St. Charles de Foucault, Hermit and explorer
by VP
Posted on Sunday November 30, 2025 at 11:00PM in Saints
"I was one of the faithful of Father de Foucauld. used to say Mass when it suited us. If you asked him to say it at four o'clock in the morning or at noon he would always say yes. And what a Mass! If you were never at his Mass you don't know what Mass is. When he said the Domine non sum dignus it was in such a tone that you wanted to weep with him." Charles De Foucault, Hermit and Explorer, by Herve Bazin p161
"(...) Mother Elizabeth began to exhort him to take Holy Orders. She showed him that he would do much more good by becoming a missionary; but he changed the conversation, and went back to the hermitage. As she was a woman of very strong will and accustomed to guide souls that do not give in to every argument, but only to one, she returned to the subject, and observed to Brother Charles that, if he became a priest, there would daily be one more Mass in the world, and an infinite number of graces for men; that it was then in his power to pour down a fresh blessing on the earth, or to keep it in heaven. If he had received gifts, which he had increased by study and a long spiritual work, was it to make use of them for himself alone? Brother Charles, whom the thought of honouring still more the Blessed Sacrament had moved to the depths of his soul, reflected on the words which had been said to him, and then replied: "To be a priest is to put myself forward, and I am made for the hidden life."
(...)
"I had at first thought of setting up a hermit chaplain there, in a poor room, and to settle down near him, to serve him as servant and sacristan. But I find that I cannot on any account impose these charges on my family. Another means must therefore be found. I see only one: it is to be myself the poor chaplain of this poor sanctuary."
Brother Charles, continuing his meditation upon this subject, asks himself whether he will thus fill his vocation better, which is "to imitate, in the most possible and perfect way, our Lord Jesus in His hidden life." And he replies affirmatively, comparing what he does in Nazareth with what he would do on the Mount of the Beatitudes.
"Faith in the word of God and of His Church can be practised equally well everywhere, but there, on the Mount of the Beatitudes, in destitution, isolation, in the midst of very malevolent Arabs, I shall, so as not to lose courage, need a firm and constant faith in these words: Seek ye the kingdom of God, and all things shall be added unto you.... Here, on the contrary, I lack nothing, and am safe. It is there then that my faith will be best exercised.
"There I shall be able to do infinitely more for my neighbour by the sole offering up of the holy sacrifice, by setting up a tabernacle which will invisibly sanctify the environs by the simple presence of the Holy Sacrament, as our Saviour in His mother's womb sanctified the house of John, or else by pilgrimages, or by hospitality, alms, and the charity I shall strive to give to all.
Here, my condition is lower in itself; there, it will be, in my eyes, of an infinite height, for nothing in the world seems to me greater than a priest. But where is there a closer imitation of our Lord? The priest more perfectly imitates our Lord, the Most High Priest, who offers Himself up daily. I must put humility where our Lord put it, ... I must practise it in the priesthood as He did.
"Here I have more distractions through my surroundings. There I can be much more before the Holy Sacrament, for I shall be able to keep at His feet part of the night.
Although here the abjection of my state be, at first sight, greater, there I shall be subject to ever so many more humiliations. Here, in my own eyes, I am above my rank; there, an ignorant and incapable priest, I shall be far beneath my office in my own opinion. Appearing in a strange habit, asking to live a special life, to set up a tabernacle in a holy place, the authenticity of which is disputable (though I have no doubt about it), from the first I shall be the butt of all sorts of mockeries, rebuffs, and contradictions. Alone in a desert, with an indispensable native Christian, in the midst of a wild and hostile population, courage will find much more field for its exercise."
