Feast of St. Charles Borromeo

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Monday, 4 November 2024 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded that as Christians, our first and foremost calling and mission in life is to show love to one another, and to be full of love in us, just as the Lord Himself is all full of love, for God is Love, and the love that He has shown to us, we too should also bear in our every actions, our every words and interactions with each other, our deeds and all the every parts of our lives. If we do not have love in us and if we do not love others around us generously as we all should have, then how can we truly call or consider ourselves as true and genuine Christians? That is because without love, then our faith as Christians, as those who believe in the Lord, it is truly dead, because faith without action, which are founded on love, is indeed dead and meaningless.

This is why, as we all listened to the first reading today, from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in Philippi in Greece, we are all presented with the Apostle’s kind reminder to the faithful in the city of Philippi that they all should truly embody their Christian faith through their love for one another, and for them all to be truly united as one people, all believing in the same Lord and God, the same Saviour Jesus Christ, Who has saved them all through His most wonderful manifestation of the perfect and selfless love that He has poured down on all of us from His Cross, at the moment of His Passion, His suffering and death. St. Paul pointed out that they all share the same Spirit of Christ, and therefore, they all should love one another, putting the needs of others above one’s own selfish desires and interests.

Contextually, at that time, during St. Paul’s missionary journeys which brought him all throughout many parts of the Mediterranean region including to the city and region of Philippi itself, there were a lot of divisions within the Christian communities especially between those followers and converts from the Gentiles, the non-Jewish populations like the local Greeks and the Romans, as well as many other people and then the Jewish diaspora population, many of whom were also divided in their allegiances and ideals like those in Judea and Jerusalem, and many of them subscribed to the idea of the Pharisees in particular, which championed the imposition of Jewish ways and customs on all the Christian faithful, and the idea that the Jews had the exclusive right of salvation in God, which likely led to divisions and friction in the community of the people of God.

Thus, what St. Paul told the Ephesians made sense as he exhorted them to leave behind all those prejudices and attitudes which the people had held in them, and which they had acted to one another, leading to strife, conflicts and divisions in the Church. He reminded them and also all of us that we must always remain united in our common faith in Christ, our Lord and Saviour, and we should not lose our sight and focus on this faith which we ought to have in the Lord, our most loving God. Our faith must always be centred in the Lord and not in our own ideals and thoughts, our intellects and worldly wisdom, or else we will find that it is easy for us to be swayed by falsehoods and temptations of the world, by false ideals and ways that may distract us from the path of God’s righteousness and grace.

In our Gospel passage today from the Gospel according to St. Luke we then heard of the Lord Jesus saying to a man who had invited Him to a celebration or banquet before His disciples about how when one invite someone else to a banquet, then the host ought not to invite those who are of their own families and friends, those who are close and dear, precious and beloved to himself or herself, but rather, one should invite the less privileged, those who were poor and who had nothing to celebrate with, and the context that the Lord told the man and His disciples was that, if the host were to invite those who were his families, friends, and all those who were good to the host, then the invitation and goodwill can be easily repaid, while when inviting those who had little or nothing with them, it will in fact be the Lord Himself Who would reward those who had done such a wonderful deed.

Again, as with many of the Lord’s other words and teachings, we must understand fully the meaning and the intention behind the words that the Lord Himself had spoken and not be hasty to interpret His meaning plainly and literally as many would have done. He does not ask us to despise or dishonour our own families, relatives and friends, or to only be partial towards those strangers and people who are less fortunate. Rather, His intention as He said this was that, He wants us to break free of our attachments and our constant pandering to those around us who are jockeying and desiring for attention, rewards and expectations from one another. That is how our relationships in this world are usually built upon, that is upon transactional kind of relationships, and the Lord wants us to learn to show true and genuine love, one that is not transactional, to everyone around us, be it those known to us, or those others.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Charles Borromeo, a great servant of God and His Church whose life and dedication to God should be an inspiration to each and every one of us as Christians. St. Charles Borromeo was a young noble from the influential Borromeo family and he was a relative of the Medici Pope, Pope Pius IV, who was his uncle. From his youth, the young St. Charles Borromeo had been brought up and prepared for career in law, and he had a good academic preparation and education. And his connection to the Pope eventually brought him to be appointed as the assistant to the Pope, which was common at that time. He was first appointed as a protonotary apostolic and then at the still young age of about eighteen, he was made a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church.

