Happy Feast of Saint Sharbel! Every July 24th we remember this wise monk and shepherd who lived in Lebanon from 1828-1898.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Holiness is the true goal of our life, the entire purpose of our human existence. As we all aim for that ultimate goal, Sharbel identifies one of the subtlest and most common pitfalls \u2013 making an idol of the means. Even incredibly good and beautiful things like prayer, fasting, and almsgiving can become hindrances if we idolize them: \u201cPrayer sanctifies you; do not sanctify it. Fasting strengthens you; do not make it a god. Mortifications purify you; do not adore them. Your singing is designed to praise God, but do not glorify it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God himself gave us these means. He commanded penance and fasting; he inspired the psalms that King David sang; he invites us to gather and worship him. These means serve us well when we receive them in gratitude, and give them back freely to the Lord, the true object of our desire. But if we make an idol of the means, we fall into the trap of the Pharisees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Echoing Jesus\u2019 words in Matthew 23,\nSharbel warns us not to confuse the temple with the living God who dwells in\nit: \u201cThe safe can never be more important than the treasure it contains, nor\nthe glass more important than the wine it contains, nor the bakery more\nimportant than the bread, nor the tabernacle more important than the Blessed\nSacrament.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even with something as wonderful as\nScripture, Sharbel warns not to idolize the means: \u201cChristianity is neither the\nreligion of the temple nor the religion of the book. Christianity is the person\nof Jesus himself.\u201d An important distinction! We call Scripture \u201cthe word of God\u201d\n\u2013 and so it is, but only because by means of it we encounter Jesus Christ,\nGod\u2019s eternal Word. All Scripture points to him. Sharbel compares Scripture to\na mirror that reflects God\u2019s light. As wonderful as the mirror is, our true\ndestiny is the light itself. It is quite possible to cling to verses of\nScripture while keeping Jesus at a safe distance from the depths of our heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is also very possible to turn to God or to religious practices as an attempt to escape the pain of our problems. Sharbel cautions, \u201cDo not seek refuge in God in order to flee from yourself \u2026 Do not let the world push you toward God. Allow God to attract you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Allowing our fear to give way to love \u2013 this is what distinguishes the disciple from the Pharisee. The disciple of Jesus discovers God in the deep yearnings of his heart, and refuses to numb those desires, no matter how painful the waiting can be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is in the desire of our heart that the Father attracts us, drawing us more and more deeply into Jesus (John 6:44). As we encounter Jesus, the Holy Spirit transforms us, casting out the spirit of fear that binds us up in slavery, and maturing us in the glorious freedom of the sons and daughters of God (Romans 8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Without desire, our conversion will\nhit a wall. We will either get stuck in the land of religious idols, or (when\nthey fail to satisfy) we will revert to our old idolatry of sin. I know,\nbecause it\u2019s been my story! For too many years, I was more often motivated by\nfear than by desire. I toggled back and forth between firm and resolute\nobservance of all the rules and then numbing myself out with addictive\nbehaviors. In both cases I was motivated by fear rather than by love. I was\navoiding authentic vulnerability, trust, surrender, intimacy, and the deepest\ndesires of my heart. God has been inviting me to leave the ways of fear behind\nand to discover him in the depths of my heart, where he has always been\npresent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Granted, fear can be a great motivator \u2013 especially in the very first motion of turning away from evil. But it will never fuel a full conversion in Christ. Only desire can propel me away from the orbit of my past life of sin. If I do not open up in vulnerability and trust, if I do not allow myself to feel the depths of desire (which can be painful!) I will not grow in love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes it feels so much safer to cling rigidly to the means \u2013 especially those that God made so good and beautiful. Clinging to them, I can avoid vulnerability, resist surrender, and bury my unfulfilled desire. When I idolize the means, I feel in control. Unfortunately, without vulnerability there is no love. Without surrender, there is no faith. Without desire, there is no hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is a fearful thing to fall into\nthe hands of the living God\u201d (Hebrews 10:31). Not because he is a God of fear,\nbut because all our illusions melt away in his presence. Our pretending and\nprotecting hold no sway. He tolerates them with great patience. He respects our\nresistance \u2013 because he always respects our dignity and freedom, which he gave\nto us. He patiently waits. He entices and attracts, turning even our stumbling\ninto wonderful opportunity. But only we can say \u201cyes\u201d and allow his love to be\nawakened deeply within in our heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Often, when the real growth begins,\nit is in ways we never expected. We spend so much of our time trying to force a\npath of holiness that is not for us. We grasp at means that may work well for\nothers, but do not match with our own story. Sharbel invites us to discover our\ntruest and deepest identity, and embrace the means of holiness most suitable to\nthe situation God has placed us in. \u201cThe cedars and the oaks do not grow in the\nsand of the seashore, nor banana and orange groves among the rocks on the\nmountain. Do your work with the available tools, and flourish and bear fruit\nwhere God has planted you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our deepest desires have always been there. The Father put them there in the first place. We just need to get reconnected with them, allow ourselves to feel them, to grow in them, and (propelled by them) to return to the Father. As this process unfolds for each of us I think we will find that we are experiencing what the poet T.S. Eliot once described in these words: <\/p> With the drawing of this Love and the voice of this Calling Happy Feast of Saint Sharbel! Every July 24th we remember this wise monk and shepherd who lived in Lebanon from 1828-1898. Holiness is the true goal of our life, the entire purpose of our human existence. As we all aim for that ultimate goal, Sharbel identifies one of the subtlest and most common pitfalls \u2013 … <\/p>\n
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"