samedi 3 novembre 2012

Saint HUBERT de LIÈGE, évêque et confesseur



Saint Hubert

Évêque

(657-727)

Saint Hubert était un prince de la lignée de Clovis, roi de France. Il avait douze ans quand, au milieu d'une chasse, il vit un ours furieux se jeter sur son père et l'étreindre de ses griffes redoutables. À ce spectacle, il poussa un cri vers le Ciel: "Mon Dieu, faites que je sauve mon père!" Aussitôt, se jetant sur l'animal féroce, il lui donne le coup de la mort. C'est là, sans doute, le premier titre de saint Hubert à sa réputation de patron des chasseurs.

Plus tard, Hubert chassait, un Vendredi saint, dans la forêt des Ardennes, ce qui était une chose peu convenable pour un chrétien. Soudain, un beau cerf, qu'il poursuit avec ardeur, s'arrête et lui fait face. Entre les cornes de l'animal brille une Croix éclatante, et une voix prononce ces paroles:

"Hubert! Hubert! Si tu ne te convertis pas et ne mènes pas une vie sainte, tu descendras bientôt en enfer.

— Seigneur, s'écrie le jeune prince, que voulez-Vous que je fasse?

— Va vers l'évêque Lambert, il t'instruira."

Bientôt Hubert renonce à tous ses droits sur la couronne d'Aquitaine, se revêt d'un costume de pèlerin et s'achemine vers Rome. Comme il arrivait au tombeau des saints Apôtres, le Pape Sergius, dans une vision, apprenait le meurtre de l'évêque Lambert, victime de son zèle pour la défense de la sainteté conjugale, et il recevait l'ordre d'envoyer à sa place le pèlerin qui arrivait en ce moment, pour prier, à la basilique de Saint-Pierre. Le Pontife trouva en effet l'humble pèlerin, lui fit connaître les ordres du Ciel, et Hubert, malgré sa frayeur et ses larmes, dut se soumettre à la Volonté de Dieu.

De retour en sa patrie, il fonda l'évêché de Liège, où il fit briller toutes les vertus des Apôtres. Sa douce et persuasive éloquence captivait les foules; il parlait quelquefois pendant trois heures consécutives, sans qu'on se lassât de l'entendre. A la puissance de la parole il joignait celle des miracles. A sa prière, les démons abandonnaient le corps des possédés, les flammes de l'incendie s'éteignaient, la sécheresse désastreuse cessait tout à coup pour céder la place à une pluie féconde: "Le Dieu d'Élie est le nôtre, disait-il, implorons-Le dans la prière et le jeûne; la miséricorde fera le reste."

Une voix céleste lui dit un jour: "Hubert, dans un mois tes liens seront brisés." Il se prépara pieusement à la mort, et, après avoir chanté le Credo et entonné le Pater, il rendit son âme à Dieu. On l'invoque spécialement contre la rage et contre la peur.

Abbé L. Jaud, Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, Tours, Mame, 1950

SOURCE : http://magnificat.ca/cal/fr/saints/saint_hubert.html

Jean Bourdichon (1503-1508), Grandes Heures d'Anne de Bretagne, Fol. 191v - Saint-Hubert


Saint Hubert

Évêque de Tongres-Maastricht-Liège (+ 727)

On le dit apparenté à Charles Martel. Il est vrai qu'on le trouve à la cour de Pépin d'Héristal, maire du Palais. Il épouse Floribanne, la fille du roi Dagobert, et les chroniqueurs nous disent qu'il était connu par "les folles joies de sa vie mondaine" peu édifiante, jusqu'au jour où la grâce de Dieu et les conseils de saint Lambert, évêque de Maestricht, l'entraînèrent vers la sainteté. La tradition légendaire raconte cette belle histoire du cerf qu'il vit durant une chasse, un jour de Vendredi-saint, et qui lui apparut avec une croix entre ses bois "Chasser un jour pareil ? pourquoi ne vas-tu pas prier?" Dès le XIe siècle, il était le patron des chasseurs. Ce qui est historique, c'est qu'en 688, il abandonne le duché d'Aquitaine à son frère pour se consacrer totalement à Dieu. Après une vie monastique exemplaire, il est élu évêque de Liège-Maestricht et Tongres, puisque saint Lambert venait d'être martyrisé. Saint Hubert fut un grand évêque, proche de ses fidèles qu'il rejoignait là où ils vivaient, dans les clairières, sur les rivières, dans les villages. Attentif à toute misère, il aidait les malheureux et les prisonniers. Il mourut des suites d'une blessure occasionnée par un ouvrier maladroit qui lui écrasa la main gauche.

À Tervuren, dans le Brabant, en 727, le trépas de saint Hubert, évêque de Tongres et Mästricht. Disciple et successeur de saint Lambert, il déploya son activité à répandre l’Évangile à travers le Brabant et les Ardennes et à y combattre les mœurs païennes, et il bâtit à Liège une église où il transféra les restes de son prédécesseur. (au 30 mai au martyrologe romain)

Martyrologe romain


Master of the Life of the Virgin, The Conversion of Saint Hubert: Left Hand Shutter , oil on oak wood, circa 1485-1490, 123 x 83.2, National Gallery, Central London


3 novembre

Saint Hubert

Saint Hubert qui occupa le siège de saint Servais de 705 à 727, était apparenté, selon une hypothèse assez plausible, à Plectrude, femme du maire du palais Pépin II. Il semble qu’il se maria et que son fils distingué, Florbert (évêque de Liège de 727 à 746), signalé par son biographe, était plus qu'un fils spirituel.

