Saint Charles Borromeo

The Church celebrates the memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo. His biography states, "As a true pastor of his flock, he tirelessly promoted Christian life by the reform of his diocese, the convocation of synods, and the promulgations of regulations intended to foster the Church's mission" (Magnificat, 69). In the homily this morning, I told the students and people gathered that Saint Charles is a saint for all of us: priests/religious, teachers/catechists, all the people of God. We look at what Saint Charles did for the Church and how he strived to strengthen the faith and formation of all the faithful. As one commentary stated, "This patron of catechists was deeply devoted to Christian formation for all people in the Church. In addition to his contributions to the education of the laity, he laid the groundwork for the seminary system of priestly formation. He left a legacy of great spiritual wealth to the whole Church" (Magnificat, 74). We thank God for the gifts that Saint Charles has left to the Church. We are thankful for the example that Saint Charles gave and the opening prayer for Mass expresses our hope, "Let your Church be continually renewed and show the image of Christ to the world by being conformed to his likeness (69). We need to show the image of Christ to our brothers and sisters and share the love of God with them. We pray that Saint Charles Borromeo will intercede for us and help us live our faith and the mission of the Church to the fullest. Blessings to You!!!