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 St Charbel:

Poverty:

He dressed like the poorest of the poor. He never wore a new habit but humbly sought to use the habits discarded by his confreres. His monastic habit was patched and threadbare. He jealously cared for the belongings of the monastery so as not to throw anything away, however insignificant it might be, not even the beanstalks. If he saw a grape seed under a vine stock, or a crumb on the path, he would pick them up and bring them to the kitchen. he was as poor as a beggar. Even a poor man would not have taken his food , his bed, and his clothing. He considered all the goods of this world to be dust.

His " mattress" was stuffed with oak leaves and tree bark, covered with a sort of mat woven of goat hair, all of it covered with an old piece of felt. A log rolled up in black cloth taken from a habit was his pillow. On this very rough bed, without mattress or blanket , he slept summer and winter.

He deliberately assumed a foolish , half -witted appearance to hide his intellectual prowess and spiritual gifts. Despite his outstanding intellect, he let nothing of his knowledge appear in his words or in his writings. His only wealth was his love for God. Apart from that, there was nothing remarkable about his existence in the world.