Une Vie, écrite vers 745, dit qu’Il arrachait bien des gens à l'erreur des gentils : il la fit cesser. Des pays éloignés on accourait vers lui, et il confirmait par la grâce septiforme ceux qui étaient lavés par l'eau du baptême... Plusieurs idoles et sculptures qu'on allait adorant en Ardenne furent détruites et livrées au feu. Comme par la suite des fanatiques vénéraient d'une manière sacrilège cette poussière et ces cendres, il leur infligea trois ans de pénitence. De même en Taxandrie et en Brabant, il détruisit plusieurs images et beaucoup de sculptures, et il construisit en divers lieux, à la sueur de son front, des sanctuaires en l'honneur des saints martyrs. La treizième année de son épiscopat, la veille de Noël, il fit transporter à Liège les restes de saint Lambert, qui reposaient dans l'église Saint-Pierre de Maestricht. Dans l'église Saint-Lambert, on construisit un mausolée magnifique. Mais il n'y eut pas, semble-t-il, de transfert officiel du siège épiscopal de Maestricht à Liège, pas plus que jadis de Tongres à Maestricht.

Hubert pêchant à Nivelle-sur-Meuse, dans une barque, s'appuyait d'une main sur un piquet à enfoncer, lorsqu'un serviteur, involontairement, lui assena un coup de maillet sur la main et lui broya les doigts. Le lendemain, comme il était retourné à la pêche avec ses gens, un coup de vent chavira la barque. De la berge Hubert pria. Un homme est sous l'eau, roulé, un pan de sa tunique enroulé à un piquet. Je le secouais trois fois, impossible de me dégager. Assiégé par l'eau, je m'écriais : “Par ses mérites, au secours, toi qui as créé mer et terres !” Aussitôt délié, je glissais entre deux poteaux et, en quelques brasses à peine, je m'évadais jusqu'à la berge. Et tous les serviteurs s'en sortirent sains et saufs. L'évêque dut s'aliter à cause de sa blessure. La douleur l'empêchait de dormir. Il répétait sans cesse le psaume Miserere. Dieu éprouvait son athlète : pendant trois mois, les doigts suppurèrent. Enfin, une nuit qu'il somnolait, un ange lui montra une basilique neuve en disant : Il y a beaucoup de demeures dans la maison de mon Père (Jean XIV 2) ; et celle-ci que tu vois, je te la donnerai pour que tu la possèdes devant Dieu pour l'éternité. Et il lui prédit la fin de sa tribulations au bout d'un an.

Saint Hubert augmenta son ascèse, ses aumônes et, l'année se terminant, il vint prier longuement au tombeau de saint Lambert, puis se rendit aux Saints-Apôtres, à Liège, et désigna l'endroit où il voulait reposer. Il consentit d’aller en Brabant pour la dédicace d'une église et comme on lui insinuait qu'il pourrait abréger la longue cérémonie, il répondit : Faisons les choses amplement, de notre mieux : voilà pour aujourd'hui le programme !

Il fit non seulement la fonction liturgique, mais prêcha encore à tierce (9 heures) et à sexte (midi) sur la mort, sur sa mort. Faites pénitence, il va venir, il est proche, le jour du jugement. La mort est voisine, elle ne tarde pas à venir, comme dit l'Écriture. Oui, de ce sommeil nous serons tous pris. Si quelqu'un de vous se sent empêtré dans une faute ou tombé dans les péchés, vite qu'il recoure aux médecines salutaires, tant qu'une porte est encore ouverte, afin que l'âme ne meure pas avec le corps. Les méfaits qu'il a commis, qu'il s'en repente de tout cœur. Et vous, frères, pesez et soupesez bien ce que vous avez fait, et maintenant faites attention à ce que vous faites. Moi, pauvre pêcheur, quand je parle pour vous, c'est pour moi que je crains. Sinon autant que je le dois, du moins autant que je le puis, j'avertis. Celui qui méprise le héraut, qu'il craigne le juge ! Voilà que mon juge est là tout près qui va me dire : Où sont ceux que tu as instruits, où sont ceux que tu as prêchés, où sont-ils ? Je t'ai constitué pour être à la tête de mon troupeau. Rends compte de ta gestion (Luc XVI 2) : combien as-tu exigé, combien as-tu travaillé, combien me rapportes-tu d'argent ? Et moi, misérable, que répondrai-je, inutile serviteur, quand il apparaîtra dans toute sa majesté, glorieux, avec les saints anges et archanges, les trônes et les dominations ? Le juge sévère viendra exiger son dû et rendre ce qu'il a promis. Alors, si je peux sortir quelques biens de vous, je dirai : Ceux-là, ils ont gardé tes commandements et tes préceptes (Jean  XVII 6) ; ta loi, grâce à mon enseignement, ils ne l'ont pas oubliée. Et vous, contents, vous porterez vos gerbes devant le Seigneur, dans une liesse éternelle. Ah ! pas de cette redoutable sentence que le serviteur mauvais et paresseux mérita d'entendre ! mais plutôt celle que le fidèle serviteur a méritée  Dans le détail tu as été fidèle, je vais te donner une belle situation. Entre dans la joie de ton maître. Et aussi : Venez, bénis de mon Père, recevez le royaume (Matthieu XXV 21 34). Puissiez-vous mériter de venir heureusement dans ce royaume par la grâce de celui qui vous a appelés à la gloire, et qui m'a donné le pouvoir de vous conduire jusqu'ici. Aujourd'hui, vous, tous, je vous recommande à Jésus-Christ pour que dans ses préceptes, par mes paroles, vous persévériez toujours !

Saint Hubert, après la cérémonie, se rendit à un banquet où il accepta un peu d’une coupe de vin, fit une prière sur la table, donna à tous des pains bénits (eulogies) et mangea peu, les yeux au ciel. Comme il se levait de table, un anachorète qui comptait douze ans de vie solitaire l'invita à boire un peu plus. Il répondit : Au revoir dans le royaume de Dieu ! mais ici, je ne boirai pas plus. Puis il gagna sa barque, probablement sur le Dyle.