As a Cardinal, St. Charles Borromeo lived a simple and austere life, unlike many of his contemporaries. His connections to the Pope and being a member of the nobility did not make him proud, haughty or greedy. On the contrary, St. Charles Borromeo sought to deepen his relationship with God and to live his life and missions as best as he could. He took part in the Ecumenical Council of Trent in reforming the Church, and he spent a lot of time and effort in trying to implement the changes and reforms, especially after he was appointed as the Archbishop of Milan by the Pope, one of the greatest and most influential sees in Christendom at that time. He worked hard as Archbishop and resolved to reform the Archdiocese which at that time had faced a lot of worldly corruption and laxity in their spiritual and moral discipline.

He spent a lot of effort making pastoral visits and trips to visit his various flocks, reforming the seminaries that trained the new generation of priests and establishing various institutions to benefit the people throughout his Archdiocese. And he continued to be humble in his actions, devoting himself to the good of the people of God. He faced a lot of hardships and opposition, but St. Charles Borromeo never allowed all those difficulties and challenges to dissuade him from doing his best to glorify God and to show his constant love and care for his people, providing for their needs and guiding them through the right path in life, and he was also courageous in his campaign to root out and eradicate corruptions and wickedness in the Church and its institutions, until the last moments of his life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have discussed earlier and from the life and examples of St. Charles Borromeo that we have listened to, clearly we can see that we must put our love for God and what He has entrusted to us, our missions and calling first and foremost, and not our personal ambitions and worldly desires, just as St. Charles Borromeo himself had done. If we allow those things to tempt and affect us, then very soon we may find ourselves distracted and misled down the wrong path. Hence, let us all renew our effort and conviction to follow the Lord ever more faithful and wholeheartedly in all things, now and always, and become good role models and inspirations for our brethren around us. Amen.

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Monday, 4 November 2024 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 14 : 12-14

At that time, Jesus also addressed the man who had invited Him, and said, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends, or your brothers and relatives, or your wealthy neighbours. For surely they will also invite you in return, and you will be repaid.”

“When you give a feast, invite instead the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. Fortunate are you then, because they cannot repay you; you will be repaid at the resurrection of the upright.”

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Monday, 4 November 2024 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 130 : 1, 2, 3

O Lord, my heart is not proud nor do I have arrogant eyes. I am not engrossed in ambitious matters, nor in things too great for me.

I have quieted and stilled my soul like a weaned child on its mother’s lap; like a contented child is my soul.

Hope in the Lord, o Israel, now and forever.

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Monday, 4 November 2024 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Philippians 2 : 1-4

If I may advise you in the Name of Christ and if you can hear it as the voice of love; if we share the same Spirit and are capable of mercy and compassion, then I beg of you, make me very happy : have one love, one Spirit, one feeling, do nothing through rivalry or vain conceit.

On the contrary let each of you gently consider the others as more important than yourselves. Do not seek your own interest, but rather that of others.

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Saturday, 4 November 2023 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded that all of us as Christians, we should be good examples in our faith and way of life for one another, and we should always keep in mind what God has prepared for us, in a life blessed by His grace and love, and what He has taught us to do, in His Law and commandments. God has not abandoned us all sinners, and He has always loved us all regardless, and He wants each and every one of us to be reconciled and reunited with Him. He has shown us all these and taught us these so that hopefully we may come to realise the depth of our folly and wickedness, because of our sins, and hence be reunited once again with Him in embracing the love and forgiveness that He has offered us. However, it is often that in order to do this, we must first humble ourselves before God.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans in which St. Paul continued in his discourse, comparing the actions of the Jews who have persecuted him and how these oppositions and persecutions did not actually make them to be truly evil and wicked. They are still after all the chosen and beloved people of God, with whom God had made His Covenant, and confirmed in His love. Despite their many sins, God still cared for them and loved them all patiently, showing them His love and mercy, calling them to return to Him and reminding them of the Law He had given and revealed to them, and the Covenant He had made with them. God has always shown His salvation to all, and He intended it to be given to all mankind, and not just to the Israelites alone, unlike what some among the Jewish people at that time thought.

