Today is the Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo. Charles was born into a very noble Italian family, and his uncle was a Pope. He was very bright, well educated, well connected, and hard working. He was made a Cardinal at age 21, even though he was not ordained as a priest or even a bishop. This certainly raised a few eyebrows. However, he produced a massive amount of excellent work in the Church and was considered to be a one-man army for God. He was certainly a shining star, but burned out quickly, as he was dead by age 46. Saint Charles is the patron saint of seminarians, bishops, and cardinals. On your prayer list today, please remember to pray for our religious brothers, sisters, and consecrated, those training for those vocations, and for those discerning vocations.
Judging
The first reading today, from Romans, cautions us about being judgmental of our fellow brothers and sisters. We are reminded that we are all God’s children, and that God will be in the final judgment seat, not us. We spend a lot of time judging and evaluating others. I think it’s partly done to help lift ourselves up, by pushing others a little lower. I would venture to say that this is not usually done to be mean spirited but is part of human nature. We can tend to “size people up” as we go through life. It is not in God’s nature, however. He wants all of us to repent and be with Him, even those we label as unworthy in our own minds. We should view them as we think Christ would view them.
Lost and Found
The Gospel from Luke mentions the same topics, with the well-known parables of the one lost sheep out of one hundred, and the one lost coin out of ten. Everyone rejoices when the one that is lost is found. In the world of humans, that one individual “found” is probably not the holiest, richest, smartest, or best regarded person. We would tend to think of that one person being “bad,” or misinformed, or on the wrong track. Would we judge ahead of time who is lost, and thus who needs to be found? Maybe the beam in our eye keeps us from seeing who really needs to be saved the most.
As I reflect on Saint Charles Borromeo (the one-man army for God), the one lost sheep, and the one lost coin, I think of how much can come from just “one.” I heard an interview on EWTN, about how formerly “lost” Catholics can come back to the Church, after hearing a moving story. This happens one at a time but is repeated hundreds of times. I pray that there are people reading these GVM reflections every once in a while, or watching Father Maurice’s videos, and they can come back to the church. Or they can first start up a relationship with Jesus, and warm up to the idea of getting to a Catholic Church. We will certainly keep trying to help that person, just one, come back onto the path. Just one, then another, and another….
Very inspirational message🙏😇God blessings on you and your beautiful family🙏😇❤️