Saint Charles of Mount Argus
Some saints you choose, others choose you
Hello and welcome to Loved Like Lazarus! This week I am excited to mix things up again and talk about my favorite saint who I discovered in an amazing way. I have strived to be more like him and asked for his intercessions more than any other saint in the last few years. We have lived very similar lives and the connections are numerous between our upbringing, temperament, life events and spirituality.
In 2022 I was in counseling after a manic episode. My psychiatrist, Dr. Nathan Verschaetse had a word of knowledge for me. We were praying and he asked me if I had a devotion to a Saint Charles. I said no, and that I didn’t even know of any. This comment sparked my interest. So, when I got home, I did a search on all the saints named Charles. There were about 10 in the list. The only name I recognized was St. Charles Boromeo. But my eyes were immediately drawn to Saint Charles of Mount Argus. I started reading and the more I read, the more I saw the parallels in our lives. I felt pretty amazing and I had a good feeling something was happening here. When I told Dr. Nathan, he just smiled and had the great line, “sometimes we choose a saint and sometimes a saint chooses us.”
St. Charles’s given name was Joannes Andreas Houben and he was born in Munstergeleen Netherlands in 1821. Munstergeleen means ‘shining light monastery’ which I find very fitting given his holiness, and then living in a monastery for most of his life. He was a miller’s son and grew up in this rural town.
The first similarity between us is I also lived in the Netherlands, in a little town called Hoevelaken. From ages 3-4 we lived in a thatched roof farm house from the 1800’s. My mother would put me in my little red wagon and pull me through the beautiful farmland, enjoying all sights, sounds and smells (when they spread manure on the fields it was pretty unbearable lol). I especially loved watching all the farm animals.
One of my mother’s favorite stories of me is the ‘duck story.’ We were on an idyllic walk, like I described above, and we stopped to watch a mother duck and her ducklings walk from one field to another through a culvert. When they came out the other end my mother started to walk on., I stopped her and said that one of the ducklings was missing and still in the culvert. She didn’t think I could be that observant but I was adamant. I got out of the wagon and went to opening of the culvert and sure enough, there was a duckling in the culvert. After 20 minutes of my beaconing, he finally made it out and joined his mother and siblings.
St. Charles spent most of his life at the Passionist Monastery of Mt. Argus in Dublin Ireland. Because of his miraculous healings, his fame spread so much that some ‘enterprising’ Irishman traveled around selling holy water and other articles blessed by him. My ancestry is one half Irish. They were living in Ireland at the time of St. Charles’s ministry. As a Passionist, he traveled around Ireland preaching parish missions and collecting funds to build a new church for the monastery. It is likely that they at least heard of him and perhaps even attended one of his missions.
The second similarity between us is his personality. He was very shy and reserved. It is said that he rarely looked up from the ground (this reminds me of a joke. How can you tell an extroverted mathematician? When he is talking to you, he stares at your shoes instead of his own). An exception to this was when he elevated the Eucharist over his head and looked up. This had a profound impact on everyone because of the sharp contrast. He always put others needs above his own and was so considerate of others that he always hugged the wall of hallways as to not get in the way of anyone. By no means was he distant or socially awkward though. People would always request that he attend the bed of dying loved ones to give them viaticum. No matter what hour of the night, he would never let his failing health get in the way of the hope and peace Jesus would provide for the family and the sick. Towards the end of his life, everyday people would crowd up at the entrance to the monastery. He would walk down the drive to encourage, counsel, and pray for everyone there.
Growing up, I was also extremely shy and reserved. I hardly ever looked anyone in the eyes and had a lot of anxiety. I was constantly thinking about what others thought of me. As well as feeling very uncomfortable having any attention drawn to me or preforming in front of others. He inspires me because he started from the same place as me (personality wise) but never let it get in the way of his love for others. He was comfortable with his quiet and humble nature and used it to bring glory to God. For most of my life I saw being quiet and shy as a weakness. But it can be a strength when it comes to prayerful contemplation and being observant of others and their needs.
