St. Charbel Makhlouf - When You Are Praying for a Miracle, Healing, or an Impossible Situation
Feast Day: July 24
Are you praying for a healing that seems impossible?
Have the doctors done all they can?
Are you carrying an illness, a suffering, or an intention that you no longer know how to pray for?
Meet St. Charbel Makhlouf, the humble Lebanese monk and hermit whose extraordinary life of prayer continues to draw people from around the world to God.
St. Charbel lived much of his life hidden from the world.
Yet after his death, reports of remarkable favors and healings associated with his intercession spread far beyond Lebanon.
Today, Catholics throughout the world turn to him especially when praying for physical healing, serious illness, desperate situations, and miracles.
His Story
St. Charbel was born Youssef Antoun Makhlouf in 1828 in a small mountain village in Lebanon.
From a young age, he had a deep love for God and prayer.
As a young man, he left his home and entered the Lebanese Maronite Order. When he became a monk, he took the name Charbel.
Eventually, St. Charbel received permission to live as a hermit.
His life became extraordinarily simple.
Prayer. Silence. Fasting. Work. Penance. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
He sought no attention for himself.
He wanted only God.
For approximately twenty-three years, he lived a hidden life at the hermitage of Saints Peter and Paul.
In December 1898, while celebrating Holy Mass, St. Charbel suffered a stroke. He died several days later on Christmas Eve.
But after his death, something remarkable began.
The Light at His Tomb
After St. Charbel was buried, people reported seeing an unusual light around his grave.
His body was later examined, and extraordinary phenomena associated with his remains attracted considerable attention.
Word began to spread.
People came to pray.
And reports of favors and healings attributed to his intercession began multiplying.
The monk who had spent his earthly life trying to remain hidden was suddenly becoming known far beyond his monastery.
A Saint People Turn to for Healing
St. Charbel has become particularly beloved among those praying for the sick.
People seek his intercession for:
Cancer and serious diseases
Difficult diagnoses
Surgery and recovery
Chronic illness
Paralysis and neurological problems
Pain
Infertility
Illnesses doctors struggle to explain
Spiritual healing
Conversion
Family difficulties
Situations that appear medically or humanly impossible
When medicine has reached its limits, we should never lose hope in God.
A miracle is never something we can demand.
But we can ask.
And St. Charbel reminds us to ask with faith.
The Remarkable Testimony of Nohad El Shami
One of the best-known modern testimonies associated with St. Charbel is that of Nohad El Shami, a Lebanese woman who suffered severe paralysis following strokes.
According to her testimony, in 1993 she dreamed that St. Charbel and another monk came to her.
She described St. Charbel performing an operation on her neck.
When she awoke, she discovered wounds on her neck—and she was able to walk.
Her case became one of the most famous testimonies connected with devotion to St. Charbel.
Nohad later reported that St. Charbel asked her to visit his monastery regularly in thanksgiving.
Her story has helped spread devotion to St. Charbel throughout the world.
As with all such devotional testimonies, our faith rests in God rather than extraordinary signs. Every true healing comes from God; the saint is our intercessor.
The Miracle Behind His Canonization
Another remarkable healing associated with St. Charbel involved Sister Maria Abel Kamari.
She had suffered from a serious medical condition and underwent surgery, but her health continued to deteriorate.
After prayers seeking St. Charbel's intercession and a visit to his tomb, she experienced an extraordinary recovery.
Her healing was investigated and became associated with the cause that led toward St. Charbel's beatification.
Pope Paul VI beatified Charbel in 1965 and canonized him in 1977.
The quiet hermit of Lebanon had become a saint for the whole Church.
When You Need a Miracle
If you are facing a serious illness, do not be afraid to ask St. Charbel to pray with you.
Bring him the diagnosis.
Bring him the test results.
Bring him the name of the person you love.
Bring him the situation the doctors cannot fix.
Bring him the fear you have been carrying silently.
Then place everything before Jesus.
St. Charbel's life reminds us that the purpose of a miracle is never simply the healing of the body.
The greatest miracle is always the healing and salvation of the soul.
Ask for physical healing.
But also ask:
“Lord, through the intercession of St. Charbel, make me holy through whatever Thou permittest.”
Prayer to St. Charbel for Healing
O holy St. Charbel,
thou who didst spend thy life in solitude, prayer, sacrifice, and love of God,
I come before thee today asking for thy powerful intercession.
I place before thee the person and intention for which I am praying:
[Mention your intention.]
St. Charbel, thou knowest the suffering of those who come seeking thy prayers.
Intercede before Our Lord Jesus Christ for healing.
If it be God's holy will,
ask Him to restore health,
to strengthen what is weak,
to heal what is wounded,
and to accomplish what seems humanly impossible.
But above all, obtain for us unwavering faith.
When we are afraid, help us trust.
When we are discouraged, help us persevere.
When we cannot understand God's plan,
help us surrender ourselves completely to His Providence.
May every favor received through thy intercession lead us to greater love for Jesus, greater devotion to the Holy Mass, and greater desire for Heaven.
St. Charbel, servant of God and powerful intercessor for the suffering, pray for us.
Amen.
A Simple Prayer When Someone Is Sick
When you do not know what else to pray, simply say:
“St. Charbel, I place this illness in your hands. Take my prayer before Jesus. Ask Him for healing if it is His holy will, and obtain for us the grace never to lose our faith.”
Say it at the hospital.
Say it before surgery.
Say it while waiting for test results.
Say it beside the bed of someone you love.
And keep trusting God.
What St. Charbel Teaches Us
The miracles associated with St. Charbel are extraordinary.
But his life teaches us something even more important.
Before he became known as a miracle worker, he became holy in silence.
He prayed when nobody was watching.
He sacrificed when nobody applauded.
He celebrated Mass with profound devotion.
He denied himself.
He remained faithful.
He gave himself completely to God.
We may never live in a hermitage in the mountains of Lebanon, but we can imitate him.
Pray when nobody sees.
Make sacrifices nobody knows about.
Spend time before the Blessed Sacrament.
Love the Holy Mass.
Accept little sufferings.
Choose God again and again.
That is where sanctity begins.
Learn More About St. Charbel
Would you like to learn more about the extraordinary life and miracles associated with St. Charbel?
Visit our parish bookstore to see our books and devotional materials on the saints.
Reading about St. Charbel's life is especially encouraging for anyone carrying a serious illness or praying for someone who needs a miracle.
Have You Prayed to St. Charbel?
Have you asked St. Charbel to intercede for you or someone you love?
Have you experienced a healing, an unexpected improvement, an answered prayer, or a special grace after seeking his intercession?
We would love to hear your testimony.
Your story may encourage someone who has just received a frightening diagnosis.
It may give hope to a family sitting beside a hospital bed.
It may encourage someone who has been praying for months without seeing an answer.
Never forget:
God is still God when the doctors have no answer.
Continue seeking appropriate medical care. Continue praying. Continue trusting.
And ask the humble hermit of Lebanon to pray beside you.
St. Charbel Makhlouf, pray for us.
