St. Borromeo's gifts saved the Church
“We have gifts that differ according to the grace given us.”
St. Charles Borromeo used his gifts of organization, persuasion, education, and righteousness to correct flaws in the Catholic Church during his leadership of the third and final session of the Council of Trent. Through education and training opportunities, he made the lives of the religious more effective for the church and less stressful for the clergy. His love for humanity guided his service for those in need. I expect to see him at the banquet in the Kingdom of God.
Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop
Romans 12:5-16ab
Luke 14:15-24
In our first reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans, Paul is addressing Christian believers in Rome, including both Jewish and Gentile individuals. He states, “We, though many, are one Body in Christ” and “we have gifts that differ according to the grace given us.”
Everyone has some gift that can be used for the benefit of the community. When the instruction on justification through faith is correctly grasped, the possessor of a gift will understand that it is not an instrument of self-aggrandizement. Possession of a gift is not an index to the quality of faith. Rather, the gift is a challenge to faithful use.
Paul’s list of gifts is not all-inclusive, but it gives a range of examples of how one’s “part” in the community complements the skills and gifts given to others. It is noted that we must “exercise” or use our gifts to the benefit of all. A gift that remains hidden, is unused, or underused, and serves no one. This might be considered a sin of omission.
A partial list of gifts and recommended actions in Romans includes:
• if ministry, in ministering;
• if one is a teacher, in teaching;
• if one contributes, in generosity;
• if one is over others, with diligence;
• if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
[Note from reflector – bullet points are a modern invention, Paul would have used them if they were available in the first century]
Paul goes on to remind his audience that we have been commanded to love one another. He provides us with another list, but without detailed elaboration. When I read through this list, it reminded me of the inspirational posters often found in religious bookstores. You know the ones — they have a biblical phrase or life lesson with an image that embodies the moment.
What images do you see with these verses from St. Paul in Romans? [Romans 12:9-16]
• Let love be sincere
• Hate what is evil, hold on to what is good
• Love one another with mutual affection
• Anticipate one another in showing honor
• Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord
• Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer
• Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality
• Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse them
• Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep
• Have the same regard for one another
• Do not be haughty but associate with the lowly
Today’s Psalm 131 reading is, well, short. Not the shortest, that honor goes to Psalm 117, which is only two verses long. But at three verses, Psalm 131 ties with “also very short,” at the same length as Psalms 133 and 134. But I digress …
Psalm 131, attributed to David, is one of the 15 Psalms (120-134) grouped as “Songs of Ascents,” which many scholars believe were sung by worshippers as they ascended the road to Jerusalem to attend the three annually required pilgrimage festivals.
While brief, Psalm 131 conveys a great deal of implied information. The phrases in verse one can be paired with specific events in David’s life that he could undoubtedly have bragged about. Yet, he retained his humility. These events were:
“My heart was not haughty” – when Samuel anointed me king
“nor were my eyes lofty” – when I slew Goliath
“neither did I swagger about” – when I was restored to my kingship
“nor did I accept as my due things too high for me” – when I had the Ark of God brought up out of Philistine captivity
Instead, David expresses his confidence and his commitment to perform the will of God, like a satisfied child in his mother’s lap.
The reading from the Gospel of Luke is often referred to as the Parable of the Great Feast. Jesus presents this parable at a dinner at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. It is the Sabbath, and Jesus has already cured a man with dropsy. (Side note: dropsy is an abnormal swelling of the body because of the retention and accumulation of fluid; I had to look it up.) The scholars and Pharisees in attendance could not agree on whether it was permissible to heal on the Sabbath.
Jesus then commented on how guests chose where they sat and reminded them that “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Next, he tells the host who had invited him that he should have asked the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind instead of friends and wealthy neighbors.
The first verse in today’s reading is: One of those at table with Jesus said to him, “Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.” [Luke 14:15]
Jesus, who happens to know a bit about “who will dine in the Kingdom of God,” responds with a parable. A man gave a great feast and had invited many. When the feast was ready, he sent his servant with the message, “Come, everything is now ready.” Unexpectedly, many of his first-tier guests had rather lame excuses for not attending.
• I have purchased a field and must go examine it.
• I have purchased 5 yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them.
• I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.
Each of these excuses came from an invited guest preoccupied with their own worldly concerns and showed a complete disregard for the importance of the banquet being offered. The master of the house, in a rage, commanded his servant, “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.”
Hey, wait a minute! Isn’t that the same group of people that Jesus had suggested would be more appropriate for his host to invite to his dinner? These are the people who “will dine in the Kingdom of God”!
The servant delivers the message, and the guests of lesser social stature arrive.
The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out and still there is room.’ The master then ordered the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled. For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.’
There are several messages tucked into the last part of this parable:
• There is room for more to dine in the Kingdom of God
• Those in need get in by accepting the invitation
• Sometimes persuasion (evangelization and ministering) is needed to ‘make people come’ to the banquet
• Those who make excuses (the original guest list) will NOT be allowed to dine
I hope the rest of the meal at the Pharisees’ house went well.
Today (November 4) is the memorial feast for St. Charles Borromeo. My only prior knowledge of St. Charles Borromeo was the occasional attendance at a Catholic Church in Nigeria bearing his name. So, I dug a little deeper.
He is best known for his pivotal role in the Counter-Reformation and his deep commitment to church reform and pastoral care.
At the age of 12, the young Charles Borromeo dedicated himself to a life of service to the Church. At that time, he received the tonsure (the ‘Friar Tuck’ haircut). His uncle gave him the family income from the Benedictine abbey of Saints Gratinian and Felin. Even as a youth, his integrity was obvious. He was explicit in telling his father that he could only keep the money required for his education and to prepare him for service to the Church. All other funds belonged to the poor of the Church and were to be passed along to them.
In 1559, at the age of 21, Charles earned a doctorate in canon and civil law. Shortly afterward, Borromeo’s uncle, Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Medici, was elected as Pope Pius IV. In early 1560, Charles was “created” cardinal by the Uncle Pope. That turned out to be an excellent decision, because Pope Pius restarted the Council of Trent for the third time. The first two sessions of the Council were less than successful, but under the leadership of Cardinal Charles, the final session of the Council addressed corruption within the Catholic Church and provided direction to revitalize the Church in response to the Protestant Reformation.
In 1564, Charles was appointed Archbishop of Milan. As archbishop, he reformed the clergy, enforced discipline, and improved religious education. He founded seminaries and colleges to train priests and laypeople.
During the plague of 1576–78 in Milan, he remained in the city, organizing relief efforts and distributing a significant portion of his wealth to aid the sick and impoverished.
His feast day is celebrated on November 4, and he was canonized in 1610 by Pope Paul V.
St. Charles Borromeo is the patron saint of bishops, cardinals, seminarians, and spiritual leaders.
Is there a connection between the Saint of the Day and our readings? I believe there is. St. Charles Borromeo used his gifts of organization, persuasion, education, and righteousness to correct flaws in the Catholic Church during his leadership of the third and final session of the Council of Trent. Through education and training opportunities, he made the lives of the religious more effective for the church and less stressful for the clergy. His love for humanity guided his service for those in need. I expect to see him at the banquet in the Kingdom of God.