Akathist to Our Holy Father Charbel Makhlouf

The Hidden Flame of Lebanon

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

—Matthew 5:8

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Kontakion I

Chosen by God from the cedars of Lebanon to become a living cedar planted in the courts of the Lord; hidden from the eyes of the world yet radiant with the uncreated Light; lover of silence, companion of angels, father of all who seek the Kingdom within: we offer you hymns of thanksgiving, O wonderworking Charbel. Since you never cease to intercede before Christ for those who call upon you, we cry:

Rejoice, O Holy Father Charbel, hidden flame of divine love!

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Ikos I

From your youth the Lord drew your heart into the stillness that existed before the foundation of the world. While others sought the praise of men, your soul longed only for the Face of Christ. Therefore heaven rejoices and earth is filled with hope as we sing:

Rejoice, child of the mountains where silence becomes prayer.

Rejoice, blossom nourished beneath the shadow of Lebanon’s cedars.

Rejoice, for your first desire was not for the world but for the Kingdom.

Rejoice, lover of hiddenness more than honor.

Rejoice, faithful hearer of the Shepherd’s quiet voice.

Rejoice, vessel prepared by humility before the eyes of God.

Rejoice, whose tears watered the soil from which holiness sprang.

Rejoice, whose heart learned wonder before it learned words.

Rejoice, companion of the poor and forgotten.

Rejoice, dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.

Rejoice, mirror of the simplicity of the Gospel.

Rejoice, O Holy Father Charbel, hidden flame of divine love.

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Kontakion II

Leaving behind family, possessions, reputation, and every earthly comfort, you entered the monastery seeking not merely a different life but another world already dawelling within the heart. There, clothed in obedience, you learned the freedom known only by those who surrender everything to Christ, singing unceasingly:

Alleluia!

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Ikos II

The fathers taught that silence is not merely the absence of speech but the presence of God. You entered this mystery with your whole being until even your stillness proclaimed Christ more eloquently than words.

Rejoice, guardian of the silence that gives birth to wisdom.

Rejoice, for your cell became a little paradise.

Rejoice, whose lamp burned while the world slept.

Rejoice, whose prayers embraced those you never met.

Rejoice, whose hidden life became a sermon without end.

Rejoice, whose solitude was filled with divine companionship.

Rejoice, whose poverty revealed inexhaustible riches.

Rejoice, whose obedience became perfect liberty.

Rejoice, whose humility concealed immeasurable greatness.

Rejoice, whose heart expanded beyond every boundary.

Rejoice, whose silence still speaks to restless souls.

Rejoice, O Holy Father Charbel, hidden flame of divine love.

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Kontakion III

Strengthened by the grace of the Holy Spirit, you discovered that ascetic struggle was not an end in itself but the clearing away of everything that obscured Love. Thus your fasting, vigils, and labor became joyful offerings before the throne of God as you sang:

Alleluia!

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Kontakion IV

When many sought greatness before the eyes of men, you fled ever more deeply into obscurity, knowing that the Father who sees in secret alone is sufficient for the soul. Hidden from the world, you became known to heaven, and your name was inscribed among those whose treasure is Christ alone. Therefore, with the angels who beheld your unseen warfare, we sing:

Alleluia!

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Ikos IV

The wilderness became your teacher, and silence your beloved companion. In the humble hermitage you discovered that no place is lonely where Christ dwells, and no heart is poor that has become His resting place. Therefore we cry to you:

Rejoice, faithful guardian of the inner sanctuary.

Rejoice, whose hermitage became a gate of heaven.

Rejoice, whose poverty concealed the riches of Paradise.

Rejoice, whose nights were illumined by prayer.

Rejoice, whose hands labored while your heart remained in God.

Rejoice, whose solitude embraced the whole human family.

Rejoice, who carried within yourself the sorrow of Adam.

Rejoice, who beheld every person with the compassion of Christ.

Rejoice, who judged no one but prayed for all.

