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
Phi 2:12-18
Lk 14:25-33
“Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”
When I was much younger, I used to be troubled by today’s gospel and Jesus’ seemingly harsh demands on His disciples. He says ‘If any man comes to me without hating his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple.’
It sounded absurd almost, and certainly unreasonable, given that ‘hate’ is such an emotionally-laden word. Upon further digging, I found that the word used in the original Greek version of the bible is ‘misei’. When used in a biblical or idiomatic context, it means ‘to love less’, so that God himself is always one’s first and greatest love. Interestingly, Mt 10:37 has a parallel passage; instead of the word ‘hate’, the equivalent line says, ‘Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” It is clear that Jesus is not saying we cannot love others, or that we must ‘hate’ even our ‘own life’; he simply states unapologetically, and very clearly, that we cannot have any attachment in preference and priority over him if we choose to be his disciple.
Sitting with this absolute demand is disconcerting. To be honest, I have deep attachments that can and do compete with God; praying these few lines forces me to name those attachments (be they temporal or even relationships) and to consider why I would prefer them over God, who satisfies fully and permanently all my needs and desires.
Carrying one’s cross goes beyond enduring suffering with grace and dignity. It is an invitation to freely and lovingly attach myself to Christ above all else, even if it comes at great cost. This is I think, the challenge of living a discerned life. Examining one’s conscience honestly will throw up areas where inordinate attachments have become part of me. What attachments are shaping my choices without my noticing? In Ignatian practice, good feelings are not necessarily a confirmation that a decision or choice is good. I may work exceedingly hard to provide my family the best that money can buy, at the expense of personal health – physical, mental and especially spiritual. In being so consumed with this goal, have I neglected tending to my domestic church? Do we pray, worship, participate in the life of the church as a family? God certainly expects me to be a responsible spouse and parent but is my love for my family so disordered that it competes with my love for Christ? This question of discernment is not so much about dropping my responsibilities but about re-ordering my life so that God is always first.
Perhaps in prayer today, I can ask for the grace to know where my disordered attachments are, and for the freedom also to love Christ above all things. The truth and reality is that even with best of intentions, it is easy to slip back into making gods of our treasures and ‘possessions’. The Lord invites us to review our lives against the gift of his extravagant love; to ponder his Word and, in the silence of our hearts, listen to the voice of the Spirit gently prompting and guiding us. One might come to realise more deeply that Christ himself is worth more than anything and everything we have. The Giver of all our gifts desires our unequivocal ‘yes’ to carrying our crosses as he did his, and to place him where he belongs, ahead of all else.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Corinne Cheok)
Prayer: I want to be your disciple Lord, and to follow you. Teach me how to give you my undivided heart, that I may belong to you completely.
Thanksgiving: Thank you, dear Lord, for never turning your back on us or loving us less, even when our love for you is conditional or grows lukewarm. Thank you for loved ones gone before us who carried their crosses in life, for your graces that sustained their faith to the end.
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