M: No one could hear his voice (Mt 12,19)
 

I-Introduction

The law requires: "The monk must keep the tranquility." So he spoke very rarely. We didn't hear his voice except in reading the Bible, the words of consecration and in unison prayers.  He embodied the Rule; he didn’t converse with men, women or monks. At work he spoke with no one; he sought no superfluous words with a visitor or a muleteer, nor passed the time gossiping,

or asked about a particular person, but if you asked him, he would answer politely, calmly and briefly. He spent the evening in silent, but he was available to speak when asked about spiritual or theological issue, so there he voluntarily abounded in his answers.

    His life resembled that of cloistered silence; his speech was dedicated to talk with God, and concentrated for silence, isolation and meditation; he was a monk of work, prayer, and contemplative silence that one might think he was from another world. At church as in the hermitage, he was like an angel; no one could hear his voice. 

                                                  II- Stories and events

                                                        1 - If necessary

            Fr. Elias Ehmej testified: Our rule requires mandatory silence after Compline, in the refectory and in the church. During these hours, if the monks talked with Fr. Sharbel, he answered only when necessary. The brethren followed his example, and presented him as an ideal for novices, in his lifetime and after his death. From all the monks, none could match his adherence to the rule.  

                                         2 - I have strayed from the path.

            Fr. Ephrem Nakad witnessed: Once he went to Meshmesh to a funeral and didn’t come back till evening, I asked him why he came so late, he replied: I have strayed from the path, the fog was too dense and I found myself in Houjoula, then I gradually found the way and reached the monastery. I replied: "Haven't you met anybody?" He said: "I met, many." I asked again: "Why didn't you ask for the direction?" He didn't say a word.  In fact, he wouldn't have asked anyone, even if he had lost his way.

   How strange he was in his condition! No anchorite or hermit had lived as he did; neither before nor after him. I haven't met a person like him, among the monks, laity, priests and bishops. God is wonderful in his saints! The case of this monk is very amazing! 

             3 - Do you practice your spiritual obligations?

    Once, his brother came from Bqaakafra to visit him and rang the bell.  Fr .Sharbel came to see who was ringing, the visitor replied: "I am the brother of the hermit, Sharbel." he said: "Just a moment, till I ask the hermit, if he wants to open the door." He went to his companion and told him: "My brother is at the door, do you allow me to open it?" He replied: "Of course, welcome him." During their meeting, he simply repeated the same thing: "How are you?" Is everything all right? Do you practice your spiritual obligations; you and your family? Shortly afterwards, he dismissed him.                     

                                            4 - As Saint Nester

Fr. Ephrem Nakad testified: He was like St. Nester who, when he entered the convent found a donkey near the gate, so he said to himself: "Nester, Nester, you and that donkey are alike, if he can speak, then you can talk in the convent." From my personal experience with Fr. Sharbel, I found him intelligent, knowledgeable in moral theology, passionate for learning. However, he behaved like Saint Nester: a donkey in his silence, a philosopher in his prayer and his lifestyle, a hermit in the convent.    

                       5 - Listening to the Beloved one (Lk10:39)

Although Fr. Sharbel had been neither stupid, nor melancholic, nor from those who hate the contact with people; he promised that his mouth doesn't utter a word, except to praise God in resonant prayer, or to respond to the neighbor in a spiritual matter. Therefore, he spoke very little and rarely took the initiative in conversation, but his speech was almost always an answer. So he was distinguished among the hermits, not only in his observance to the hermit's rules, but also by his constant silence and his continuous work. He seemed like a quiet contemplative monk rather than a Lebanese monk; all other hermits were astonished from his great perpetual silence.  

                              6- He didn't answer me

Moussa Moussa testified: When I helped him to pull the thorny bushes and the tree stumps, he didn’t utter a word and remained silence. When I was bored of silence in the field, I talked to him, but he didn't answer me.
 

                      7-Nothing can entertain him 

Moussa Moussa witnessed: I befriended several monks and hermits, all venerable, but no one was like Fr. Sharbel. The other hermits, the living or the dead, spoke with us when we visited them; seeking entertaining news, and looking at our faces. On the other hand, Fr. Sharbel spoke to no one, sought no distractions, and not even looked at the face of a living creature.

                                  8- The people thought he was dumb

Fr. Sharbel was an angel in human body, a philosopher without a philosophy, an ideal of holiness and perfection. He had a tongue, but people thought he was dumb, as if he is a little child in his mother's arms, with one difference, that we couldn't hear his voice. 

                                                 9- He rarely spoke

Fr. Alouan witnessed: During the period I’ve spent at St. Maron, I saw in him only a silent man, who lived in isolation, not only from people but also from the monks. He didn't talk in front of me, so I can tell you stories about his life, and he never engaged in anything that I could describe how he was dealing with people. He worked four or five hours with the novices and remained silent, while they were talking around him.

 N: Rejoice in my sufferings(Col 1,24)

    I-Introduction

 This what the law requires: "The monk must give thanks to God for the disease more than the health, confident that it’s a test from the Lord for his own good." Fr. Sharbel suffered from horrible stomach pains, worsened during the snow season, yet he never complained or asked for treatment. Although he endured this chronic colic, especially in winter, he never told anyone about his condition, nor asked for a doctor neither put heaters in winter, though the cold, in the hermitage of Saint Maron, was severe. He never said I am sick, but endured his sufferings with remarkable patience, imitating the humility and patience of Christ, concealing his troubles from others with discretion; what happened to him either from God or men, he accepted with patience and serenity. He didn't take a medicine or painkiller, even when the pain became unbearable, but he kept repeating: "The will of God be done." He wore the same habit in summer and winter, and did not approach the fire like other hermits; instead, he spent his time praying in the church, mostly kneeling on the bare ground.

 His whole life was molded with mortification, so his pure body got used to it, and it became a shelter for him, where he relaxed after long years of ascetic practice; he always wore the Cilice directly on the flesh and not over a flannel. Boutros Moussa wondered how he could bear it, especially during the summer; he also put a thorny belt of iron applied on the flesh.   

                            II-Stories and Events
 

                       1- He captivated my heart

Fr. Hassrouni testified: Once, while we were plowing the vineyards of the hermitage; me, Brother Elias Al-Mahrini, as the head of the field, the worker Suleiman Al-Manzili, Fr. Sharbel and his companion at the hermitage, Fr. Makarios; I noticed that Fr. Sharbel began to cling onto himself, bending his back, his hands clutching his hips, groaning from a severe pain. I asked Fr. Makarios: "What's wrong with the hermit? I see him in pain!" He replied: "He has a severe renal colic."  I replied: "Then, let him rest, and ask a worker to replace him."  Fr. Makarios replied: "He wants to abuse himself, in such pain and hard work." In the afternoon, Fr. Makarios went to bring the lunch, while Fr. Sharbel kept running behind three pairs of cattle, in spite of his unbearable pain; then, he saw the cattle in front of me, about to trip over the vine, he ran and saved it; his groaning increased which meant he had even more pain. I told him: "Go slowly, Master I can stop the cattle." He replied in a low, intermittent voice that captivated my heart:   "My master, it will be damage, on my conscience, against poverty", and he continued his work all the day despite his pain.

                       2 -My eyes bathed with tears 

Fr. Hassrouni witnessed: In May 1897, we were plowing the vineyard of the hermitage, when we started breakfast, Fr. Sharbel continued to rebuild the walls that surrounded the vine, I asked his companion, Fr. Makarios, to call him for breakfast, he replied: "He eats in the afternoon." At lunchtime, he continued his work on the walls, so I asked Fr. Makarios, out of compassion for his frail health, to order him to come and eat with us, but his companion replied, saying: "He will eat it later."  In the evening, we brought the cattle to graze in the woods, a moment later, I returned to the hermitage to drink, and then I saw Fr. Sharbel eating the stems of purslane that he had picked up from the ground; my eyes bathed with tears from this impressive scene, and I blamed Fr. Makarios, saying: "Have mercy on the hermit; how do you let him eat the stems of purslane after his hard work, and his painful illness." He replied: "He is happy with what he eats, leave him alone."  Then I told myself: "How far we are from the virtues of this father? He really embodied all the virtues of the hermits in Sketis (upper of Egypt) and far exceeds what is written in the book "Garden of the monks" and the book "The Christian Perfection".  

                          3 - I was deeply moved by compassion.

        Fr. Hassrouni witnessed: I saw him once, transporting woods on his back from the depths of the forest to the vineyard; he was carrying a very heavy bundle and ascending to the hermitage, I was deeply moved to pity, for this old man who was over sixty-five. I blamed his companion, Fr. Makarios, who rapidly disposed of it, saying: "He wants to subdue himself." 

                          4 - Rice and butter in the hermitage! 

    Once Fr. Makarios said: "You endure a pain in the kidneys let me prepare a rice soup with butter for you; he replied in a low voice: "Rice and butter in the hermitage?  No, thanks"

                           5 -For the sake of Jesus Passion

            Moussa Moussa witnessed: When I asked him why he had a small branch of the vine tied around his head and a goat skin around his wrist, he sometimes replied:" I have a headache; I put them for the sake of Jesus Passion!"   

                  6 - No one was aware of his suffering

 The hermits were prepared a meal from wild legumes, it seemed that one of these herbs was harmful; Fr. Sharbel ate and fell sick without complaining, and nobody was aware of his sickness and his pain.  

                    7 - He stepped on the thorny bushes barefooted

            Moussa Moussa testified: When he was in the hermitage, I saw him in torn clothes, carrying a burden of thorny shrubs, stepping on it bare feet when he tied it with a rope, so his feet bled because of the thorns.

                                8 - The wool socks

Once, the Superior gave him the instruction to wear socks, knitted on our country with thick wool threads, to protect his feet from moisture, because he was suffering from stomach pains. He wore them only a single time, out of obedience, then he never put them during his lifelong. 

                   9 - He warmed up for a short time

When it was very cold in winter, Fr. Makarios called him to come to the kitchen to warm himself. Fr. Sharbel obeyed and went there for a short time, and then he retired to sleep in his cell; while his companion was sleeping beside the fire, because of the bitter cold inside the hermitage.

