Letter 19-To his brothers and sisters(1)

J. x. P.
St. Paul's Retreat, Harold's Cross, Mount Argus, Dublin, Ireland. 13th August, 1886.

My dear brothers and sisters,
Thank you very much for your lovely letter. I received it on 13th July, with ten florins enclosed. I have said six Masses for your intentions.

I am very well and everything is fine; I hope this letter finds you all in good health. I have been praying for our niece, Maria Regina Luyten.

My duties in the monastery are as follows: I say Mass every day; I preach and hear confessions; I say prayers and bless the people who come to the church. (2)

In one of his letters to me, our dear brother, Father Peter Joseph, parish priest of Amstenvade, wrote the following beautiful words: "Abide and remain in the sweet hearts of Jesus and Mary." I recommend this to you all, dear brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces.

Yes, let us abide and remain in the sweet hearts of Jesus and Mary, and let us ask the Blessed Virgin every day to obtain for us, through her powerful intercession, a real spirit of prayer and the gift of perseverance in prayer to the end of our days; may she obtain for us a happy death. Amen.

I enclose a blessed scapular for our niece, Anne Mary's daughter, who is suffering from a nervous complaint.

My best wishes to you all. I commend myself to your prayers. I pray for you all every day, and I think of you during the holy sacrifice of the Mass.

Give my regards to the rest of the family, to the parish priest Father Gobbels and the curate, and to our other friends and acquaintances. My superiors send you their good wishes.

Our separation will not last long. We will meet again in heaven; that is what we must hope for. Amen.

May the almighty and merciful Lord, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, bless and protect you. Amen.

I remain in the sweet hearts of Jesus and Mary.
Your loving brother,
Fr. Charles of St. Andrew, Passionist.

Letter 19-Notes

1. Summ. p. 379, L. 65.
2. At this time as many as three hundred people each day were coming to Mount Argus to be prayed over and blessed by the man one newspaper described as "the renowned and saintly Father Charles." An English newspaper of the time describes his ministry at Mount Argus: there are, says the reporter, "constant pilgrimages of the blind, the lame and the halt to supplicate their cure at the hands of Father Charles Houben."