| Charbel * to Joseph Kosseifi (Head of the Lebanese Press Editors Syndicate) |
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Charbel * to Joseph Kosseifi (Head of the Lebanese Press Editors Syndicate)
You transformed your land into heaven, and the land remained a stage for wars and bloodshed.
Between prayer and obligation, love took refuge in your robe, and water became oil that fermented with the wick.
You called upon the Lord of Heaven, and the handkerchief sweated. With miraculous kohl, you were adorned, and the lamp glowed. You were silenced, and from ourselves, you were stripped bare. You armed yourself, and your sword was the Gospel. You worshipped and were revealed, and you illuminated a world of blindness. You walked the path of holiness, following the wound of Jesus and erasing the abomination of sin. Your voice was prayer and tears. You humbled yourself until you forgot all the weariness and hunger. How many times you knelt and bowed, and your head remained raised. With reason, your destiny is heaven. You are dead, but your body is alive. You are bathed in oil and water, and with your flowing blood, you write glory and letters that spell out a tale of healing. You awaken the lovers from slumber and plant my brotherhood in the fever. O Saint Charbel, your land is inhabited by Satan. Do not despair, do not flee. I beg you, remain in your grave. Do not let its demons change the form of its creation. Return it, even if by the light. On its land, let the sky be. This land is still a stage for wars and bloodshed. And even if I were to leave it, the earth would become like the sky.
* On the occasion of Pope Leo XIV's visit to the shrine of Saint Charbel – Annaya* |
