In Beqaakafra, the highest of Lebanon’s villages, the air fills with the aroma of holiness and faith, which is charged with the scent of the incense of Saint Charbel, a humble Lebanese monk whose miracles reached the whole world.
This village, which overlooks the Qannoubine Valley, does not know sleep and receives, night and day, a crowd of believers who come to pray to Saint Charbel , in his house where he was born on May 8, 1828, now today a small church within a convent. It is indeed this traditional peasant’s house that we see in this Saturday image: a haven of tranquility and meditation for anyone, of all ages and backgrounds, in search of serenity and authenticity, in these few small square meters.
The life of Saint Charbel is divided into three phases. He spent the first 23 years of his life with his family in Beqaakafra, then 24 years in the convent, before becoming a hermit and settling in Annaya , where he lived 23 years alone, with God as his only companion.
The Lebanese Maronite Order decided to buy the family house of Saint Charbel when a light emerged from his tomb and after the multiplication of miracles.
Today, the house and the convent have been transformed into a sanctuary for the faithful in search of prayer and meditation. They are the subject of significant growth, due in particular to the efforts of the father superior of the monastery, father Johnny Saba, and the monks Charbel Trad and Youssef Boutros.
Taken from an article by Badaoui Habak – for ANI
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