⚜️Saint Charles
Borromeo (d. 1584), nephew of Pope Pius IV, was appointed cardinal and
archbishop of Milan at the young age of 22. Instead of succumbing to luxury, he
became a model pastor and reformer. He was a central figure in the conclusion of
the Council of Trent, dedicating his life to applying its decrees to renew the
Church. In Milan, he founded seminaries for the proper formation of the clergy,
promoted the education of the laity by creating schools, and insisted on the
dignity of the liturgy. During the plague of 1576, while civil authorities fled,
he remained in the city, personally caring for the sick, distributing his
fortune to the poor, and organizing spiritual and material relief. His life was
marked by rigorous austerity, intense prayer, and a tireless zeal for the
salvation of souls, dying at the age of 46, exhausted by his apostolic work.
✉️Epistle
(Ecclus 44:16-27; 45:3-20)
🙌Behold a great priest, who in his days
pleased God, and was found just; and in the time of wrath was made a
reconciliation. There was not found the like to him who kept the law of the most
High. Therefore by an oath the Lord made him to increase among his people. He
gave him the blessing of all nations, and confirmed his covenant upon his head.
He acknowledged him in his blessings: he preserved for him his mercy; and he
found grace before the eyes of the Lord. He glorified him in the sight of kings,
and gave him a crown of glory. He made an everlasting covenant with him, and
gave him a great priesthood: and made him blessed in glory. To execute the
office of the priesthood, and to have praise in his name, and to offer him a
worthy incense for an odour of sweetness.
📚Gospel (Mt 25:14-23)
🌟At
that time, Jesus spoke this parable to his disciples: A man going into a far
country, called his servants, and delivered to them his goods. And to one he
gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to every one
according to his proper ability: and immediately he took his journey. And he
that had received the five talents went his way, and traded with the same, and
gained other five. And in like manner he that had received the two, gained other
two. But he that had received the one, going his way digged into the earth, and
hid his lord's money. But after a long time the lord of those servants came, and
reckoned with them. And he that had received the five talents coming, brought
other five talents, saying: Lord, thou didst deliver to me five talents, behold
I have gained other five over and above. His lord said to him: Well done, good
and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will
place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. And he also
that had received the two talents came and said: Lord, thou deliveredst two
talents to me: behold I have gained other two. His lord said to him: Well done,
good and faithful servant: because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I
will place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
✞Reflections
💝Today's
Gospel, with the Parable of the Talents, invites us to a profound meditation on
our responsibility for God's gifts. The "talents" are not merely natural
abilities or material goods, but represent the totality of the graces we
receive: faith, the sacraments, intelligence, our vocation, and time itself.
Saint Gregory the Great teaches that "to no one does God deny His grace for good
works; and each one receives as many gifts as he can make fruitful" (Homily 9 on
the Gospels). The Lord distributes the gifts "to every one according to his
proper ability," not to create inequality, but so that each person, in their own
position, may contribute to the building of the Kingdom. The parable is,
therefore, a universal call to spiritual fruitfulness; it is not about how much
we have received, but what we do with what has been entrusted to us. To bury the
talent is the tragedy of voluntary sterility, born of fear and sloth, which
refuses to correspond to God's love.
🏛️The figure of the "great
priest" described in the Epistle from the Book of Ecclesiasticus finds its
exemplary personification in Saint Charles Borromeo. He is the servant who
received "five talents"—nobility, intelligence, ecclesiastical authority,
wealth—and did not hide them. On the contrary, he traded with them, multiplying
them into fruits of holiness for the entire Church. He understood that authority
is service, and wealth is a means for charity. By zealously applying the reforms
of the Council of Trent, he "pleased God" and became, "in the time of wrath" of
the Protestant crisis, "a reconciliation," leading people back to the faith and
to discipline. The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that every
vocation is a gift to be placed at the service of the community (CCC 873). Saint
Charles Borromeo not only governed but sanctified his flock, offering to God the
"incense for an odour of sweetness" of a life entirely given, proving that
faithfulness "over a few things"—the daily administration of his
diocese—prepared him to be placed "over many things" in heavenly glory.
📜The
master's response to the faithful servant—"Well done, good and faithful
servant... enter thou into the joy of thy lord"—reveals the ultimate purpose of
our existence: communion with God. Saint Augustine explains that the joy of
heaven is not an external reward, but participation in God's own joy: "Your joy
shall not enter into you, but you shall enter wholly into the joy of your Lord"
(Confessions, Book I). This joy is the fruit of a love that takes risks, that
invests, that works for the glory of the Giver of all gifts. The paralyzing fear
of the useless servant, who hid his talent, is the opposite of faith working
through charity (Gal 5:6). He feared his master but did not love him; therefore,
he was unable to act. The lesson for us is clear: the Christian life is not a
passive preservation of faith, but a dynamic and courageous cooperation with
grace, so that on the day of judgment, we may present to the Lord not only the
gifts He gave us, but the fruits that, with His help, we have produced.
✍️See
English version of the critical articles
here.
