Feast of St. Maron, Father of the Maronite Catholic Church

(MOUNT LEBANON)...The spiritual founder of our Maronite Church was a monk and priest who lived in the late fourth and early fifth centuries. This monk or hermit, Father Maron, spent years living in solitude at the top of a mountain. There, he transformed a former non-Christian temple into a Church for the one true God. Only a few facts are known about the life of this holy hermit. Maron lived in strict asceticism, living outdoors most of the time. Whatever food he ate was either donated to him by passing travelers or grown by him in his own garden.

Word about Maron’s holiness eventually spread throughout the region. He also gained a reputation for working miracles, especially curing all sorts of sickness and driving out demons. Eventually, people came to live near Maron to learn from him. Maron was a very simple man. When he taught his disciples about the spiritual life, he compared it to his own garden of vegetables. As Maron saw it, the point of the Christian life is to root out vices (weeds) and to nourish virtues (plants good for eating).

After Maron died in A.D. 410, his disciples continued together in his way, forming the nucleus of the Maronite Church. They raised in his honor another church and a monastery that would bear the name Bet Moroon, meaning “the house of Maron.” The monastery that was situated in the valley of the Orontes River soon flourished. It became a place of prayer and pilgrimage. Today Maronites throughout the world honor Saint Maron on February 9, his feast day.