You don't think they'll fit in just fine here? =)
Thought of you during opening comments before Father's homily yesterday; here they are:
Today in Rome, the Holy Father beatified a very unique person. And I have put a little article in the bulletin today for you. His Apostolic Majesty Charles of Hapsburg, the Emperor King of Austria and Hungary and the last in the line of Catholic Roman Emperors that reached back over 1200 years to the coronation of Charlemagne in the year 800 was beatified this morning. He is now Blessed Charles, the Emperor.When he came to the throne in 1916, he presided over a great many of the countries of Central Europe. He was a young man of only 29. His great-uncle, the Emperor Franz Joseph who had reigned longer than almost any other king in history had died and [Charles] immediately set about attempting to bring peace to the world, a world that was awash in World War I. He tried his hardest but, of course, was unsuccessful. The war went on until 1918, as we know, with the participation of the United States. And it was really the US participation that brought the war to an end. And, of course, we have Armistice Day November 11th every year to celebrate the end of the First World War. And on that date, the Emperor relinquished his authority--because of the changes in history that occurred as the result of World War I--and went into exile where he died soon after in 1922.
Now, I knew all about that. I'm a professor of history at the seminary so that wasn't any news. What was very new to me was when I read the material that the Vatican always assembles on a person who is about to be canonized. There is a great deal of material ... the research they do is vast and it includes Spiritual Research.
I was flabbergasted at how holy this man was. A very, very holy man. In fact, one bishop called him the "Eucharistic Emperor."
[Charles] had a deep devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. The Pope gave him special commission to have the Blessed Sacrament to have the Blessed Sacrament reserved wherever he lived so that he could pray before the tabernacle any time during the day or night and he often did his work in front of the [exposed] Blessed Sacrament.
I read that on one occasion he stopped the royal train because he saw a priest taking the Blessed Sacrament to a dying person. He stopped the train and got out and knelt as the priest carried the Body of our Lord to a dying person. He was an extraordinary man of faith, a great husband and father, a great model.
And the reason I mention all this is because we're in a time when apparently people think that in order to be a political and social leader--a public leader--you have to compromise your Christian faith. There is no way to be a practicing Christian and a politician. We hear that all the time in so many ways, don't we? That kind of "I believe one thing but I have to do and say and vote another way in the public sector."
No, you don't.
And the Holy Father, by elevating this great man to the altars shows the whole world that it is possible to be a practicing Christian and be a great public official and leader.
So, today we rejoice with the whole Church throughout the world and the Imperial Hapsburg Family. The son of Charles, there are several sons, but the oldest son who was at his coronation in 1916 is 93 years old and he was at the beatification this morning. So this must be a great day for that family, the Imperial Family.
Is that material, or are copies, made available to laymen or is it only to be found in archival storage somewhere in Vatican City? I would love to read more examples of his heroic sanctity.