Memorial
of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop
(Philippians
2:12-18; Luke 14:25-33)
A popular
song many years ago said that romantic love must be intense, inclusive, and
forever. It was entitled “All the Way” and sounds much like the demand Jesus is
making of the crowds following him in today’s gospel. They must love him “all the way” – more than
family, indeed more than their very lives.
Jesus uses
highly rhetorical speech in his address.
He does not mean that disciples have to hate their families nor that
they must renounce all possessions. But
they must realize that putting themselves in his service is a costly
venture. Following him, the human
correlative of the “Kingdom of God,” means relativizing everything to him. In other words, he must be their first
priority at all times.
Today we
celebrate a churchman who always put Jesus first. St. Charles Borromeo lived in the highly
troubled sixteenth century. He spent his
inheritance feeding the poor during a famine and caring for the sick during the
plague. He also championed Church reform
and resisted Protestant influence in Catholic territories.
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