Rejoice, whose hidden tears became rivers of mercy.

Rejoice, whose silence became more eloquent than preaching.

Rejoice, O Holy Father Charbel, hidden flame of divine love!

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Kontakion V

You knew that the heart cannot be healed by force, nor purified by mere effort, but only by surrender to the love of God. Therefore every fast became a feast of grace, every vigil an encounter with the Beloved, every act of obedience another step into the freedom of the children of God. In wonder you sang:

Alleluia!

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Ikos V

The holy fathers teach that the aim of every ascetic labor is not hardship itself but the acquisition of a heart made capable of love. You revealed this mystery not through many words but through your entire life.

Rejoice, physician of wounded desire.

Rejoice, healer of hearts grown weary and cold.

Rejoice, who teaches that holiness is communion.

Rejoice, who reveals that silence is filled with divine conversation.

Rejoice, whose fasting awakened joy rather than severity.

Rejoice, whose obedience gave birth to freedom.

Rejoice, whose humility enlarged your heart beyond measure.

Rejoice, whose simplicity unveiled heavenly wisdom.

Rejoice, who teaches us to seek not gifts but the Giver.

Rejoice, whose whole life became thanksgiving.

Rejoice, who awakens wonder in those whose hearts have grown tired.

Rejoice, O Holy Father Charbel, hidden flame of divine love!

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Kontakion VI

Standing before the Holy Mysteries day after day, you learned that the Eucharist is not merely received but lived. Offering yourself with Christ upon the altar, your whole existence became a hidden liturgy ascending unceasingly before the throne of the Father. United to the eternal sacrifice of love, you sang:

Alleluia!

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Ikos VI

Those who witnessed your celebration of the Divine Mysteries perceived something of heaven touching the earth. Your reverence revealed that the altar is the meeting place of eternity and time, where every longing finds its fulfillment in Christ.

Rejoice, faithful servant of the Holy Mysteries.

Rejoice, whose trembling hands offered the Bread of Life.

Rejoice, whose heart became an altar of living fire.

Rejoice, whose soul bowed continually before the Divine Presence.

Rejoice, whose reverence instructed more deeply than many books.

Rejoice, whose prayer drew countless souls toward Christ.

Rejoice, whose life proclaimed the mystery of thanksgiving.

Rejoice, whose love flowed from the Holy Chalice.

Rejoice, who teaches us to hunger for the Bread that endures forever.

Rejoice, whose communion with Christ overflowed into mercy for the world.

Rejoice, whose hidden liturgy continues in heaven.

Rejoice, O Holy Father Charbel, hidden flame of divine love!

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Kontakion VII

When at last the Lord called you from the silence of the hermitage into the greater silence of eternity, the world believed your hidden life had come to its end. Yet the Lord, who delights in revealing what has been concealed, caused your tomb to become a fountain of consolation, healing, and hope, so that all might know that those who lose their life for Christ shall never die. Therefore the faithful everywhere sing:

Alleluia!

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Ikos VII

The fragrance of your hidden life spread throughout the earth after your repose. Kings and laborers, children and the aged, believers and those still seeking the truth have found consolation through your prayers before the throne of God.

Rejoice, lamp whose light was hidden until God revealed it.

Rejoice, fragrant cedar whose perfume fills the nations.

Rejoice, wonderworker whose miracles proclaim the mercy of Christ.

Rejoice, comfort of those burdened by illness.

Rejoice, companion of those who suffer in silence.

Rejoice, strength of those who have grown weary.

Rejoice, consolation of those who mourn.

Rejoice, refuge of the abandoned.

Rejoice, hope of those who have forgotten hope.

Rejoice, healer of both soul and body.

Rejoice, intercessor whose love knows no boundaries.

Rejoice, O Holy Father Charbel, hidden flame of divine love!