Quand il en sortit, il avait grand soif et grand froid. Il alla se reposer, mais fut tiré de son sommeil par des serviteurs qui se battaient au couteau. Alors on le mit sur un cheval et, soutenu par des mains amies, il rentra chez lui (à Tervueren) pendant la nuit. La fièvre grandit du lundi au vendredi. Il psalmodiait sans pouvoir dormir. Une nuit, le démon le tourmenta spécialement. Hubert appela un disciple, demanda l'heure. Le coq n'avait pas encore chanté. Il voulut de l'eau bénite, de l'huile sainte. Avant l'aube, il avait déjà récité son office jusqu'à vêpres. Au matin, après avoir récité le Credo et le Pater en présence de son fils distingué, Florbert, Hubert mourut (30 mai 727). Son corps fut porté aux Saints-Apôtres de Liège où, seize ans après sa mort, il fut retrouvé intact. Le 3 novembre 743, le maire du palais Carloman aida à porter ses reliques devant l'autel. En 825, Liège les céda partiellement au monastère d'Andage qui devint Saint-Hubert, et prétendit posséder le corps dans son intégralité.

SOURCE : http://missel.free.fr/Sanctoral/11/03.php

Bekehrung des Hubertus von Lüttich in einer spätmittelalterlichen Buchmalerei, 


Saint Hubert of Liège

Also known as

Apostle of the Ardennes

Hubert the Hunter

Hubertus…

Memorial

3 November

30 May (translation of relics)

Profile

Grandson of Charibert, King of Toulouse. Eldest son of Bertrand, Duke of Aquitaine. Worldly, popular and dissolute layman courtier at Nuestria in northwest France in his youth. For political reasons he emigrated, to Austrasia in the border area between modern France and GermanyMarried in 682 to Floribanne, daughter of Dagobert, Count of Louvain. Father of one son, Saint Floribert of Liege.

Hubert was passionately devoted to hunting. While chasing a stag on a Good Friday morning, he received a vision of a crucifix between the animal’s antlers. A voice warned him, “Hubert, unless you turn to the Lord, and lead a holy life, you shall quickly go down to hell.” It was a conversion experience for Hubert.

Spiritual student of Saint Lambert of Maastricht. When his wife died, Hubert renounced all his worldy positions, titles and wealth, handed his patrimony, and the care of his son, to his brother, and studied for the priesthood. After ordination, he served as assistant to Saint LambertPilgrim to Rome, where he was when Lambert was murdered. Chosen bishop of Maastricht. Known for his excellent preaching and his generosity to the poor, stripping the diocese of all excesses to help them. Following another vision, and to defend of the memory of Lambert, he moved his mentor’s body from Maastricht to Liege, and built a church for it on the site of Lambert‘s martyrdom. First bishop of Liege.

Hubert evangelized the Ardenne region, converting pagans and strengthening Christians. He tracked down some of the old idolatrous places of worship, but generally permitted the new converts to decide for themselves to destroy the old idols. They all, naturally, did so.

Hubert predicted the date of his own death, and died while reciting the Our Father. He became highly revered in the Middle Ages, and there were several military orders named in his honor. His association with the hunt led to his patronage of furriers and trappers, and against rabies and bad behavior in dogs, primarily hunting dogs. The breed commonly known as bloodhounds are also called Saint Hubert’s hounds.

Born

c.656 at Maastricht, Netherlands

Died

30 May 727 at Fura (modern Tervueren), BrabantBelgium of natural causes

interred at Saint Peter’s collegiate church in LiegeBelgium

relics translated in 825 to the abbey which has since been renamed Saint Hubert’s

Canonized

Pre-Congregation

Patronage

against dog bite

against hydrophobia

against mad dogs

against rabies

archers

dogs

forest workers

furriers

hunters, hunting or huntsmen

machinists

mathematicians

metal workers

opticians

precision instrument makers

smelters

trappers

in Belgium

Liege

Saint-Hubert

Sint-Huibrechts-Lille

Tilleur

Representation

bishop celebrating Mass as an angel brings him a scroll

bishop with a hound and hunting horn

bishop with a stag with a crucifix

horn

horse

huntsman adoring a stag with a crucifix in its antlers

kneeling before a stag as an angel brings him a stole

kneeling in prayer, a hound before him and often with hunting gear nearby

knight with a banner showing the stag‘s head and crucifix

stag

stag with a crucifix over its head

young courtier with two hounds

Additional Information

A Garner of Saints, by Allen Banks Hinds, M.A.

Benedictine Liturgical Year

Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate

Catholic Encyclopedia, by C F Wemyss Brown

Lives of the Saints, by Father Alban Butler

Lives of the Saints, by Father Francis Xavier Weninger

New Catholic Dictionary

Pictorial Lives of the Saints

Saints of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein

Short Lives of the Saints, by Eleanor Cecilia Donnelly

books

Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints

Sacred and Legendary Art, by Anna Jameson

other sites in english

Catholic Online

Church Pop

Honoring the Patron Saints of Hunters

Saints for Sinners

What Does Jägermeister Have to Do with Saint Hubert?

Wikipedia

images

Wikimedia Commons

sitios en español

Martirologio Romano2001 edición

sites en français

Abbé Christian-Philippe Chanut

Fête des prénoms

fonti in italiano

Santi e Beati

MLA Citation

“Saint Hubert of Liège“. CatholicSaints.Info. 29 May 2021. Web. 3 November 2021. <https://catholicsaints.info/saint-hubert-of-liege/>

SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-hubert-of-liege/

Saint Hubert évêque et le cerf, église Notre-Dame.Villedieu-les-Poêles (Normandie, France). 


St. Hubert

Confessor, thirty-first Bishop of Maastricht, first Bishop of Liège, and Apostle of the Ardennes, born about 656; died at Fura (the modern Tervueren), Brabant, 30 May, 727 or 728. He was honored in the Middle Ages as the patron of huntsmen, and the healer of hydrophobia (rabies). He was the eldest son of Bertrand, Duke of Aquitaine, and grandson of Charibert, King of Toulouse, a descendant of the great Pharamond. Bertrand's wife is variously given as Hugbern, and as Afre, sister of Saint Oda. As a youth, Hubert went to the court of Neustria, where his charming manners and agreeable address won universal esteem, gave him a prominent position among the gay courtiers, and led to his investment with the dignity of "count of the palace". He was a worldling and a lover of pleasure, his chief passion being for the chase, to which pursuit he devoted nearly all his time. The tyrannical conduct of Ebroin caused a general emigration of the nobles and others to the court of Austrasia. Hubert soon followed them and was warmly welcomed by Pepin Heristal, mayor of the palace, who created him almost immediately grand-master of the household. About this time (682) he married Floribanne, daughter of Dagobert, Count of Louvain, and seemed to have given himself entirely up to the pomp and vanities of this world. But a great spiritual revolution was imminent. On Good Friday morn, when the faithful were crowding the churches, Hubert sallied forth to the chase. As he was pursuing a magnificent stag, the animal turned and, as the pious legend narrates, he was astounded at perceiving a crucifix between its antlers, while he heard a voice saying: "Hubert, unless thou turnest to the Lord, and leadest an holy life, thou shalt quickly go down into hell". Hubert dismounted, prostrated himself and said, "Lord, what wouldst Thou have me do?" He received the answer, "Go and seek Lambert, and he will instruct you."

