I spent several months in the winter of 2016-2017 editing the English translation of the second edition of Hanna Skandar’s book, Saint Sharbel: From His Era to Ours, at the request of the Family of Saint Sharbel USA.
The project involved extensive copy-editing of text translated from Arabic, ensuring the language flowed and name and place transliterations were consistent.
The book was published in conjunction with the official dedication, on Sept. 30, 2017, of the Shrine of Saint Sharbel at the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
During the cold winter nights I spent in the company of the Lebanese hermit, a Maronite monk canonized by the Catholic Church in 1977 who is revered by Christians worldwide, I learned a number of lessons.
As with the accounts of other saints – my namesake, Lucy, included – Sharbel’s story is characterized by extremes, of personal sacrifice and devotion to God.
While I found Sharbel’s mortification of the flesh difficult to comprehend, I was impressed by his commitment to take as little as possible from the earth, and his willingness to serve God and man to the maximum extent possible.
In life, he put others first, serving them with humility and without complaint, seeking no recognition for his good deeds and accepting no deference.
In death, his tomb became a place of pilgrimage, with much of the latter part of the book devoted to the numerous documented testimonies of his healing miracles.
People from all walks of life facing many kinds of physical and psychological trauma sought Sharbel’s help and intersession. Their ailments varied greatly, but each of these supplicants shared the experience of genuine, debilitating pain.
The testimonies recorded were offered by those in distress so severe it impaired their ability to function. They sought healing with full-hearted faith. Not one was praying for “luck” or a personal achievement or financial boost to ease life.
To me, this was the book’s main lesson: Remember what genuine need and real prayer is about. Be grateful for what you have, however little, and walk softly on the earth. Put others first, giving of yourself in ungrudging abundance.
And always believe in miracles.