Miracles in the life of Saint Charles Borromeo

He found himself at odds with the Spanish governors of
Milan over matters of jurisdictional and secular natures.
It came to some pretty hard-headed confrontations. In one
instance, it was only through the diplomatic resources of
the Pope and Prince Philip II of Spain that a sort of peace
and arbitration was executed. But then he ran into
problems with the clerical communities over the same thing,
jurisdictional and disciplinary authority. He was actually
barred from entering a church by the canons of the Church.
When St. Charles would not acquiesce, and persisted in his
right to make an Episcopal visit to the Church, soldiers
from one of the Spanish dukes, the Duke of Albuquerque,
shot at him with a musket. Thank God for the poor aim of
the soldier, or the lack of accuracy of the firearms, or
the intervention of the Angels, but St. Charles was not
hit. However, the Crucifix he was holding was nicked.

In another separate situation, St. Charles was in his home,
praying with the members of his household, when a paid
assassin shot at him at such a point blank range, it could
only have been the wings of the Angels which caused the
bullet to graze him slightly. The civil authorities hung
the would-be assassin. We're not sure if it was punishment
for the crime committed, or for not having successfully
concluded the task he had been given and paid to do.

At any rate, it became very obvious to the powers that be,
that this was a man to be reckoned with. He was not about
to back down from anything, when it came to his Church and
his God. Also, his reputation grew outside the diocese of
Milan as well. He began making apostolic trips to other
dioceses, such as Brescia, Cremona and Bergamo, all to the
east of Milan. He made missionary trips into the Italian
and German Alps to bring the Word of God to many who were
victimized by the widespread lies of Protestantism. In
addition, in some of these areas which had never had
anybody there to minister to them, witchcraft and sorcery
were also prevalent. You must remember, this time was when
the greatest spread of Calvinism took place. In his
travels to Switzerland, he found that although John Calvin
had died prior to this time, his heresies were firmly
entrenched there. St. Charles took his life in his hands
to evangelize there, but he did!

St. Charles Borromeo was considered slow of speech and
pace, from what we can gather, however he ran his entire
life. He burned out at an early age, forty six years old.
He was on retreat, when he came down with a fever at the
end of October 1584. He was brought back to Milan on a
litter. Within three days, he was dead. We believe that
he had done all that the Lord wanted him to accomplish in a
very short period of time. Twenty six years after his
death, in 1610, he was canonized by Pope Paul V.

St. Charles's life was one of great spirituality and
dedication to the Church. There were no apparitions of
which we're aware, no Stigmata. He was just a solid worker
in the Lord's Vineyard. There were many miracles during
his lifetime and also which were obviously due to the
intercession of St. Charles Borromeo. The most powerful
miracles were those of changing men's hearts, of defending
the Truths of our Church, and bringing about sweeping
reforms in our Church. He was a man of great wealth, who
used his riches to benefit those less fortunate than he.
He was very focused on bringing the people of God,
especially those of his beloved Archdiocese of Milan, back
into the fold.

St. Charles Borromeo was a majestic role model, a very
special role model, a role model for Bishops and Cardinals.
Everyone needs Role Models! But especially those in
authority who have been entrusted by God to shepherd His
children. They are answerable; because to the degree that
we have been blessed, to that degree we are accountable.
Possibly more than anyone, bishops and cardinals need our
prayers. Pray to St. Charles Borromeo for his intercession
for your bishop or cardinal. He was first and foremost a
prelate and Defender of the Church. Now, as a Saint in
Heaven, he prays for his fellow bishops who are called to
take up his torch and Defend the Faith!

Dear Bishops of the world, your dear brother Bishop and
Cardinal didn't give in to the pressures of the day. He
fought the tensions of his day; if it was not the secular
government disputing his jurisdiction, it was the
priesthood fighting him over disciplinary actions he was
imposing, especially on those complaining that the Church's
teaching on Jesus was obsolete in their age. He didn't
bring the Church and its marvelous traditions down to the
perceived levels of the people. He showed the people how
they could rise to the levels of Christ. He didn't allow
his clergy to give in to the carnal desires which were so
accepted at that time.

