Al Hardini At the Monastery of Annaya

From Al Hardini the monk and the priest

After the end of his mandate as vicar general, Al Hardini was sent to the monastery of Annaya, and he was still relatively young, to be the novices teacher. On the 25th of July 1848, the general authority appointed him as the agent of the monastery of Annaya. He contributed to the development of the monastery, as several lands were bought during the period of his agency, besides the lands bought by his brother the hermit Alishaa. The Wakf of the monastery was also created. Father Al Hardini used to go frequently to the monastery of Kfifane to teach Theology.

The Monastery of Saint Maron Annaya with the new Church

During those difficult days, Al Hardini often visited his brother the hermit Alishaa to share with him his worries and to confess to him. Alishaa used to ask him with insistence to join him at the hermitage where he can live in peace and serenity and told him: “it would be appropriate for you to leave the monastery and come to this hermitage and spend the rest of your days here away from the noise of the world, here you can fully concentrate on prayer and meditation and you can have peace of mind”.

Al Hardini used to answer Alishaa:” Those who thrive in their life with others will have a greater reward, because they have to endure a lot, be patient and be submitted to others wills and bear with the feeble. Life with others is like a continuous martyrdom as a monk cannot act according to his taste or character, but he should always make sure not to offend others. He should always be careful about his job and behaviors, to keep his reputation clean among his brothers. As for the hermit, he is alone, away from external temptation, spends all his time in prayer and work in the field, while at the monastery the monk is subject to strict obedience. In the hermitage one cannot be the target for premeditated evil acts, while living with others exposes the monk commonly to such acts, therefore we must live in the monasteries with our brothers the monks and endure patiently and firmly any despise or abuse that we may incur, then our reward will be greater and we will receive atonement for our sins as the Lord says:”the one who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13). A good doer in the monastery is an example to others, yet I think that everyone has a vocation, people are not alike, some are called for hermit seclusion, some for life with others, and this is my vocation and I have embraced it since the beginning”.

If you like this article, please share it with your friends: