We know that Jesus summed up God’s law in the commandments to love God and love our neighbor. Paul sums up God’s law in the same manner in today's reading from his letter to the Romans. Living in God’s love will help bring us closer to God’s commandments. However, this is not always easy to do in practice. I was chatting with a colleague recently as to how as a priest, it’s not always so easy for me to apply God’s law to some of the situations I face in the parish. That is what is so interesting for to learn about the saints, about how lived as disciples in the gray areas of their lives.
As Catholics, Charles Borromeo might not be very well known to us, but he was an important missionary and prophet in our Church, just as St Paul was. His feast day was celebrated over the weekend. He lived in the era of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, a time when our Church was under great scrutiny and attack. He was born into a noble family in Milan, Italy, being related to the powerful Medici clan. When his uncle was elected as Pope Pius VI, Borromeo became the cardinal and administrator of the important Italian Archdiocese of Milan. Being named Bishop of Milan at a young age, he could have used this position for his own benefit and power. Yet, he lived out a life of service, being very influential in the Council of Trent and promoting the system of seminaries that we have today to educate our priests. Borromeo could have lived a life of great luxury and privilege, but he gave much of his wealth to charity, led a very simple life, and took out enormous debts in order to feed the victims of the plague in his city. Like Charles Borromeo and St Paul, we are all called to lives of holiness in our own way. May all of us be able to discern the ways to which God is calling us to live out our lives of faith as we live in the light of God’s love.
As Catholics, Charles Borromeo might not be very well known to us, but he was an important missionary and prophet in our Church, just as St Paul was. His feast day was celebrated over the weekend. He lived in the era of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, a time when our Church was under great scrutiny and attack. He was born into a noble family in Milan, Italy, being related to the powerful Medici clan. When his uncle was elected as Pope Pius VI, Borromeo became the cardinal and administrator of the important Italian Archdiocese of Milan. Being named Bishop of Milan at a young age, he could have used this position for his own benefit and power. Yet, he lived out a life of service, being very influential in the Council of Trent and promoting the system of seminaries that we have today to educate our priests. Borromeo could have lived a life of great luxury and privilege, but he gave much of his wealth to charity, led a very simple life, and took out enormous debts in order to feed the victims of the plague in his city. Like Charles Borromeo and St Paul, we are all called to lives of holiness in our own way. May all of us be able to discern the ways to which God is calling us to live out our lives of faith as we live in the light of God’s love.
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