SAINT FOR THE MONTH
Feast: December 14
(1808-1858)
Youssef Kassab Al-Hardini was born in
1808 in Hardin, Lebanon. As a child, he was strongly influenced by
the monastic tradition of the Maronite Church. Four of his brothers
became priests or monks, and Youssef himself entered the Lebanese
Maronite Order in 1828.
The young man began religious life at the monastery of St Anthony
in Qozhaya, near the Qadisha (Holy Valley), where he remained for
two years until he began his novitiate and was given the name
"Nimatullah". During the novitiate, he deepened his life of
personal and community prayer and dedicated time to manual labor,
while also learning to bind books.
Nimatullah was especially noted for his love of the Blessed
Sacrament. During his free time - frequently at the sacrifice of
sleep - he was often found in the chapel on his knees, arms raised
in the form of a cross and eyes fixed on the tabernacle.
On 14 November 1830 he made his religious profession and was sent
to the monastery of Sts. Cyprian and Justina in Kfifan to study
philosophy and theology. On 25 December 1833 he was ordained a
priest and became director of the scholasticate and a
professor.
During the two civil wars of 1840 and 1845, he suffered greatly
with his people. His brother, Fr. Elisha, suggested he withdraw to
a hermitage, but he replied: "Those who struggle for virtue
in community life will have greater merit". It was also a decisive
moment in his spiritual life, and he offered himself to GOD for
Lebanon and his Order. His motto was: "The greatest is he
that can save his soul", and he would often repeat this to his
brother monks.
Throughout his life he had a special devotion to the Virgin Mary,
his "source of strength". He never tired of repeating her holy
name, and carried a special place in his heart for the mystery of
the Immaculate Conception (a dogma proclaimed by the Church in
1854).
In 1845, the Holy See appointed
him Assistant General of the order. A man of culture, Fr.
Nimatullah asked the Superior General to send monks to further
their studies at the new college founded by the Jesuits in Ghazir.
He served as Assistant General for two more terms, but refused to
be appointed Abbot General. His reluctance to assume positions of
authority in his Order came from his deep humility and his earnest
belief that he was far from living in continual contact with GOD,
so necessary to properly serve the monks and the Order.
In December 1858, while teaching at the monastery of Kfifan, he
became gravely ill, a result of the bitter cold in that region. His
condition worsened, leading to his death on 14 December. He died
holding an icon of the Blessed Virgin and saying: "O Mary, to
you I entrust my soul". He was 50 years old.
While still alive, Fr. Nimatullah was known as the "Saint of
Kfifan", a monk who gave himself completely to his brother monks
and neighbors during a time of suffering in his Land and difficulty
within his Order. Fr. Nimatullah was beatified by Pope John Paul II
on 10 May 1998.