POPE FRANCIS AND THE EVANGELICALS br Father Dwight Longenecker
my source: ALETEIA
Earlier this year, Pope Francis met with an old acquaintance named Tony Palmer. Palmer, who died tragically in a motorcycle accident last week, was a South African who lived in England. Married to a Catholic Italian, Palmer met the pope when he was a missionary in Argentina.
Palmer claimed the title “Anglican Bishop” but he was not a bishop in the established Church of England. Instead it is more accurate to say that he was a bishop in the “Anglican tradition.” Part of a new evangelical church movement which treasures tradition as well as charismatic worship and Evangelical zeal, Palmer was a good representative of a Christian movement that is sometimes called “convergence church.”
The “convergence church” can best be described as a para-church fellowship that is Evangelical, Charismatic, and Catholic. In other words, they embrace and endorse the best of these three Christian traditions. Without an organized structure or denominational bureaucracy, convergence church members move across denominational, national, and traditional boundaries. Loosely knit and forming alliances among sympathetic Christians in many denominations, they are often bright, zealous, positive, and pro-active in their Christian ministry.
With an emphasis on a simple gospel message, they also appreciate liturgical worship, practice the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and a profound love of the Sacred Scriptures. The convergence church Christians sit lightly towards established denominations of all kinds and aim to preach and live a basic, radical Christianity.
If we want to understand Pope Francis as a reformer, it is his appreciation of this new breed of Evangelicals which may shed most light on him as a person and the aims of his papacy. It is interesting to observe that the pope has maintained cordial relationships with the leaders of the established Protestant denominations like Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, but when he meets with his Evangelical friends he invites them for breakfast or lunch, and sits around with them laughing, talking, and enjoying fellowship for hours.
Those who see Pope Francis as a reformer should see in his relationships with the Evangelicals what the heart of his reform is all about. It is not simply an attempt to clean up the Vatican bank or sweep the church clean of pedophiles. It is not simply the symbolism of living in the St. Martha Hostel, eating in the cafeteria, and riding in a modest car. His planned reform is far more radical than that. He actually wants Catholics to follow Jesus Christ in a joyful, radical and earth shaking manner.
Francis’ appreciation of the Evangelicals is therefore more than a cordial attempt to reach out to Christians who have always been marginalized by the Catholic Church and who, truth be told, have usually been harshly anti-Catholic. His appreciation of the Evangelicals is more than an attempt to stem the tide of Catholics to the charismatic churches across the globe. Instead he genuinely admires them and, in many ways, wants Catholics to be more like them.
Does that mean Catholics have to be more happy clappy in worship, speak in tongues, and embrace a watered down, utilitarian Calvinism? Does Francis want to Protestantize the Catholic Church? By no means. I think he wants Catholics not to be more Protestant, but more Catholic. In other words, he wants Catholics to return to the zeal and passion of the saints and martyrs. He wants Catholics to re-learn the simple life of the apostles and take joy in the most elemental levels of the faith -- a life full of the Holy Spirit in a day to day relationship with Jesus Christ.
Pope Francis's friendship with the Evangelicals is also an exciting and innovative direction for ecumenism. I believe Francis realizes that unity with the mainstream Protestant churches is a lost cause. He knows the Anglicans and other mainstream Protestant churches are on a divergent path from Catholicism and that when two paths diverge they can only grow further apart. Locked into a commitment to reductionist theology, an egalitarian progressive agenda, and radical relativism, he sees them as unreliable and unpredictable ecumenical partners.
The Charismatic Evangelicals, on the other hand, for all their historic anti-Catholicism, genuinely believe the historic Christian faith. They believe the Bible, the essentials of the creeds and they believe Jesus is alive in the world today through the power of the Holy Spirit. They might be extreme, but Francis realizes the world needs a radical form of Christianity. He also realizes that the extremes are often closer to one another than the watered down versions of the faith.
As such, he would agree with C.S. Lewis, who put it this way when asked about church re-union: “It seems to me that the ‘extreme’ elements in every Church are nearest one another, and the liberal people in each Body could never be united at all. The world of dogmatic Christianity is a place in which thousands of people of quite different types keep on saying the same thing, and the world of ‘broad minded’ or ‘watered down' Christianity is a world where a small number of people (all of the same type) say totally different things and change their minds every few minutes. We shall never get re-union from them.”
Fr. Dwight Longenecker is the author of The Romance of Religion: Fighting for Goodness, Truth, and Beauty.
IMAGO DEI : Christ Pantocrator Icon at Belmont Abbey
IMAGO DEI : Christ Pantocrator Icon at Belmont Abbey: Talk given at Belmont on Saturday 26th July 2014 This finished icon is one that Fr Dyfrig started. In fact I have used his draft...
THE BLESSING OF AN ICON OF CHRIST
at Belmont Abbey, Hereford.
The Blessing by Fr Brendan, assisted by Br Alex (the iconographer)
Fr Brendan is Welsh. Br Alex is Peruvian.
This address was given by Br Alex Echeandia at Belmont (on the right of the photo above). He is a monk of our monastery here in Pachacamac on the outskirts of Lima and has been studying Theology with the Dominicans at Blackfriars, Oxford, and Iconography under Aidan Hart, an Orthodox artist of icons. He will be rejoining us in Peru in September and will be ordained priest on October 18th, the feast of St Luke, patron saint of iconographers. Please pray for him.
Christ Pantocrátor of Belmont
Talk given at Belmont on Saturday 26th July 2014
This finished icon is one that Fr Dyfrig started. In fact I have used his drafts in order to produce what you see here in the Church. The drafts that Fr Dyfrig used are based on the Christ Pantocrator, Saviour and Giver of Life, of XIV century Greek origin, and which is placed now in the Museum of Macedonia, Yugoslavia. This turn was base, as another icon of Christ Pantocrator from Sinai.
Before I start to explain the meaning and symbolism contained in this icon, let start by saying what an icon is. Etymologically, an icon is translated from the Greek as “image”. Therefore, this icon of Christ is, per excellence, the icon of God, the Image of the Father. The reason why we make icons is because God became man. As Irenaeus said, the Word become one of us in order that we may become like Him. Therefore, images of Our Lady and the Saints find their prototype in Christ, the Image of God Invisible. We find here in the Abbey church a lot of images of Christ, saints and angels, quite a lot I may say. They are made from stone, glass, wood or other materials. The reason why we make these images is because of the Incarnation. Iconoclasts and other people who based their understanding in the Old Testament don’t consider the turning point of our faith, that God became man in Christ.
A sacred icon comes to people in three ways. First, as with any other work of art, the icon attracts your eyes by the beauty it offers. As Fyodor Dostoevsky said, beauty will conquer the world. It is towards beauty that our minds and hearts are attracted. We say that a piece of music or a work of art is beautiful. The eyes and ears are the most sensitive senses we have. Therefore, images need to offer something of beauty to attract our attention.
However, an icon is not simply a work of art. It offers a profound spiritual richness that only comes by contemplating it. As iconogrpahers we are called to be instrument of the Holy Spirit which is why we don’t put our names on top of the image represented. We are not the authors. We believe that it is Christ and His mother, and saints who come to us in order to be represented. I am sure you have heard of an icon functioning as a window through which the saint comes to the viewer. However, one may say that the icon works as a door through which we can encounter God, Our Lady and the Saints and they can encounter us. We can journey into the mystery by contemplating an icon. This is what the faithful, especially among the Eastern Churches, believe is happening. This is why an icon is always flat because it is in direct relation with the viewer.
