Saint of the day - St Charbel - July 24th
We celebrate the feast day of a Lebanese priest today named St Charbel Makhluf. We have a lot of Lebanese in our Diocese of Jackson, and one of my good buddies in seminary is Lebanese, so in a special we I think of St Charbel today. He was born in a small village in Lebanon in 1828 to a very humble family. His father, a mule driver, died when he was 3, so he was raised by an uncle. He entered the Monastery of St Maron in Lebanon and was ordained a priest. For the last 23 years of his life, he lived as a hermit in the desert where he practiced a life of strict fasting and of strong devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. People sought him out for his prayers due to his reputation for holiness. The life of a hermit is challenging, disciplined, and austere; it is not a life that draws everyone. But God calles us different way, just as he calls some to the life of a monk or a hermit. May God's calling, and his life and mercy, call out to us today.
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