St. Charles Borromeo - Nov. 4th

 

Today, we celebrate the memorial of St. Charles Borromeo. He along with St. Philip Neri, St. Ignatius of Loyola and others worked to combat the Protestant reformation. His mother’s brother would become Pope Pius IV. Born in 1538, he would become a very devout boy and even received the order of tonsure when he was only 12 years old. While very young he received income from a rich Benedictine Abbey, but told his father the money should be given to the poor. While at a University he studied civil and canon law. Many thought he was slow because he had slight speech impediment. Due to his piety, he was a model for other students, who were often pleasure seeking. He received his doctor’s degree at the age of 22 and it was not much long after that both of his parents died. He was surprised to hear that his uncle was elected pope.

A few months later, his uncle the pope requested to see him. Though he was not even a priest, the pope made him a cardinal, which was permissible in that time period. The pope gave him many tasks. Despite this he wanted to go to a monastery to be alone with God and away from the world.

He was present at the Council of Trent. During the council rifts occurred over discussions about doctrine, and Charles is attributed to healing those rifts. He also did much work on developing the Catechism at that time. One of his jobs would be to develop liturgical music. After his brother died, he entered the priesthood and was ordained the bishop of Milan three months later.

Catholics had been falling away from the Church, because there had not been a resident bishop in Milan for over 80yrs. He immediately began to reform the diocese and established seminaries, schools and convents. He also began to reform the clergy. Many priests were ignorant and lazy and the sacraments were neglected. He raised up the spiritual life and began Sunday Schools for teaching the children Catechism. Historically, these were the first Sunday schools which numbered 740.

At night, he would take off his bishop’s garb and put on a tattered old cassock. Once someone asked if he wanted his bed warmed, and he said, “the best way to not find a bed cold is to go to bed colder than the bed is”.

A great challenge occurred when a famine and plague occurred. While the governor left, he stayed to minister to the dying. He would use his funds to take care of the poor and destitute. He wore a rope around his neck as a penance during the plague and he cried tears of blood in anguish due to the plague.

His reforms were not accepted by everyone and a group of attempted to assassinate him. They fired upon him while he was praying his evening prayer. His pectoral cross that he wore deflected the bullet. 

He always carried with him a picture of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More, who had been martyred under Henry VIII.

In 1584, he became very ill and received the last sacraments. He died at the age of 46. His body now rests in the cathedral of Milan and was canonized 16 yrs. after his death. 

He is often pictured giving Communion to the poor and destitute during the plague and a rope around his neck, as a sign of penance during the plague.

Because of his piety and his effectiveness as a churchman, he became known as a “second Ambrose” and is called "father of the clergy". He is the patron of seminarians and was truly a good shepherd, who was willing to lay down his life for his sheep, in imitation of Jesus the Good Shepherd.

He is an example, all cardinals, bishops and priests, on pastoring the people during a plague and continuing to give them the sacraments. He risked his life to give the people of God, especially the sick during a plague, how unlike the many shepherds, who fled during the pandemic in our time.