                        11-I shouldn't savor the sweets

 Once, Fr. Makarios proposed to make him a hot drink with bitter herbs, as a sedative for the pain he endured, he agreed in one condition, that he didn't put sugar. Fr. Makarios replied: "But the herbs are very bitter, and it's impossible to drink it!" Fr. Sharbel answered:"I shouldn’t savor the sweets, and my Lord Jesus drank vinegar on the cross, when he was at the peak of his thirst and suffering.

O: Everlasting peace (Jn14:27)
 

 I-Introduction

His courage was exceptional because it came from heaven and not from earth; in all time we could see him amiable and cheerful, as if everything was going well. He never grumbled about someone, or complained about a work, in summer or winter. When lightning struck the rod of the hermitage, he wasn't moving from his spot in the church where he was praying. He endured all the difficulties, putting in front of him his supernatural goal. He was suffering from colic, that sometimes assaulted him during the hours of manual labor, but he never groaned rather he was repeating; O Jesus! O Blessed Virgin! When his companion, Fr. Makarios told him to go to rest and pray before the Blessed Sacrament, he always obeyed. If he was called, he stood and saluted with the usual greeting: Praised be God; he stayed upright, arms crossed, till they order him to sit. He was serene, serious, good-tempered, and gentle as a dove, rather he was the docility, the kindness and the tenderness; anyone who looked at him, spontaneously would love him; if someone annoyed him, he bore it with patience and kindness.

                                            II- Stories and events

             1- His heart and his mind are in heaven (Mt 6/19-21) 

He did not speak of earthly things, nor asked about the income of the hermitage from the vows offerings, or wished that the monastery will be richer, nor he was proud of the richness of the convent in its territories or otherwise. He spoke neither about family nor relatives or cared about their loss or wealth, he never asked about them or about money, or livelihood. He underwent no work for the sake of gratitude, and didn’t expect any help from anyone. He never looked for compensation from the part of the superiors if he had been asked to provide a service; his relationship with them was brief; if commanded he obeyed without the slightest hesitation. He wasn't to be carried away by emotions of sadness, or happiness; if a disaster happened to the convent, or to one of his fellow he didn't grieve; nor he rejoiced if one of his brethren got a rank in the priesthood, or any other gratifying things; he always kept the same mood in all situations, confident in God, repeating the phrase: God provides, this is the Will of God. He prayed for a plenty harvest season, but he showed no affection for a good or bad one, saying: The Divine Providence provides. He always said: Thy Will be done, what we have in this world? We are but pilgrims to Eternity. In a word, his heart and his thoughts were directed towards heaven.

                                                    2 - Pray for him

 He showed a strong faith in God; so when the parent of a sick person came to beg him, asking him to pray for the healing of their patient, he sometimes replies: Your patient is in a good health, pray for him, as if the will of God inspired him to say these words of consolation. Other time, he replies: Plead and pray for him, and he prays with them and urges them to trust in God. On other occasion, he consoles them by advising them to have patience and surrender to God's Divine will.  Each time they mentioned to him about a patient, or needy or a person in difficulty, he says: God provides, let's depend on Him, and if someone asked him for a help, he would convince him to turn to God and plead Him for the grace desired.

                                6 - The scattering of ashes

The hermits celebrated their masses separately, so Fr. Sharbel served the masses of his companions, Fr. Makarios Meshmesh and Fr. Semaan Ehmej; however each undertook to serve his mass every other day, because of to the bitter cold in winter. Once, it was very cold and the snow accumulated very thick, Fr. Sharbel served the two masses of his two companions, then they went after the masses to warm up near the fire, while Fr. Sharbel was preparing to celebrate his mass. The two hermits, after getting warm, surrendered to sleep, and suddenly the stove bumped against the wall, leaving the embers and ashes scattered over them so they woke up frightened, went directly to church, found Fr. Sharbel already dressed for mass, standing before the altar, waiting that someone would come to serve his mass. Upon their arrival, he showed no disappointment, nor said a word; they considered that the incident of embers was a warning for them to go and serve the Mass. 

                         4- He worked for the monks’ comfort  

            He was concerned only about the comfort of the monks and the welfare of the convent; for he was convinced that with this contribute; he praises God and works for the salvation of his soul. If he felt that one of his brothers, who had been ordered to perform a job as baking bread, was tired and he needed to rest or he should do other duty, Fr. Sharbel would ask permission from his companion to replace him and did the job with pleasure even until midnight. He never left his brethren till the mission is accomplished. To anyone who asked him for a service, he replied:  I am at your service, my brother.

P: No one could take away his joy (Jn 16,22)

 I-Introduction

He was always gentle and cheerful, happy in God, pleased in his condition, he neither grumbled nor complained about anything, sober, patient, joyful; he knew nor boredom neither weariness, nor sadness neither anxiety or fear; he practiced the austerities, spontaneously, easily and happily, until the last day of his life. He was joyful in all his work and always happy; practicing it constantly and persistently; neither he hesitated on doing it nor grumbled.

He considered himself a servant for all others; obeying with joy and lot of energy not only what his superiors ordered, but also what the others asked him, including novices and servants. He considered himself lucky, for each service he could provide for others; he served with content the laborers who worked in the field of the monastery, or in the vineyard of the hermitage. He completely accomplished all services required from him, and was pleased to take over a brother in a hard work.

When the superior ordered him to go and pray for the patients, he went willingly and with joy, and prayed for them asking God for their recovery and health. He had a zeal for the salvation of souls, receiving kindly those who wanted to confess, doing his best to bring them to conversion. If he was told about an unusual or funny event, he would reply only briefly and with an amiable smile.

When he was lecturing about theological subjects, he spoke in a friendly way, pursuant the rule: "the novice should speak with kindness to all people.”

His gaiety transferred to his surrounding; Bro. Boutros Meshmesh witnessed: "I felt great pleasure when I was serving his Mass." Bro. Elias Al-Mahrini affirmed:  I participated with him in reciting the rosary; he was kneeling and praying with enjoyment and warmth; which radiating from him and filling me. Fr. Hassrouni added: in reciting the rosary with him, I felt when I was close to him, with an unusual ardor invaded my soul, and with unknown pleasure, and Fr. Nehemtallah Meshmesh explained: Silent as he was, he urged everyone to be silence, imposing decency in the speech; everyone was happy to work with him. He put no value to any interest that distracted him, or interfered in his love for God, joyfully fulfilling all his obligations. He found no pleasure, or comfort or gaiety, except in the mass and in prayer; in them he found full satisfaction.

                      II-Stories and Events

                      1 - More pleasant than the pleasure itself

            Al-Tannouri witnessed: After my arrival to the hermitage, I showed Fr. Sharbel the permission, sent to him, from the Superior General, to lecture me the retreat that was to precede my priestly ordination, he told me: :" You are a master of Israel,(Jn3/9)  and you need someone like Fr. Sharbel to lecture you in your spiritual retreat? But I am at your disposal in anything you want." When the retreat came to an end, I hoped that it lasted more than one week. When I heard his words, I felt as if I tasted a very delicious food and honey, because his words pierced the rocks, and relented the iron, they were more pleasant than the pleasure itself! That's why I decided to spend my vacation every year with him in the hermitage until the end of his life. So I spent four years in a row with him, and each time he welcomed me with an angelic smile.

                       2 - He replied smiling

Fr. Alouan testified: Quite often, he accompanied us in the sowing of wheat, at the request of the head of the field, and the approval of the superior of the convent. One day, everyone, novices and laborers, after finished seeding a field above the fountain, we had to go to another one, and then we had to move all equipment and items necessary; me and the laborers, we were dealing with oxen and ploughs, while the other novices, with Fr. Sharbel and the remaining workers had to carry other cultivation equipment. Since we knew how obedient Fr. Sharbel was, we decided to put his virtue to test; so we gathered the entire field's utensils that we had; the hoes, the water jar, the jug, the seed's basket and the food's bucket.

 For fun, I asked Fr. Sharbel to carry all these objects, he replied: "I am at your disposal." I began to put the objects in his back, piece after piece, waiting for him to say, that's enough, but he hadn’t shown neither reluctance nor he complained; accepting all of these willingly. He put the picks on one shoulder, hung the basket on the other one, the water jar in one hand and the bucket on his elbow; the jug remained, so I told him: Carry it. He replied, "How I carry it?" I told him: hang it on your finger, he obeyed.  Few other items remained on the ground that he couldn't carry, so he told me: put over my body, put more. The novices laughed, seeing us laughing, he looked at us and said smilingly: "Woe to those who overwhelmed people with heavy burdens, while not bothering themselves, to move one of their fingers." Then he left with his burden satisfied and happy, and we took the other utensils.

                         3 - With joy and pleasure

Fr. Sharbel had given up his own will completely, even he abandoned it   with disregard, pursuant to Christ's words: “He who doesn't forsake everything and deny himself for my sake, doesn't deserve to be my disciple." This means a true and total obedience; that's why his obedience was blind; as a little child obeys his parents; he always rushed to accomplish the order without questioning or denial, rather with joy and gaiety. When he finished a work he stood up, arms crossed and said: My father or my brother, my work is done, what do you want me to do now? 

                                         4- He used to say in jest                                 

 "La Croix" newspaper wrote: Sharbel requested the hard work, from his superior; he transported the stones and plowed the fallow land without the help of an animal. His hourly rate wasn't less than ten hours a day, bearing the summer heat and the winter cold. His hands became chapped, his ankles and his armpits were ripped by the thorns, and he used to say in jest: I must become tough....

Q: Amazing love (Jn 1,13)

I-Introduction   

            He expressed what he had in his heart, saying: My God, my heart belongs to you; he offered this heart for Him entirely without ever being touched one day by an earthly love; his soul kindled with the fire of God’s love ... The time he had spent before the Blessed Sacrament was the best time for him; no wonder, because the lover has a passion to be with his beloved and cherished in his attendance; for the heart of man is where his treasure lies; that's what the book of Proverbs mentioned.

