⚜️St. Francis Borgia, once the Duke of Gandía and Viceroy of Catalonia, experienced a profound conversion upon contemplating the decaying body of Empress Isabella of Portugal. The sight of the transience of earthly glory led him to make his famous resolution: "Never again will I serve a master who can die." After the death of his wife, he renounced all his titles and possessions, entering the Society of Jesus, of which he became the third Superior General. His life was marked by radical humility, severe penances, and a deep devotion to the Eucharist, guiding the Order with wisdom and promoting missions.
📖 Introit (Ps 36:30-31 | ibid., 1)
The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom, and his tongue shall speak judgment. The law of his God is in his heart. Ps. Be not emulous of evildoers; nor envy them that work iniquity. ℣. Glory be to the Father.
📜 Epistle (Ecclus 45:1-6)
He [Moses] was beloved of God and men, whose memory is in benediction. He made him like the saints in glory, and magnified him in the fear of his enemies, and with his words he made prodigies to cease. He glorified him in the sight of kings, and gave him commandments in the sight of his people, and showed him his glory. He sanctified him in his faith and meekness, and chose him out of all flesh. For he heard him and his voice, and brought him into a cloud. And he gave him commandments before his face, and a law of life and instruction.
✝️ Gospel (Mt 19:27-29)
At that time, Peter said to Jesus: Behold we have left all things, and have followed Thee: what therefore shall we have? And Jesus said to them: Amen I say to you, that you, who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the seat of his majesty, you also shall sit on twelve seats judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting.
💭 Reflections
👑St. Augustine explains that the promise of the hundredfold does not refer to a literal material gain but to the acquisition of spiritual goods and the fraternity in the Church, which is immeasurably more valuable. He who leaves a brother according to the flesh finds many brothers united in Christ. St. Francis Borgia personifies this truth: by renouncing an earthly duchy, he not only gained eternal life but received the "hundredfold" in spiritual authority as Superior General of the Jesuits, governing souls for a kingdom that does not perish (St. Augustine, Sermon 100). St. Jerome adds that whoever despises temporal pleasures for Christ receives spiritual joys that surpass a hundredfold what was abandoned, along with the inheritance of eternal life (St. Jerome, Commentary on Matthew).
🕊️The description of Moses as the one to whom God "made him hear His voice" and "gave him commandments before his face" applies analogously to the saints who, through contemplation and obedience, become intimate with God. St. Gregory the Great teaches that God elevates certain men to positions of leadership not for their own merit, but so that, through their faithfulness and meekness, they may manifest divine glory and guide the people. St. Francis Borgia, by exchanging secular governance for spiritual, was chosen "out of all men" of his lineage to receive not the law on stone tablets, but the law of love and service imprinted on his heart, becoming a lawgiver for his Order and an example for the whole Church (St. Gregory the Great, Pastoral Rule).
🏛️The doctrine of the Church has always exalted the religious state as a path of evangelical perfection, in which the faithful, by professing the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, radically respond to the Gospel's call to "leave all things" to follow Christ. The life of St. Francis Borgia magnificently illustrates this teaching, showing that the renunciation of temporal goods—even the highest, such as titles and power—is not a loss but an immeasurable gain in spiritual freedom and union with God. The Church teaches that such a sacrifice, made for the love of Christ, constitutes an eschatological witness, anticipating in this life the possession of heavenly goods and the glory promised to those who will sit on thrones to judge (Roman Catechism; Pius XII, Sacra Virginitas).
➡️See English version of the critical articles here.
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