The third similarity between us in our life events. All young men were drafted into military service when St. Charles lived. He was an unremarkable soldier. His personality and mild nature were not conducive to being in the army infantry. On one occasion it is said there was a riot in a city. His division was called in to restore order. In the confusion and hubbub, he fired his rifle in the wrong direction and narrowly missed his commanding officer. He commented throughout his life that his 5 years in military service was very formative for him. It instilled discipline and obedience to authority in him. Those traits helped him tremendously in his religious life.
I had a short stint of being ROTC. I was definitely not cut out for it. It was a rash decision on my part to join up. Because I lost all my funds to pay for college, I thought like it would be a good idea. But I forced myself into a situation that was against my nature. It did not turn out well for me. You can read more about it in, My Mental Health Journey Part I. I am impressed that he could make army life work despite his nature.
The fourth and most important way Saint Charles and I are alike is the charism of the Passionist Congregation. Their mission is, “we seek the unity of our lives and our apostolate in the Passion of Jesus.”. The Passionist Congregation was founded by Saint Paul of the Cross. He received a vision where he, and his brother members of this new fraternity, were wearing a black habit with the black emblem on the chest. The Congregation is still helping the world today by leading people to Christ by way of Christ’s Passion.
Saint Charles always had a small black crucifix on his person. He would hold it in his left hand and look at it and kiss it constantly thought out the day. He had a habit of saying the mass very slowly and with frequent long pauses. He would constantly lose his place in the liturgy because of his meditations. Altar servers were even instructed to tug on his alb just to keep the mass going. Saint Charles had the gift of tears and was known for shedding them often during the community prayer hours and during the holy sacrifice of the mass. On Holy Thursday and Good Friday masses, he was in a constant state of weeping. It was powerful sight to behold; his compassion for Jesus being so dramatic. When I was in the Spirituality Year in Seminary, our formation director also had the gift of tears. When he was celebrating mass or giving his homilies and started tearing up, you knew something special was going on and you needed to pay close attention.
I also have a small crucifix that is very meaningful to me. It was given to me when I had my first depressive episode my sophomore year in college by the campus priest. It is a third-class relic of Saint John Paul the Great. He told me to hold onto it when I was feeling my worst. When I withdrew from school and moved back home, I spent many a night clutching it, striving to survive my thoughts. Since then, it has always been in my bedside drawer.
I also have many moments of the gift of tears. It is rare for me to not choke up whenever a hymn is sung in mass relating to the Lord’s passion. And many of my wife’s amazing song choices do the same. Let us just say I am definitely one to cry over a ham sandwich at anything touching or ‘guy crying’. Songs/movies like, There Goes My Life, the ending to Toy Story 3, the ending to Rudy, in LOTR Boromir’s Last Stand, and I am going to lose it. So, anything to do with daughters, self-sacrifice or the underdog coming out in top, it’s ‘here comes the waterworks’. The ugly crying is going to happen at my daughters’ weddings. I get a little teary now just writing this, and they are 15 years away! I’m toast. Soggy toast.
Saint Charles is the only saint whose full remains are enclosed in Ireland. Mount Argus is still a functioning monastery with a parish church attached to it. So, if you plan on going to Dublin anytime, try and fit it in between your Guinness Brewery and Jameson Distillery tours.
Your homework: Prayerfully ask for a saint to reveal themselves to you. One that will be an inspiration to you and will intercede for you for the rest of your earthly life. Saint Charles of Mount Argus, pray for us.
Jesus wept for Lazarus and for the unbelief of the onlookers. Let us be like Saint Charles of Mount Argus, and weep for what Jesus did for us. And like the onlookers of his masses, be convicted of the reality of Christ’s Passion and how He saved us all from death.
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Feel free to comment or answer these questions:
Is there a saint that chose you?
If I could visit any country, my first pick would be Israel of course. But Ireland would for sure be second. Have you ever been to Ireland? What were the best parts of your trip?
What is your mom’s cutest memory of you? For moms, what is the cutest story of your child’s life?
What would you add to the ‘Guy Cry’ list?