He chose the love for God over his body, sacrificing everything for God's Love; that love drove him to a point that he liked to be despised and treated as if he was nothing. Throughout his life he was never interested in acquiring the satisfaction of a superior or the friendship of a fellow brother; he did nothing for his own sake, but he offered himself entirely to God.

 He served his neighbor through his prayers, without ever being concerned to be praised; he never complained to the superior about one of his brethren or about a worker, but he was kind with everybody; he replaced his brethren in the hard work to allow them to rest, performing the most menial jobs and carrying wood without being in charge by the superior order, but driven by his love for them.

Pursuant the novice's regulation: "He came to love God and the neighbor and not to hate them; he came to suffer and be despised, not to be praised and to rest; he came to serve not to be served." He prayed for the conversion of sinners and the return of the perishable ones to the right path. Sometimes, especially on Sundays and holidays, he was delaying his Mass, so the shepherds who came from far away, could participate in the Eucharist.   

                                       II-Stories and Events  

              1 - The family of Sharbel (Mt 12:46-50)

            Once, his brother and his sister came to visit him at the hermitage; his companion, Fr. Makarios, told him about their arrival, he replied: You are my brother and my sister, offer them food and drinks, then dismiss them to return to the village, and tell them that I am praying for them to be Saved and to be delivered from the snares of this world. He didn't meet them.  

                 2 - Do you want to have lunch?

            Fr. Mubarak Massaad came to visit the hermitage at lunchtime, so Fr. Sharbel and his companion asked him: Do you want to have lunch? He agreed, but the meal was just enough for two persons. Thus Fr. Sharbel discreetly withdrew, leaving for the visitor his portion. He ate the leftovers in the bottom of the pot, though the hermits eat only one meal per day. 

   3 - Work for food that endures to eternal life (Jn 6, 27)

            Fr. Sharbel prayed a lot for the conversion of sinners, and for the sick; giving beneficial advices depending on the circumstances. I still remember the words he once told me:  Do not worry about the things of this world, but about the eternal life and the Doomsday, for the one who will judge us, knows everything and doesn't need anyone to tell him.  He had a great compassion for the souls in purgatory, especially those who have nobody to pray for them, he prayed for them and invited others to pray for them.  

                              4 - Out of pity for her

Fr. Elias Ehmej testified: Once during my childhood, I accompanied my mother, in November to attend the Mass at the hermitage. On our way, it rained incessantly that we were all soaked in water. When we reached the hermitage, I entered and prepared the supplies for the Liturgy to serve the Mass for Fr. Sharbel. He looked at me and saw me drenched with water from head to toe so he asked me to go to the kitchen to dry my clothes, I didn't accepted, he took pity on me, and brought me a pair of his shoes but I didn't use it because it was large. At the beginning of the Mass he turned to us with the incense, so he saw my mother standing at the door outside and participating in the Mass, bathed in water; he took pity on her, and asked me to bring her inside to continue her mass at the back of the church; I called her and she came in. This was strange because he had never allowed women to enter the church, but he had compassion on her because of the bitter cold and the stormy wind and he let her enter. 

                                    5 - His love towards his brethren

            One of his most unique virtues was his love for his brethren, he denigrated no person, but he performed his duties devoutly. He was strict on himself mild with others; he spent a long period of his monastic life at St. Maron monastery in Annaya, loved by all the monastic folk with all its diversity and variety; he was remarkable for his impartiality and discreetness with others, and his rashness for help in every unfinished work at the convent. The superior of the convent at that time, Fr. Antonios Meshmesh said: "I have in the convent two excellent monks, not only the best in our Order, but also in all the existing orders in the Church, and they are: Fr. Sharbel and brother Elias Al-Mahrini."

     7 - Like a mother who cares for her baby

            Fr. Ephrem Nakad witnessed: In the past it was accustomed that when a monk was getting old or sick and he had a monk at the monastery from his relatives or from his village, the latter undertook to serve him.  In the monastery of Saint Maron there were many monks, and if one of them got sick or aged and he had a monk to take care of him, Fr. Sharbel would only visit him as the other monks.

As a mother who takes care for her child, he devoted himself, day and night to serve the sick and elderly, with no relatives or friends from their village. I remember there was at St. Maron monastery a monk named Moussa Ehmej, who was sick, old and disabled, and he had nobody from his village except Fr. Alishaa; already old and senile. Since Fr. Moussa got sick, Fr. Sharbel was responsible for his service, and was sleeping on the floor beside him, in the night. One day he came out of the cell of the patient and went directly to church to celebrate the Holy Mass; I noticed that his habit was covered with spit on his back. I called him saying: "It is shameful to celebrate mass with this habit", so he changed it. Indeed, the patient was spitting all night without noticing that Fr. Sharbel was sleeping on the floor beside him.

            7- Sharbel "the passionate lover"

His heart was in love with Jesus and felt no attraction to live without him, so he kept repeating: "God is my love, and that's enough for me." He felt neither pleasure nor joy or rest except in the church before the Blessed Sacrament. In the days of snow and cold, when it was impossible to work outside and there was nothing to do inside the convent; he spent his time conversing with God in his prolonged visits to the Blessed Sacrament. He, who loves, always thinks of his beloved and would like to extend his presence with him. Fr. Sharbel liked to stay so long meditating in the Eucharist; rather all his life was absorbed by God, because he was always thinking of Him. When someone spoke with him, he was like awakened from a deep sleep, because even in his hard manual work, he was always immersed in meditation in God.  

                             8- Unlimited love 

            Fr. Ephrem Nakad witnessed: He showed us, me and the novices from his village, no special affection and refrained to contact us. Once the superior of the convent, Fr. Elias Meshmesh asked him: "Fr. Sharbel, don't you feel more affection to the novices who are from your hometown, than others, because it is a natural inclination in men." He replied softly as usual: I don’t incline to them, neither inward nor outward, because all the brothers are equal to me.

                        9- He didn't concern about us

Fr. Raphael Nakad witnessed: I went with Fr. Ephrem, both from Bqaakafra, to the convent of Annaya to make our entry into the Order, believing that we'll be happy and lucky to have Fr. Sharbel with us, so he would look after us, and be a good company for us. Yet the opposite happened: he didn't concern about us nor communicated with us;  he showed us no particular affection, even though we came from his hometown. 

                 10- He wept over a Shiite (Lk 19:41)

Once Fr. Youssef Beiruty, entered the hermitage and found Fr. Sharbel crying bitterly, striking his head with his hands with great regret, he asked him why he is weeping, but he didn't answer; he insisted in asking him second and third time, then he said: "I'll tell you, but it must remain confidential, you don't tell anyone until after my death.” Today a man from Almatte (Shiite) died, his soul went to hell. A moment later a gunshot was heard from Almatte, and news of the death of a rich man who was in America, was spread.  

                                          14 - Even animals 

                      -They will pick up snakes with their hands (Mk 16:18)

            Antonios Nehme testified: During the period of cultivation and pruning the vineyards, I went with all the monastic folk, monks and workers, to the hermitage to work in its vineyards. Suddenly, we saw a fearsome snake, we rushed to kill it but we couldn't; the viper applied on the ground, uttering a terrible and awful hissing; ones raising its head, other time its tail; unable to find a way out, and overwhelmed with fear, I shouted: "Where is Fr. Sharbel? Call him." We couldn't see him, because he was working alone in a slope of the vineyard; as soon as he heard he came; when he stood in front of it, the snake froze in its place, he said:  Don't touch it;  each one had something in his hand: one stone, the other a pickax, a third a sting ... holding out his hand, he turned to the viper and said: "Go out of here", so it crept in front of him, and he kept  waving  his hand until it disappeared,  then he returned to work.  We thanked God for saving us from this danger. Fr. Sharbel was used not to killing any animal, nor a poisonous insect, not an ant or a scorpion; because of his sensitive heart, and because he believed they are creatures of God and that God alone could have their lives.

                              -The child plays with the viper (Isa 11:8)

Gerges Sassine witnessed: Once we were plowing a vineyard near the hermitage at dinner time, we called Fr. Sharbel to eat with the hermits; a large snake appeared and glided into the wall, we rushed ready to demolish the wall to kill it: he stopped us, saying: I don't allow you to kill it, all creations venomous or not, were created by God for a useful purpose; so we mustn't kill it. Then he called out saying: Go out! O blessed! It emerged from the wall, passed us and went through the door of the vineyard; we were about eight workers, together with the hermits.  

         - The wolf lives with the lamb (Isa 11:16)

            Fr. Semaan Abi Beshara witnessed: when I was a student, I spent a summer at the monastery of "Our Lady of Maifouq" where I had to share the room with Brother Bartholomew of Aito; I saw on the mattress and the bed lot of bugs, thin and lean, they walked on my face and hands but did not bite me; I was surprised and I asked brother Bartholomew about this strange phenomenon, he replied: "Don't you see water in that bottle, Fr. Sharbel had blessed it ? Since I sprayed my room with the water, the bedbugs have become thinner and unable to sting.” 

                        - Poor thing!

            Fr. Gerges Sassine witnessed: There was a hive of bees near the hermitage, some of them fell into a basin which was designed for watering; Fr. Sharbel arrived and began to remove the bees, one by one with his fingertips and put them in the sun to dry. One of them stung him, he pulled out the bee stinger from his finger, then put the bee in the sun to dry and fly away, I told him: "My master, the bee will die without its sting." he replied: "It's true, poor thing." Then he went to church.

R: The freedom of Sharbel and his audacity
 

 I-Introduction

            He wasn't interested in anything in this world, or concerned about the specific matters; rather he applied with care to fulfill his obligations, and never sought to gain the consent of anyone in particular. In the observance of the divine truth, he was of extraordinary boldness, without fear or favor, vis-à-vis to others. He recognized no value to the dignity; but he was pleased with the insults, indifferent to be praised or be despised, and famous in saying these words: "The gifted person, is not the one who praises

himself, or who is praised by people, but the one to whom the Lord gives his grace." If a bishop or a dignitary visited the monastery, he wouldn't come to meet them. In fact, he lived on earth, but his thoughts and his heart were in heaven; inattentive to what was happening around him, as if he lived in exile on earth; knowing that he belonged to the heavenly homeland.   

