Friday, November 4, 2016

Homily: Nov 04 - 2016 - St. Charles Borromeo - Humilitas



One of my favorite churches in Rome is the minor basilica of Sant’Ambrogio e Carlo – the basilica of Saint Ambrose and Charles, both natives of Milan. The semester I studied in Rome, over and over I kept returning to that basilica. There is a little hidden niche there, behind the main altar and it was nice quiet place on my way to or from classes or the homeless shelter run by the missionary sisters of charity. And there in that niche is a reliquary containing the heart of Saint Charles, today’s saint.

As a seminarian, studying for the priesthood, to pray before the heart of Saint Charles was very special, he was is the patron saint of seminarians, and the patron saint of our own diocesan seminary here in Cleveland. So praying there gave me a connection to home, while at the same time, directed me to the future. Our patron saints have a wonderful way of doing that; they help us with the duties and challenges of our life, while orienting us to the future.

A few years later, I had the opportunity of making pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint Charles in Milan, and celebrating a Mass of Thanksgiving on the altar above his tomb. Again, very special. For the work and life of Saint Charles continues to effect our lives still 450 years after his death. Our modern seminary system, the method of training priest, particularly their academic and spiritual formation, can be traced to the reforms labored for by Saint Charles at the Council of Trent. 

He worked for such reform because it was his strong belief that in order to pass on the teachings of Christ faithfully to their flocks, priests needed to be well-formed in the Gospel and in theology.
The motto of Borromeo Seminary here in Cleveland is humilitas: humility, the word also found on the coat of arms of St. Charles. The seminarian needs to be humble in preparing for the priesthood, recognizing that he is a student and Christ is the master. Intellectual humility, spiritual humility recognizes that only by the light of Christ are we truly enlightened. And so, true zeal for truth, true zeal for Christ is always marked by deep humility. If we aspire to be configured to Christ and to lead others to Christ, we must be humble. We must humble ourselves in daily prayer, daily study of the faith, and daily service. It is through humility, that we, as we prayed in the opening prayer, show the face of Christ to the world.

For as we heard in the Gospel, Christ is not simply a king who rules over his flock, he is a good shepherd who lays down his life for his flock. As pastor of many souls, reformer of the church, Saint Charles modeled himself after Christ the good Shepherd, and so must we. for the glory of God and salvation of souls.


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