The third way in which an icon is seen by the faithful is from a theological perspective. The First Council of the Church at Nicaea confirmed that Christ is the visible and perfect Image of the Father. However, during the following centuries the Church struggled against heresies related to Christ’s two natures, either denying the divine nature (Arians) or the human nature (monophysites). Finally at Chalcedon it was declared that Christ was fully human and fully divine, and He Himself embodied the union of two natures, human and divine. This icon of Christ, God-Man, is a graphic expression of the dogma of Chalcedon, for it represents the Divine Person incarnated, the Son of God became the Son of Man, Divine as the Father and human like us.
The icon of Christ the Pantocrator becomes a very important key to understand this relationship of Christ as fully human and fully divine. The danger of considering only one part of this relationship, leaving out the other part, was so understood during the iconoclastic period. The argument in favour of iconodules was based on the person of Jesus Christ, arguing that through the Incarnation images of the Son of God and His saints are possible in the Church.
As I said at the beginning of this talk, icons of Christ Pantocrator go back to the one in Sinai. In fact, the oldest example of this kind is the sixth century icon in the Monastery of St Catherine in the Sinai desert. The well-known Icon of “Christ of Sinai” was probably written at Constantinople, using the encaustic technique. This technique consisted in mixing wax with pigment and applying the mixture on the wooden panel already covered with gesso. The wax medium was replaced in later centuries by the yolk of eggs, a technique seen in icons nowadays. This encaustic technique came originally from Egypt. Examples can be seen in the portraits made for the mummies. One may go to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford or the National Gallery in London, and appreciate the images placed on top of the mammies with the portrayals which represented the person inside the sarcophagus. The same technique is used in the image of Christ Pantocrator at the museum of St Catherine´s Monastery, Sinai.
The word Pantocrator comes from a composed word Panto-crator. The word “panto” is the genitive of pantos (all), meaning “of all”, and “crator” (power, rule) is the participle present of “cratos” which means ruler, the one in power. It is also interpreted as the One who embraces the whole of humanity, the One who maintains all things.
The Icon of Christ Pantocrator we see here at the Abbey Church shows facial characteristics of the adult Jesus. It expresses the reality of the Incarnation of the Son of God, the True Image of the Father that The Gospel of John proclaims in the prologue. The image of God Invisible that become one of us. St Ireneus said, “The Son of God become the Son of Man, so that man might become son of God.” Jesus Christ is the Image of the Father revealed to us for our salvation. Therefore, the Image of Christ Pantocrator is the image per excellence that gives meaning to all images.
This icon, as with all the sacred icons, is embedded with theological symbolism. As said before, the viewer can simply admire it at the basic level of beauty that captures our attention. However, the symbolism of the icon goes deeper than that for it brings into closer relationship the one who contemplates it to the the person depicted, to Christ, Our Mother, and all the Saints. In this way, the icon acts as a door rather than a window. We can look through a window at those depicted but the relationship is, in a way, impersonal. However, if the icon is seen as a door, that one can go through as well as the saint can come to us, the relationship becomes more personal.
As we look at the icon we can see its powerful background which is of real gold. This half-length image of Christ is enveloped in light represented by the gold. Images of Christ in this form are founded in ninth century Psalters, particularly placed near the words: “Shine on us, Lord, the light of your face”. Moreover, one of the oldest Russian icons of this type (XII and XIII century) called the Saviour with Golden Hair in the Cathedral of the Dormition in Moscow, Christ is called King of Glory, as the inscription tells us. Therefore, gold is not defined by a particular colour, but contains all the colours as it acts by the reflection of the light. It recalls the divine light that shines through the icon and tells us that we are encountering the divine.
The image that is surrounded by gold is simple and almost symmetrical, the face is compact with a certain softness and appears brighter. Nevertheless, the wide-open, asymmetrical eyes gaze beyond the confines of place and time. Christ´s left eye is bigger than the other, and his left eyebrow is raised higher that the other. It offers the identity of God: justice and mercy. They are composed in a way that becomes harmonious, as the Psalm 85:10: “righteousness and peace kiss each other.” In this imposing image of Christ there is a close relationship with biblical reproaches and prophetic exhortations addressed in the Church by means of preaching and teaching. We hear God in the Scriptures: “Cease to do evil and learn to do good.” This biblical severity and directness is represented in Jesus’ left-side face. Christ is presented as King and Heavenly Judge. He indeed rules with justice. In fact, the big, open eyes give a theological message, he who created the world never sleeps, but rather watches over it and saves it. As the Psalm 12 says, the Lord will keep your going and coming now and for ever.
Icons try to answer the question of who Jesus is. As it is seen in the two sides of the face, Jesus Christ appears as the Revelation of God. Christ is seen as the merciful face of the Father. Christ said, “He that sees me, sees Him who sent me” (John 12:45). Jesus Pantocrator expresses the strength and authority of God. Christ the Judge is tempered by the Saviour’s merciful face. “You are the fairest of the children of men” (Psalm 45). In Christ, justice and mercy, truth and peace, are reconciled. This is the relation of a divine humanity. Christ is at once Lord of the universe and the prototype of a transfigured humanity. The iconographic type of Christ-Pantocrator expresses under the human features of the Incarnate Son, the Divine Majesty of the Creator and Redeemer, who presides over the destiny of the world.
That strength and majesty is also seen in the nose and neck. The long, narrow and straight nose underscores a firmness of mind and will. The small, closed mouth stands for silence and inner strength. The thick neck expresses the fullness of the breath of the Holy Spirit. The beard is a fine filigree shading the face. The well-marked lines of the eyebrows and moustache express a strong sense of pity and loving judgement of the world. It shows the transfigured flesh of Him who suffered for us. The thick, gathered hair frames the face, then falls in loose braids onto the left shoulder, suggesting a slight turn of the shoulders. His hair also recalls the tree strands which place in its centre the face of our Lord. As a tree it suggests paradise, and symbolises Jesus as the Tree of Life and the New Adam. The large detailed eyes, turned towards the onlooker, have an attentive and saddened look which seems to penetrate the depths of consciences. Christ is come into the world not to condemn, but to save it (John 3). The flesh tones, like in the Icon of Sinai, is a result of a perfect balance between naturalism and mystical transfiguration; it is, the richness of His humanity and divinity.
The halo bears the mark of the cross and the letters O, Ω, N (omicron, omega and nu) stand for the holy name revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai; “I am that I am”, “The Being”, “The One that is. Christ is God that comes to meet his people. Moreover, on the same gold the name of Jesus Christ abbreviated is place in Greek. The abridged name of Jesus Christ IC XC (above, on our icon) designates the person of the Incarnate Son. A name in an icon makes it a proper icon; it gives its identity. Therefore, it is obligatory for inscriptions of the name to appear on all icons of Christ, of the Mother of God, and all the saints.
Christ Pantocrator is shown holding the Gospel Book in his left hand. The Book of the Gospel symbolises the new law given to humankind, as well as the “Book of Life” mentioned in the Apocalypse (Rev 4). It is adorned with precious blue and red stones. Christ´s right hand is in a position of blessing the world. The fingers of the hand are gathered to symbolise Christ’s two natures. The ring finger and thumb are united to symbolize the two natures of Jesus Christ, which only Him has obtained. Jesus is truly human and truly divine, the heavenly world has met the human world in Jesus.