                              II-Stories and Events
 

                 1 - He wasn’t attached to anything

 His heart wasn’t attached to anything; not even to his personal devotions or spiritual obligations; following the command of obedience, he would abandon his prayer services or any spiritual exercise, and maybe with joy. I remember for example; one night, while he was praying with his companion in the church of the hermitage, a messenger came and told him: "The superior is looking for you." He did not hesitate at all; he stopped his prayer in unison, and went to the convent at night. The superior asked him to bless the water and sprinkle it in the goats, because they were diagnosed with gallbladder. Once the herd sprinkled with holy water, they recovered.  Then he went back to the hermitage, after he took permission from the superior, because the latter, insisted on him to stay overnight at the convent.  

      2 - From where the sin can enter your soul?

            He worked silently in baking while the others sometimes joked; despise his continuous silence, he didn't let any adequate opportunity passed without giving a spiritual lesson, sealed with a profound wisdom not to hurt his neighbor; his responses were unique, though insightful in understanding, not only in the Order's situations but also elsewhere. 

            Once in winter, while he was helping the monks in the bakery, the pastor Youhanna Shehade from Meshmesh, came to the convent; he was the patriarchal vicar of the region of Jbeil,  an honorable person from a dignified family, very rich, famous for his relationships with major people of his country, proud of himself, fat, leading an easy life, not fully applicable with the simplicity of those days, and the situation of the priesthood; his position was taken into consideration in all the region of Kesserwan, Jbeil and Batroun.

When he came to the convent, he was wearing over his cassock, a thick fur coat worn only by the princes and the nobles; he walked into the bakery, talked with the monks; a conversation took place about the sin and its causes; he congratulated the monks because they were far from the motives of the sin. Meanwhile, Fr. Sharbel remained silent, as usual,  listening to the dialogue, his hands bore witness of his hard work, and his muteness pronounced the  the most expressive advices and preaching.  Suddenly all turned to Fr. Sharbel, because they heard him talking, not according to his custom, glancing over the priest Youhanna, and a small smile on his lips: And you! From where the sin can enter your soul? It couldn't reach you with this thick fur! All laughed, exchanging winks, because they saw in those words, a significant moral, and a subtle, wise lesson to the mentioned priest.  Also, this meeting was a proof that Fr. Sharbel in his retirement from the world, his silence and his abstention from any conversation beyond the monastic matters; he had understood from just a hint, or from a small word, what was happening among his contemporaries; as if he wasn't satisfied with the priest opulence, that was clear in wearing the fur, so he gave him this hint.   

   3-This is to be announced where the day is a holiday    

The debt was accumulated on the monastery of Annaya, when Fr. Roukoz Meshmesh was the superior (1865-1871), so they made the novices and the farmer-members work on Sundays and holidays to support the monastery's economy. Once, the superior, Fr. Roukoz Meshmesh, asked Fr. Sharbel to celebrated the solemn Mass, he obeyed immediately; he is well- known in obeying in everything but sin; in this mass he should announce, that a holy day of obligation, is coming next week; but, he ended his mass without announcing the holiday. At the end of the mass the superior told him: "You haven't announced the Ascension for next Thursday! Don't you know that it's a holiday? Announce it tomorrow", since the farmers were coming to the Mass. Fr. Sharbel replied kindly and humbly: "My master, somewhere else is a holiday, those who do not take off on Sundays or holidays, the feast do not be announced for them, this is done where the day is a holiday." He was referring to the decision of the Superior, who made the novices work on Sundays and holidays so that they could fulfill the various tasks in the monastery, because this year the economy was bad. Fr. Sharbel didn't take part in this work, yet no one dared to call him to work during these holy days, out of respect for his virtue and his holiness. Therefore, he replied with this speech in the church to defend the canon and the divine law, without being afraid of anyone; thus the superior had grasped the intention of Fr. Sharbel and realized his mistake; his words reported in a very gentle way, were considered a critical sermon to the superior, who understood the meaning very well, after which he declined to make the novices and the laborers work on Sundays and holidays. The monastic folk considered that this observation was from God's voice, and rejoiced in it.

S: A rightful worshiper 

    I-Introduction

 - Toward his Lord: He practiced to perfection the rites of worship, required from a creature to the Creator; he was profoundly committed to God's commandments. His heart and his hands were always lifted up to God and testified the adequate reverence, with perseverance unto death.  

 - Towards his fellow men: He hurt no one, neither violated the right of a person, nor bothered anyone; rather he considered himself a servant to all, and a faithful servant to His Lord. He carefully watched his solemn vows, which imposed the respect of all his brethren. When he descended from the hermitage to the monastery, and they gathered to greet him, and kissed his hand, he treated them courteously; he venerated them with great kindness. He never hurt anyone; neither face to face nor from a distance, neither in their properties nor in their reputation.  

                                          II-Stories and Events

                             1 - At church until everyone left

After Compline, he entered his cell, pretending to sleep when the monks slept, but in reality he slept very little; as many testified, his room was lighted, while he was sitting or kneeling praying in his books. He spent most of his night in prayer, and was often seen at church, during the night, while all the monks slept. He was entrusted to ring the midnight bell for prayer, so he came before the monks to church; after praying the monks went back to sleep until the bell rang for Lauds. Having completed the night prayer, Fr. Sharbel  withheld from sleeping, like the rest of his fellow monks; but he continued to pray with the light of the Eucharist in the church, immersed in meditation, till dawn appeared and the monks gathered for Lauds, then he stayed in the church until everyone left. 

                             2- Pray for the novices 

In 1888, the superior of the convent of the novices in Naama, visited the hermits, in the hermitage of Saint Maron, included Fr. Sharbel who was sitting with his companions to eat. When he returned to Naama, he said that he asked the hermit to pray for the novices. 

     3- When I was ordained I died from this world (Mt 6:24)

            Alishaa Nakad witnessed: When my grandfather, Hanna Zaarour, the brother of Fr. Sharbel, passed away in January/25/1898; since he had no children except my mother and the girl wasn't allowed to inherit from her father, except half of his legacy, so the relatives of her father claimed that the second half is theirs, considering that the brother of the deceased, is a monk and a hermit, who under the Order's Law, does not inherit nor give inheritance. My mother said: Indeed, my uncle Fr. Sharbel is the one who inherit the second half; so she came to the monastery of Saint Maron Annaya, to tell him about the death of her father, and ask him to give her a cession of the legacy of his brother and her father. I accompanied her during spring, as we reached the hermitage of Saints Peter and Paul, Fr. Sharbel was told that my mother came to meet him, he didn't accept to see her, but he entered the church and closed the door. My mother stood at the door of the church from outside, while he was inside the church near the locked door, and he asked her, what does she want from him? She told him about the death of her father, and asked him to give her a cession of his share. She recounted to him that her father's relatives claimed half of the inheritance. He told her in my hearing: "O my niece! I have no concern left for this world! My brother died few months ago, but I have been died from this world, since I have pronounced my solemn vows in the monastery of Saint Maron Annaya forty-five years ago, and the dead person, do not inherit or give inheritance! And this is the case of each monk, so you don't have any business with me. I cannot give up on something I do not own." So we went back with no result. Fr. Skandar Beik Khoury commented on this incident: This phrase became a verse in that region, ran through the town, as a sign of Fr. Sharbel’s impartiality, his justice and his sincere priesthood spirit.  

                    4- He prayed for the souls in Purgatory

 Brother Elias Al-Mahrini witnessed: Fr. Sharbel was multiplying the signs of the Cross ...so I asked him: "My master, Fr. Sharbel, why do you multiply the signs of the cross today, unlike your habit? Is it derives great benefit in doing so? With beaming face, he replied: "Today is the Holy Souls’ Friday; the sign of the cross holds a great treasure of indulgences that could be transferred to help the poor suffering souls in purgatory, precisely those to whom nobody remembers; every time you make the sign of the cross with faith and you are in the state of grace, you obtain an indulgence. When you walk into or out the church, anointing your forehead with holy water, making the sign of the cross and you are in the state of grace, you obtain for every time an indulgence. Every time you say, "O Mary!" you also obtain an indulgence.  If, for example, you make the sign of the cross twenty times a day, you obtain many indulgences; if you offer these indulgences for the repose of one or more souls suffering in Purgatory,  you will profoundly relieve their pain, and you will obtain abundant compensations for your deed!  Does it cost you any fatigue or effort?  Of course not! 

The man works in his property, irrigates it from the sweats of his hard work, and waits a year or more to get some harvest, if the harvest is plentiful, he will be overjoyed; It's better for him to invoke the Virgin name, calling her with reverence: "O Mary!" hundred times a day, so he will obtain many indulgences, without tiring, without disturbance, and then he can continue his usual work. He even gets profit from it and derives benefit for the repose of the souls in purgatory and shortens the time of their suffering. He also finds behind this great name, a barrier against any satanic temptation. If the man get used to make the sign of the cross and to call the Virgin name, he would decline any sort of temptation, because the sign of the cross is a way to expel the demons, and the name of the Virgin to subjugate and defeat them into the abyss of their destruction.

 If you see me grasping a permanent devotion for the souls in purgatory, that's because in doing so, as if I owe God, for the Bible says who gives to the poor, lends to God; who does not neglect a reward for a glass of cold water given in his name, how could He neglect the reward of a benefactor to a beloved soul who suffers;, and thus you shorten the days of its expiation in purgatory, then its salvation is guaranteed

T: A loyalty to the Beloved One
 

I-Introduction  

            Fr. Sharbel had an angelic chastity as shown through his mortification and his disinterestedness in regard of eating, drinking and clothing; as for his threadbare habit, it's a striking testimony that spoke of his chastity; he even hated every comfort in life. He practiced the asceticism to the point that he became like a shadow, skinny and thin, nothing left in his body more than skin and bones, so many people said; this is not the life of a human being, rather it's the life of an earthly angel, who mortified his human nature.