Although St. Charles found himself smack in the middle of a
church, influenced by the pagan humanism and secular
humanism of the Renaissance, he did not capitulate. No,
St. Charles brought his clergy to the level of Jesus, in
Whose Name they were ministering to the world. The Laity,
the street people, the beggars, the marginalized and
disenfranchised, were given self worth, not by Jesus coming
down to their level, not by worshipping each other, but by
being raised by their bootstraps to the level to which they
were called by the Sacrifice of their Redeemer, that of
giving His life for them and for us.

----------------------------------------------------
Bob and Penny Lord are renowned Catholic authors and
television hosts on EWTN, Global Catholic television. They
are prolific writers about the Catholic faith, especially
the Saints for which they have been dubbed "experts on the
Saints." For more information about Saint Charles Borromeo
go to http://www.bobandpennylord.com/St_Charles_Borromeo.htm

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There was an important moral issue related to the situation
in Corinth. But it wasn't about the food or the dedication
of the food to false gods. It was about sanctification and
growth in Christ. "But," said Paul, "take care that this
right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to
the weak." (1 Corinthians 8:9). What right was Paul talking
about? The right to ignore everything about idols and false
worship. The right to participate in Christ's freedom, the
right to participate in the holidays and festivals of false
gods (the popular culture of the day) because those gods
had no real power.

Paul would later tell the Corinthians, "But when one turns
to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the
Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
freedom" (2 Corinthians 3:16-17). One of the freedoms
granted in Christ was freedom from the Old Testament food
laws. The risen Christ instructed Peter, "What God has made
clean, do not call common" (Acts 11:9). Later Paul would
write to the Romans, "Do not, for the sake of food, destroy
the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is
wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats"
(Romans 14:20).

In Christ we are free indeed. Yet, our freedom is not a
license to confuse those who are not as mature in the faith
as we are. Our individual freedom in Christ is bound by our
love of and service to the body of Christ. We are free from
our bondage to sin in order to become willing servants --
slaves -- to Christ, and through Christ, to His people, the
church, the body of Christ. The mature in Christ are
obligated and bound to assist in the sanctification of the
immature in Christ, and at the very least, not to become
stumbling blocks to them.

To the mature Paul said, "Food will not commend us to God.
We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if
we do. But take care that this right of yours does not
somehow become a stumbling block to the weak." (1
Corinthians 8:8). There are no moral or spiritual
consequences related to the consumption of food. The point
is that the rights of some can lead others astray because
the less mature do not discern their own weaknesses.
Immature Christians often overestimate their own spiritual
development. The ESV translates the Greek word (exousia) as
rights, whereas the word also means authority,
jurisdiction, liberty, power and strength. Exousia is a
freedom, an ability, an authority, a power. And it can be
abused. The freedom of one person can become a means of sin
and abuse to another.

The strong in Christ, the mature in Christ are not to live
for themselves, not to overlook the special concerns of
their weaker brothers and sisters. Rather, they are to
protect and nurture them in Christ. The weaker brothers and
sisters in Christ are just that -- weak. The Greek word is
astheneo. "In all things," said Paul, "I have shown you
that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and
remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said,
'It is more blessed to give than to receive'" (Acts 20:35).
To the Romans Paul wrote, "Do not, for the sake of food,
destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it
is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he
eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do
anything that causes your brother to stumble" (Romans
14:20). "The faith that you have, keep between yourself and
God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment
on himself for what he approves. But whoever has doubts is
condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith.
For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin" (Romans
14:20-23).

It is not simply that insensitive and undiscerning freedom
in Christ can offend those who are weak, those who are
immature in Christ, but note that the prideful exercise of
freedom in Christ can cause other Christians to become even
weaker, even more immature, and fall into sin. How can we
understand this? Perhaps the analogy of alcoholism will
help.