He ends his "election" by giving a definition of himself. Who is it, he asks, who thus weighs the pros and cons? "A sinner, an unworthy, poor, ignorant fellow, yet a soul of good-will, desiring all that God desires, and that alone." Charles De Foucault, Hermit and Explorer, by Herve Bazin p132
Saint Andrew, Apostle and Martyr
by VP
Posted on Sunday November 30, 2025 at 03:00AM in Saints
Saint Andrew Christmas Novena:
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment In which the Son of God was born Of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, [here mention your request] through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen. (15 times)
"The Feast of St. Andrew has
been kept since the fourth century on November 30. St. Andrew was both
and Apostle and a Martyr. The collect tells us that he was called to
govern and teach the Church; and the Epistle and the Gospel deal with
the Vocation of him who was the first among the Apostles to know Jesus
Christ. When he was called he immediately left his nets to become a
fisher of men, and "his sound hath gone forth into all the earth to
preach the gospel of peace." After the coming of the Holy Ghost he
preached in Palestine, and then taught in Scythia, Epirus and Thrace.
"But
all have not obeyed the Gospel" (Epistle), and Saint Andrew ere long
became the Apostle of the Cross. The priests of Achaia describe his
martyrdom at Patras. He died on that special form of cross which has
ever since been called after him, and "the Lord received his sacrifice
in the odor of sweetness" (Alleluia). His body, having been fist taken
to Constantinople, was in 1210 moved to the Cathedral at Amalfi, in the
kingdom of Naples. In 1462, his head was placed by Pius II. in the
basilica of St. Peter, his brother. His name is inscribed in the Canon
of the Mass. Let us, with Saint Andrew, follow Christ even to the
Cross." Daily Missal with Vespers for Sundays & Feasts
"ST. ANDREW was an apostle of Jesus Christ.
Pray for all who succeed to his sublime functions. Pray for all bishops and pastors, that they may be quickened with the spirit and zeal of the apostles, for the good of the Church, and of the flocks entrusted to their charge.
St. Andrew was a martyr, and died upon a cross. Pray for all under crosses and afflictions. Beseech Almighty God to give them the patience of this apostle, that in their patience they may possess their souls, and reap the fruit of the cross in lasting consolations.
St Andrew, the brother of St. Peter, and disciple of St. John Baptist, had no sooner heård from St. John, that Christ was the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world, than he followed him; and informing his brother of the treasure which he had found, conducted him likewise to Christ. An excellent step to the apostleship, and proper means to become a true disciple. Christ came to seek that which was lost, and those who enter his school, must not come without this charity. All stand in need of his help; and there is no better way of securing this, than by helping others, and communicating to them what light we have, for their instruction. For Christ being in all his members, in this we do service not only to them, but to him, and oblige him to protect us, and more plentifully to pour forth his blessings upon us, for our perpetual establishment in all good.
Those who act thus, have reason to rejoice on this festival, and raise their hopes to a lively confidence in the assistance of heaven: since God, who is infinite in charity, cannot deny his grace to those who, being made after his own likeness, endeavour daily to perfect this image by the sincere imitation of his charity. It were to be wished that all Christians would petition this day for the increase of this charity: that as they profess themselves members of Christ, they would give this solid proof of it, by concurring with their Head, as far as their circumstances permit, in giving life to the world.
This is what Christ has undertaken; and all who are truly incorporated in him, will, to the utmost of their power, contribute to carrying on his work. The wickedness of the world, and the general corruption of Christians, afford too frequent opportunities of practising this charity. Whoever makes one of any company, must too often observe the want of it, in the common abuses of profaning God's holy name, of hurtful, uncharitable, and loose discourses, and excesses which are inconsistent with the humility, modesty, and temperance of the gospel. And how have these evils so far gained ground, but because Christians have not courage to shew their dislike of what is evil, but rather weakly comply than reprove what they know deserves it? They have found Christ themselves, but dare not, with this apostle, inform their friends
where he is; but by joining with them in their infirmities or disorders,
help to confirm them in their darkness. This weakness must be renounced
this day; that while we honour this apostle, we may imitate his
virtues, his charity, zeal, and courage; and endeavour to render these
so fashionable, that it may become friendly and familiar among
Christians to put one another in mind of their faults, for bringing them nearer to Christ, and to heaven." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
