Two thousand years ago, Christ traveled to the land of Lebanon, where he healed the demon-possessed daughter of the Syrophoenician woman. And ever since that time, Christ’s message has passed from generation to generation in the Middle Eastern country.
Through war, persecution and occupation, the Christian faith has endured. Every mountaintop in Lebanon has a monastery, said Pierre Khattar, a Lebanese American parishioner of Christ the Redeemer Church in Sterling. And one of Lebanon’s most famous sons, the monk St. Charbel Makhlouf, is known as a miracle worker around the world.
Legionaries of Christ Father Michael Sliney longed to see the land and people of Lebanon. He had come to know Pierre and the local Lebanese American community through his work as chaplain of the DC-area Lumen Institute, a Catholic formation and fellowship group for business leaders. The more the Michigan native learned about the strong faith and family culture of the Lebanese people, the more he hoped to visit. “I wanted to see where this came from, to understand the origin of that beauty,” said Father Sliney. “I wanted to see the faith that was given by Christ directly through his preaching, through his miracles in Tyre and Sidon (that is) still preserved in a very pure way.”
At the same time, Pierre and his wife, Nathalie, who also attend Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Church in Washington, were learning from childhood friends about a new 130-km pilgrimage hiking trail in Lebanon. The St. Charbel Trail brings pilgrims through the Valley of Saints, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to important sites in the life of St. Charbel as well as other notable holy places. Conflict in the region, particularly southern Lebanon, had kept Father Sliney from visiting. “And then (last year) he saw the pope going to Lebanon and celebrating Mass and he said, ‘Pierre, if the pope can go, I can go,’ ” recalled Pierre with a laugh.
So this summer, Father Sliney and six Lebanese American couples from the Arlington diocese made a pilgrimage to northern Lebanon. According to St. Charbel Trail organizers, they were the first group to spend multiple days walking the trail, which was recently created to bring religious tourism to the area. “That was one of the cool things, being the inaugural group,” said Father Sliney. “(We) were the guinea pigs.”
Their journey began in Harissa at the Our Lady of Lebanon Shrine, where local friends and family members joined them for Mass. The site, which overlooks the Bay of Jounieh, has both a basilica and a chapel topped with a towering statue of Mary. It’s like the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil, said Father Sliney. “You just feel the peace and the holiness of that spot,” he said.
Then they hiked on rugged, winding paths through the valley to different holy places and monasteries, where they had Mass and spent the night. While parishes are at the heart of American Catholicism, monasteries, convents and hermitages are at the heart of the Lebanese church, said Father Sliney. “These really holy men and women are feeding the people with their example of a very holy and austere life,” he said. “As a pilgrim, even as a priest, it’s inspiring to see the sacredness of those men and women, the joy of (them). That left a mark on all of us.”
One highlight of the pilgrimage was the St. Anthony Monastery in Qozhaya, a continuously inhabited monastery founded in the fourth century by disciples of St. Anthony. Father Sliney recalls waking up early to pray in the cave there, which is known as a site of miracles. “I thought to myself, ‘How many people have been praying and how many miracles have been granted in this cave?’ ” he said. “The weight of that really hit me, to see the continuity and the holiness of that place and how much good had happened there.”
The scenic landscapes, the historic holy sites and the generosity and spirit of the people combined to make a memorable trip for the trailblazing pilgrims. Nathalie said she felt she found the formula to becoming a saint on her journey: immersion in the beauty and silence she found in the valley. “There’s no roads, there’s no noise and you’ve got these majestic cliffs and rock formations,” said Father Sliney. “You see the hand of God,” added Nathalie. Pierre loved seeing the homeland he took for granted through the eager eyes of Father Sliney.
In two years, Father Sliney plans to return with a group to hike the yet unfinished parts of the pilgrimage trail and to see the southern lands where Christ walked. He’s still unpacking the spiritual fruits he received on the pilgrimage, from the example of St. Charbel’s total dedication to God to the generosity of the Lebanese people. “I’ve been a priest for 27 years and that was the most powerful, spiritual trip I’ve ever been on without a doubt,” he said.
Find out more
Go to darbmarcharbel.org.
Maraist is a freelancer from Reston.