He wears a green cloak and a red tunic, aspects of Christ´s two natures, human and divine. As Pope Leo the great states in his text about God’s humanity and divinity: “If you want to know who you are, look not to what you have been, but to the image that God had I creating you. In Him there is all His godliness, and all our humanity.”
As we can see, the theme of Jesus´s identity goes through the whole icon and teaches the faithful about Jesus Christ, Son of God. Thus, the icon becomes first of all a door where God and His saints encounter His people by the beauty it offers and by the teaching about Divine Mystery. If we approach to icons with faith a bit of that mystery will be revealed to the one who contemplates it, in order approach to God, not simply with the mind and the theological teaching it offer, but more profoundly with the eye of the heart that transports the viewer into God Himself.
Finally, I want to thank for the expressions of charity and care given by those who contributed to this icons. I know many people gave a lot of gold leaves and other materials to finish the work that began time ago, from the drafts Fr Dyfrig had. It was very sad to see him depart from us bodily by his sudden death two years ago. We know now that he is very pleased by the acts of love everybody have shown to the point that today this icon has been blest. Now this icon of Christ Pantocrator of Belmont together with the other icon of Our Lady of Tenderness will be used to our prayer and a place of encounter with our Lord and God and all His Saints
The Blessing and Hallowing of the Christ Pantocrator Icon
Celebrant:
Blessed is our God always, both now and ever, and unto ages of ages: All: Amen.
Deacon and Celebrant: Ἅγιος ὁ Θεός, Ἅγιος ἰσχυρός, Ἅγιος ἀθάνατος, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς. (3) Glory to you, our God, glory to you. Heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of truth, who are present everywhere filling all things, Treasury of good things and Giver of life, come and
dwell in us. Cleanse us of every stain, and save our souls, gracious Lord.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (3). Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
All holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, forgive our sins. Master, pardon our transgressions. Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for the sake of your name.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
All: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but
deliver us from evil.
Priest: For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages.
All: Amen. Kyrie eleison. (3) O come, let us worship and fall down, let us kneel before the Lord who made us.
Priest: Good Father,Lover of the human race, we praise you for the great love shown us. In the sending of your Word. Born of the Blessed Virgin, He became our Saviour, our first born brother, like us in all things but sin.
You have given us Christ as the perfect example of holiness:
We see him as a child in the manger, yet acknowledge him as God almighty.
We see his face and discern the countenance of his goodness.
We hear him speak the words of life and are filled with Your wisdom.
We search the deepest reaches of his heart and our own hearts.
Burn with that fire of the Spirit which spread in order to renew the face of the earth.
We look on the Bridegroom of the Church, streaked in his own blood, but we revere that blood which washes our sins away.
The Church rejoices in the glory of his resurrection and shares in the promise it holds, the life that Animates our actions.
May Christ be a light to all who see this image in this place, may he draw all men and women to himself and be a place of rest on their journey.
May he be the gate that opens to all the City of Peace, for he lives there reigning with you and Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.
Sprinkling cross fashion the Icon with Holy Water, he says:
Hallowed and blessed is this Icon of Christ Pantocrator, Ruler of All, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, through the sprinkling of holy water:
in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Immediately is sung the Troparion and Kontakion of Christ Pantocrator.
Blessing: God and Father, when your Son took flesh he assumed our human nature so that we can participate in your heavenly glory, may the Your Image, Our Lord Jesus Pantocrator, make us worthy to witness the revelations of your mysteries, and praying before this icon we can encounter You, Our Blessed Mother and all your saints, until we see
you face to face.“ R. Amen
Those who wish can reverence and kiss the holy Icon.
We sing the Phos Hilaron (Φῶς Ἱλαρόν, 3rd/4th Century hymn)
O gracious light. Lord Jesus Christ,
In you the Father's glory shone.
Immortal, holy, blest is he,
And blest are you his only Son.
Now sunset comes, but light shines forth,
The lamps are lit to pierce the night.
Praise Father, Son, and Spirit, God
Who dwells in the eternal light.
Worthy are you of endless praise,
O Son of God, life-giving Lord;
Wherefore you are, through all the earth
And in the highest heaven, adored.
JULY 24th FEAST OF SAINT CHARBEL OF LEBANON, A MONASTIC SAINT
On May 8, 1828 in a mountain village of Biqa-Kafra, Lebanon, Charbel was born to a poor Maronite Family. From childhood his life revealed a calling to "bear fruit as a noble Cedar of Lebanon."
Charbel "grew in age and wisdom before God and men." At 23 years old he entered the monastery of Our Lady of Lebanon (north of Byblos) where he became a novice. After two years of novitiate, in 1853, he was sent to St. Maron monastery where he pronounced the monastic vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
Charbel was then transferred to the monastery of Kiffan where he studied philosophy and theology. His ordination to the priesthood took place in 1853, after which he was sent back to St. Maron monastery. His teacher provided him a good education and nurtured within him a deep love for monastic life.
During his 16 years at St. Maron monastery, Charbel performed his priestly ministry and his monastic duties in an edifying way. He totally dedicated himself to Christ with undivided heart and desired to live in silence before the Nameless One.
In 1875 Charbel was granted permission to live as a hermit on the hill nearby the monastery at St. Peter and Paul hermitage. His 23 years of solitary life were lived in a spirit of total abandonment to God.
Charbel's companies in hermitage were the Son of God, as encountered in the Scriptures and in the Eucharist, and the Blessed Mother. The Eucharist became the center of his life. He consumed the Bread of Life and was consumed by it. Though his hermit did not have a place in the world, the world had a great place in his heart. Through prayer and penance he offered himself as a sacrifice so that the world would return to God.
It is in this light that one sees the importance of the following Eucharistic prayer in his life:
"Father of Truth, behold Your Son a sacrificed
pleasing to You, accept the offering of Him who died for me…"
On December 16, 1898 while reciting the "Father of Truth" prayer at the Holy Liturgy Charbel suffered a stoke. He died on Christmas Eve at the age of 70. Through faith this hermit received the Word of God and through love he continued the Mystery of Incarnation.
Father Charbel spent the night before Christmas, 1898 in church, following his usual custom of twenty-three years, ever since he became a hermit at the hermitage of Saints Peter and Paul on the mountain of Annays. He did not waver from this praiseworthy custom. But that last night, he was lying down, neither awake, nor praying, nor meditating; he was asleep, sleeping the sleep of death. His soul, however, was with God, quite awake, in the eternal awakening. This was the last night Father Charbel would spend in the church of Saints Peter and Paul. Contrary to his custom and for the first time, Father Charbel was lying on the floor, over the mat of hair, with his face exposed.
Please note that people never saw his face when he was alive. He always kept his head down in church, at work or when walking, always looking to the ground. He would lift his eyes only to heaven. When in church, he always faced the altar with his eyes fixed on the tabernacle. However, when he died and was Lying face upward, his eyes were closed, still not looking at anyone, exactly as in his lifetime. Holding vigil at the body of the Servant of God in church, were his companions of the hermitage, Father Macarius Mishmshany, and Brother Francis of Artaba, along with a group of monks from the monastery of St. Maron. As soon as they learned of the passing of Father Charbel they rushed to the hermitage to kiss his hands and to be blessed by touching his body while bidding him farewell. Many spent most of the night kneeling near him, praying.
The snow was coming down heavily, accumulating on the hermitage and on the neighboring mountains and valleys. It was extremely cold and windy, to a degree that those keeping vigil around the saintly remains were trembling from the severity of the cold. And no wonder. The altitude of the hermitage is one thousand and four hundred meters above sea level, on a high summit exposed to the wind.