Accordingly, he set out immediately for Maastricht, of which place St. Lambert was then bishop. The latter received Hubert kindly, and became his spiritual director. Hubert, losing his wife shortly after this, renounced all his honors and his military rank, and gave up his birthright to the Duchy of Aquitaine to his younger brother Eudon, whom he made guardian of his infant son, Floribert. Having distributed all his personal wealth among the poor, he entered upon his studies for the priesthood, was soon ordained, and shortly afterwards became one of St. Lambert's chief associates in the administration of his diocese. By the advice of St. Lambert, Hubert made a pilgrimage to Rome and during his absence, the saint was assassinated by the followers of Pepin. At the same hour, this was revealed to the pope in a vision, together with an injunction to appoint Hubert bishop, as being a worthy successor to the see. Hubert was so much possessed with the idea of himself winning the martyr's crown that he sought it on many occasions, but unsuccessfully. He distributed his episcopal revenues among the poor, was diligent in fasting and prayer, and became famous for his eloquence in the pulpit. In 720, in obedience to a vision, Hubert translated St. Lambert's remains from Maastrict to Liège with great pomp and ceremonial, several neighboring bishops assisting. A church for the relics was built upon the site of the martyrdom, and was made a cathedral the following year, the see being removed from Maastricht to Liège, then only a small village. This laid the foundation of the future greatness of Liège, of which Lambert is honored as patron, and St. Hubert as founder and first bishop.

Idolatry still lingered in the fastnesses of the forest of Ardennes--in Toxandria, a district stretching from near Tongres to the confluence of the Waal and the Rhine, and in Brabant. At the risk of his life Hubert penetrated the remote lurking places of paganism in his pursuit of souls, and finally brought about the abolishment of the worship of idols in his neighborhood. Between Brussels and Louvain, about twelve leagues from Liège, lies a town called Tervueren, formerly known as Fura. Hither Hubert went for the dedication of a new church. Being apprised of his impending death by a vision, he there preached his valedictory sermon, fell sick almost immediately, and in six days died with the words "Our Father, who art in Heaven . . . " on his lips. His body was deposited in the collegiate church of St. Peter, Liège. It was solemnly translated in 825 to the Abbey of Amdain (since called St. Hubert's) near what is now the Luxemburg frontier; but the coffin disappeared in the sixteenth century. Very many miracles are recorded of him in the Acta SS., etc. His feast is kept on 3 November, which was probably the date of the translation. St. Hubert was widely venerated in the Middle Ages, and many military orders were named after him.

Brown, C.F. Wemyss. "St. Hubert." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 2 Nov. 2021 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07507a.htm>.

Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by H. Jon Thomas.

Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. June 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.

Copyright © 2020 by Kevin Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

SOURCE : https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07507a.htm

Hochkönigsburg (Elsass). Saal der Jagdtrophäen: Wandmalerei mit der Bekehrung des heiligen Hubertus.

Haut-Koenigsbourg castle (Alsace). Hunting room: Mural showing the conversion of saint Hubertus.



Hubert of Liège B (RM)

Died at Tervueren (near Brussels), Belgium, May 30, 727. Nothing reliable is known about Saint Hubert before he became a cleric under Saint Lambert, whom he succeeded as bishop of Tongres-Maestricht.

In medieval times many saints derived both the pleasure of sport and some of their food from hunting. According to legend both Saint Eustace and Saint Hubert came upon a stag with a crucifix between its antlers. The stag's warning to Hubert was sterner than that to Saint Eustace, since Hubert had been hunting on Good Friday. Stopped in his tracks by the sight of the stag and crucifix, Hubert heard a voice warning him that unless he turned to Christ he was destined for hell.

This was in the forest of Ardenne. Hubert had been a courtier whose wife died giving birth to their son in the year 685. He retired from the service of Pepin of Heristal and became a priestly servant of Bishop Lambert. For 10 years Saint Lambert taught the future Saint Hubert self-discipline by making him live alone as a hermit in the forest.

Around 705 Lambert publicly criticized King Pepin for his adultery with the sister of his wife. The woman called on her brother and some other men to murder Lambert in the tiny village of Liège. Hubert was elected Lambert's successor.

Hubert courageously cherished the memory of Saint Lambert. Since the saint had been murdered at Liège, Hubert decided that his bones should not lie in the cathedral at Maestricht. He transferred them to Liège and also made that village the seat of his diocese. In consequence Liège grew to be a great city. There today Saint Lambert is regarded as patron of the diocese and Saint Hubert as patron and founder of the city.

In the 8th century, the forest of Ardenne was filled with men and women to whom the Gospel had never been preached. They worshipped idols. The saint assiduously worked to convert these people and destroy their pagan gods. He loved to go in procession through the fields, chanting Christian prayers and blessing the crops.

In 726, while fishing from a boat in the Meuse, he met with an accident that caused him much suffering, and he died fifteen months later, murmuring the Lord's Prayer on May 30, 727, while on a trip to consecrate a new church. His son succeeded him as bishop of Liège (Attwater, Bentley, Delaney, Encyclopedia).

