Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 11-04-02, Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, bishop

Reading I
Phil 2:1-4

Brothers and sisters:
If there is any encouragement in Christ,
any solace in love,
any participation in the Spirit,
any compassion and mercy,
complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love,
united in heart, thinking one thing.
Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory;
rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,
each looking out not for his own interests,
but also everyone for those of others.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 131:1bcde, 2, 3

R In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
O Lord, my heart is not proud,
nor are my eyes haughty;
I busy not myself with great things,
nor with things too sublime for me.
R In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother's lap,
so is my soul within me.
R In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
O Israel, hope in the Lord,
both now and forever.
R In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.

Gospel
Lk 14:12-14

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees.
He said to the host who invited him,
"When you hold a lunch or a dinner,
do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters
or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors,
in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.
Rather, when you hold a banquet,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;
blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.
For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

From The Word Among Us

Monday, November 04, 2002

Meditation
Philippians 2:1-4

When you hear the word “humility,” what goes through your mind? Images of low self-esteem? Having a weak will? Letting other people take advantage of you? That’s not the kind of humility God wants for us, and it’s not the kind of humility Paul wrote about. For Paul, humility is the ability to see ourselves and our neighbors as God sees us: as his beloved children and citizens of heaven. Humility really involves the strength to become like Jesus—to love unconditionally, to forgive, and to share generously with those around us.

Humble people don’t have to wear a mask or put on a show. Because they see other people’s value in God’s eyes, they aren’t swayed by accidentals such as fame, wealth, or good looks. Humility puts others first, because it sees how important they are to God (Philippians 2:4).

This kind of humility is meant to be a joy rather than a burden. It frees our hearts from fear and selfishness. By contrast, pride seeks to diminish others’ value so we can build our own sense of importance. Because it involves working hard to make us feel that we are better than others, pride keeps us preoccupied with our own interests and cuts us off from the grace of God. It’s humility that binds us together as the body of Christ.

Jesus is our model of humility. He humbled himself to set us free. His love excluded no one. He welcomed the poor, the disabled, and the outcasts, and in him the humble found a close friend. Every day, God gives us opportunities to be like Jesus as we serve others in our homes and neighborhoods. When we share our blessings with the needy around us, grace flows from the throne of God. He is a God of infinite resources. We can be confident that whenever we take on his concerns, he will provide for all our needs.

“Lord Jesus, you humbled yourself for my sake. Free me from pride so that I can become like you. Let me find my joy in serving rather than being served.”

From: Philippians 2:1-4

Unity and Humility

[1] So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love,
any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,
[2] complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love,
being in full accord and of one mind. [3] Do nothing from selfishness
or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves.
[4] Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the
interests of others.

Commentary:

1-4. Verse 1 begins with a very awkwardly constructed clause, which the
New Vulgate and the RSV translate literally. It is a conditional,
rhetorical clause, rather than an affirmative statement, and its
meaning is clarified by the rest of the sentence.

St Paul is making an affectionate appeal to the Christian good sense of
the faithful; he seems to be saying: "If you want to console me in
Christ, complete my joy by paying attention to the advice I am now
going to give you" (cf. St Thomas Aquinas, "Commentary on Phil, ad
loc.").

The Apostle recommends that they should always act humbly and with an
upright intention (vv. 3-4) if they want charity to reign among them
(v. 2). In their work and social life ordinary Christians should be
upright in all their dealings. They should go about everything, even
apparently unimportant things, in a humble way, doing them for God. But
they should also remember that their behavior has an effect on others.
"Don't forget that you are also in the presence of men, and that they
expect from you, from you personally, a Christian witness. Thus, as
regards the human dimension of our job, we must work in such a way that
we will not feel ashamed when those who know us and love us see us at
our work, nor give them cause to feel embarrassed" (J. Escriva,
"Friends of God", 66).

This fact that our behavior can encourage others and set a headline for
them means that we need to act very responsibly: "Let us try therefore,
brethren," St Augustine says, "not only to be good but to conduct
ourselves well in the eyes of others. Let us try to see that there is
nothing that our conscience upbraids us for, and also, bearing in mind
our weakness, do all that we can, to avoid disedifying our less mature
brother" ("Sermon 47", 14).