Those keeping vigil were asking one another, "If we are suffering so much for only one night in this severe winter, how was Father Charbel able to live twenty-three years here spending every night of his life, kneeling on bamboo, in pain from midnight until the time of his Mass at 9:00 o'clock in the morning, fasting and immobile as the stone statue erected on the floor before the altar. Truly, this hermit was a saint. He endured fatigue, hunger, poverty and cold with the courage of a martyr. Every minute of his life was martyrdom, without complaint. No doubt he is now finding the reward of his marvelous martyrdom, with God."
Who could dare venture out that night, from the hermitage, from the monastery, or from the neighboring villages? Heavy snow had blocked all roads with an accumulation of three to six feet in some places. The monks were wondering if tomorrow they would be able to transfer the body of Father Charbel to the cemetery of the monastery in the extremely severe weather and with so much snow. How could they notify the people of the death of the saint under these circumstances? The neighbors would be very disappointed and sorry, not only because of the death of Father Charbel but also because they would be unable to bid him a last farewell and be blessed by him before he was buried.
Thus were the monks thinking. But the news of his passing quickly reached all neighboring villages like lightning. In those days, there were no telephones and no automobiles.
The conversation of the villagers that night was about Father Charbel and his holiness. Each recalled what he knew of his outstanding virtue, his poverty, humility, angelic purity, his amazing obedience, his continuous prayer and hard work, his observance of the monastic rules, his meekness and especially his perpetual silence, that prudent and holy silence.
Also, people were remembering his continuous communication with God, his love of the Blessed Sacrament, his devotion to the Virgin Mary, his compassion to the poor and the sick and his miracles. The stories would end with these words: "We are happy for him. He is a saint who went straight to heaven."
It seemed as if the angels themselves, who had announced to the shepherds of Bethlehem the nativity of the Savior of the world, now proclaimed that heaven had gained a newborn, in the person of Father Charbel a ripe fruit of the nativity of our divine Savior, Who himself was born humbly in a manger in Bethlehem.
That night everyone who knew of the passing of Father Charbel was wondering, "Will the snow stop tomorrow so we can visit Father Charbel for the last time, participate in his funeral, and bid him goodbye?"
On the morning of Christmas, 1898, the monks at the monastery and the people of the villages nearby, awakened early and saw the sky cloudy and dark and the ground, from the mountains to the valleys, covered with bright white snow with the trees shimmering like crystal chandeliers. No voice could be heard, only the howling of the wind. The cold was extreme, the roads were blocked. There were indications that more snow was on the way. They didn't think they could make it to the hermitage for the transfer of the body of St. Charbel to St. Maroon’s monastery. They believed that those at the hermitage would have to bury Father Charbel in the church of the hermitage. Nevertheless, young men from Annaya and its neighborhood wore their winter clothes and their heavy boots. They wrapped some covering around their heads, so that only their eyes were visible. Each carried a shovel to clear the road from the snow and to lean on it as a support while making their way. With courage, they faced the mounds of snow, so they could see their "saint," and have the honor of carrying his body on their shoulders down to the monastery and then to the grave.
At 8:00 A.M., a small group of these young men had gathered and joined the monks who were kneeling near the body of Father Charbel in church. Sorrowfully, together they prayed, their eyes fixed on Father Charbel who radiated the image of God in the most perfect way possible to man through the grace of God and because of his own voluntary efforts. Each one respect fully said, "He is a saint! Lucky him! God took him today to give him rest from his labors and to grant him reward of his virtues."
At 9:00 A.M., they brought a casket made of three wooden boards nailed to a slab extending from both ends, so it could be carried on the shoulders ~ of the pallbearers. On it they put a mat of hair. Then the hermit, Father I' Marcarius Mishmshany, the monks, and the brothers who had come from the monastery when Father Charbel died, carried the body and placed it in the casket. Father Marcarius, with tears in his eyes, and the monks, the brothers, and the young men carried it on their shoulders and began the descent from the hermitage to the monastery. The road was rugged. The strong men had shoveled some of the snow but more was falling, threatening to block the road again. The pallbearers were afraid they would drop the casket and the body because it was very difficult to walk the path leading to the hermitage. However, Father Macarius, the hermit, said to them: "Rely on God, do not be afraid; Father Charbel will make it easy for us."
They had hardly left the door of the church when the rain, the snow and the wind stopped all at once. Little by little the clouds began to clear. The pallbearers had no trouble at all. In fact, carrying the body to the hermit age was easy. They exclaimed: "Miracle! This is one of Father Charbel miracles."
George Emmanuel Abi-Saseen of Mishmash, a resident of Annaya, and one of the bearers, testified in the 17th Session, which took place on Oct. 13, 1926. After swearing to tell the truth and kneeling in the church with his right hand on the Holy Gospel, he said: "Father Charbel died on the eve of Christmas; the snow was heavy. We transferred him to the monastery on Christmas day. Before we moved him, the snow was falling rapidly and the clouds were very dark. When we carried him, the clouds disappeared, and the weather cleared."
Brother Peter of Mishmash, of the Lebanese order, a servant at the hermitage during the life of Father Charbel, testified that he was present at the death and at the funeral (Page 38 of the Investigation). "On the day of the funeral, it was raining and snowing."
How great is the Lord and how great is His mercy and love for those who fear Him. He send His angel before everyone of these "lest they das their foot against a stone" (Ps. 91:12).
He is the One who calmed the rough area and walked upon it. He is the One who gave orders to the wind: "Be calm," and it became calm. He gave orders to the wind at the mountain of Annaya and commanded the tempest and the snow to "Stop!" and they did. The clouds disappeared the weather cleared. It seems that God provided that the angels cooperated and see the face of His servant, Job; His beloved Charbel has endured patiently the suffering and the weakness of the body and It ridicule of those who mock the deeds of Christian heroism and the monastic and hermetic life, those who laugh at abstinence and mortification.
The small procession continued slowly, quietly, from the summit Mount Annaya to the monastery of St. Maron, located at the foot of the mountain. There was none of the grandeur that usually accompanies the funeral of clergymen. Each one of the pallbearers was saying: "Father Charbel had died. The angels took his soul to Abraham's bosom, and here we are taking his body to the grave, to the dirt. The soul of Father Charbel is whiter than this snow which covers the earth and dazzles our eyes."
The sun appeared over those high mountains and over the valleys, and the rays created some of the most beautiful, incredible spectacles. It seemed as if the sun itself wanted to bid farewell to Father Charbel. This was the same sun that burned his body in the summer as he worked in the garden and the same sun, which he sought so that he could suffer its rays to mortify his body. The sun seemed to be blessing God, our Maker, for this precious treasure placed here on earth to be an ornament for the sons of Adam and Eve. God will be praised and glorified by it in reparation for the fall of our first parents and for the transgression of sinners.
The cortege continued to move humbly over the snow to the monastery of St. Maron Annaya. There the fathers and brothers met it as it carried the holy body to the monastery and placed it on a platform. All flushed to kiss Father Charnel’s hands, asking for his intercession with God, saying, "This man knew how to live his life, for the glory of God and for his own salvation, whether at the house of his parents, in the Order, or at the hermitage. He ascended the ladder of holiness to heaven with giant steps like the angels who, in Revelation, ascended the ladder of Jacob. And now, he has reached the destination. How fortunate for him!"