In art Hubert is represented as a huntsman adoring a stag with a crucifix in its horns. Variously, he may be shown (1) as a knight with a banner showing the stag's head and crucifix; (2) as a young courtier with two hounds; (3) kneeling in prayer, a hound before him; (4) kneeling before a stag as an angel brings him his stole; (5) as a bishop holding a stag with the crucifix on his book; (6) as a bishop with a hound, hunting horn, and stag with a crucifix (not to be confused with Germanus of Auxerre); (7) celebrating Mass as an angel brings him a scroll (very similar to the Mass of Saint Giles) (Roeder).

Hubert is the patron of hunters and trappers, metal-workers, and mathematicians (Roeder). It is believed that the 15th century legend of his conversion developed because he was regarded as a patron of hunters in Ardenne (Attwater). 


Wallfahrtskirche Heilig Kreuz, ehemalige Klosterkirche des Klosters Bergen in Bergen, einem Ortsteil von Neuburg an der Donau im Landkreis Neuburg-Schrobenhausen (Bayern), Fresken von Johann Wolfgang Baumgartner, von 1758; Darstellung: Hl. Hubertus


Weninger’s Lives of the Saints – Saint Hubert, Bishop of Maestricht and Liege

Article

Saint Hubert, bishop of Maestricht and Liege, was the son of Bertrand, duke of Aquitain. In his childhood, he was led in the path of piety; but coming afterwards to the Court of King Theodoric, and thence to that of Duke Pepin of Heristal, he lost all love for devotion, and was carried away by the pleasures of the world. Yielding to Pepin’s wish, he married Floribana, a very virtuous duchess, but did not in the least change his conduct. His occupations were gaming and feasting. He was also passionately fond of hunting, and wasted much of his precious time in roving through fields and forests. Saint Oda, a sister of his mother, who had very carefully guided his early youth, was very sad on account of his having given himself entirely to worldly pursuits, and prayed daily to God for his conversion. Her prayer was at length granted. One day, when Hubert was in full pursuit of a noble stag, the animal, suddenly turning round, stood still. Hubert gazed at it in astonishment, and saw a crucifix between its antlers, while from its lips he heard distinctly: “Hubert! Hubert, how long wilt you pursue wild animals, and waste the time given thee to work out thy salvation? I warn thee that, if you wilt not lead a better life, you shalt be cast into hell.” Hubert, who, on seeing the image of his crucified Lord, had immediately dismounted and thrown himself upon the ground, listened trembling, and was deeply moved at these words. A second Saul, he cried: “Lord, what wilt you have me do?” “Go to Maestricht,” was the reply; “Bishop Lambert will tell thee what you must do.”

Hubert, somewhat consoled by these words, although still full of fear at the terrible menace, repented of his past conduct, and immediately went to Saint Lambert. Sinking down on his knees before the bishop, Hubert wept so bitterly that he could not utter a word. Lambert asked him the cause of his grief, and why he had come. Hubert related all that had happened, and humbly begged the holy bishop to show him the path he ought to follow in order not to be cast into hell. The bishop, having encouraged him to trust in the mercy of God, advised him to make a thorough confession* and then instructed him in regard to his future conduct. After this, Hubert returned home, and, without informing any one of what had happened to him, he showed by his life that he was quite a different man. His only desire now was to leave the world entirely, and to serve God more perfectly. The early death of his wife gave him the desired opportunity for doing so; for, God called her to Himself after she had given birth to a son.

Hubert, recognizing the hand of the Almighty in this event, gave thanks to Him, and going to his holy teacher, told him that he was determined to lead the life of a hermit, in order the better to atone for his sins and to serve God in peace. Saint Lambert praised his resolution, instructed him how to regulate his life in the desert, gave him his blessing and dismissed him quite consoled. On his return home, Hubert was informed that his father had become very sick, and hastening to him, he remained with him until his end. By this death, Hubert became heir to the whole duchy; but he resigned it to his younger brother, gave his own possessions to the poor, reserving only as much as was needed for his son, whom he gave in charge of his brother, to be educated according to his station in life. In this manner, Hubert freed himself from every earthly tie, and, going into the forest where he had had the above-mentioned apparition, he led during seven years a most austere and holy life.

After this time, he felt an inner desire to make a pilgrimage to Rome, and having the permission of Saint Lambert, he went thither as a poor pilgrim, and visited with great devotion the churches and the tombs of the Saints. During his stay there, Saint Lambert was cruelly murdered in his church, for having fearlessly reproved the King of France for his unchaste life. An angel appeared on the following night to Pope Sergius, and informing him of the death of Saint Lambert, commanded him at the same time to appoint Hubert, the disciple of Lambert, whom he would see enter the Church of the Apostles on the following day, as his successor. When the Pope awoke, he went into the church, and when he saw Hubert enter in the garb of a pilgrim, he called him and asked him who he was and whence he came. Hubert gave his name, adding that he was a disciple of bishop Lambert, and that the purpose of his pilgrimage was to visit the holy places. The Pope desired to hear no more, but taking Hubert by the hand, led him to the shrine of Saint Peter and said to him: “Your teacher, Saint Lambert has been killed by wicked people, but is already crowned in heaven; and you shall become his successor.” The humble servant of God endeavored to excuse himself, but the Pope informed him of the divine command, which Hubert could not disobey. He was therefore consecrated by the Pope himself, and returned as bishop to Maestricht. Before he had reached the city, his appointment and consecration had been made known, so that he was joyfully received by the people and the clergy, and placed upon the episcopal throne. The first resolution of the new bishop was to conform his life to the example of his holy teacher, Saint Lambert, who was already honored as a martyr. Hubert transferred his see to Liege, where Saint Lambert had been buried; and not satisfied with guarding and leading by word and example the flock entrusted to his care, he also endeavored to uproot entirely the idolatry which still existed in the neighboring places; and his undertaking was blessed with great success.

After having converted many thousand souls to Christ, and administered his functions as a true and holy pastor for nearly 30 years, he was called to receive the eternal reward of his faithful services. A year before he died, his last hour was made known to him by divine revelation, while, at the same time, the glory which was prepared for him in heaven was shown him in an ecstasy. In his last sickness, after he had received the holy Sacraments, he saw a great number of spirits of hell, who menacing him most fearfully, tried to approach him. Asking for holy water, he sprinkled himself and his bed with it and thus drove away the hosts of hell. After this, he raised his eyes on high, and having recited the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer, he expired. The power of the intercession of the Saint is still seen at this day, especially in favor of those who are bitten by rabid animals.


