… My brother, Father Charbel,
I used to visit you when I was little,
I loved the hermitage so much,
I adored the smell of the old oaks and the strawberry trees,
I was afraid of the calm, the silence and the stillness up there,
I would run away so as not to face myself.
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… My brother, Father Charbel,
they say you are a saint… true!
they say you work many miracles (by God’s power)… true!
they say that if we don’t hear of a miracle every day, something must be wrong in heaven… also true!
they say you are up there, far away… maybe true!
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… My brother, Father Charbel,
you say: whenever you pray, I am praying with you;
you say: if you need anything, I am at the hermitage;
you say: if you want to save your souls, it is easier to devote yourselves to the Virgin Mary;
you say: don’t start anything on earth that won’t end in heaven;
you say: be monks, and fill the world with prayer and incense;
you say, and you say many things, through your silence.
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… My brother, Father Charbel,
why do I call you my brother??? … I don’t know.
why do I call you my brother? … though you have never spoken to me,
why do I call you my brother? … though I have never seen you in a dream,
why do I call you my brother? … though you have never worked a visible miracle for me.
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… My brother, Father Charbel,
… it’s true, I am your son,
… it’s true, I am still at the start of the road,
… it’s true, I have begun to struggle,
I have overcome some things, and many things have overcome me,
I am still small, but I love calling you my brother.
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… My brother, Father Charbel,
… you entered the novitiate,
… you became a student brother,
… you took perpetual vows,
… you were ordained a priest,
… and through all of these you never saw your mother, and neither did I.
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… My brother, Father Charbel,
it’s true, in the monastery you don’t speak to me… but I hear you,
it’s true, in the monastery I don’t see you… but I feel you,
in the monastery you don’t give your opinion, but I consult you about everything.
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… My brother, Father Charbel,
I picture you… walking and praying your rosary,
I picture you… prostrate before the Blessed Sacrament,
I picture you… kneeling and meditating on the Bible,
I picture you… doing your spiritual reading,
in short, I feel your presence among us… my brother, Father Charbel. Glory to God.
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Father Charles Hitti, Antonine
Saint Charbel Monastery, Melbourne
2/10/2015
