Today,
we hear the concluding section to Paul’s letter to the Romans, as he addresses
his audience in very personal and endearing terms. Paul wants them to know about his true
motives in writing this letter. He lets
them know of the goodness he sees in them, how he sees them being full of
knowledge and being able to instruct one another. In this passage, we hear of Paul’s zeal and
enthusiasm in bringing the Gospel to others, to the Gentile who have not yet
been exposed to God’s holy word.
As Catholics, Charles Borromeo might
not be very well known to us, but he is also an important missionary and
prophet in our Church, just as St Paul was.
Borromeo lived in the era of the Protestant Reformation, a time when our
Church was under great scrutiny and great attack. He was born into nobility in Milan Italy,
being related to the powerful Medici family.
When his uncle was elected as Pope Pius VI, Borromeo became the cardinal
and administrator of the important Italian Archdiocese of Milan. He was named Bishop of Milan at a very young
age. He was very influential in the
Council of Trent, and is well-known for promoting the system of seminaries that
we have today to educate our priests.
Charles 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment