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July 24

 

Saint of the day:
Saint Sharbel (Charbel) Makhloof

Saint Sharbel Makhluf’s Story

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Although this saint never traveled far from the Lebanese village of Beka-Kafra where he was born, his influence has spread widely.

Joseph Zaroun Makluf was raised by an uncle because his father, a mule driver, died when Joseph was only three. At the age of 23, Joseph joined the Monastery of St. Maron at Annaya, Lebanon, and took the name Sharbel in honor of a second-century martyr. He professed his final vows in 1853, and was ordained six years later.

Following the example of the fifth-century Saint Maron, Sharbel lived as a hermit from 1875, until his death. His reputation for holiness prompted people to seek him to receive a blessing and to be remembered in his prayers. He followed a strict fast and was very devoted to the Blessed Sacrament. When his superiors occasionally asked him to administer the sacraments to nearby villages, Sharbel did so gladly.

He died in the late afternoon on Christmas Eve. Christians and non-Christians soon made his tomb a place of pilgrimage and of cures. Pope Paul VI beatified Sharbel in 1965, and canonized him 12 years later.


https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-sharbel-makhluf/
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=112
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charbel_Makhlouf

 

Prayer
 

 

 

Visit
 

Monastery of St Maron

Annaya, Jbeil District, Lebanon

*St Sharbel Makhluf was a Maronite monk who lived the last 23 years of his life in a hermitage near this monastery.

His remains now rest within this monastery.

http://www.saintcharbel-annaya.com/home.php?lgid=0

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Visit
St. Patrick's Cathedral
Parish House
14 East 51st Street 
New York, NY 10022 
T: 212.753.2261
F: 212.755.4128

https://saintpatrickscathedral.org/

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Recipe

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Kibbeh

Lebanon’s National Dish is calling your name, tempting you to crunch into its crazy delicious fried exterior to let those sautéed pine nuts and spicy minced meat waken up your tongue.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup bulgur wheat, grind #1

  • 1 cup water

  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped

  • 2 fresh basil leaves

  • 1 lb. lean ground chuck beef

  • 2 tsp. salt

  • 1 tsp. ground black pepper

  • 1/2 tsp. ground allspice

  • 1/2 tsp. ground coriander

  • 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

  • 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

  • 1/2 tsp. ground cloves

  • 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

  • 1/2 tsp. dried sage

  • 1/2 lb. ground beef

  • 4 TB. extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1/2 cup pine nuts

  • 1 tsp. seven spices
     

Directions:

  1. In a small bowl, soak bulgur wheat in water for 30 minutes.

  2. In a food processor fitted with a chopping blade, blend [1/2] of yellow onion and basil for 30 seconds. Add bulgur, and blend for 30 more seconds.

  3. Add ground chuck, 1[1/2] teaspoons salt, black pepper, allspice, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and sage, and blend for 1 minute.

  4. Transfer mixture to a large bowl, and knead for 3 minutes.

  5. In a medium skillet over medium heat, brown beef for 5 minutes, breaking up chunks with a wooden spoon.

  6. Add remaining [1/2] of yellow onion, 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, remaining [1/2] teaspoon salt, pine nuts, and seven spices, and cook for 7 minutes.

  7. Preheat the oven to 450ºF. Grease an 8x8-inch baking dish with extra-virgin olive oil.

  8. Divide kibbeh dough in half, spread a layer of dough on bottom of the prepared baking dish, add a layer of sauteed seasoned ground beef, and top with remaining kibbeh dough.

  9. Paint top of kibbeh with remaining 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, and cut kibbeh into 12 equal-size pieces. Bake for 25 minutes.

  10. Let kibbeh rest for 15 minutes before serving.

  11. Another way to make kibbeh is to form them into little 3 inch footballs. Just form a ball of the kibbeh dough in your hand, with your pointer finger, form a groove into the ball forming a space, put some of the filling in the space and then close it up and form it into a football.

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