As St. Paul highlighted it in our first reading today, that as God revealed His salvation and grace to all the nations, to the pagan nations and the Gentiles, or the non-Jewish people, He was also calling the descendants of the Israelites, whom He had first called among the others, to be coming together with the other nations towards Him as well. That is what the Lord has always intended with all of us His beloved people, and He still loves all of His people, regardless whether they were called first or later, and as a sign that He truly loved all of them, was how He sent His Son, the Liberator mentioned by St. Paul through the Jewish people themselves, Whose truth, works and actions would purify not just the sons and daughters of Israel, but also the whole entire world, for all the children of mankind, whom God had created with great love and care.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord Jesus Who was having a meal in the house of a Pharisee, with the other Pharisees closely watching over Him to see His actions and responses, and the Lord told the people assembled and the Pharisees themselves of a parable in which He subtly criticised the Pharisees for their self-righteous and disobedient attitude, in thinking that they were better than any others, and that they were more worthy than everyone around them. In their blind obedience to the Law and in their overly strict interpretation of the Law and the precepts of God, they had actually failed to do what they had been entrusted and called to do, in showing the love of God to more of His people through their examples and actions.

Instead, many among the Pharisees chose to parade their piety and faith practices, showing off their faith and how committed they were to others, making public their prayers and observances, and thus, behaving like those whom the Lord presented in the parable, as those who sought the front seats and premier places in an event or celebration, only to be put to shame by the more distinguished guests that came later. This was a reference to how the tax collectors and prostitutes, whom the Pharisees despised and looked down upon as unworthy sinners, were in fact closer to God’s salvation because they were fully aware of their sins, and humbly sought the Lord’s forgiveness and mercy, being healed through their humility and obedience to God, and their desire to change their way of life for better.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of the renowned St. Charles Borromeo, a great man of God and a great inspiration for many people all throughout the world, right up to this day. St. Charles Borromeo was born into a noble Italian family, and he was brought up well and eventually entered into Church career as a priest, studying Canon Law and other aspects, before rising greatly in prospects and achievements, as his uncle was elected as Pope Pius IV. The new Pope appointed St. Charles Borromeo to be a Cardinal, as a Cardinal-nephew entrusted with the governance of the Church and the Papal States. St. Charles Borromeo carried out his duties most responsibly and unlike many other senior Church leaders, and other important nobles of his time, he lived simply and with austerity, in contrast the great pursuits of hedonism and worldly pleasures of his time.

St. Charles Borromeo was instrumental in his role in managing and being involved in the Council of Trent, which stood at the forefront of the Church’s efforts in opposing the effects of the Protestant reformation, which had divided the Church and misled many of the faithful people of God down the wrong, sinful and erroneous paths. St. Charles Borromeo and many other Church leaders helped to reform the Church well, and established a strong foundation upon which the Counter-Reformation would spring and restore the Church to its past vigour. Then, St. Charles Borromeo also resisted the call by his family to abandon the clerical state and marry when his eldest brother passed away, and he became the eldest surviving son of his family, choosing to continue living righteously in accordance to what God had called him to do.

Later on, the Pope appointed St. Charles Borromeo as the administrator and eventually as Archbishop of Milan, leading one of the greatest and largest dioceses in the Church. He was ordained priest and bishop, and then launched himself into a very vigorous campaign of reform in the Milanese Church, which had drifted into corruption and wicked ways due to the absence of many of its past Archbishops and leaders. There were, according to past accounts, many corrupt practices like selling of indulgences, simony and inappropriate behaviour from both the priests and the laity alike, who have embraced worldly excesses and debauchery, in their pursuit of hedonism and worldly pleasures, instead of following the true path set before them by the Lord and His Church.

St. Charles Borromeo led by his great examples, pushing forth the reforms as agreed and decided in the Council of Trent, purifying the Church and the community from the perversion of evil and sin, from various worldly corruptions and distractions which have brought so much harm to the Church and the community of the faithful. He reformed the seminaries, emphasising on better education and training of future priests, and he also enforced greater discipline among the presbyterate, ensuring that the corruptions of worldly ways and matters no longer come to corrupt the Church and its ways. He remained humble and committed to God despite his high rank and status, and in a famous occasion, he was known for bearing a yoke on him, as he led the procession of the Blessed Sacrament through the streets of Milan during a pandemic. To the end of his life, St. Charles Borromeo remained dedicated to God and to the flock entrusted to him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all have seen and experienced from St. Charles Borromeo and his exemplary life, and also heeding whatever messages from the Scriptures that we have discussed just earlier on, let us all therefore commit ourselves anew to the Lord, and entrust ourselves to God and His providence from now on. May the Lord continue to help us and empower us, so that we may always ever be worthy of Him, in all of our deeds, actions and way of life. May He bless us all in our every good efforts and commitment, to live our lives worthily of Him at all times, and becoming good role models for one another. Amen.