Wilhelm Räuber (1849-1926), Die Bekehrung des Heiligen Hubertus, circa 1900

Practical Considerations

• “How long will you pursue wild beasts and waste the precious time given you to work out your salvation?” This was asked of Hubert by Christ, the Lord. The same question I address to you. How long will you waste the time of your life? Behold, the present days of your life are the days of your salvation; that is, they are days which God has given you to work out your salvation. You have, until now, wasted so many days, because you did not employ them to the end for which they were given.

How long will you continue thus? Has not the Almighty waited long enough for your conversion? Have you not reason to fear that He will say to you what He said to Hubert: “I warn thee that if you dost not soon change thy conduct, you shall go to hell.” Heed it well: “Soon!” God may suffer from you a certain number of iniquities; He destines for you a certain number of graces, a certain number of. days. How large this number is, you do not know. For some men it is large, for others small. If you fill the measure of sin without being converted, you will die and go to destruction in your sins. When the number of your graces or of your days is full, you will not receive others from God, and your time will have expired in which to work out your salvation. God will then let you die and will banish you eternally from His face. If it is, therefore, your earnest desire to escape hell, follow Saint Hubert, and reform your life. Today the Almighty gives you yet time and grace; whether He will give you the same also tomorrow, I do not know. “We must, therefore,” says Saint Ambrose, “work, with the grace of the Almighty, without delay.” “And we helping, exhort you that you receive not the grace of God in vain,” writes Saint Paul. “For he saith: in an accepted time have I heard thee, and in the day of salvation have I helped thee. Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation!” (2nd Corinthians 6) But who receives the grace of God in vain? Saint Anselm says: “Those who do not cooperate with it, or who, by their indolence, cause the grace received to be idle and of no effect.” Take care that you do not belong to these. Work today with the grace; because today is the day of salvation, a day on which you can work at your salvation.

• Hunting, gaming and such amusements were the pastime and occupation of Hubert: God threatened him with hell if he did not change his conduct. Why this? Is gaming or hunting a mortal sin? No, in itself, it is not. But as Hubert passed most of his time in these diversions, as he was passionately devoted to them, and did not earnestly occupy himself with his salvation, he sinned, and would have gone to eternal destruction, had he not changed his conduct. Heed this most important truth. There are many worldly pleasures and pastimes, which in themselves are no sin; but if we devote ourselves passionately to them, waste much time on them and hence neglect the duties of our station, and do not endeavor earnestly to gain Heaven, then we sin, and may cause our eternal ruin; because we have not used our time well and have not given it to that object for which God bestowed it upon us. My fear that many thus go to perdition, is great beyond words! They flatter themselves with the empty pretext: “I do nothing wrong; playing at this or that game is not doing evil; hunting or dancing is not a sin.” But is it not sinful enough to employ the noble time, given us by God to work out our salvation, almost entirely in idle amusements? Is it not evil enough to do no good? A servant who does no other evil, except not to employ his time according to the will of his master, does evil enough, and must not expect to be rewarded, but to be beaten with many stripes. “And that servant who knew the will of his Lord, and prepared not himself, and did not according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.” (Luke 12) “And the unprofitable servant cast ye out into the exterior darkness!” (Matthew 25)

Examine yourself; and if you are such an unprofitable servant – reform!

MLA Citation

Father Francis Xavier Weninger, DD, SJ. “Saint Hubert, Bishop of Maestricht and Liege”. Lives of the Saints1876. CatholicSaints.Info. 23 May 2018. Web. 3 November 2021. <https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-hubert-bishop-of-maestricht-and-liege/>

SOURCE: https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-hubert-bishop-of-maestricht-and-liege/

Святы Губерт; палатно, алей. 1934

Święty Hubert; płótno, olej, 1934


Short Lives of the Saints – Saint Hubert, Bishop

Entry

Hubert of Aquitaine was a nobleman of the court of Pepin d’Heristal in the seventh century. He was given up, as was the custom of his fellow-courtiers, to the pursuit of worldly pleasures, and was specially devoted to the chase. One day in Holy Week, when hunting in the forest of Ardennes, he pursued a milk-white stag which, turning at last upon the astounded Hubert, revealed a crucifix shining between its antlers. Penetrated with awe at this miracle of the divine mercy, the hunter fell upon his knees, and then and there dedicated himself entirely to the service of God. He became a hermit in the forest of Ardennes, and, after years of penance, was elected successively to the bishoprics of Maestricht and Liege. He was a preacher of great power and unction, and by his zeal freed his large diocese from all remains of idolatry. God accorded him the gift of miracles before his death, which took place November 3, 727.

. . . Thrice-happy Hubert! thou art nigh
  The foot-stool of the King!
In this lone place, O child of grace,
  Henceforth in penance bide;
Forsake the court, forego the chase,
  And follow the Crucified!”

    – from “Legend of the Best-Beloved

Favorite Practice – To permit no delay between God’s inspiration and your correspondence to it.

MLA Citation

Eleanor Cecilia Donnelly. “Saint Hubert, Bishop”. Short Lives of the Saints1910. CatholicSaints.Info. 22 April 2021. Web. 3 November 2021. <https://catholicsaints.info/short-lives-of-the-saints-saint-hubert-bishop/>

SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/short-lives-of-the-saints-saint-hubert-bishop/

Jan Brueghel the Elder  (1568–1625) / Peter Paul Rubens  (1577–1640), Het visioen van de heilige Hubertus
Miracle of Saint Hubert
, 1617, 63 x 100.5, Museo del Prado