3-11. Verse 3 exhorts us to see others as better than ourselves. Our
Lord, although he was our superior in all respects, did not see his
divinity as something to boast about before men (v. 6). In fact, he
humbled himself and emptied himself (vv. 7-8), was not motivated by
conceit or selfishness (cf. v. 3), did not look to his own interests
(cf. v. 4), and "became obedient unto death" (v. 8) thereby carrying
out the Father's plan for man's salvation. By reflecting on his example
we shall come to see that suffering for Christ is a sign of salvation
(cf. 1:28-29): after undergoing the sufferings of his passion and
death, Christ was publicly exalted above all creation (cf. vv. 9-11).

Our Lord offers us a perfect example of humility. "The coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Scepter of God's Majesty, was in no pomp of
pride and haughtiness--as it could so well have been--but in
self-abasement [...]. You see, dear friends, what an example we have
been given. If the Lord humbled himself in this way, what ought we to
do, who through him have come under the yoke of his guidance?" (St
Clement of Rome, "Letter to the Corinthians", 13).

3-4. "'In every man,' writes St Thomas Aquinas, 'there are some grounds
for others to look on him as superior, according to the Apostle's
words, "Each of us must have the humility to think others better men
than himself" (Phil 2:3). It is in this spirit that all men are bound
to honor one another' ("Summa Theologiae", II-II, q. 103, a. 2).
Humility is the virtue that teaches us that signs of respect for others
--their good name, their good faith, their privacy--are not external
conventions, but the first expressions of charity and justice.

"Christian charity cannot confine itself to giving things or money to
the needy. It seeks, above all, to respect and understand each person
for what he is, in his intrinsic dignity as a man and child of God" (J.
Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 72).

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: Luke 14:12-14

Attitude to the Poor

[12] He (Jesus) said to the man who had invited Him, "When you give a
dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or
your kinsmen or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return,
and you be repaid. [13] But when you give a feast, invite the poor,
the maimed, the lame, the blind, [14] and you will be blessed, because
they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the
just."

Commentary:

14. A Christian acts in the world in the same way anyone else does; but
his dealings with his colleagues and others should not be based on
pursuit of reward or vainglory: the first thing he should seek is God's
glory, desiring Heaven as his only reward (cf. Luke 6:32-34).

St. Charles Borromeo

Catholic Online Saints

St. Charles Borromeo
d. 1584 Feastday: November 4
Patron of learning and the arts.

Charles was the son of Count Gilbert Borromeo and Margaret Medici, sister of Pope Pius IV. He was born at the family castle of Arona on Lake Maggiore, Italy on October 2. He received the clerical tonsure when he was twelve and was sent to the Benedictine abbey of SS. Gratian and Felinus at Arona for his education.

In 1559 his uncle was elected Pope Pius IV and the following year, named him his Secretary of State and created him a cardinal and administrator of the see of Milan. He served as Pius' legate on numerous diplomatic missions and in 1562, was instrumental in having Pius reconvene the Council of Trent, which had been suspended in 1552. Charles played a leading role in guiding and in fashioning the decrees of the third and last group of sessions. He refused the headship of the Borromeo family on the death of Count Frederick Borromeo, was ordained a priest in 1563, and was consecrated bishop of Milan the same year. Before being allowed to take possession of his see, he oversaw the catechism, missal, and breviary called for by the Council of Trent. When he finally did arrive at Trent (which had been without a resident bishop for eighty years) in 1556, he instituted radical reforms despite great opposition, with such effectiveness that it became a model see. He put into effect, measures to improve the morals and manners of the clergy and laity, raised the effectiveness of the diocesan operation, established seminaries for the education of the clergy, founded a Confraternity of Christian Doctrine for the religious instruction of children and encouraged the Jesuits in his see. He increased the systems to the poor and the needy, was most generous in his help to the English college at Douai, and during his bishopric held eleven diocesan synods and six provincial councils. He founded a society of secular priests, Oblates of St. Ambrose (now Oblates of St. Charles) in 1578, and was active in preaching, resisting the inroads of protestantism, and bringing back lapsed Catholics to the Church. He encountered opposition from many sources in his efforts to reform people and institutions.

He died at Milan on the night of November 3-4, and was canonized in 1610. He was one of the towering figures of the Catholic Reformation, a patron of learning and the arts, and though he achieved a position of great power, he used it with humility, personal sanctity, and unselfishness to reform the Church, of the evils and abuses so prevalent among the clergy and the nobles of the times. His feast day is November 4th.

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