Today the church remembers a saint honored by both Christians and Muslims: Saint Charbel Mahklouf, Hermit and Miracle Worker.

Born in 1828, Youseff Mahklouf was raised in the mountains of Lebanon to a working class family. From an early age he had an affinity for the saints of the faith. When his father died, his mother married a man who would go on to take Holy Orders, becoming one of the rare married Roman priests in the world.

Youseff would seek to follow in his step-father’s holy footsteps.

In 1851 he would go off to seek his monastic vows through the Lebanese Maronite Order, taking on the monastic name Charbel, a nod to the early Christian martyr of the same name. In his pursuit of ordination he became a keen mind, studying philosophy and theology under the names that made the Eastern church full of such wisdom.

Saint Charbel was drawn to the life of the hermit, though, and as soon as he was ordained he sought permission to no longer need anyone’s permission for anything. He spent the next twenty-three years of his life living alone, and died on Christmas Eve in 1898.

Since his death numerous miracles have been attributed to him and, though Lutherans are generally allergic to miracles, it’s worth noting that both Christians and Muslims have reported to feeling his help in times of need. Being raised in the hills of Lebanon at the intersection of these religious traditions, his very being provides a seam that sows the two faiths together in some ways…a seam that we should certainly use when seeking dialogue.

Saint Charbel is a reminder for me, and should be for the whole church, that sometimes we are called to live a solitary life and, in doing so, end up uniting people in ways we didn’t think possible. The trick is, of course, to discern and follow the call…

-information gleaned from Illes’ Daily Magic and public sources

-icon written by the saints over at monesterayicons.com