The School of Silence : St. Joseph and St. Nimatullah Hardini in the Horizon of Christian Joy
December 14, 2025
Liturgical Context:
- Gaudete Sunday in the Latin Rite
- Sunday of the Revelation to Joseph in the Maronite Rite
- Feast of Saint Nimatullah Kassab Al Hardini
I. A Day Marked by Distinct Liturgical Emphases
On the Third Sunday of Advent, the Latin Rite celebrates Gaudete Sunday. The exhortation drawn from the Letter to the Philippians, “Rejoice in the Lord always,” introduces a moment of encouragement within a season that remains oriented toward waiting. The use of rose vestments signals proximity to the Nativity without announcing its arrival. Joy is expressed as expectation rather than completion.
In the Maronite Rite, the same day is dedicated to the Revelation to Joseph. The Gospel proclaimed is Matthew 1:18–25. The narrative is restrained and sober. Joseph is confronted with Mary’s pregnancy, resolves to withdraw quietly, and later obeys the instruction he receives through an angelic message in a dream. The Gospel records no dialogue from Joseph and offers no explanation of his interior state. His response is expressed entirely through action.
The Maronite calendar also commemorates on this date Saint Nimatullah Kassab Al Hardini, monk of Kfifane and later canonized by the Catholic Church. His memory accompanies the Gospel reading not as commentary, but as a later historical life shaped by similar dispositions of restraint, reverence, and fidelity.
II. Saint Joseph and the Weight of a Mystery
The Gospel describes Joseph as a just man. This justice is not manifested through public assertion or legal rigor, but through restraint. Faced with a situation he does not understand, Joseph resolves to dismiss Mary quietly. He does not accuse, nor does he seek to clarify the matter through public means. He withdraws.
The Maronite Office gives voice to this moment without elaboration. In the Mazmooro of the morning prayer, the Church sings:
“Righteous Joseph is fearful to take Mary as his wife,
but the child whom she carries, by the Spirit was conceived.”
Joseph is named righteous and fearful within the same line. The text neither explains nor judges this fear. It simply acknowledges it as part of the situation in which Joseph stands.
After the angel’s intervention, the Gospel records Joseph’s response concisely. He takes Mary into his home and names the child. No further reflection is offered. Joseph speaks no words. His obedience is immediate and complete.
Joseph’s struggle is not resolved through explanation. It is resolved through fidelity to what is entrusted to him.
III. Saint Nimatullah Hardini and the Weight of Responsibility
Saint Nimatullah Hardini lived in the nineteenth century at the Monastery of Saints Cyprian and Justina in Kfifane. He served as a teacher and formator and was known for strict observance of the monastic rule.
Like Joseph, Hardini encountered responsibilities he did not seek. When asked to assume leadership within his Order, he refused. Tradition preserves this refusal in uncompromising terms:
“Better death than to be Superior General.”
This expression reflects a reluctance to assume authority and accountability for others rather than an absence of commitment to monastic life.
Hardini did not withdraw from the monastery. He withdrew from governance. He remained within the ordinary rhythm of prayer, teaching, and manual work. His response to responsibility was hiddenness rather than retreat. Another saying attributed to him is often recalled:
“The wise man saves himself.”
Witnesses recount that during the Divine Liturgy, particularly at the moment of the Eucharistic consecration, Hardini would tremble visibly. He remained standing with hands raised, even in cold conditions. These observations are transmitted as recollections of conduct witnessed by others, without interpretation or embellishment. Those who lived with him summarized his approach to communal life with a simple rule:
“The monk’s first concern is not to hurt or trouble his brethren.”
Hardini’s influence extended quietly through formation. Among the monks who lived under his guidance was Charbel Makhlouf, who would later withdraw to the hermitage and become known for a life of silence, prayer, and fidelity. In Maronite memory, this relationship is recalled simply as part of the continuity of monastic life.
IV. Service Without Explanation
The Maronite Qolo for the Sunday of the Revelation to Joseph addresses Joseph directly:
“O Joseph, rise, fear no longer.
Since Mary is God’s pure temple,
you will serve Him.”
The hymn does not explain the mystery placed before Joseph. It assigns him a task. The emphasis is placed on service rather than understanding.
The Gospel narrative follows the same movement. Joseph is instructed to take Mary as his wife and to name the child. He does so. No additional explanation is provided.
Hardini’s life reflects a comparable pattern. He is not remembered for resolving tensions or shaping policy, but for fidelity to daily duty and for remaining within the limits he believed were given to him.
In both cases, fear is not removed through comprehension. It is met through service.
V. The Threshold of the Nativity
As Advent draws to its close, both the Latin and Maronite traditions arrive at the same threshold, though by different paths. The Latin Rite turns its attention more directly to Joseph, the one who receives the angelic command and acts so that the Nativity may enter human history. The Maronite tradition approaches the same mystery through the Revelation to Joseph and the Genealogy, situating the Incarnation within both obedience and history.
The Maronite liturgy gives its final word not through explanation, but through hymnody. A Christmas hymn proclaims:
“Glory to that Voice who became flesh,
and to the exalted Word who became body.
The ears heard Him, the eyes saw Him,
the hands touched Him, and the mouth received Him.”
What was carried in silence during Advent becomes manifest at Christmas. The Word entrusted to Joseph is no longer hidden. He is heard, seen, touched, and received.
In this light, Gaudete marks neither an escape from waiting nor its conclusion, but its fulfilment at hand. Joy is announced because the mystery is now ready to be received.