People from the surrounding towns started to pour into the monastery, from Ehmej, from Mishmash, Toraza, Ouainey, Kfar Baal, Annaya, even Hojula, despite the fact that the inhabitants of the latter are Shiite Moslems. Nothing stopped them from coming, neither the distance nor the freezing cold, nor the high accumulation of snow. They said, "All fatigue and weariness are nothing to us who wish to bid farewell to Father Charbel and be blessed by kissing his hands before his burial. This is more valuable than the whole world, in our eyes."
As for the women in the neighborhood, they were sorry that they were unable to come to bid farewell to the saint. They wanted to be there very much. But women were forbidden to enter the monasteries of monks by virtue of the monastic law of cloister. Father Charbel himself, ever since he entered religious life, did not allow his eyes to see women, not even the face of his mother Brigita, nor his sister and his niece Rose (Wardeh).
At that time no one ever dreamed that in the future permission would be granted to the monastery of St. Maron Annaya to open the doors of its church and the cells of its monks to men and women and pilgrims coming from Lebanon and other countries of the world to see the body of Father Charbel, without its being subject to excommunication or other impediment. The miracle of April 22, 1950 was the incentive that caused the patriarch to remove the excommunication and allow all people, men and women, to temporarily enter the monastery for the benefit of the visiting sick and all the faithful.
The Burial
At 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon of that day, the customary funeral service for monks and hermits was held in the church of St. Maron Annaya. When the liturgical prayers of the funeral were completed, those participating believed that the life of Father Charbel and his memory on earth had ended, and that this was the last prayer Father Charbel would attend in the church of the monastery.
The funeral was very plain. No one person eulogized Father Charbel because each and everyone present was in conversation praising Charbel for his attitude, his piety and his sentiments. He lived quietly and wanted to die and be buried without notice. His attitude about living and dying was in conformity with his humble life. In this sense, the fact that it was snowing and was frigid cold helped to simplify the funeral ceremonies. Moreover, the superior of the monastery, Father Anthony Mishmshany, well known for his prudence, his sagacity and his appreciation of pious monks, was absent for several reasons, one of which was that the Maronite patriarch, John Peter Hage was ill, and had died. Therefore, the fathers at the monastery of St. Maron did not know what to do in the absence of the superior to honor Father Charbel at his death in a manner befitting his sublime virtues.
After the funeral, the monks were about to carry the body to the common grave of the monastery, when some of them came up with the idea of placing Father Charbel in a coffin for the purpose of keeping him separate from the bodies of the other deceased monks. However, the vicar responded: "We cannot go against the rules without consent. According to our by-laws, we cannot bury the monk in a coffin without the permission of our superior."
This is what the eye-witnesses, Brother Francis of Artaba, said in this respect (page 105 of Investigation): "On the glorious feast of Christmas, the funeral of Father Charbel took place. When the time came to bury him, some of the monks wanted him to be buried alone in a special place because the common grave was full of water. They felt he should not be buried there because he was a saint. Others, among them, the vicar to the superior, insisted that he be buried in the common grave. The vicar said 'If he is a saint, he will preserve himself.' And so Charbel was buried in the common grave."
Saba Bou-Moussey, another eye-witness, testified as to the flow of people who came to attend the rite of the funeral. "We went to the monastery to attend his funeral. We found crowds who had travelled from all areas around the monastery, Christians and Shiites-Moslems from Hojula and its neighboring villages, the expression of sadness and sorrow on their faces attesting to the greatness of this loss. Most of them had not been asked to come. They came of their own volition out of respect for and to receive a blessing from Father Charbel."
Brother Francis Artaba and Saba Bou-Moussey were not the only ones to testify. Many of those who were present at the death and burial also testified. We limited ourselves to two witnesses taken from the official investigation, for the simple reason of showing the source of our information (Father Mansour Awad wrote this account before Charbel was canonized in 1974).
After the funeral, the body of Father Charbel was carried on the shoulders of his brother monks to the common grave. All tongues were saying to him, "We congratulate you, O saint! Remember us before God. Pray us, so God may have mercy on us, and grand us a happy death."
The Burial of Saint Charbel In the Common Grave at St. Maron Annaya
The funeral ended and there was a complete silence, like an eloquent euIogy to the hermit who spent all his life in silence. The fathers of the monastery approached, carried the holy body and placed it at the entrance of the common grave of monks. The custom was that in the funeral of clerics, members of the clergy carry the priest's body first in procession and then to the grave. There, despite the freezing cold, a crowd of people gathered, among them women who had come to see the face of Father Charbel and to have a perfect view of the monk who had not allowed a full view of his face to ever be seen by women. It was the first and the last me they would see him, so they believed. None was able to foresee the future and know what would happen to this man of God and to his body. Who was capable of rolling away for these women, for their sons and daughters, the stone God used to seal the life of Father Charbel, the hermit, and place it at the door of death, the door of this grave, so they, the women, could see the face of Father Charbel before the day of Resurrection? The entrance of the grave was narrow and low to a degree where it was level with the ground, even below it. It was open!
Some clergy and lay people entered the grave to prepare a place for the body of Charbel. There they found no other body of the deceased monks preserved. They gathered the bones of the dead and placed them to one side.
What worried those who entered the grave to prepare a place for Charbel was the fact that the floor was full of mud and water leaking profusely from the ceiling and the eastern wall and especially through the door. The floor of the grave in the winter was like a little pond. When the condition of the grave was reported to the Vicar, in the absence of the Superior, he gave orders to have two planks placed on the floor of the grave over two large stones. When this was done, the body of Father Charbel was lowered into the grave and placed on two planks. His body was purposely positioned in such a way that it rested where the main altar was located.
In spirit he could join the monks in their prayers, meditations, Masses and visits to the Blessed Sacrament. Since it was impossible for him to be buried in the church, he was buried as close to it as possible.
All the monks and lay people who had accompanied the body of Father Charbel into the grave knelt down in the mud and kissed his hands and his feet. All were crying. The water was dripping on them from the ceiling and their feet were immersed in mud and water up to their ankles. After they came out of the grave, they put the stone over the entrance and covered it with dirt and snow. Then the final prayer was said by one of the fathers. They all were saying, "He is a saint! Lucky him." Others said, "It is a shame that he is buried in the mud! If the Father Superior were here, he would not have allowed Father Charbel to be buried but in a proper coffin."
Our description of the funeral of Father Charbel is not our own; we obtain it from the description of the grave as reported by the official investigation of 1926 on the burial of Father Charbel on December 25, 1898.
[The author is repeating details about the grave: again stating that there were no preserved bodies there, only bones, and mud and water. As a lawyer, Fr. Awad wanted to ask witnesses and consult records just to prove his facts. The body found uncorrupt later in the grave was indeed that of Father Charbel.]
After the burial, everybody returned home, telling their families about the ceremony, about their feelings, about how miserable the grave was and describing the mud and water, which filled it. They told their relatives, "No doubt the body of Father Charbel will decompose quickly because it is buried in a pond of mud and water. Father Charbel humiliated his body in life and now he seems to want to have it mortified after death, so it will be totally annihilated before God. He wanted his bones to be mixed with those of his brother monks, so he wouldn't have any privileges over.
A Prophecy in the Recording Of Father Charbel's Death
A week after the death of Father Charbel, the Superior of the monastery, Father Anthony Mishmshany, returned. He was a prudent, scholarly, and very intelligent and pious monk. When he learned of the death of Father Charbel, he said:
> This is a monk who knew how to best utilize his years when a monk, or a novice, or a student, and whenever he was stationed, at the monastery of Kfeefan, at the monastery of St. Maron Annaya, or at the hermitage. To him we can easily apply the saying of Pope Sixtus V: "Give me a monk who observes his spirit and the letter of his monastic rules and I will beatify him in his life! "The hermit monk observed the monastic and hermitic rules in spirit and in behavior all his life. <
He sanctified the Monastery of St. Maron when he lived there; he sanctified the grounds of the monastery by the sweat of his brow for eighteen years, plowing the field day after day, except on Sundays and holy days. His work was continuous prayer. He sanctified the hermitage by the monastic life, which surpasses ordinary human capability. He sanctified the vineyard of the hermitage also, by his hard labor without his ever tasting of the grapes it produced. His entire life was a chain of fruitful work of soul and body. He detached himself from everything in order to dedicate himself totally to God. All his actions were performed by virtue of supernatural grace.
This hermit will sanctify the cemetery of the monastery. From his grave, he will watch over the monastery, the hermitage, the neighborhood, the Order, the Maronite Church and Lebanon. I have a deep feeling that Charbel will be of great importance in his death. People outside the hermitage never felt his presence when he was alive as we did, because he was secluded in the monastery and on top of the mountain, living as a hermit. He was absolutely forgotten. But, in the grave, even if he is concealed, even after his body goes to the earth from which it was taken, his ashes will be holy and God will use him to perform great things. I am very sorry he died while I was away. I wished I was present to receive his blessings, which, to me, would have been like the blessings of Abraham to Isaac, like the blessing of Isaac to Jacob, like the blessing of Jacob to his children. If I were here when he died, I would have placed him in a closed coffin. To preserve his bones as sacred relics.
Then this wise Superior went straight to the grave, knelt down in the mud nearby where Father Charbel was buried and prayed for half an hour. The monks, knowing that he was there, came and knelt down behind him. Most of them thought he was praying for the repose of the soul of Father Charbel. However, he was praying to Father Charbel, asking his intercession on behalf of the monastery where he had lived, for the hermitage where he had spent twenty-three years glorifying God, for his companions residing in these two places, for the Order and for the Maronite Church, because he believed Charbel was a saint.
When the Father Superior stood up, the monks noticed the tears pouring down his face and onto his beard. Then he addressed his community saying, "With the death of Father Charbel, we have lost the lightning rod which was protecting the Order, the Maronite Church and Lebanon with his saintly life. We pray God will have mercy on us and grant that the mission of his servant, Charbel, will remain with us here on earth, just as God promised the house of David that their lamp would be extinguished on earth for the glory of his servant, David." I the Father Superior lifted up his eyes and prayed, "Lord, for the monastery, for the Order and for Lebanon, preserve the lamp of water, which you lighted for your servant, Charbel, in a miraculous way. Preserve this lamp shinning in his body, so that it will illuminate our way in this darkened world. Deliver us from the dangers that surround us. Help us to walk in the path of poverty, chastity and obedience, which we promised to follow in this life when we made our solemn vows. May we reach Heaven, the Promised Land, from this lamp of exile? Amen!"
Afterwards, the Superior entered the monastery and went to his room, closed the door and knelt down in prayer. He took the Record of the Dead, blessed himself with the sign of the cross, and recorded the death of Father Charbel in this way:
On the 24th day of the month of December 1898, Father Charbel, the hermit of Bkakafra, died after suffering a stroke and receiving the Sacraments of the dead. He was buried in the monastery's grave. He was sixty-eight years old. Father Anthony Mishmshany was the superior of the monastery. What God will perform after his death will be sufficient proof of his exemplary behavior in the observance of his vows, to a degree where we can say that his obedience was angelic, not human.
The Superior of the monastery, Fr. Anthony Mishmshany, knew Father Charbel very well. He knew the miracles God performed through Charbel during his life; he valued his monastic virtues and the sublimity of his monastic perfection in the hermitage. When this Father Superior recorded the death of Charbel, no doubt he was inspired to predict the future miracles we have since seen with our own eyes of which thousands of people throughout the world have heard. In fact, the phenomena taking place continuously around the tomb of Father Charbel, especially since April 22, 1960, is enough to tell us what this great Father Superior omitted to say regarding the life of Father Charbel. Blessed be God who uses His people to record what God has decreed for all eternity.
This prophecy of Father Anthony, which he had written in the Record of the Dead, was forgotten until the events of February 20, 1950 of which we will speak later. I was appointed Defender of the Faith by his Beatitude, the Maronite Patriarch, Anthony Peter Areeda, by a decree, dated March 19th, to open the tomb of Father Makhlouf and to inspect his body.
Light on the Body of Father Charbel in the Church and on the Tomb
The night following the death of Father Charbel, one of the monks went at midnight to the church to visit the Blessed Sacrament. The body of Father Charbel was in front of the altar. The monk saw a light bursting from the door of the tabernacle, circling the body of Father Charbel, easing up to the chandelier above the coffin and back to the tabernacle.
Since the first night following the burial of Charbel, the peasants who worked for the monastery and who lived across from it, also reported seeing a bright light emanating from the tomb, circling the monastery, sometimes shining on the windows of the cells, and sometimes on the windows of the church, then returning to the tomb. The rumor spread and many peasants, men and women, asserted that they saw the light every night for a month and a half. The news reached the superior of the monastery. He gave orders to the peasants to give him a signal when they saw the light, so he could go to their homes and see for himself.
This is exactly what took place. When some of the peasants saw the light around the tomb, they fired a hunting gun, so as to signal the superior that they saw the light. The superior then awakened and with the monks, went to the tomb where they indeed saw the light. Other times, he went with some of the fathers to one of the peasant's houses and from there, they would view the brilliance. The news spread in the neighboring villages and people from all over world come at night near the monastery to see the light. They saw it and told the monks and others that they had. Among those who came to the tomb were some Moslems (Shiits); they saw the phenomenon and were astounded! They also spread the news of this wonder to people of their faith and to others whom they knew.
One very dark night, Sheik Mahmoud Hamade, the administrator of the region, was searching for a criminal in that area. Some soldiers were with him. He and the soldiers saw also a light in the shape of a star shining above the east wall of the monastery.
They followed the light, as if guided by it, until they reached the monastery. Then the light disappeared. They knocked at the door and the administrator related to the superior what he and his companions had seen. They told him, "We thought the light was coming from the monastery." The superior was not surprised, since he and many others had seen the light. His belief in the holiness of Father Charbel increased, and he was certain that God would perform a miracle in the body of the hermit.
All of this is recorded in the official report on the notoriety of the holiness of Father Charbel Makhlouf and the miracles attributed to him, and from another report promoting the cause of beatification in 1926 - 1927. Eyewitnesses, among them monks, priests, brothers, lay people and many others whose honesty and integrity cannot be doubted confirmed these miracles. We compared the testimony of the witnesses and determined that they all agree on the truth of the apparition of the light above the tomb of the monks at St. Maron Annaya, from the time of the death of Father Charbel until the time he was removed from the tomb. We found a little disagreement in relating some secondary circumstances but not in substance. This is an indication that there was no collusion, nor personal gain among the witnesses, especially since they are not related to Father Charbel and they are all pious monks, or devout people of deep faith. More credibility is given to their depositions because they were canonically sworn to tell the truth as required by law in the Causes of Beatification. As we mentioned several times in this book, truth is vital to Catholic belief, with severe punishment inflicted in this world and in the next on those who perjure themselves.