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Saturday, 4 November 2023 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 14 : 1, 7-11

At that time, one Sabbath Jesus had gone to eat a meal in the house of a leading Pharisee, and He was carefully watched. Jesus then told a parable to the guests, for He had noticed how they tried to take the places of honour.

And He said, “When you are invited to a wedding party, do not choose the best seat. It may happen that someone more important than you has been invited; and your host, who invited both of you, will come and say to you, ‘Please give this person your place.’ What shame is yours when you take the lowest seat!”

“Whenever you are invited, go rather to the lowest seat, so that you host may come and say to you, ‘Friend, you must come up higher.’ And this will be a great honour for you in the presence of all the other guests. For whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

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Saturday, 4 November 2023 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 93 : 12-13a, 14-15, 17-18

Fortunate the one You correct, o YHVH, the one You teach Your Law; You give them relief from distress.

YHVH will not reject His people, nor will He forsake His heritage. Justice will return to the just; and the upright will follow, in its wake.

Had YHVH not helped me, I would have fallen into the silence of death. No sooner did I say, “My foot is slipping,” Your kindness, o YHVH, held me up.

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Saturday, 4 November 2023 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Romans 11 : 1-2a, 11-12, 25-29

And so I ask : Has God rejected His people? Of course not! I, myself, am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. No, God has not rejected the people He knew beforehand.

Again, I ask : Did they stumble so as to fall? Of course not. Their stumbling allowed salvation to come to the pagan nations, and, this, in turn, will stir up the jealousy of Israel. If Israel’s shortcoming made the world rich, if the pagan nations grew rich with what they lost, what will happen when Israel is restored?

I want you to understand the mysterious decree of God, lest you be too confident : a part of Israel will remain hardened, until the majority of pagans have entered. Then, the whole of Israel will be saved, as Scripture says : From Zion will come the Liberator, Who will purify the descendants of Jacob from all sin. And this is the Covenant I will make with them : I will take away from them their sins.

Regarding the Gospel, the Jews are opponents, but it is for your benefit. Regarding election, they are beloved, because of their ancestors; because the call of God, and His gifts, cannot be nullified.

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Friday, 4 November 2022 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture passages, we are all reminded of the Lord calling on us to follow Him and to do His will. Each and every one of us as Christians have been charged and entrusted with the capacity, the gifts, abilities and opportunities for us to contribute our actions and deeds, our works and efforts for the missions and other things that the Lord has given us, that by our faithful commitment and actions, we may indeed fulfil our roles as the Lord’s beloved people and flock, whom He had appointed to be His stewards and servants, to be the stewards and guardians of His creation.

Each and every one of us have been given the various responsibilities in our different areas of expertise, in our various circumstances, groups, and in whatever things that we are doing in life. No two Christians will have the same exact set of responsibilities, mission, ministry and calling, as each one of us are going to have a distinct path in life, although some of us may have more similarities than others, while some have very different paths that God had led them into. In the end, what matters is that each one of us are called through our missions and ministries, through the opportunities that God has granted us, to do whatever we can in contributing to all that He had entrusted us to do.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and to the faithful community there, the Apostle spoke about the need for all Christians to adhere to the path and the teachings which the Lord their God has shown all of them, that they all should be genuine in their faith and way of life. They should not follow the path of worldliness or be distracted by the many worldly temptations all around them. The same reminder applies to us all as well, brothers and sisters, as in this day, even in our own communities, we have always faced those same challenges and trials, oppositions and difficulties. As Christians, we are expected to do the will of God, and to carry out the missions that He has entrusted to us, with all of our hearts and strength.

As St. Paul mentioned in that same passage, all of us as Christians belong to God, as the citizens of Heaven. And because Heaven is our ultimate destination, therefore each one of us must live according to God’s ways. How can we call ourselves as Christians if the way we live, how we act and interact with one another contradict directly what we profess to believe in? Doing so is essentially marking us as hypocrites, who belief in one thing and yet acting in another way. Brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians, we are expected to be faithful and committed to God, not just in name or appearances only, but in everything we say and act, they all have to be reflective of God’s truth, love and grace. And we have to do what God has told and asked us all to do, through the various responsibilities, opportunities and missions that He has entrusted to us.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard from the Lord Himself the words of His parable to the people and the disciples as He wanted to teach them and show them what they were all expected to do as His followers. Through this parable of the dishonest steward, which many of us should be quite familiar with, the Lord wanted to highlight to us first and foremost, that each one of us are truly the stewards of the Lord, the stewards entrusted with the care of this world that we are living in today, as per what He had told man at the beginning of creation in the Book of Genesis. While He granted mankind the rule and guardianship of the world, He also entrusted it to their care, and hence, each one of us are the stewards of God’s creation.