November 3

St. Hubert, Bishop of Liege, Confessor

GOD, who is wonderful in his mercies above all his works, called St. Hubert from a worldly life to his service in an extraordinary manner; though the circumstances of this event are so obscured by popular inconsistent relations, that we have no authentic account of his actions before he was engaged in the service of the church under the discipline of St. Lambert, bishop of Maestricht. He is said to have been a nobleman of Aquitain; passed his youth in the court of Theodoric III. and probably spent some time in the service of Pepin of Herstal, who became mayor of the palace of Austrasia in 681. He is also said to have been passionately addicted to the diversion of hunting, and was entirely taken up in worldly pursuits, when, moved by divine grace, he resolved at once to renounce the school of vanity, and enter himself in that of Christ, in which his name had been enrolled in baptism. St. Lambert was the experienced and skilful master by whose direction he studied to divest himself of the spirit of the world, and to put on that of Jesus Christ: and to learn to overcome enemies and injuries by meekness, and patience, not by revenge and pride, rather to sink under, than to vanquish them. His extraordinary fervour, and the great progress which he made in virtue and learning strongly recommended him to St. Lambert, who ordained him priest, and intrusted him with the principal share in the administration of his diocess. That holy prelate being barbarously murdered in 681, St. Hubert was unanimously chosen his successor, and the death of his dear master inflamed him with a holy desire of martyrdom, of which he sought all occasions. For charity conceives no other sentiments from wrongs, and knows no other revenge for the most atrocious injuries than the most tender concern and regard for sinners, and a desire of returning all good offices for evil received; thus to overcome evil by good, and invincibly maintain justice. St. Hubert never ceased with David to deplore his banishment from the face of God, and tears almost continually watered his cheeks. His revenues he consecrated to the service of the poor, and his labours to the extirpation of vice and of the remains of idolatry. His fervour in fasting, watching, and prayer far from ever abating seemed every day to increase; and he preached the word of God assiduously, with so much sweetness and energy, and with such unction of the Holy Ghost, that it was truly in his mouth a two-edged sword, and the people flocked from distant places to hear it from him. Out of devotion to the memory of St. Lambert, in the thirteenth year of his episcopal dignity, he translated his bones from Maestricht to Liege, then a very commodious and agreeable village upon the banks of the Meuse, which from this treasure very soon grew into a flourishing city, to which the ruins of Herstal, a mile distant, and of several other palaces and fortresses on the Meuse, contributed not a little. St. Hubert placed the relics of the martyr in a stately church which he built upon the spot where he had spilt his blood, which our saint made his cathedral, removing thither the episcopal see from Maestricht in 721, which St. Servatius had translated from Tongres to Maestricht in 382. Hence St. Lambert is honoured at Liege as principal patron, and St. Hubert as founder of the city and church, and its first bishop.

The great forest of Ardenne, famous in the Commentaries of Julius Cæsar and later writers, was in many parts a shelter for idolatry down to that age. 1 St. Hubert, with incredible zeal penetrated into the most remote and barbarous places of this country, and abolished the worship of idols; and as he performed the office of the apostles, God bestowed on him a like gift of miracles. Amongst others the author of his life relates as an eye-witness, that on the three days’ fast of the Rogations which the whole church observes, the holy bishop went out of the city of Maestricht in procession, through the fields and villages with his clergy and people, according to custom, following the standard of the cross and the relics of the saints, and singing the litany. This religious procession was disturbed in its devotions by a woman possessed by an evil spirit; but the holy bishop silenced her and restored her to her health by signing her with the cross. In the time of a great drought he obtained rain by his prayers. A year before his happy death he was advertised of it in a vision, and favoured with a sight of a place prepared for him in glory. Though the foreknowledge which faith gives us of the great change for which we wait the divine will, be equally sufficient to raise up our hearts thither, the saint from that time redoubled his fervour in sighing after that bliss, and in putting his house in order; and reserved to himself more time for visiting the altars, and the shrines of the saints, especially the tomb of St. Lambert, and the altar of St. Albinus, commending his soul to God through the intercession of the saints with many tears. Going to dedicate a new church at Fur, (which seems to be Terture in Brabant,) twelve leagues from Liege, he preached there his farewell sermon; immediately after which he betook himself to bed ill of a fever, and on the sixth day of his sickness, reciting to his last breath the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer, sweetly reposed in Christ, on the 30th of May, in 727. His body was conveyed to Liege, and deposited in the collegiate church of St. Peter. 2 With the leave of the bishop, and of the emperor Lewis Debonnair, it was translated, in 825, to the abbey of Andain, since called St. Hubert’s, in the Ardennes, on the frontiers of the duchy of Luxemburg. The abbot is lord of the territory, which comprises sixteen villages. The shrine of St. Hubert is resorted to by many pilgrims, and has been honoured by many miraculous cures, especially of persons bit by mad dogs. 3 The principal feast of St. Hubert, probably on account of some translation, is kept on the 3rd of November. See the history of his life from the time of his conversion, written by one who had conversed familiarly with him; also the History of the Translation of his relics to Andain (or St. Hubert’s) by Jonas, (probably the Bishop of Orleans,) and an anonymous history of his miracles compiled in the eleventh age, all published by Mabillon, Sæc. Ben. 4, p. 293, &c. Likewise Le Cointe and Miræus, in their Annals of France and Belgium; Placentius, Hist. Episcoporum, Leod. p. 272, Buxhorn, Antiq. Leod. p. 7, &c.

Note 1. A small district on both sides of the Meuse still retains the name of the country of Ardenne. The ancient forest of that name was inclosed betwixt the Rhine and the Meuse. Some authors have extended it on one side into Champagne, and on the other as far as the Scheldt. Those at least who carry it beyond this river into Artois, seem to take this name of Ardenne for any great wood, as the Romans understood the word Hercynian. On which account they called by the same name Hercynia the whole great German forest, which was extended from the Ardennes or the Rhine, through all Germany to the Danube. They seem to have mistaken the German word Hartz, a wood, and the plural Hartzen, for an appellative, which they corrupted into Hercynia. The name of Hercynian or Hartz-Forest is given by moderns only to that wood which it thirty English miles broad, and about sixty long, situated in Brunswic-Lunenburg, Thuringia, Anhalt, and Hildersheim. See the Natural History of Hartz-Forest by H. Behrens, M.D. [back]