Here we begin with the deposition by Father Francis Sibrini, a monk of the Lebanese Order, given after oath on May 12 and May 14, 1926. He had known Father Charbel in the hermitage for thirteen years; he also was present in the monastery of St. Maron Annaya when Father Charbel died; he had helped to carry the body from the hermitage to the monastery at his death and at the time of his burial. The news about the apparition of the light on the tomb had spread when he was in the monastery. In answer to a question, he said,
> The night before the burial, and after the transfer of the body from the hermitage to the church, Brother Elias Bmehrini visited the Blessed Sacrament, as was his habit, at midnight. After he had completed 15 decades of the rosary and the prayers of the visitation, he came running to me, trembling, saying: "I saw something extraordinary. I have never seen it before in my life. Come and see. It is a light flowing from the Tabernacle and circling the body of Father Charbel. Then it goes up to the chandelier above the coffin and from there back to the Tabernacle." I hurried with him to the church but I saw nothing. I began to argue with him, but he kept assuring me, indicating with his finger, the light, exactly like someone seeing a reality before his eyes. Still, I saw nothing. I thought he was hallucinating. <
Despite all of this, the same Father Sibrini said in his testimony:
> Since the first night after the burial of Father Charbel, the peasants who work for the monastery and who live in Annaya, which faces the tomb, came and told us that they had seen a brilliant light rising from the tomb and floating around the monastery, sometimes at the windows of the cells, sometimes around the windows of the church, and then back to the tomb. <
One night, the administrator of the area, a Moslem, was coming with some of his soldiers to capture a fugitive. One of the soldiers was a Christian, and secretary to the administrator; his name was Abdallah Mouawad. They came down from Qwayneh to capture the criminal, and, as they approached, they saw the flow of light from the tomb. They followed it until they neared the monastery. Then the light disappeared. They knocked at the door, and told the superior that they had seen from a distance a bright light shining like a star, moving ahead of them gradually, until it disappeared at the door of the monastery. Abdallah Mouawad said, "I believe it was coming from the town of Father Charbel, the hermit, who died recently." The conversation continued and the Moslem administrator said, "I will contact the Patriarch and publish our account in the newspaper." I have known bishops and patriarchs who have died and I have gone past the tombs of many, yet I've never seen anything like this spectacle which has dazzled our eyes!
One night, before retiring to bed, Father Anthony Mishmshany asked Brother Peter Mishmshany to get up and bring him some water from the fountain outside the monastery, near the tomb. He took a small pitcher and an oil lantern and went. He tarried for more than twenty minutes. The errand should not have taken more than five minutes. When he delayed further, Father Anthony Mishmshany and some of his companions opened the door and called to him. He answered from the vicinity of the tomb; "Father Charbel appeared to me in the form of a star. I couldn't go back because the lantern I had with me went out." They then took a lamp and went to fetch him. They found Brother Mishmshany sitting at the door of the tomb; his clothes dirty with mud and the pitcher still in his hand. He was shivering. He told them that while he was descending with the pitcher of water from the fountain, a blaze of fire in the shape of a multi-colored star, jumped out at him from the door of the tomb. He was stunned and fell to the ground (Report, page 25, 26).
Meelade, the widow of Tannous Shahadi, a Maronite and a peasant, who lived at Annaya, gave a short but precious testimony in this report. She said, "The apparition of the light at night over his tomb became frequent; I saw it three times. We reported this to the monks, but they did not believe us. When the Superior, Father Anthony Mishmshany came to our house, which faces the monastery from the south side, he saw the light for himself. Soon after, the corpse of Father Charbel was removed from the tomb."
Peter Sleiman Daher, a farmer at Annaya, on the property of the monastery, testified on page 28 of the report, as to why the monks took the body of Father Charbel out of the tomb, "Because they saw a light over his tomb which I myself, had seen twice. The body was removed from the tomb four months after the burial, as I recall."
The testimony of Brother Peter Mifouki, (Mifouki is the name of his town), is of special value, despite its brevity. "The body of Fr. Charbel was taken from the tomb, after a light had appeared over it. Many saw it, peasants and others. One dark and rainy night, when a Moslem administrator came with his soldiers, they saw a light over the tomb, enabling them to walk and see their way clearly. When they reached the monastery, the light disappeared. They called on the monks to open the door for them. I answered them, 'The door is locked. It is late and the monks are asleep. This is no time for hospitality.' They urged, 'Open. When you know who we are you will not argue with us.' We opened for them. They told us about the wondrous glow. As time went on, the lights became more frequent."
An inhabitant of Annaya, George Emmanuel Abi-Sasseen, originally from Mishmash, a Maronite, deeply religious and pious, said concerning Father Charbel,
> After his burial and since the first night, we used to see shining over the tomb from our homes, a distance of ten minutes from the south, a brilliant light, different from ordinary lights, resembling an electric light, appearing and disappearing. No matter how long we looked at it, it remained constant. Because of the light, we could now see the dome of the monastery and the east wall of the church, opposite the tomb, better than we could see it during the day. We would come to the monastery and tell the monks but they wouldn't believe us. We kept seeing this amazing spectacle every time we spent the evening in the house of our neighbor, which faced the tomb. All those who were spending the evening there saw it, too. Things remained that way until the tomb was opened and the body of Father Charbel removed. Then the light stopped appearing. From that time on, Father Charbel became famous and people started to visit his tomb to ask for his intercession.
No less important is the testimony of Joseph Elias Bo Sleiman, of Ehmej, a peasant at Annaya. He said,
> I knew Father Charbel for a long time; when he was a monk in the monastery, and when he lived in the hermitage, until the time of his death. I am not knowledgeable in these delicate matters about which you ask me. However, I will tell you simply and briefly what I know about him.
I was present at his burial in the common grave of the monastery. All those who attended his funeral said, "Lucky him! He is a saint, he went to heaven in his clothes." This is a common expression [in his clothes].
After burial, other peasants and I saw from our homes facing the monastery, a brilliant light over the tomb in the dark night. We saw it many times. But I, personally, saw it three times. However, when the body of Father Charbel was taken out of his tomb, the light stopped appearing. <
May we be allowed to relate the testimony of Father Peter Mishmshany? He lived at the monastery of St. Maron five years before the death of Father Charbel. He had visited Father Charbel during his last illness and participated in his funeral and burial. He said, "When a light was seen rising over the tomb, witnessed by many people, then the tomb was opened and the body was found to be sound, perfect, incorrupt."
We conclude these testimonies with the valuable, eye-witness testimony of Saba Bou-Moussey Quwayny:
> I don't recall exactly how long after the burial of Father Charbel, but it was well known that the peasants, whose homes were facing the tomb from the south, many times saw a brilliant light coming out of the tomb where Father Charbel was buried. From them, the news reached Ehmej and Hojoula (a Moslem town), and Artba. The inhabitants flocked to visit the tomb. They said that the light would appear ordinary at first, but would become larger and wider the higher it rose. It happened that the administrator of the region, Moslem Sheiek Mahmoud Hamade, came one night with some of his soldiers to look for some fugitives from the government. He thought they were hiding in the neighboring woods close to the monastery. They tied their horses in the vicinity of my house (at Mount Quwayney) and walked toward the monastery. When they arrived they saw a light, at first dim, but becoming brighter as they approached the door of the monastery, east of the church. At first they thought that the criminals were hiding there. They hurried to where the light shone but found no one. They knocked at the door of the monastery and when it was opened they searched but found no one other than the inhabitants there. They then told the Superior and the monks what they had seen. The Superior, Fr. Anthony Mishmshany, answered them. "For a long time, we have been hearing that people see a light where you say you saw it, at the tomb of the monastery where the body of Father Charbel is buried." Sheik Mahmoud answered him, "By God, the first chance I have, I shall tell His Beatitude, the Patriarch, of this matter." A few days later, the Superior received orders from His Beatitude to open the tomb, to inspect the body and to report on its condition".