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Kontakion VIII

Seeing your incorrupt devotion to the least of Christ’s brethren, we learn that no suffering is insignificant before God. You teach us that every wounded person is an icon awaiting reverence, every tear a prayer known by heaven, every burden an invitation to compassion. Therefore, instructed by your example, we cry unto God:

Alleluia!

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Ikos VIII

Many came seeking miracles, yet those who remained discovered something greater: a heart awakened to the presence of Christ. For your greatest gift has never been merely the healing of the body, but the restoration of the soul to wonder before God.

Rejoice, who teaches us to seek the Physician before the healing.

Rejoice, who leads every heart toward Christ.

Rejoice, whose miracles awaken repentance.

Rejoice, whose compassion restores dignity.

Rejoice, whose gentleness quiets fearful hearts.

Rejoice, who reminds us that every person is infinitely beloved.

Rejoice, whose mercy embraces the forgotten.

Rejoice, whose prayers strengthen the discouraged.

Rejoice, who reveals hope in the darkest night.

Rejoice, who rekindles desire for the Kingdom.

Rejoice, who awakens the sleeping heart to wonder.

Rejoice, O Holy Father Charbel, hidden flame of divine love!

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Kontakion IX

You became a living witness to the mystery proclaimed by the holy fathers: that the purified heart widens until it embraces the whole creation. No longer living for yourself, you bore within your prayer the grief of humanity, the longing of creation, and the joy of the Kingdom that is to come. Therefore, united with your heavenly praise, we sing:

Alleluia!

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Ikos IX

The fathers teach that the merciful heart burns with love for every creature. In you this teaching took flesh, for your prayer knew no limits, and your compassion made no distinctions.

Rejoice, whose heart became spacious through divine love.

Rejoice, who embraced friend and stranger alike.

Rejoice, who prayed for those who never knew your name.

Rejoice, who carried the suffering of the world into silence.

Rejoice, whose compassion reflected the tenderness of Christ.

Rejoice, whose love extended even to creation itself.

Rejoice, who teaches us to behold every person as our brother and sister.

Rejoice, whose hidden prayer strengthens the weary pilgrim.

Rejoice, whose mercy reveals the Father’s own mercy.

Rejoice, whose life fulfilled the Gospel in simplicity.

Rejoice, whose soul became a dwelling place of boundless charity.

Rejoice, O Holy Father Charbel, hidden flame of divine love!

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Kontakion X

Desiring to save your soul, you did not flee the world because you despised it, but because you loved it too deeply to love it according to the flesh alone. Hidden with Christ in God, you discovered that true solitude enlarges the heart until there is room for every person. Therefore, marveling at the wisdom granted to you, we sing:

Alleluia!

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Ikos X

Many imagine that the hermit turns away from mankind, yet in you we behold the opposite mystery. By withdrawing into the desert, you entered more deeply into the sorrow and hope of every human heart.

Rejoice, whose solitude became communion.

Rejoice, whose hidden life embraced the whole Adam.

Rejoice, who carried the cries of the suffering before the throne of God.

Rejoice, who welcomed every soul into your silent prayer.

Rejoice, whose cell became a sanctuary for the world.

Rejoice, who teaches that love grows deepest in hiddenness.

Rejoice, whose heart became wider than the mountains of Lebanon.

Rejoice, who found Christ in stillness and revealed Him through mercy.

Rejoice, who teaches us to descend into the heart without fear.

Rejoice, whose silence became the language of divine compassion.

Rejoice, faithful image of the hidden Christ.

Rejoice, O Holy Father Charbel, hidden flame of divine love!

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Kontakion XI

Every hymn offered in your honor falls silent before the mystery of the life you lived, for no earthly tongue can fully proclaim the beauty of a soul consumed by love. Yet trusting not in the eloquence of our words but in the mercy of God, we unite our poor praise to the worship of the angels, singing:

Alleluia!

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Ikos XI

Like a lamp burning before the Holy Mysteries, your whole life became an offering of quiet praise. Even now, your witness illumines those who walk through darkness and reminds us that the Kingdom of God comes without outward display, but is revealed within the purified heart.

