ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN AUGUST
Saints celebrated on the 30th of August
Prayer to the Angels and the Saints
Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.
In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.
Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.
Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.
BL. EUSTAQUIO VAN LIESHOUT, PRIEST
Hubertus [Huub] van Lieshout was born in Aarle-Rixtel, Holland, on November 3, 1890. He was the eighth of eleven children born into a deeply Catholic farming family. He was baptised on the day of his birth.
Hubertus was popular both at home and at school for his sociable, cheerful nature. He already felt called to the priesthood as a child.
HE ALREADY FELT CALLED TO THE PRIESTHOOD AS A CHILD
Despite the contrary opinion of his teacher, who did not see Holy Orders as right for him, and of his father, who wanted him to work on the farm and did not consider him capable of secondary studies, Hubertus managed to get his way and attended the secondary school in Gemert.
After reading the biography of Fr Damian de Veuster, Hubertus decided to join the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He entered the novitiate in Tremeloo, Belgium, on December 23, 1913 and was given the name "Eustaquio". He made his temporary vows in 1915 and his perpetual profession three years later.
HE JOINED THE CONGREGATION OF THE SACRED HEARTS OF JESUS AND MARY
The young man was ordained a priest on August 10, 1919. His first assignment was as assistant novice master for his order.
Fr Eustaquio continued to exercise his ministry in his native Country for five years, serving in parishes at Roelofarendsveen and at Maasluis near Rotterdam, where many Belgian immigrants had fled from the German invasion. His pastoral zeal in caring for the people earned him a decoration from the Belgium State.
IN 1924, FR EUSTAQUIO WAS SENT TO SPAIN
In December 1924, Fr Eustaquio was sent to Spain to learn the language, with the plan that he would be going to Uruguay as a missionary; instead, he was sent to Portuguese-speaking Brazil and sailed from Amsterdam in 1925 with the Provincial and two other missionaries, including Gil van de Boogaard, who became a close friend.
HE SAILED FROM AMSTERDAM WITH THE PROVINCIAL AND TWO OTHER MISSIONARIES
In all, he spent ten years in Agua Suja in Romaria, six in Poa and two in Belo Horizonte: In 1926 Fr Eustaquio became parish priest of Agua Suja and counsellor of his Congregation, and he devoted himself in particular to the poor and the sick. In 1935 he was appointed parish priest in Poa, in the area of Sao Paulo, and again zealously dedicated himself to caring for families, the sick and the poor. He was known to have the gift of healing through the intercession of St Joseph, and this activity was especially directed towards the strengthening of the faith of the people and freeing them from the tendency toward superstition.
HIS LIFE BECAME A REAL PILGRIMAGE
The reputation of Fr Eustaquio began to spread throughout the Country and people travelled long distances to see him. The "disturbance" this caused provoked the interference of civil Authorities, and it left Fr Eustaquio's superiors feeling that he should be transferred. In 1942 he was sent to the Parish of Ibia and almost immediately to Belo Horizonte. Because he was already venerated as a holy man and a healer, he continued to be sought out by thousands of people and his life became a real pilgrimage.
HEALINGS
Juscelino Kubitscheck, Prefect of Belo Horizonte, considered himself healed by a miracle through the intercession of Fr Eustaquio and donated a plot of land to the parish on which the Church of the Sacred Hearts was built.
At the celebration for the laying of the foundation stone, Fr Eustaquio was heard to say: "I began the church but I will not finish it." In 1943, during a retreat that he was preaching to students of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus College at Belo Horizonte from August 18 to August 21, Fr Eustaquio seemed very tired. The day after the retreat he had a high temperature and stayed in his room.
HE STILL CELEBRATED MASS AS USUAL
His condition worsened in the following days, but he was still prepared to celebrate Mass as usual. Immediately after Mass on August 23, he retired to the sacristy, sat down on a bench and fainted. Doctors were slow to diagnose him as having typhus. Fr Eustaquio knew his illness was incurable.
"THANKS BE TO GOD!"
He received the Sacrament of the Sick and renewed his profession. He asked for his friend, Fr Gil, and was heard to say: "Thanks be to God, I am ready! But how long Fr Gil is taking!" - Fr Gil finally arrived on August 30. Fr Eustaquio exclaimed, seeing him in the doorway, "Fr Gil, thanks be to God!" and died instantly.
(From the official Vatican biography)
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