We shall abstain from mentioning the testimony of those witnesses, who only heard of the appearance of the light, as we have related at length the testimony of eyewitnesses. These are enough, especially if we bear in mind that there is no reason for any doubt or illusion. We listened to a variety of witnesses; among them women, and the common and pious peasants. Moreover, electricity had yet reached that area and the inhabitants had not even heard of electricity. In those days, kerosene was the primary source of all light in the cells of the monastery, and the fancy lamp of kerosene used was thought to be an adornment, an extravagance in the monastery and the hermitage, in the peasants' homes and in the entire region.
Despite the fact that the light appeared as described, the monks at first would not believe any story by anyone until they first checked it very '. Closely or verified it by personal experience.
What is consoling in this regard is the fact that the light at first appeared to simple people, even to women who were poor and illiterate. At the end, it appeared to the Moslem administrator and his soldiers. This way, no one can have any doubt that it was an exclusive experience. The monks at the monastery themselves were the most doubting, and the least believing of all. Most of them remained non-believers until they saw the body of Father Charbel preserved. The strength of the faith of the people and the miracles concerning this body overwhelmed them. They remind me of St. Thomas who doubted the Resurrection of Christ "without probing the nail prints in His hands, without putting his finger and placing his hand into His side" (John 20:25).
God allowed all this to take place, and we marvel at it. Nobody can say that the monks invented this story for their own benefit by seducing the public. This in itself is a sign from God to honor His servant, Charbel, the hermit. God, in His divine plan, has dealt with us before in a simple way. The Angels of God announced the birth of the Redeemer to the shepherds of Bethlehem. The light of God appeared to the Magi in the remote east. He sent a shining beam to precede them, lighting their path and showing them the way to the manger of Bethlehem, where they would see the Messiah, worship Him and offer Him their gifts of gold, frankencense ant myrth (Mt. 2:11).
Here again, God directs us to the condition of his faithful servant, Charbel, by means of light pouring from the darkness of the lowly tomb, marvelous brilliance seen by simple Christian people and Moslem men not by scientists, nor monks, nor hermits.
From the preceding testimonies, it seems that the appearance of the light on the tomb of Father Charbel was a primary reason for the opening of the tomb, to inspect the condition of the body and take the necessary steps to preserve it in a special place or in a proper coffin, regardless of whether or not it was intact. There was another immediate reason for the opening of the tomb and that was to determine what caused the light.
Another reason that prompted the monks was that rumors said the faithful from the neighborhood were determined to open the tomb by force in secret to see the condition of the body of the "saint and to be blesses by him. They believed that the light, which appeared around the tomb many times, was sent from God to honor Charbel. They wanted to divide Charbel's body and bones among them, as saintly relics, which they intended to wear on their person and place in their homes to protect them selves from adversities and to assure them health of body, peace if mind and abundance of earthly goods.
The investigations show that some people had opened the tomb when the superior was absent from the monastery and that they saw the "saint' floating on the water, as if he were still alive, sleeping, oblivious to the cold, the dampness, and the water from the rain pipe of the church. For four months, it had been dripping over Charbel causing a perforation in hi eye and deforming the tip of his nose.
These people upon seeing the body of the "saint" were extremely afraid and filled with awe. They took as a blessing relics and a few hairs from his beard.
In addition, the superior of the monastery and the monks had opened the tomb to ascertain the condition of Father Charbel's corpse. They were to report on it, to the Patriarch and ask for his permission to remove the body. According to the testimony of an eyewitness, Father Francis Sibrini a monk of the Lebanese Order:
More than three months after death and burial, when the news on the light coming from the tomb became more frequent, visitors started to journey from many villages, bringing along their sick. Some would rush to the entrance of the tomb to take a relic from the body of the saint. The monks asked the superior to allow the opening of the tomb. He agreed and when the tomb was opened, they found the body almost completely immersed in water. They returned to the superior insisting that he allow them to take it out of the water and bury it near the church in a dry place to protect it from dampness and corruption. He agreed, but first sent an emissary to the Patriarch to explain the situation, asking him what should be done. He also explained the story of the lights saying that no one could stop the visitors and turn them away from the tomb. His Beatitude gave orders to keep the body where it was, to remove the water from around it, to elevate it from the floor, and to take the necessary steps to prevent the water from seeping into the tomb. And so, the tomb was again opened. The monks went inside, removed the water, elevated the body on two planks over two blocks of wood, added soil to the roof of the tomb and flattened it, so the water would not seep inside. The first time that I, myself, saw the body with my own eyes, it had not decayed. I am positive that it was the body of Father Charbel because nobody was buried there after him. He had not changed. The body remained that way in the same place inside the tomb for about five months, until the Patriarch issued an order to remove it and place it in a hidden area, unavailable to visitors. The reason for this was because visitors were flocking from everywhere and had opened the tomb by force they saw the body and took hair from his beard. They removed pieces of his fingernails or his clothing and carried away dirt from the tomb. They took anything as a relic.
Why should we be amazed at what these pilgrims did out of their faith and devotion in order to take a blessing to the sick in their families, when the monks, themselves, who were in charge of caring for the tomb and guarding the body of Father Charbel, had initially opened the tomb without the authorization of the Patriarch.
Their successors in the monastery did the same thing, fifty years later, when the perspiration from the body of Father Charbel overflowed, gushing from the floor of the chapel near the tomb. The monks secretly opened the tomb in the darkness of night on February 25, 1950, without asking permission of the proper authority. When they saw the body of Father Charbel immersed in a blood-like perspiration, they inspected his clothing, then closed the coffin and sealed the tomb.
Afterwards, they had recourse to the Patriarchal authority to absolve them from excommunication, in case they had incurred it by their actions. At the same time, they requested that the tomb be opened, and the body examined of facially by knowledgeable people. The Patriarch acquiesced by issuing a decree on March 10, 1950.
The intensity of piety of the people of the East overcame their proper behavior, when experiencing extraordinary spiritual events, to a point where they sometimes disregarded the law. However, their good intentions, their love for the things of God, and their respect for the saints after death, all can be taken as a justification of their actions.
This enthusiasm dates back in early Christian history. We recall the pious women who followed Jesus and served him "very early," just after sunrise, on the first day of the week when they came to the tomb. They said to one another, "Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" (Mark 16:2,3). They were women and yet had the courage to come to the tomb, its door sealed by a large stone placed by the authority of the Roman Empire, guarded by the soldiers day and night. These women didn't heed the fact that Jewish leaders, out of their fear of Jesus, were always alert and hostile.
Therefore, we cannot blame the people of the neighboring villages of the monastery of St. Maron, who had the audacity to open the tomb of Father Charbel by force and remove the small stone from its door in order to see Father Charbel and pray to him. It is enough to say that they only did what the monks and their superior had also done.
Their motives lie in their faith, hope and love and the belief that God would cure their sickness through the intercession of his servant, Charbel, especially if they could obtain a relic from his body. We even praise them for their actions, which motivated the superior of the monastery to present Charbel's case to the Patriarch.
The star that was shining on the tomb of Charbel for three months was only the beginning of what God would perform through his servant, as is written in the prophecy in the Deaths Record of the monastery.
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