Rejoice, lamp kindled by the eternal Light.

Rejoice, icon of the hidden Kingdom.

Rejoice, companion of those who seek God in silence.

Rejoice, father of those who love the desert of the heart.

Rejoice, guide of pilgrims who have lost their way.

Rejoice, teacher whose silence is filled with wisdom.

Rejoice, whose humility continues to exalt Christ.

Rejoice, whose hiddenness has become the hope of countless souls.

Rejoice, whose prayers strengthen those who persevere in obscurity.

Rejoice, who teaches us to wait upon the Lord with patience.

Rejoice, herald of the everlasting Kingdom.

Rejoice, O Holy Father Charbel, hidden flame of divine love!

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Kontakion XII

Filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, you now stand among the saints before the throne of the Lamb, beholding without veil the Beauty for which your soul longed throughout your earthly pilgrimage. Remember us who still journey through this passing age, that our hearts also may be purified, enlarged by divine love, and made ready for the eternal feast, where together with you we shall forever sing:

Alleluia!

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Ikos XII

Rejoicing in your heavenly glory, we bless God who fashioned such beauty in the hidden places of the earth and who reveals through your life that no prayer offered in love is ever forgotten.

Rejoice, faithful servant welcomed into the joy of your Lord.

Rejoice, citizen of the heavenly Jerusalem.

Rejoice, companion of the Mother of God and all the saints.

Rejoice, fellow worshiper with the angels.

Rejoice, unceasing intercessor for the Church.

Rejoice, consolation of the sorrowful.

Rejoice, strength of monks and hermits.

Rejoice, encouragement of priests and pastors.

Rejoice, hope of those who dwell in hiddenness.

Rejoice, witness to the triumph of divine love.

Rejoice, who ceaselessly leads every soul to Christ.

Rejoice, O Holy Father Charbel, hidden flame of divine love!

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Kontakion XIII

O all-praised and God-bearing Father Charbel, faithful lover of Christ, dweller of the holy mountain, companion of angels, physician of souls and bodies, consolation of the afflicted, and radiant witness of the hidden Kingdom: receive this little hymn of praise which we offer with love. By your boldness before the Savior, pray that He may heal our wounded hearts, kindle within us the fire of divine desire, awaken in us the wonder of His presence, preserve us in humility, silence, and steadfast hope, and grant that, purified by His mercy, we may behold His Face in the everlasting Kingdom. There, together with you and all the saints, may we glorify the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit unto the ages of ages, singing unceasingly:

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

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The First Ikos (repeated)

From your youth the Lord drew your heart into the stillness that existed before the foundation of the world. While others sought the praise of men, your soul longed only for the Face of Christ. Therefore heaven rejoices and earth is filled with hope as we sing:

Rejoice, child of the mountains where silence becomes prayer.

Rejoice, blossom nourished beneath the shadow of Lebanon’s cedars.

Rejoice, for your first desire was not for the world but for the Kingdom.

Rejoice, lover of hiddenness more than honor.

Rejoice, faithful hearer of the Shepherd’s quiet voice.

Rejoice, vessel prepared by humility before the eyes of God.

Rejoice, whose tears watered the soil from which holiness sprang.

Rejoice, whose heart learned wonder before it learned words.

Rejoice, companion of the poor and forgotten.

Rejoice, dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.

Rejoice, mirror of the simplicity of the Gospel.

Rejoice, O Holy Father Charbel, hidden flame of divine love!

⸻

The First Kontakion (repeated)

Chosen by God from the cedars of Lebanon to become a living cedar planted in the courts of the Lord; hidden from the eyes of the world yet radiant with the uncreated Light; lover of silence, companion of angels, father of all who seek the Kingdom within: we offer you hymns of thanksgiving, O wonderworking Charbel. Since you never cease to intercede before Christ for those who call upon you, we cry:

Rejoice, O Holy Father Charbel, hidden flame of divine love!