November 4, 2002
St. Charles Borromeo
(1538-1584)
The name of St. Charles Borromeo is associated with reform. He lived during the time
of the Protestant Reformation, and had a hand in the reform of the whole Church during
the final years of the Council of Trent.
LIFE:
St.Charles born on 2 october 1538 at Aron in Italy.Although he belonged to a
noble Milanese family and was related to the powerful Medici family, he desired to
devote himself to the Church. When his uncle, Cardinal de Medici, was elected pope in
1559 as Pius IV, he made Charles cardinal-deacon and administrator of the Archdiocese
of Milan while he was still a layman and a young student. Because of his intellectual
qualities he was entrusted with several important offices connected with the Vatican
and later appointed secretary of state with full charge of the administration of the
papal states. The untimely death of his elder brother brought Charles to a definite
decision to be ordained a priest, despite relatives' insistence that he marry. He was
ordained a priest at the age of 25, and soon afterward he was consecrated bishop of
Milan.
Charles had encouraged the pope to renew the Council in 1562 after it had been
suspended 10 years before. Working behind the scenes, St. Charles deserves the credit
for keeping the Council in session when at several points it was on the verge of
breaking up. He took upon himself the task of the entire correspondence during the
final phase.
The reform needed in every phase of Catholic life among both clergy and laity . If
the people were to be converted to a better life, these had to be the first to give a
good example and renew their apostolic spirit.He reformed 3,000 clergy,founded
&endowed seminaries,lay catechists,in remote village heinstituted new
parishes&monasteries,won innumerable souls.
Charles took the initiative in giving good example. He allotted most of his income to
charity, forbade himself all luxury and imposed severe penances upon himself. He
sacrificed wealth, high honors, esteem and influence to become poor. During the plague
and famine of 1576 he tried to feed 60,000 to 70,000 people daily. To do this he
borrowed large sums of money that required years to repay. When the civil authorities
fled at the height of the plague, he stayed in the city, where he ministered to the
sick and the dying, helping those in want.
Work and the heavy burdens of his high office began to affect his health. He died at
the age of 46.,was canonized in1610.
PATRONAGE:
bishops,catechists,catechumens,seminarians,spiritual directors,spiritual
leaders,stomach&colic intestinal diseases and ulcers.
REFLECTION:
"" He who desires to make any progress in the sevice of God must begin
everyday of his life with new ardour,must keep himself in the presence of
God as much as possible, and must have no other view or end in all his
actions but the divine honour""(St.Charles Borromeo)
Post your ad on Yahoo! India Autos.Check out the used Maruti, Fiat and Ford models on
sale now.
****************************************************************
This mail is generated from JOYnet, a Jesus Youth mailing list.
For more info on the list visit http://www.jesusyouth.org/joynet
To unsubscribe from the list send a mail to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
To subscribe to the list visit
http://www.jesusyouth.org/joynet/join
To get a standard help message on the list services send a mail to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
In case of any issue related to the mailing list contact
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
****************************************************************