 He hadn’t  raised his eyes toward a person, whoever the person might be, but he always kept his eyes lowered to the ground, avoiding any contact with people, devoting himself fully to the Creator; if he had to speak with a man, it was only for few minutes, though he lowered his eyes, even if the man was a monk. He looked down in an attitude of meditation inside and outside the church; he didn't look at a woman, pursuant the rule: "The monk must completely suppresses his senses"; there were no women in the hermitage or its surroundings at all; he stayed away from them, despite the decency and simplicity of their clothes, especially at that time; if he met some women on the main road, when he was heading to the field or the vineyard, or carrying water from the fountain to the convent; he would immediately change his way, and this became very well-known in the neighborhood, even the women when they saw him from afar they changed their way, out of respect for him 

                                       II-Stories and Events
 

                                       1- The Sunday Mass 

            He never allowed the women to enter the church of the hermitage, unless he knew that they couldn't attend Sunday Mass anywhere else, then he allowed them to access to the corridor beside the church. On the other hand, when some visitors came to the church of the hermitage, in the company of women, he withdrew into his cell and didn't leave it until all had gone. 

                                    2- Use of masculine gender

            Maron Abbud witnessed: I know that when some women came to ask for holy water, or other services, he called them from the window of his cell by the masculine gender: "What do you want?  After knowing the reason for the visit, he sent them to his companion. Gerges Sassine added: Once I went to the hermitage where I saw a woman standing outside the fence, I asked her: "Who are you?" She replied: "A woman from Bqaakafra, the sister of Fr. Sharbel, please tell him I want to see him." I went in and told him, he replied: "Go and tell Fr. Makarios", so he ordered him to meet her. He stood behind the closed door and said: "How are you?" Then he retired to church, but I didn't understand why he addressed her in the masculine gender. 

                               3- Where is the Bey's daughter?

            My mother, whose father Mr. Rashid Beik Al-Khoury was the prefect of that region, told me that she once went with her friends, relatives to us, to visit the hermitage, and Fr. Sharbel knew about them from his companion. After visiting the church, they went to the square in front of the hermitage to rest and have lunch, and then they heard knocking from inside the closed door and calling: "Where is the Bey’s daughter?" My mother replied: "It's me, what do you want?”  He opened a small window in the middle of the door, stretched out his hand outside the window, without seeing her and gave her a plate of honey; this was the only time that she heard the voice of Fr. Sharbel, despite her frequent visits to the hermitage.  

                                    4- He blessed them 

            Once I was in the hermitage where a group of men and women were in church, Fr. Makarios came and asked the women to leave because Fr. Sharbel wanted to celebrate the Eucharist. On leaving, the ladies asked for the blessing of Fr. Sharbel, they stood outside the church, bowed their heads, covered with a sheet, the hermit stretched his hand out the window and blessed them, then he celebrated the Holy Mass.   

                                5- The body is like a donkey

            The monks heard him always repeating these words: "This body is like a donkey; if you satiate him, he will become ungrateful, and if you starve him, he will be humble. 

                            6- Put the bottle down and walk away

When women came to the hermitage asking for holy water, and Fr. Sharbel was alone at the hermitage, he talked with them from inside, saying: Put the bottle down and walk away. Then he took the bottle and filled it with holy water, put it back in its place and disappeared. When a woman unexpectedly encountered him on the way, he drew back and took a different path, wandering among the thorns.   

                                        7- Until he is gone

            Fr. Hassrouni witnessed: The women felt a great esteem toward Fr. Sharbel, so that when they knew, in advance, that they were in a place where he might pass, they retreated until he is gone; I saw this with my own eyes. I remember one time I was plowing, with the head of the field Brother Elias Al-Mahrini, and the worker Suleiman Al-Manzili, south-west of the convent, when we saw some women returning from the convent after Mass, and then they quickly ran away to hide behind rocks and trees; I asked Brother Elias why they ran away, he replied: "Maybe they saw Fr. Sharbel coming from the hermitage to the convent." I asked: "Why they feared him?" He replied: "The ladies knew that the hermit avoids seeing women so they hide, out of respect for him."  Indeed, a moment later, we saw Fr. Sharbel approached the convent, after he disappeared, the women continued their way to their houses. 

                            8- A temptation had harassed me

            Once, Fr. Sharbel stayed in the convent of Annaya-Laqlouq to celebrate the Mass, for the head of the fieldwork, Brother Boulos Meshmesh; while this brother was plowing the ground he heard Fr. Sharbel, who was a little further, screaming and asking for help like a little child; he left his work, ran to see what happened to him, found him safe, so he asked him: "What's wrong?" He replied: "Nothing." As soon as the brother resumed his work, he heard him screaming again, he approached him and said: "Are you crazy?" Why are you screaming? Tell me! How can I help you!? What's going on?”  He answered calmly and in a low voice: "A temptation had harassed me, forgive me, and pray for me."

                               9 - Why this "crank"?

            Fr. Elias Ehmej testified: His love for God had wiped out from his heart any other earthly love, even the love of the parents; he belonged to the Almighty and devoted himself for His love, so he emptied his heart from the love of his relatives. As I passed the Summer at St. Maron monastery in Annaya, with my master Fr. Nehemtallah Al-Kafri; once I went to visit the hermits, arriving near the shrine, I found a number of women waiting, they greeted me and told me: "We have been waiting here for a long time, we came from Bqaakafra, which is a day walk from here, to see Fr. Sharbel who refused to meet us." I replied: "Who are you?" They said: "This is his sister, and we accompany her. We beg you to persuade him to allow his sister, to kiss his hand, because since so long she hasn't seen him, and she misses him so much." I was very touched so I hastened the pace to Fr. Sharbel who was in church; I begged him to have mercy on his poor sister, who came from afar, to quench her affection, even with a single glance, to her brother. He replied: "No, I don’t go out"; then, I came back saying: "Your sister is asking you, to stretch out your hand from the window, so she will kiss it, after that she promised to leave." He said: "I don't stretch out my hand from the window"; a third time, I told him: "Your sister asks you to hold this handkerchief in your hand and pass it on the image of Saints Peter and Paul, so it will be a blessing and a remembrance for her." He replied: "Do it yourself and give her the handkerchief." I continued:  “Why this "crank"?  why this strange behavior?” He didn't answer; so I put the handkerchief on the end of a long stick, passing it over the portrait, placed very high, and gave it to his sister, who returned to her town Bqaakafra, sad with tears in her eyes. I myself was very surprised by this harsh behavior and did not understand its meaning. After he left the church, I argued with him, saying: "You shouldn't have sent your poor sister inconsolable, where is the tenderness, where is the compassion?" He gave me no answer. As I understood from his silence, that he had no place in his heart for earthly love, his heart beat only for the Love of God.

                                      10- Even his niece

            Eid Nakad witnessed: When I was ten years old, I accompanied my mother Wardeh, the niece of Fr. Sharbel, to visit the hermitage, and I was sick; he took me by the hand and led me inside the hermitage; he didn't meet my mother and her sick friend, who came to be healed; rather he talked to them from behind the door. Another time my mother went to the hermitage to visit her uncle, the hermit, he spoke briefly with her from inside the hermitage and didn't see her. She insisted to participate in his Mass, he allowed her to attend the mass through an opening in the church's door; Wardeh said that when he raised the cup for blessing, he lifted his eyes up to avoid seeing her.

                                                                                                  U: Prisoner [15] of the Beloved

            I-Introduction

       He did nothing on his own initiative, but in obedience to the authority that represents God, and to deserve the reward entitled for the obedient person, pursuant the law: "The monk must consider his superior as Christ." Therefore his obedience was strangely astonishing, taking a practice not to start a work before receiving an order; this obedience was literally blind; as the stick obeys the blind. If the supervisor called him for any matter, he would instantly abandon his work and obey without delay for a moment. I do not remember ever having seen Fr. Sharbel showing any aversion or anxiety when he received an unusual order, rather he was always in the same condition. He never apologized, neither for healthy reason nor for other reason, even in matters in which was clear to everyone that he should be absolved from doing them. He did not submit by stupidity or habit, but by the spirit of devotion and virtue. The vow of obedience was embodied in front of him, in all his life, practicing it as a vow and a virtue; as if it had been his dearest wish to submit even his blood pressure to the obligation of obedience; he excelled to his respect for God, whatever happened in the church, he wouldn't turn right or left. As for his respect for the authority, it was one of his ultimate goals; he was careful in preserving the ritual of the Church, and its Sacraments; in a daily basis, he celebrated, with his companion in the hermitage, all the religious processions.

                                             II-Stories and Events

                                       1 - Well done 

            Fr. Ignatius Meshmesh witnessed: Once he put his dalmatic and began the Mass, and because all fathers had already celebrated their masses, the superior stopped him, saying: "Wait, because some people are on their way to participate in the Eucharist." He complied, and remained standing at the altar about an hour, and then he called me to serve the mass, and asked me if the people who would participate in the Eucharist have already arrived, I replied: "Allow me to notify the superior and ask his permission." He replied: "Well done." He stood up until the superior came and told him to continue the Holy Mass.

                                  2 – Ask Fr. Makarios

            Fr. Nehemtallah Meshmesh witnessed: When we asked him for a meal, he replied: "I don't know, go and ask Fr. Makarios". If we wanted to eat grapes, he also sent us to his companion; if a worker asked him for a bunch of grapes, he would reply "I don't know, ask Fr. Makarios."  He never gave even a grape leaf from the convent's property of his own accord, and never asked permission from his superior to give something to someone.                                      

                                3 - He kept lifting his pick

            Tannouri witnessed: Before my ordination, I made a retreat in the monastery of Saint Maron in Annaya. Once, while I was standing at the edge of the hermitage, I saw Fr. Sharbel plowing in the vineyard, I felt sorry for him, and  

asked  Fr. Makarios, who was preparing lunch near me, to call him to rest and eat. When the food got ready, his companion called him: "Fr. Sharbel", but he didn't respond, so he called him a second time, this time louder; when he heard he was lifting up his pick, so he kept on lifting it waiting for the order; then when he asked him again to come for lunch, he put down his pick and came. 

                                 4- He obeyed even the novices

While the novices were working and the bell rang for prayer, they stopped and prayed without calling Fr. Sharbel who continued his work; they asked him why he didn't pray with them, he replied: "You didn't order me." They thought he was making fun of them and got angry. The second day, they didn't call him to pray, so he continued his work, then they realized that Fr. Sharbel doesn't do anything without being ordered. In fact, the third day, when they ordered him to participate in prayer, he left his work and obeyed.

                                                    5- As a joke

            One day, Fr. Sharbel told his companion, Fr. Makarios: "In the convent, they need wood, and here we have no more, where should I go to get wood?" He replied angrily for the purpose of kidding with him; go to the forest of "Mihal", which take three hours walking from the hermitage. Fr. Sharbel then went to the hill above, cut woods and carried them to the hermitage; he reached in the evening exhausted, bathed in sweat and the burden on his back, so Fr. Makarios asked him: "From where did you get the wood? Why are you so late, and very tired?" He answered him:" From the mountain of Mihal, as you commanded me." Fr. Makarios replied:" Why have you gone there, and the hermitage is surrounded by wood." He answered: "Haven't you asked me to go to Mihal? You commanded and I obeyed."  Fr. Makarios was very surprised at the trouble he bore!

                        6- He doesn’t ask about the purpose

Mr. Rashid Al-Khoury, the prefect of the region, requested Fr. Sharbel to come to Ehmej to bless the water and sprinkle the places where locusts, at that time, were intensely spread, because the hermit was well-known that, with his prayers, he could drive away the grasshoppers. On this, the superior ordered him to go; without knowing the purpose of this order and with no objection, he

headed toward Ehmej; once he reached there, Mr. Rashid Beik asked him to bless the water, with the attendance of all the villagers; he blessed it and turned back to the hermitage. At the harvest time, as many as hundred people from the village of Ehmj mowed the crops of the monastery, free of charge, out of gratitude for Fr. Sharbel. 

V: His hope is a yearning for the Beloved One

I-Introduction

His hope in God was firm, he looked at life in all its dimensions as scarp, and his only concern was Christ.  When changes occurred in the Order he expressed neither joy nor disorder, nor he asked if an acquaintance in the priesthood, was ranked in his position so he can depend on him.;  he didn't distress because of the changes in the hierarchy of superiors and  officials, or the removal of those who showed kindness toward him; whatever was happening in the Order, didn't affect in his spiritual life or in his services;  he was interested in the affairs of the monastery, only as much as the vows of obedience ordered him to do so; he showed no joy for material progress in the convent, or sadness for a loss.

He lived in the monastery and the hermitage as if he did not exist; all his thoughts were turned to God; all his interests were devoted for the salvation of souls and his own salvation; his only concern was to please God; for the sake of this goal, he endured all the difficulties and the hardships, and bore the extreme severity which he imposed upon himself.

                         II-Stories and Events

                  1 - More competent than me

He never counted on men... I remember once he was surprised at a remark that the consultant wanted to appoint him for the superiority, he said: "In the Order many are more qualified and suitable than me. It's a noble gesture from the Order to accept a lazy one like me."

                    2 - Work for the glory of God

Fr. Alouan witnessed: He performed his work to glorify God and obtain eternal happiness; he kept saying: "Work for the glory of God, and your reward will be eternal happiness."  This hope, led him to despise the things of this mortal life and practice mortification and asceticism; also he kept repeating this sentence: This life is perishable, it cannot offer anything.

    3 - The lights of heaven are more beautiful 

One evening a monk told him: "Look at the city of Beirut, how it shines with lights." Without turning around, he answered: "The lights of heaven are better and more beautiful." Then he returned to his cell. 

              4 - Such things I do not know.

Once, his brother visited him to tell him about the situation in their home and how was the harvest in this year, Fr. Sharbel replied: "These things I do not know and I do not want to hear about it." After these words he took his ax and went towards the vineyard. He was a man who lived only physically in this world, and because his heart and his mind were in heaven, he wasn't influenced by joy or by sadness.

W: A refuge for the faithful and the poor (Lk18:3)

 I-Introduction  

People were flocking to him, leading their children bottles of water at hands, to pray for the kids, and bless the water so they could take it home; to heal their sick, keep away disasters from them, protect their livestock and their properties from diseases and epidemics, increase production and fertility in their crops, and to sprinkle it in their houses. He welcomed them with tenderness, compassion and sympathy, moved by their plight and prayed for them; when he blessed the water, a strange power was emanating from it; he never took any reward for it, nor accepted any offering, but he was doing all that for the love of God.

The sick, disabled, afflicted, suffering flooded from all sides, seeking the grace of God by his intercession, because they believed in his goodness and his powerful prayer. Many Muslim women, from the vicinity of the monastery, put their children at the door of Sharbel's hermitage asking for healing and blessing; he never let down those who were seeking spiritual help; if someone visited him in the hermitage, he would leave it astonished by his holiness, influenced by his piety, comforted and happy by meeting him.   

                                II-Stories and Events

                                       1 - Silently

            Youssef Suleiman witnessed: We all believe that he is a saint to whom we take refuge in case of illness and distress; there are many who bear his name, as we call after the name of Saints. I personally believe that Sharbel is a great saint in heaven; he intercedes for us silently without realizing his blessings, just as he did when he was still alive.  

                      2 - All represent the image of Christ

            Fr. Sharbel didn't deal with people, but his love for them was known from his prayers for the sick, travelers and the needy, and for all who asked for his prayer. His heart was touched by pity and he interceded fervently to the Lord to have compassion on his sick servants. As for his relations with his brethren in the convent, in the hermitage, and with his acquaintance, it was clear for all that his heart embraced all of them, equally without distinction; all represent the image of Christ, so he respected them all.

                     3 - He offered him something to eat 

            He was compassionate and kind to the poor, the sick and those who are suffering; when they came to the hermitage, in cold days of winter, he brought them close to the fire to get dry; he loved all people, rich and poor. Even though, he didn't deal with the visitors except in spiritual matters, because such responsibilities were entrusted to his companions; if it happened that someone, poor or hungry, visited him in the absence of his companion, he would give him his own small portion of food, while he remains without food. This compassion towards the poor was within the limits of his capabilities; so if a poor man came to the hermitage, he would ask his companion to offer him something to eat. In winter when it was cold, he allowed the men to enter the hermitage so they could warm themselves by the fire.

                           4 - I'm just a sinful man

For the people who asked for his prayer, he was replying: I'm but a sinful man, may the prayers of the saints meet your demands." When someone asked him for a spiritual grace, he always answered: "I am the least of people, just a sinful man." When someone told him, you are a saint, he didn't answer, but he trembled, shacked his head and frowned; he considered himself the least of people and the greatest sinner. 

                            5- Have faith in God

            When he was asked for prayer, he said quietly: "The prayer of the saints is with you depend on God and he will take care of you", then he walked away from them. When visitors asked him for his prayers and his blessing, he did so, without looking at them and said: "Ask the Lord to give you according to your faith." 

                                   6- "You can be a saint!" 

            When someone asked him to pray for him, he replied:" You also pray, what is the difference between you and me? God listens to you as much as he listens to me." When someone told him you are a saint, he replied:" We are alike, what prevent you from being a saint?” 

                                    7 - He heals by his prayer

            Whenever Mr. Rashid Al-Khoury, prefect of Ehmej, fell ill, he called Fr. Sharbel to pray for his recovery because he believed in his holiness; and this was the case for all the inhabitants of the surroundings who solicited his prayers in case of illness and distress. His devotion exerted a great influence on everyone; he healed from all sickness by his prayer. Usually, when someone fell sick in Ehmej, people hurried to Fr. Sharbel requesting holy water from him. Many were asking of his prayers; and by his prayers the diseases and the misfortunes disappear. Patients who couldn't go to the hermitage, they procured holy water from him, and obtained recovery; every patient sprinkles or drinks from this holy water, recovers from his illness.

X: His passion for prayer 

I-Introduction

1 - In confidential conversation with the Beloved

            The law orders: "He must go before the brothers to church and be the last one to leave it." So when he wakes up, he immediately runs to church where he stays for about five hour, kneeling  straight until his knees got numb, not getting tired, neither leaning , nor turning left or right. He prayed around the lectern with his brethren, and participated, on time, in all the unison prayers in the complete breviary; he recited it very carefully as if he stood in the presence of a King, and in full ecstasy.

He could be seen in sensory eyes, but he was absent from the senses; sharing all the prayers in repeated prostrations and sometimes in mental meditation; his verbal prayers had a special practice, spending in reciting them, three hours a day; completing half of them in the daytime and the other half in the night; he pronounced all his prayers, carefully, word by word.

 During the day he was reciting fervently his offices, always kneeling; and if there was nobody in the church during the choir prayer, he would say it alone in a loud voice; as for the midnight prayer he always recited it without tardiness. 

     He sublimated in piety and holiness so he became an intimate friend for God and a companion for the angels; his whole life was a life of contemplation, prayer and liturgy; he did this with zeal and non-routine, with heartfelt love for God, so that he was always united to Him in his thoughts and his heart; God abode in his mind in his prayer, in his work, in his eating, in his sleeping. In short, he no longer lived for himself but for God, no longer spoke about earthly things, but about spiritual matters.

             2 - He loved the Mystery of Love  

            If you love a person or a thing, you think of them, often speak of them and what they do, and if you can frequently visit them and be with them you won't delay. So it was with Fr. Sharbel, he was always silent, his thoughts always turned to God, his Beloved; in his heart, there was no room except for God.  He outpaced other hermits by his nocturnal visits to the Blessed Sacrament; every time we lost Fr. Sharbel, we found him in the church. Sometimes he was seen before the Blessed Sacrament in complete Ecstasy:  he sent out of his heart deep sighing, showing his extreme love for the Lord, who is concealed in the sacrament of the Eucharist. You could hear constantly, his sighs, his nostalgia and his spiritual hum; his features soften the rocks, and infuse on the onlookers the reverence and the veneration; his face always overflows with a divine light. 

          3 - Beloved of the Rosary

 He was praying the Rosary kneeling upright motionless, his hands outstretched on his chest, kneeling on a tray woven by his hands from the rough rods, covered by a piece of black cloak. He persisted in this attitude, throughout the duration of the Holy Rosary. 

