Many in the Catholic Church are familiar with St. Charbel Makhlouf for the numerous miracles that have been associated with his intercession.
Yet, St. John Paul II canonized St. Charbel in 1977 not simply because of his extraordinary reputation for miracles, but for his supreme example of holiness.
Heroic example
St. Charbel lived during the 19th century and dedicated much of his life to living as a Maronite monk.
In particular, he lived a life of extraordinary asceticism and prayer.
St. John Paul II pointed this out in the homily for his canonization, highlighting the profound example of St. Charbel:
What does such a life represent? The assiduous practice, pushed to the extreme, of the three vows of religion, lived in the monastic silence...first the strictest poverty in terms of housing, clothing, etc...hard manual labor in the harsh climate of the mountain; a chastity...finally and above all, total obedience to his Superiors and even to his confreres...reflecting his complete submission to God. But the key to this seemingly strange life is the search for holiness, that is to say, the most perfect conformity to the humble and poor Christ, the almost uninterrupted conversation with the Lord, personal participation in the sacrifice of Christ through a fervent celebration of the Mass and through his rigorous penance...for sinners.
Not all are called to such a severe vocation, but St. John Paul II explained in his homily that each have their own place in the life of the Church:
[W]e also need people who offer themselves as victims for the salvation of the world, in a freely accepted penance, in a ceaseless prayer of intercession, like Moses on the mountain...in a passionate search for the Absolute, testifying that God is worth to be worshipped and loved for himself. The lifestyle of these religious, these monks, these hermits is not proposed to all as an imitable charism; but in its pure state, in a radical way, they embody a spirit from which no one faithful of Christ is dispensed, they exercise a function from which the Church cannot do without, they recall a salutary path for all.
St. John Paul II went so far as to say that this type of life needs to be revived in today's world, though it requires particular discernment and obedience to superiors.
While St. Charbel lived a unique life, his heroic holiness should be an inspiration that some may choose to imitate to draw closer to Christ.