Now, that parable of the dishonest steward reminds all of us, of the dangers of ‘money’ that is worldly temptations and pleasures, allures and goods, all of which can distract, mislead and tempt us away from the right path. But we must also understand that money, material goods, properties and all the things we have in this world are by themselves actually not evil. They are not harmful on their own, but it is our attachments to them, our unhealthy obsession over them that led to a lot of harm and troubles, a lot of wickedness and evil in our behaviour and actions. Just as the dishonest steward cheating his master in order to save himself, to provide a means for him to live after he was fired, therefore, in many occasions, all those worldly things and possessions had caused many people to mistreat and manipulate others, or even causing extortion and exploitation of our fellow brothers and sisters.

Clearly, this is not what we as Christians are expected to do, and that is not what our Christian identity and action should be. If we are truly God’s people and followers, and if we truly believe in Him, with all of our heart and strength, then naturally we should be like Him, in how He loves us all so generously and tenderly, that He is willing to do everything for us, showing us a most selfless love by giving us His own Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Lord and Saviour, and to die for us on the Cross, that through all of that, we may be reconciled with Him, and saved from all of our troubles and from the clutches of the evil ones, and from the path to damnation. That is what Christians are expected to do, to be filled with the love of God, and not with the selfish love of ourselves and our own desires.

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Charles Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, and a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church. And today as we rejoice in the memory of this great and renowned saint, hopefully we can be inspired by the many good examples set by this great servant of God, and emulate his examples in how he exercise great stewardship over whatever it is that God had entrusted under his care, in all the missions and works that he had done throughout his life. St. Charles Borromeo was a brilliant young nobleman who completed his studies and was eventually made as a Cardinal of the Church by his uncle, who was elected as Pope. In his capacity as Cardinal, he assisted the Pope in the many areas of governance of the Church. He helped the Church reforms, rooting out worldly excesses and corruptions from among the clergy and the members of the Church.

He was also later on appointed to be the Archbishop of Milan, which after Rome was probably the most influential and important Episcopal See. As Archbishop of Milan, St. Charles Borromeo launched a great campaign of reform in rooting out the debauched corruptions and condition in which the clergy and laity of the Milanese See had ended up in after many decades without proper leadership as previous archbishops had not resided in Milan at all. St. Charles Borromeo rooted out all those lingering corruptions and worldliness that had crept into the very heart of the Church, leading the faithful on a path towards renewal and rejuvenation of their faith. He pressed on despite the challenges and trials that he had to encounter along the way, and he did not give up his struggle and hard work to the end.

And as Archbishop and Cardinal, he still remained humble and simple in his lifestyle, contrary to the many other people of his class and office. He dedicated much of his time to visit the poor and care for the sick, establishing institutions, hospitals and schools for the betterment of his flock. He spent a lot of time and effort to care for the sick and dying when a plague struck at Milan and the surrounding regions even when the ruler and the local governors all fled from the area, leaving the sick and the poor to fend for themselves. St. Charles Borromeo dedicated his life for the sake of those who have been entrusted to him as we have heard, and this should be what each one of us should be doing as well, as faithful and dedicated Christians, throughout our lives. As he had done, let us all make good use of whatever opportunities and gifts God had granted us all, as stewards of His creation.

May the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us in our journey of faith through life. May He empower us all with courage, strength and perseverance to live ever more faithfully in accordance to the path that He has led and guided us through. May God bless us all and may He remain with us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 4 November 2022 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 16 : 1-8

At that time, Jesus told His disciples, “There was a rich man, whose steward was reported to him for fraudulent service. He summoned the steward and asked him, “What is this I hear about you? I want you to render an account of your service, for it is about to be terminated.'”

“The steward thought to himself, ‘What am I to do now? My master will surely dismiss me. I am not strong enough to do hard work, and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I will do : I must make sure that when I am dismissed, there will be people who will welcome me into their homes.'”

“So he called his master’s debtors, one by one. He asked the first debtor, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ The reply was, ‘A hundred jars of oil.’ The steward said, ‘Here is your bill. Sit down quickly and write fifty.’ To the second debtor he put the same question. ‘How much do you owe?’ The answer was, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ Then the steward said, ‘Take your bill and write eighty.'”

“The master commended the dishonest steward for his astuteness : for the people of this world are more astute, in dealing with their own kind, than are the people of light.”