MEMORIAL OF SAINT ELIGIUS, BISHOP; SAINT FLORENCE OF POITIERS, LAYWOMAN; SAINT EDMUND CAMPION, PRIEST AND BLESSED CHARLES EUGENE DE FOUCAULD, PRIEST AND MARTYR ~ FEAST DAY – DECEMBER 1ST: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Eligius, Bishop; Saint Florence of Poitiers, Laywoman; Saint Edmund Campion, Priest and Blessed Charles Eugène de Foucauld, Priest and Martyr.
SAINT ELIGIUS, BISHOP: St. Eligius (588-660), a French priest and bishop of Noyon and Tournai. He was born on June 11, 588 AD, Chaptelat, France and died on December 1, 660 AD, Noyon, France. A goldsmith at Paris, was commissioned by King Clotaire to make a throne. With the gold and precious stones given him he made two. Struck by his rare honesty, the king gave him an appointment at court, and demanded an oath of fidelity sworn upon holy relics; but Eligius prayed with tears to be excused, for fear of failing in reverence to the relics of the Saints.
On entering the court he fortified himself against its seductions by many austerities and continual ejaculatory prayers. He had a marvellous zeal for the redemption of captives, and for their deliverance would sell his jewels, his food, his clothes, and his very shoes, once by his prayers breaking their chains and opening their prisons. His great delight was in making rich shrines for relics. His striking virtue caused him, a layman and a goldsmith, to be made Bishop of Noyon, and his sanctity in this holy office was remarkable. He possessed the gifts of miracles and prophecy, and died in 660. He’s Patron Saint of veterinarians, craftspeople (of all trades), electricians, computer scientists, mechanics, miners, security guards, gas station workers, taxi cab drivers, farmers, servants, coin collectors, Horses, jockeys.
SAINT FLORENCE OF POITIERS, LAYWOMAN: St. Florence (died 366) was the daughter of a Roman colonist who was residing in Asia Minor on the road that led from Frigia to Seleucia. Convert, brought to the faith by Saint Hilary of Poitiers while he was in exile. St. Hilary of Poitiers met her during a stop on his journey toward Seleucia where the Synod of 359 was to be held. Florence requested Baptism from the holy Bishop and followed him on his return to Pointiers the next year. The Saint then retired to Comblé, Vienne, France, where she led the life of a hermit. She communed with God day and night, practicing much penance and combating the assaults of the devil. Finally worn out by her labors, she died in 366 at twenty-nine years of age in Poitiers France from natural causes. Her relics were transferred to the Cathedral of Pointiers in the 11th century.
PRAYER: God, You inspired St. Florence to strive for perfect charity and so attain Your Kingdom at the end of her pilgrimage on earth. Strengthen us through her intercession that we may advance rejoicing in the way of love. Amen 🙏
SAINT EDMUND CAMPION, PRIEST: St. Edmund Campion (1540–1581) was born in London, England, the son of a bookseller. He was a promising student and went on to become an esteemed and celebrated Oxford scholar, winning the high regard of Queen Elizabeth who admired his wit and pleasant disposition. Although raised Catholic, he was ordained an Anglican deacon. Unsettled by his move away from the Church, he repented and returned to the Catholic faith. While in disguise to protect his safety following his reversion, he witnessed the martyrdom of a fellow scholar and recognized his vocation. He went to Rome and became a Jesuit priest, and while assigned to minister in Moravia he received a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary who foretold his martyrdom. He later returned to England as an undercover priest during the severe persecution of Catholics upon the Pope’s excommunication of Queen Elizabeth.
St. Edmund’s mission was to strengthen Catholics wavering under government pressure and win converts among the Protestants. St. Edmund was eventually hunted down, imprisoned in the Tower of London, and tortured. After being found guilty of treason, he said, “In condemning us, you condemn all your own ancestors, all our ancient bishops and kings, all that was once the glory of England — the island of saints, and the most devoted child of the See of Peter.” After spending his last days in prayer, he was dragged with two fellow priests to be hanged, drawn, and quartered on December 1st, 1581 at 41 years of age. His feast day is December 1st.
Saint Edmund Campion, Priest ~ Pray for us 🙏
BLESSED CHARLES EUGÈNE DE FOUCAULD, PRIEST AND MARTYR: Blessed Charles de Foucauld (1858-1916) known as Brother Charles of Jesus was a French Catholic religious and priest, who lived among the Tuareg in the Sahara in Algeria. He was born in Strasbourg, France on September 15th, 1858 into an aristocratic French Catholic family but rejected the faith as a teenager and led a desolate life in the army. Bl. Charles was orphaned at the age of six, he and his sister Marie were raised by their grandfather in whose footsteps he followed by taking up a military career. He lost his faith as an adolescent. His taste for easy living was well known to all and yet he showed that he could be strong willed and constant in difficult situations. He undertook a risky exploration of Morocco (1883-1884). He was inspired to resume his faith while in Algeria, by witnessing the devotion of Jews and Muslims. Seeing the way Muslims expressed their faith questioned him and he began repeating, “My God, if you exist, let me come to know you.” On his return to France, the warm, respectful welcome he received from his deeply Christian family made him continue his search. Under the guidance of Fr. Huvelin he rediscovered God in October 1886. He was then 28 years old. “As soon as I believed in God, I understood that I could not do otherwise than to live for him alone.”
A pilgrimage to the Holy Land revealed his vocation to him: to follow Jesus in his life at Nazareth. Bl. Charles joined the Trappists, and spent 7 years as a Trappist, first in France and then at Akbès in Syria. Later he began to lead a life of prayer and adoration, alone, near a convent of Poor Clares in Nazareth. Then he was a sacristan for the Poor Clares, and was ordained a priest at 43 (1901) he left for the Sahara, living at first in Beni Abbès and later at Tamanrasset among the Tuaregs of the Hoggar. He wanted to be among those who were, “the furthest removed, the most abandoned.” He wanted all who drew close to him to find in him a brother, “a universal brother.” In a great respect for the culture and faith of those among whom he lived, his desire was to “shout the Gospel with his life”. “I would like to be sufficiently good that people would say, “If such is the servant, what must the Master be like?” Bl. Charles’ intention returning to Algeria to lived among the Tuareg people was to start a religious order that offered hospitality to all people regardless of their faith. On the evening of December 1st 1916, Blessed Charles was shot to death at the beginning of World War I. He was assassinated outside the door of the fort he built for the protection of the Tuareg by a band of marauders. He had always dreamed of sharing his vocation with others: after having written several rules for religious life, he came to the conclusion that this “life of Nazareth” could be led by all. His inspiration and writings led to the founding of the Little Brothers of Jesus among other religious congregations. Today the “spiritual family of Charles de Foucauld” encompasses several associations of the faithful, religious communities and secular institutes for both lay people and priests. Blessed Charles de Foucauld was Beatified in 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI.
Blessed Charles Eugène de Foucauld, Priest and Martyr ~ Pray for us 🙏