For the Mass of Saint Sharbel

Collect
O God who called your priest, Saint Sharbel
to the singular combat of the desert
and imbued him with every manner of piety,
grant us, we beseech you,
that by striving to be imitators of the Passion of the Lord
we may be found worthy of becoming sharers in his kingdom.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.
General Intercessions
That the Church in East and West
and, in particular the Maronite Church of Lebanon,
may be graced in our own day with men and women of the desert,
lovers of silence and of ceaseless prayer,
to the Lord we pray: Christ, hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.
That world leaders may forsake violence
and, by the intercession of Saint Sharbel, a son of the Middle East,
choose instead the way of forgiveness that leads to peace,
to the Lord we pray: Christ, hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.
That the sick, the dying,
and the victims of violence in the Middle East
may experience today the healing love of Christ
and the comfort of the Holy Spirit,
to the Lord we pray: Christ, hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.
That young people everywhere
may hear the voice that summoned the young Sharbel into the desert,
and so allow the seed of priestly, monastic, and religious vocations
to bring forth grain for the harvest,
to the Lord we pray: Christ, hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.
That we who celebrate these Holy Mysteries
may do so with something of the faith and burning love of Saint Sharbel,
and so find therein an unfailing source of healing and of peace,
to the Lord we pray: Christ, hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.
Collect at the General Intercessions
Prayer of the Maronite Church
O Merciful Father,
through the Holy Spirit, You chose Saint Sharbel as a voice crying in the wilderness.
In the Scriptures he discovered Your Holiness as Word Made Flesh,
and darkness gave way to light.
In the Eucharist he encountered Your Divinity as Bread of Life,
and the poverty of this world gave way to the treasures of Your Kingdom.
In prayer he experienced Your Silence as Mystery Present,
and loneliness gave way to communion.
Through the Virgin Mother he embraced Your Son as Lover of Mankind,
and hostility gave way to hospitality.
We beseech You, through his intercession,
to change our hearts of stone to hearts of flesh,
that with him we may give praise to You,
to Your Only Begotten Son, and to Your Holy Spirit,
now and always, and forever and ever.