February 16, 2018

The Forgiveness of Charles Martel

Charles Martel reunited and, from 718 to 741, was the de facto ruler of Francia, which contained much of present-day France and Germany. In 732, at Poitiers, he won a historic victory over the Muslims, stemming their invasion of Europe.

Apparently carried away with exuberance over the event, he committed, prior to the ensuing victory celebration, an extremely grave sin. So grave was the sin that he could not bring himself to confess it, his shame being so great. Determining upon a solution, he decided to go to Provenza and see a well-known abbot of the time named Egidio. He hoped that he could find absolution through this priest, even without confessing the sin and keeping it still a secret to himself. The sin was that of incest, and the other party involved was his sister.

After he arrived, Fr. Egidio was presiding at Mass when he beheld an angel carrying a book. In the book, the sin had been written. As Fr. Egidio progressed with the celebration of the Eucharist, the writing slowly faded, until it was no longer visible.

Martel took from this that his sin had been forgiven.

Today, the priest is known as St. Egidio.

Source: “The Eucharistic Miracles of the World,” a Vatican international exhibition, as reported by The Real Presence Eucharistic Education and Adoration and Association,
http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/english_pdf/Egidio.pdf.

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