                      II-Stories and Events

   1 - The Scapular of Our Lady of Carmelite

Once, Fr. Sharbel reported to me his desire to send him a triangular scapular representing Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, the Immaculate Conception and the Passion of Christ, to hang it around his neck. I fabricated it and sent it to him with a man from Arbet-Kozhaya, who was passing by the monastery of Saint Maron Annaya; I requested him to ask Fr. Sharbel to mention three names of his relatives in Bqaakafra, to ensure that he received the scapular; I also expressed my desire to the messenger to bring me from Fr. Sharbel a blessing or a relic. Returning from the trip, the man gave me a small paper folded without an envelope, and said: "The hermit didn't send you except this paper."  I opened the paper and read these words written by his hand: Father Sharbel a hermit of St. Maron Annaya, a monk of Kozhaya; you are asking for a blessing or a relic. May the blessing of Saints Peter and Paul bestow upon you. That was all he had sent to me and I was very pleased with this paper, which was written by the hand of the hermit. The words were written in Arabic but the handwriting wasn't so good. My superior, at that time, Mother Zeyarah of Ghosta advised me to keep this paper, saying: "This paper is written by the hand of the hermit, it's a relic, keep it with you." I rolled the paper into a small fabric; I sewed it and hung it around my neck; later I gave it to my sister before her trip to America so that it protects her from the dangers of the journey. 

                         2 - It is I (Mk 6:50)

            Fr. Ignatius Meshmesh witnessed: Before I became a monk in the convent, I was a deacon and a sacristan. One night I went to church at midnight to check whether the pilot was still lit, I found it off and I began to grope in the darkness to light it again, I bumped into someone and got scared, he said: "Do not be afraid, it's I." I recognized his voice; this was Fr Sharbel kneeling in the church, meditating at midnight.  

           3 - What was happening around him?!

Brother Boutros Meshmesh witnessed: He was always absorbed by his mental meditation, contemplating and immersing into heaven, especially during the Eucharistic celebration. Anyone who saw him would realize that all his feelings, his whole body, all his ideas were with God, so that he neglected every earthly thing; because his mind was so focused on God, he forgot himself, as if he no longer existed, in this world. He always maintained the silence and stillness, so that he did not perceive what was happening around him. The question he asked me while we were working in the vineyard, is an eloquent witness to this: "How many pairs of oxen are plowing in the vineyards?" I answered: "Three. You have been working all day with us and you don't notice how many oxen in the vineyard?” He didn't utter a word.  

           4 - He spoke with the angels to God

            Tannouri witnessed: I watched him during his prayer, as if he was out of his senses, rapt in God, oblivious to everything around him, people and things, so he didn't realize there was someone who accompanied him in his prayer; when it was my turn to answer, he continued the prayer alone...

 I visualized him in  heaven; as if he was talking with God face to face, mouth to ear and heart to heart; as if his body wasn't on this earth; however, his soul, I had the impression that, it was united with the Angels, praising and glorifying God with them. 

                         5 -The Holy Week

            If the superior or the dispenser called him to help in the bakery, or to participate in the joint Liturgy of the Hours in the Holy week, because he had a good pronunciation and read fluently, he hurried to perform his work.

                        6 - Surrender to God

            Youssef Abbud witnessed: One day, my son, Gerges was seriously ill, so I went to the hermitage, and asked Fr. Sharbel to give me holy water, he said :"Sit down now, may God help you." I repeated my request, he replied: "Calm down, submit yourself to God, he will help you", and he didn't give me holy water. So I went back sad and surprised by his refusal to provide me with holy water, contrary to his habit. As I approached the village, I heard cries and lamentations coming out of my house, and then I realized that my son was already died. I remembered the words of Fr. Sharbel; "Sit down now and God will compensate" and I knew why he refused to give me holy water; as if he was inspired by the Spirit about the death of my son, and he didn't want to inform me.

                       7- Noah's Ark (Jn 17:15)  

            One year, the locusts invaded the region in large numbers, and swept everything. The superior of the convent, Fr. Elias Meshmesh, ordered Fr. Sharbel to spray the boundaries of the monastery to prevent the locusts from entering; Fr. Sharbel obeyed, but he forgot a lot, situated among the properties of Shiites. The locusts entered the region, and devoured the green and the dry, and spared only the properties of the convent, except that small piece of land which was razed by locusts. In fact everyone, including the Shiites, kept repeating this event; for they were amazed that all the plains, peaks and hills were completely stripped except the land of the convent which remained green and saved from damage; like Noah's Ark in the midst of absolute devastation.  

              8- The parish of Ehmej’s vine (Jn 15/5)

Ouwaini witnessed: My father sent my brother Boutros, begging Fr. Sharbel to come, to bless the water and spray the vine of the church which was entrusted to him. The vineyard and the crops which were sprinkled with the holy water were spared from the locusts’ damage, although the locusts razed everything in that year. Then the inhabitants of Ehmej came to see this vineyard, and among those who visited it, the Rev. Elias Meshmesh the superior of the convent.

Y: The Faith of Sharbel 

I-Introduction

  The faith of Sharbel was reflected through:

-His mass: he celebrated the mass as if he saw Christ behind the outward forms, addressed him heart to heart; saying it carefully with extreme reverence and respect, as if he stood before God.

- In the rumination in his prayers and the reflection in his meditation: he said his prayer services word by word in a soft and gentle voice. If someone talked to him, he would need some time to return to reality and hear the speaker; as if he was totally absorbed in God. When he committed in a spiritual conversation, he inflamed with zeal, speaking from the abundance of his heart and the fervor of his faith. He never showed in all his life a sign of boredom, fatigue or resignation, when it came to spiritual matters, but he indulged them fervently, as if he was enjoying the things that his heart desired.  

-In his obedience to his superior or who represent him; this is clear evidence that he saw God in his superior, without considering whether this one was worthy or not. 

-In his work; he did nothing on his own, for he firmly believed that the voice of the authority is the only voice of God. All his actions were carefully crafted and expressed with warmth and authenticity of his fervent faith. God has bestowed upon him the gift of precognition, because of his living faith; therefore, he was a burning flame of faith.

                         II-Stories and Events

                               1-A lightning

 Shibley Shibley witnessed: One day, in 1888, Fr. Sharbel was kneeling upright in the church, absorbed in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, when a violent lightning fell on the hermitage, burning a new jumper, embroidered with silver, placed on the altar. The lightning crisscrossed the middle of the church, passed him and set fire on the edge of his habit without injuring him. I hastened with the monks of the monastery to see what happened, we found that the lightning fell on the south side of the hermitage, demolishing the stone retaining  the walls’ plots of the vines, and then entered the church, setting fire on the altar cloths and vestments, throwing the cup to another place, damaging some images, opening the doors, giving off a smell that caused dizziness to the two companions of Fr. Sharbel whom we found in the kitchen almost fainted, where they were  warming themselves by the fire. When they returned to themselves, they believed that Fr. Sharbel was killed and they rushed to church, they found him praying, as if nothing had happened; the superior, Fr. Immanuel Al- Jaji, asked him::  "Fr. Sharbel, couldn't you extinguish the fire at least from the table cloths and the vestments?! "He replied: "My brother, what could I extinguish? It started fast, and ended so fast." That is to say that everything happened at the speed of lightning and he couldn't do anything, so he remained in his place. 

  2 - The silkworm's harvest of the convent remained intact

Fr. Nehemtallah Nehme witnessed: At the time of my mandate in the monastery of Saint Serge in Kartaba, drought had already been damaging the silkworm harvest since eight years. The silkworm only reached the fourth phase, and nine days, and then died. So I sent one of the monks to the hermit Fr. Sharbel in the hermitage of Annaya; he brought me holy water, we sprinkled it on the silkworms and they recovered. Thus, the harvest was saved during my entire three-year term and also in subsequent years.

             3 - My crop was plentiful this year

Youssef Abbud witnessed: Once the epidemic attacked the silkworms in my house, because the leaves of mulberry were sick; the caterpillars became yellow and fell over the edges of the boxes on the ground. I rushed to the hermitage, and brought from there consecrated water from Fr. Sharbel, then I sprinkled the caterpillars; they recovered immediately crawled back into their crates and began to eat again. That year my harvest was plentiful, because of Fr. Sharbel.

             4 - Don't talk at all about this (Mk 1:44)

Saba Obeid said that one year; mice proliferated in his house and devoured the silkworms, to the point of wiping out all of them. He brought blessed water from Fr. Sharbel and sprinkled the silkworms. The next day he came to see the boxes, and found that the mice were dead. Someone went to tell this event to Fr. Sharbel, who said: "Don't talk at all about this."

                      5- The mule of the Convent

            Once the mule of the convent had colic and he fell on the ground wide-eyed, and about to die; the monks and the mule driver tried many treatments to save him, to no avail.  Finally they called Fr. Sharbel who stood next to his head and prayed, as soon as he finished his prayer, the mule jumped up and stood on to his feet.

                  6- Am I God to prevent death? (Mk10:18)

            A man from the family of Shmouty from Batroun owned a flock of sheep, which was attacked by a deadly epidemic disease, so he had lost most of his sheep. Having heard of the reputation of Fr. Sharbel, he came to ask him for holy water, explaining the disease of the sheep, the hermit said: "Am I God to prevent death?" the man turned back to go, but he told him: "Do you have a container to fill it with water?" Then he blessed the water and gave it to him. The man sprinkled the herd and it recovered. Later he noticed that his silkworms were diminished more and more as if the insects were eating them; he returned to Fr. Sharbel, to bless the water for him, then he sprinkled it on the silkworms; later he found lot of insects, mice, hedgehogs and a large snake all dead.

                          7- The possibilities of Saints

Fr. Hassrouni witnessed: At the time of my novitiate, I read the biographies of saints, especially the book of Christian Perfection of Fr. Rodriguez, the Jesuit. I doubted some facts and virtues attributed to the hermits and saints, believing that they were exaggerating, and that these things exceed the human possibility. But after I got to know Fr. Sharbel personally, and experienced his virtues closely, I was certain that the Divine grace does wonders in the souls; everything that was said and written in the biographies of saints, still less than what I had seen with my own eyes in this mighty man, who is Fr. Sharbel.

