Nov 4 – Memorial for St. Charles Borromeo, bishop
St. Charles (1538-1584) was born to a wealthy, noble family, the third of six children, and the son of Count Giberto II Borromeo and Marghertita de’ Medici. He was the nephew of Pope Pius IV. He suffered from a speech impediment, but studied in Milan, and at the University of Pavia, at one point studying under the future Pope Gregory XIII.
He became a civil and canon lawyer at the age of 21, and a cleric at Milan, taking the habit on Oct 13, 1547. He became Abbot of three different abbeys until Jan 13, 1560. He was protonotary apostolic participantium and referendary of the papal court to Pope Pius IV. He was also a member of the counsulta for the administration of the Papal States on Jan 20, 1560. He was appointed abbot commendatario for an abbey in Portugal, and an abbey in Flanders on Jan 27, 1560.
On Jan 31, 1560, he was apostolic administrator of Milan, Italy, then a papal legate to Bologna and Romandiola for two years beginning on Apr 26, 1560. He was made a deacon on Dec 21, 1560 and appointed Vatican Secretary of State. He was made an honorary citizen of Rome on Jul 1, 1561, and founded the ‘Accademia Vaticana’ in 1562.
He was finally ordained on Sep 4, 1563, and helped reopen the Council of Trent, and participated in its sessions during 1562 and 1563. He was ordained Bishop of Milan on Dec 7, 1563 and was President of the commission of theologians charged by the pope to elaborate the Catechismus Romanus. He also worked on the revision of the Missal and Breviary, and was a member of a commission to reform church music.
He participated in the conclave of cardinals in 1565-66 that chose Pope Pius V, and he asked the new pope to take the name. Due to his enforcement of strict ecclesiastical discipline, some disgruntled monks in the order of the Humiliati hired a lay brother to murder him on the evening of Oct 26, 1569. He was shot at, but not hit.
He also participated in the conclave in 1572 that chose Pope Gregory XIII. He worked with the sick, and helped bury the dead during the plague outbreak in Milan in 1576. He established the Oblates of St. Ambrose on Apr 26, 1578, and was a teacher, confessor, and parish priest to St. Aloysius Gonzaga, giving him his first communion on Jul 22, 1580.
Charles spent his life and fortune in the service of the people of his diocese. He directed and fervently enforced the decrees of the Council of Trent, fought tirelessly for peace in the wake of the storm caused by Martin Luther, founded schools for the poor, seminaries for clerics, hospitals for the sick, conducted synods, instituted children’s Sunday school, did great public and private penance, and worked among the sick and dying, leading his people by example.
He is patron saint for bishops, catechists, catechumens, seminarians, spiritual directors, and spiritual leaders.
Prayer to St. Charles Borromeo:
O Saintly reformer, animator of spiritual renewal of priests and religious, you organized true seminaries and wrote a standard catechism. Inspire all religious teachers and authors of catechetical books. Move them to love and transmit only that which can form true followers of the Teacher who was divine. Amen.
- Patron Saint Index
Rm 12:3-13
Jn 10:11-16
Each of you must judge himself soberly by the standard of the faith God has given him… Our gifts differ according to the grace given us.
I did not know much of St Charles Borromeo before today. Yet, as I read the brief summary of his life, I am in awe and struck by how he truly exemplified the Memorial readings today. Rather, it is clear that these readings are apt descriptions of how Charles Borromeo really lived a life of the Gospel.
Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd is one who lays down his life for his sheep… I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father…”
Charles Borromeo lived fiercely and passionately despite the calumny, persecution, resistance, and abuses he faced against his life and work. His sacrifice for God’s Church and people cost him much. And look at the amazing works he has accomplished, while only having lived a relatively short life which ended at 46 in 1584! It is truly remarkable that some of the most fervent and fearsomely faithful Saints we have in our Catholic Church are those who did not live long, languishing lives of tepid love for God. Thérèse of Lisieux died at the age of 24 in 1897, while a modern-day youth, Carlo Acutis, died at the extremely young age of 15 in 2006.
As I ponder the lives of these great yet humble saints, I realise that the length or brevity of one’s life does not determine one’s ability to live faithfully. Instead, it is marked by the intensity of which one chooses to deep dive and live accordingly to one’s “standard of the faith God has given him” (Romans 12:4), given the life and circumstances one has.
It is oddly comforting to know that we do not have to covet the mission field of another person, or the banner of devotion another soul has. One only needs to seek out, with careful and faithful discernment, the unique pathway God designs for us. It is a path like no other; it is also fraught with trials like none other. A cross to bear that is ultimately both yoke and gift at once. Each cross, made of different wood, grain, shape, size, cut, that will burn up in only the way it can given its solitary make.
Our cross is the only signpost we have to follow if we desire a surefire way to Christ. Just as Jesus carried his own cross, hewn differently from the other two criminals on his left and right, we are each blessed with the gifts of our soul’s print — mine is mine and yours is yours.
“Our gifts differ according to the grace given us… use it as your faith suggests.” says Paul, and “do not give up if trials come; and keep on praying.”
As we journey on to the end of the year, some of us will be glad to have put some things behind us, or look forward to a hopeful new year ahead. There is a thorn in my flesh that I have been struggling to pry free and yet, I recognise that it is uniquely mine to bear. I see the good in it, even as it does make my flesh burn. Purification and sanctification is a holy sacrifice each of us can truly offer up to God for his glory, and for the benefit of our faith, and lives of others. If Charles Borromeo could live fearlessly and tirelessly the way he did, given his circumstances, then I can at least try to live out my station with the simple holiness that is required of me alone — and practice discerning how to.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Debbie Loo)
Prayer: God most gracious and loving, grant me the portion of help I need to live faithfully and lovingly in accordance to Your Will. Help me to see You in everything that happens to me, and use my gifts to glorify you.
Thanksgiving: We give thanks for the hardships in life that shape us, the pain that caused us to cry out to God, the challenges that remind us of our shared suffering.
OXYGEN 
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