It is sad but true that many people experience very little love in their lives. Summing up the meaning of the years that make up a human life, the Psalmist says: “And most of these are emptiness and pain; they pass swiftly and we are gone” (Psalm 89:10). The answer to the emptiness and pain of life is found only in the love of God. The love of God remains the remedy for all the evils of this world; as Catholics, that is what we believe.
What can we do in the face of the emptiness and pain that is part of so many people’s lives? The great Carmelite mystic, Saint John of the Cross, said “Where you find no love, put love and then you’ll find it.”
Often we are more concerned about the love we receive from others than the love we give to others. As long as we devote ourselves to looking for love, we miss the point. Love in all its fullness has come to us in Jesus; our task in life is to be bearers of that love, to bring love to the places where otherwise it would not be found. And experience teaches that those who bring God’s love to others always receive God’s love in their own lives.
One person who spent his life bringing God’s love to others was Father Charles Houben, a Passionist Priest who died in Dublin in 1893 and who is better known as Father Charles of Mount Argus. During his lifetime, Father Charles was well known for the gift of healing God had given him. Hundreds of people would come to Mount Argus, the Passionist House in Dublin, to receive his blessing in the hope of being healed physically or spiritually. He was often called to bless the sick in their homes or in hospital.
At the enquiry into Father Charles’ life which was carried out in the 1930s when he was proposed as a candidate for sainthood, someone who had known him well said about him that “when you spoke to him, you had the impression that you were talking to someone who was an intimate friend of God.” In one sentence, this sums up what it means to be a saint, and also what the goal of every Christian life should be. It also speaks to us about what matters most in the life of a priest or religious.
In 1988 Father Charles was beatified by Pope John Paul II; he then became known as Blessed Charles of Mount Argus.
About Saint CharlesIn 1999, in the Dutch town of Munstergeleen (Blessed Charles’ birthplace) Mr Dolf Dormans lay dying. He was suffering from a ruptured appendix which had caused severe damage to his intestines. When the hospital staff informed him that there was no hope of a recovery, Mr Dormans decided to turn to Blessed Charles. His prayer was heard; he made a full recovery and is still attending Mass every day at the chapel beside the house where Blessed Charles was born. The cure of Dolf Dormans could not be explained by his doctors and was presented to the Vatican as a possible miracle.
After stringent examination by doctors and later by theologians, first in the Netherlands and then in Rome, the cure of Dolf Dormans was approved by Pope Benedict XVI on the sixteenth of December 2006 as a miracle worked through the intercession of Blessed Charles of Mount Argus.
At a consistory on February 23, 2007, the Holy Father announced that Blessed Charles would be canonised on Sunday, June 3, 2007.
Glasgow has a direct link with the new saint, as his spiritual director during the last years of his life was Father Norbert McGettigan C.P. who, before becoming Father Charles’ spiritual director in Dublin, had spent a number of years as Rector of Saint Mungo’s. The Canonisation of Father Charles is a special grace offered by God to us, the Passionists, and to you, our friends. His example of devoted prayer and generous love for others can inspire us as we follow Christ.