Z: His Mass is the highlight of his love 

 I-Introduction

1 - In the Convent

            The novitiate's regulation explains: "The priest in the Mass is the Vicar of Christ; the offering is surely the body and blood of Jesus Christ... During the Mass we have 3 worships: contemplation on the Passion of Christ; the offering to God the Father; act of spiritual communion... The communion has six parts: The pure confession; act of Faith, I hope that all the sins of the world will disappear by a drop of your blood; act of Love; act of Contrition; I am unworthy ... thanks after the spiritual communion. 

Because of the importance of the Mass: he participated on all the masses of his fellow priests, and after they finished he stared his mass. He celebrated his mass; sometimes on the altar of St. George on the south side, sometimes on the altar of Our Lady on the north side and sometimes, when the superior ordered him, on the high altar. He said his Mass with reverence and deliberate; his Mass lasted an hour and sometimes longer, in an intimate devotion with the Almighty. Despite the length of his mass, no one was getting bored; he was saying it meticulously, making understandable the gospel, reading it word by word, in a soft voice; however, some of the altar services were avoiding serving his mass because of its long duration. After the mass he took his place behind the door, kneeling straight for about two hours on the ground in summer and in winter.

                                            2 - In the hermitage 

      He was kneeling upright before the mass near the door; on a wicker tray to prevent the moisture, in winter, and on the ground in summer. He celebrated the mass in the morning on the days of work, and two hours before noon on Sundays and holidays; a large number of faithful came to attend his mass and bear his blessing; the people were astonished by his presence and the respect which he exuded; saying the Liturgy with a soft voice and reverence. After the Mass, he kneels upright in the church absorbed in thanksgiving, and then he goes out to the work in the vineyard; all his life was a preparation for the Mass and thanksgiving.

                       3- Face to face

            He was always in ecstasy, especially during the invocation of the Holy Spirit; after the words of consecration, he looked at the Blessed Sacrament in a reverential aspect, as if he saw with the naked eyes the hidden and incarnated God; addressing a very powerful person. When he raised the Holy Sacrament by his hands reciting "Father of Truth" he seemed to be rejoiced by the Spirit of God, as he was seeing God face to face.

                                                4- The cleanliness

 He was clean, especially during the celebration of the mass; he kept a coat and a pair of shoes that fit well for the Eucharist, then he immediately took them off after the mass; the towel and the soap, which he used during the sacred service, he didn't use on other occasion in respect to the Divine Liturgy; also he washed his hands in an unusual way before the mass; he gave an outstanding attention on cleaning the objects of the church.

                       II-Stories and Events

                         1 - Like a magnet

    Miriam Shamoun witnessed:  When I was young, I came with my parents from Ehmej to the hermitage to participate at the Mass on Sundays and holidays; quite often we attended the Mass of Fr. Sharbel, and I never saw him except during the mass. My family said a brother of our family had founded the hermitage, so we have a special penchant towards the hermitage; rather a passion because it reminds us of our uncle. We used to spend our summers in Ouwaïni, near the hermitage, a village where there was no church. In addition, the holiness of Fr. Sharbel attracted the souls like a magnet, so the hermitage was always filled by many visitors on Sundays and holidays and all those attending the Mass of Fr. Sharbel, were deeply touched, and didn't want to leave the church anymore, especially when he pronounced the words of consecration, we felt moved by his reverent and his sad voice (intermittent because of his crying).

                                     2 - Do you eat some grain soup?

Once a priest came to the hermitage to say the mass, and he was in a hurry, Fr. Sharbel approached him at the end of the Liturgy saying: "Why are you in a hurry? Do you eat some grain soup "Makhlouta"?

           3 -Receive the Holy Communion (Mk14:22)

            Alishaa Nakad witnessed: I went to the hermitage with my mother Wardeh to see Fr. Sharbel, he refused to meet her and when she expressed her desire to kiss his hands, he replied from inside the locked door at the church: Receive the Holy Communion at Mass, and you'll have in your mouth and your heart the Son of God himself and he is sufficient for you. When the Son of God is in your heart, no use from kissing my hand?!  

                 4 –The tears flowed from his eyes

            His love was a burning fire; in the alter, he often seemed as if a hot flame ignited in his chest,  his eyes sparkled, his tears ran down,  his cheeks reddened, his sighs heaved deeply from his chest like a flaming vapor, as if he saw Christ with  his own eyes, hence he was shedding his tears abundantly. Ouwaini added:  When he uttered the words of consecration: This is my body! This is my blood! I saw the tears flowed from his eyes, twice. Once, a tear fell on the corporal; after consuming the body and blood and washed his hands, he saw the trace of tears, he was confused because he thought it was a drop of blood fell on it, I told him: "What's the matter? This is a trace of a tear fell from your eye after the words of consecration."  Yet he remained concerned, carried the corporal and showed it to the superior to calm down his soul and his mind.

                       5 - He bit the cup with his teeth 

            He started his prayers in church, addressing God as a man deeply in love with the Lord; this passionate appeared in the mass through his tears, in particular when he drank the blood and ate the body, he seemed as someone who takes the finest bread in the world, and drinks a Divine drink. At the end of his life, while he was drinking the blood, he bit the cup and kept it in his mouth for a long time, to the point that the imprint of his teeth was left on it.

1 - The transfer of the body

    His Beatitude ordered to remove the body from the cemetery, and put in an isolated place where nobody at all was allowed to visit it. So the cemetery was opened, the body removed before: Fr. Maron Meshmesh, the assistant superior, Fr. Antoun Meshmesh, Fr. Youssef Meshmesh, Fr. Makarios, his companion at the hermitage, Bro. Boutros Meshmesh, Bro. Elias Meshmesh and Fr. Youssef Ehmej. The body was placed in the nave of the church, on the ground; till they prepare for it, a special place out of sight. The monks asked the permission to change the clothes which remained the same since his death and to clean up the mold from the body, but the assistant-superior Fr. Maron refused their request and the body was left in the church until morning.  

2 - A light around the body

    Fr. Francis Al- Sebrene witnessed: At midnight, as usual, Bro. Elias Al-Mahrini made his visit to the Holy Sacrament; after reciting the rosary and the evening prayers, he came running to me, woke me and said, trembling: "I saw something strange, I have never seen like it in my life, come and see; for it is a light streaming from the tabernacle, bypassing the body of Fr. Sharbel, arising on the chandelier and then returning to the tabernacle." I hurried with him to church, I saw nothing, I argued with him, but he confirmed and pointed with his finger as if he was seeing something substantiated in front of his eyes. Many confirmed that the light no longer appeared in the tomb, since the body of Fr. Sharbel had been transferred from the cemetery.  

3 - The body was bathed with water

    Ouwaini witnessed: When I arrived at the convent, the monastic folk met me saying: Today Fr. Sharbel drove away the assistant-superior and prevented him from saying the Mass in the church; he came early to celebrate the Holy Eucharist but the stench of mold bothered him so much. We went into the church and found the body bathed with water and the smell of mildew spread strongly; we carried the body and laid it in the cloister of the convent on a goatskin mat; we removed the clothes and wiped the mold with a cotton quilt from the monastery that I kept with me in my house. At first, it smelled of mold, but then a pleasant smell emanated from it; I kept it as a precious treasure; many asked me for a piece of it as a blessing and I gave them. Unfortunately, a month later, someone stole it from my house. 

4 - The condition of the body

    We found the body intact in every limb, from up till down, flexible, fresh, soft as if his soul is still in it; his eyebrows; blackish in color, thin belly and it had a scar on the hip where he put the metal thorny belt, but there were no wounds on it; his eyebrows, his hair, his beard and his hairy chest were preserved, and tended to be gray; the hands and the face bore traces of mold, dazzling white as the cotton. After cleaning up the mold from the body, the face and hands seemed to belong to a living sleeping  person, with no trace of corruption, but it emanated a bad smell; we took off the clothes but we didn't need to tear them, because the limbs were flexible as those of a living person; when we washed the body from the mud, we found that it was in a good condition and had a fine normal color;  his knees were calloused, but once the mud was removed, the calluses disappeared; showing tender and soft knees; we dressed him in new clothes after having exposed him naked on the roof throughout the day to drive out the moisture.  

5 - Blood and water gushed forth (Jn 19:34)

Ouwaini witnessed: I learned that the monks had decided to bring out the body and expose it to the sunlight on the roof of the convent, and then put it back in the tomb; because the water was dripping from it and gave an unpleasant smell. I came to the monastery, after a short time, I do not remember exactly when, all the monastic folk was present with Boutros Saba Al-Khoury from Ehmej, who practiced the old medical treatment; the body was  transported to the roof of the convent and placed on a straw mat, after it was stripped, then exposed to sun and wind.

    Deeply touched, I told the monks: Why do you expose the body like that? Write to His Beatitude the Patriarch, and he will decide what is appropriate; because the idea of the physician Boutros Saba to expose the body to the sun and wipe it with alcohol, is unnecessary as long as it doesn't show any decay. You see all the parts are intact, even his sexual organ; then I began to turn his body under their eyes and found no trace of corruption.

    Fr. Francis Al-Sebrene added: Ouwaini stabbed him in his hip with a surgery knife, instantly the blood gushed forth from it, he took a large bottle and filled it with the blood and kept it with him; the blood was dark red. The monks reprimanded the mentioned Ouwaini, wiped the blood with cotton, and bandaged the wound so the blood ceased to flow. 

6- I knew who healed them

    Ouwaini continued: I took the bottle with me to my house and stored it for about a year. Whenever I was given a treatment for the patient, I dipped a straw in this bottle, and mixed my treatment with it, with my belief that it was the best remedy for healing, because I definitively believed in the holiness of Fr. Sharbel to the point that healing is inevitable by his intercession. Many of those returned to me expressing their gratitude for their healing; basically in my thoughts, I knew who healed them. It happened that my brother, Fr. Youssef Ehmej, fell ill, he followed many treatments by the best doctors, but he obtained no results; he asked me for the bottle hoping that through it he would get healed, I gave it to him and he didn't bring it back to me.