top of page
_edited.jpg)
Search
Ask Until Only God Remains
The poverty of prayer and the gift of the Holy Spirit “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” — Luke 11:9 Ask. Seek. Knock. The Lord gives us three words. They are enough for a lifetime. He does not say: understand. He does not say: arrange your life so that nothing remains uncertain. He does not say: discover what God intends to do with you. Ask. Seek. Knock. These are the words of a poor man. The one who asks does not p
Father Charbel Abernethy
5 days ago4 min read
There Is No Other
When the Heart Ceases to Live as Though Anything Existed Apart from God “Let all men know from the rising to the setting of the sun that, apart from me, all is nothing. I am the Lord: there is no other.” — Isaiah 45:6 There are words in Scripture that console us, words that instruct us, and words that seem to leave nothing standing. This is one of them. “I am the Lord: there is no other.” We can hear such words as a declaration about the uniqueness of God. And certainly they
Father Charbel Abernethy
Oct 186 min read
The Hermitage Is Not a Reward
A Dialogue with St. Charbel on the Solitude Where Only God Remains “My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God.” — Psalm 83:3 (LXX) The disciple found Charbel outside the hermitage before dawn. The saint was gathering fallen branches. Disciple: Father, may I ask you something? Charbel: Ask. Disciple: When the abbot permitted you to come here, he warned the brothers not to think of it as a reward. Charbel: Yes. Disciple: Why? Charbel picked up another branch. Charbe
Father Charbel Abernethy
Oct 13 min read
When the Lord Himself Becomes Our Trust
Beyond trusting God to having nothing but God “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.” — Jeremiah 17:7 There is a difference between trusting in the Lord and having the Lord as our trust. The difference is almost imperceptible at first. Yet it may contain the whole spiritual life. We often say that we trust God when what we mean is that we trust Him for something. We trust Him to guide us. To protect us. To heal what is wounded. To resolve what is
Father Charbel Abernethy
Sep 223 min read
The Poverty We Bring to God
When there is nothing left to offer but our need “Blessed the man whose help comes from you, who has set his heart on climbing to you.” — Psalm 83, as reflected upon by St. Bruno There comes a moment when a man discovers that he has very little to bring before God. Perhaps this is one of the hidden mercies of the spiritual life. For years we imagine that we will come to Him bearing something worthy of the journey: fidelity, prayer, sacrifice, knowledge, virtue, perhaps even t
Father Charbel Abernethy
Sep 104 min read
Tags
bottom of page