Note 2. The military order of knights of St. Hubert was instituted by Gerard V., duke of Cleves and Gueldres, in memory of his victory gained in 1444, on St. Hubert’s day, over the house of Egmont, which pretended a claim to those duchies. The knights wore a gold collar ornamented with hunting horns: on which hung a medal with an image of St. Hubert before their breast. The duke of Neuburgh became heir to Cleves, and in 1685 was made elector palatine of the Rhine. This honour is since conferred by the elector palatine on certain gentlemen of his court with pensions. The knights now wear a gold collar with a cross and an image of St. Hubert, &c. See Statuta Ordinis Militaris S. Huberti a ser. Principe Joan. Gul. Comite Palatino Rheni S. R. J. elect. renovati. an. 1708. Also the Jesuit Bonanni, Schoonebeck, Bern. Giustiniani and F. Honoratus of St. Mary in their histories of military orders of knighthood. [back]

Note 3. Against this dreadful venom the blessing of heaven is so much the more earnestly to be implored, as no confidence can be placed in bathing in the sea or other vulgar remedies, as Somerville truly observes; neither is the new secret a sure prescription, though it sometimes succeeds. Nevertheless, superstitious notions and practices, which easily creep into the best devotions amongst the vulgar, cannot be too carefully guarded against on all occasions, and require the particular attention of all pastors concerned in these pilgrimages, &c. at St. Hubert’s, that every practice be regulated and directed by true piety and religion. See Dr. Thiers, Traités des Superstitions, l. 6, c. 4, p. 107. F. Le Brun, Hist. Crit. des Pratiques Superstit. l. 4, c. 4, p. 195. Raynaud, t. 8, p. 114. Bend. XIV. de Canoniz. &c. [back]

Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73).  Volume XI: November. The Lives of the Saints.  1866.

SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/11/032.html

Maurice Denis, "La légende de Saint Hubert : Le miracle" (Maurice Denis, 1870-1943), quatrième panneau d’une suite de sept. Décor pour l'hôtel particulier du baron Denys Cochin à Paris. 7 panneaux, Huile sur toile, 1896-1897, Saint-Germain-en-Laye (Yvelines) - Musée départemental Maurice-Denis « Le Prieuré » (Musée départemental Maurice Denis "The Priory")


Sant' Uberto di Tongeren-Maastricht Vescovo

30 maggio

Regione delle Ardenne (?), ca. 685 - Tervuren (Belgio), 30 maggio 727

Patronato: Cacciatori, Fonditori, Cani

Etimologia: Uberto = spirito brillante, dal tedesco

Emblema: Bastone pastorale, Libro, Cervo, Cane

Martirologio Romano: A Tervueren sempre nel Brabante in Austrasia, transito di sant’Uberto, vescovo di Tongeren e Maastricht, che, discepolo e successore di san Lamberto, si adoperò con tutte le forze per diffondere il Vangelo nel Brabante e nelle Ardenne, dove estirpò i costumi pagani.

Il suo nome fa subito venire in mente la leggenda del cervo che gli sarebbe apparso, con un crocifisso splendente sul capo, mentre egli cacciava nei boschi delle Ardenne, in un giorno di raccoglimento: un Venerdì santo. Leggenda, e nemmeno esclusiva, perché cose simili si raccontano di altri santi. Su di lui le notizie certe scarseggiano. Sappiamo che era di famiglia nobile e che fu discepolo di san Lamberto vescovo di Tongres (Belgio), il quale trasferì poi la sua sede a Maastricht (Olanda).

Lamberto lo ordinò sacerdote, e morì tragicamente – forse per una vendetta – ai primi dell’VIII secolo. A succedergli fu chiamato appunto Uberto, che ricevette la consacrazione episcopale a Roma dal papa Sergio I. Questo, non più tardi del 701, perché in quell’anno papa Sergio morì, in settembre. La sua allora era una diocesi di boschi e di gente dei boschi, in parte ancora lontana dal cristianesimo, sicché egli dovette dedicarsi soprattutto alla predicazione. Nel dicembre del 717-718 fece portare il corpo del predecessore Lamberto da Maastricht a Liegi, dov’era stato ucciso e dove ebbe definitiva sepoltura. Nel 722 trasferì a Liegi anche la sede vescovile.

Dopodiché, per anni, ci sono soltanto narrazioni postume e fantasiose. Di certo sappiamo che anche da vescovo Uberto andava a pescare: e che un giorno, trafficando con un amo, si ferì a una mano. Secondo un’altra leggenda, in quel momento una voce dall’alto gli preannunciò la morte vicina. Dopo l’incidente – che deve avere avuto sviluppi infettivi – Uberto dà disposizione di essere seppellito a Liegi. Ma non interrompe la sua attività, e nel maggio 737 consacra una nuova chiesa vicino a Lovanio. Poi crolla. Il male si è aggravato, e lui muore sei giorni dopo quel rito, a Tervuren (una ventina di km da Lovanio). Sepolto in San Pietro a Liegi, è presto venerato come santo in Belgio e Olanda, poi anche in Francia e in Germania. Sedici anni dopo la morte (3 novembre 743) il suo corpo viene trasferito davanti all’altar maggiore della chiesa di San Pietro, e per l’evento è accorso a Liegi addirittura Carlomanno, Maestro di Palazzo, e in sostanza padrone del regno franco: un altro segno di questa diffusa venerazione e del suo “peso” anche politico. Intanto si diffondono leggende sulla sua vita, e lungo il tempo nasceranno confraternite intitolate al suo nome; in Germania, l’Ordine cavalleresco di Sant’Uberto durerà fino al 1918.

Nell’825 i resti del santo vengono portati in un’abbazia benedettina delle Ardenne, che prenderà il suo nome, e vi resteranno fino alle devastazioni e incendi della rivolta dei Gueux (“pezzenti”) nel 1568, scomparendo nel saccheggio del monastero. I cacciatori lo hanno proclamato loro patrono, e così i fonditori e lavoratori di metalli e i pellicciai. Già nel IX secolo la festa di Sant’Uberto si celebrava il 3 novembre, e a questa data lo ricorda il Martirologio romano.

Autore: Domenico Agasso

SOURCE : http://santiebeati.it/dettaglio/76100