Alcohol is a food. We consume it. And it is clean. It is
not forbidden. It is even a blessing and a joy in Christ.
However, it can be abused. We are free to consume it, but
we must be cautious not to abuse it. In addition, we must
take special care not to use it in such a way that it
becomes a stumbling block to others.

Recovering alcoholics are not free to consume alcohol. They
must avoid it because they have established habits of
abuse. Their habit is to abuse it. So, to use it at all is
to set the old habit into motion. Their weakness is their
lack of control of that old habit.

Similarly recovering pagans had established patterns of
beliefs and behaviors that were destructive to themselves
and to the kingdom of God. Many, perhaps most of the
Corinthian Christians were recovering pagans. Their
weakness was the strength and tenacity of their old habits,
their old patterns of belief and behavior. Like recovering
alcoholics, recovering pagans found it difficult to engage
their old habits without falling prey to them.

So, the problem was that if such a recovering pagan, a new
Christian, saw some other respected Christian participating
in pagan rituals and holiday celebrations, he might be
tempted to participate as well, to engage in his old
habits, his pagan worldview, before he has matured to the
point that he could control those habits. He could easily
get caught up in his old habits and ways of thinking, often
without realizing it until it was too late. The truth is
that we can all slip back into our own old habits of sin
and immaturity all to easily. We are all creatures of habit
and habits are hard to change.

While it is true that false gods have no power, idolatry
and false belief are very strong human habits that have
very deep roots in the human psyche. The false gods
themselves have no real existence or power, but the habits
of false belief and the behaviors they engender are very
alluring and destructive. While alcohol consumption is not
always a sin, a life of excessive drinking is deadly. It
will interfere with and obstruct one's sanctification. So,
even though it is not always a sin, said Paul, avoid it for
the sake of your weaker brother. Don't let your knowledge
of the truth, or your strength to not succumb to old
habits, become the undoing of others. "And so by your
knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for
whom Christ died" (1 Corinthians 8:11).

Paul makes this point later, "'All things are lawful,' but
not all things are helpful. 'All things are lawful,' but
not all things build up" (1 Corinthians 10:23). Just
because we can, doesn't mean that we should. So, Paul
counseled the Corinthians not to participate in the holiday
celebrations or eat the food that had been dedicated to
idols, not because it was a sin, nor because it would in
any way harm them, but rather for the sake of the
sanctification of those who were less mature, less stable
in the faith, those who could still be drawn back into
their old habits of false belief and destructive behavior.

----------------------------------------------------
For over 25 years Phillip A. Ross has been leading churches
and writing many Christian books. Ross founded
http://www.Pilgrim-Platform.org in 1998. His exposition of
First Corinthians in 2008 demonstrates the Apostle Paul's
fierce opposition to worldly Christianity. Ross recounts
how Paul turned the world upside down in his book, Arsy
Varsy -- Reclaiming the Gospel in First Corinthians.

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Four years of suffering

Elzabeth was just beginning to experience what would become
a purging of her soul for the remainder of her short life.
While her husband was still alive, and through the
recommendation of the Pope at the time, Gregory IX, she was
given a Spiritual Director, Conrad of Marburg, who, while
he was a very pious man, was also a very stern
disciplinarian. His background would seem a little strange
for such a delicate task. Prior to taking over as her
Spiritual Director and confessor, he had been an inquisitor
of heretics. He truly loved Elizabeth's soul, and knew the
Lord had great plans for her, but that she was overpowered
by materialism in her position as Landgravine, and had been
all her life as the Princess of Hungary. There are those
who felt that this man had not been a good choice for her
Spiritual Director, he being so forceful and she being so
gentle. Whatever the case, the Lord was in charge, and in
spite of, or because of her austere lifestyle for the next
four years, she is a powerful Saint today.

He began a program of stripping Elizabeth of all that she
had known, material possessions which had never been
considered luxurious by her or her family, but according to
certain poorer classes in the world, would have been looked
upon as almost sinful. She had never taken herself
seriously. She never cared about the splendor surrounding
her. There was a time, long before Conrad came into her
life when she would feed the poor and hungry and physically
take care of the sick at the hospitals she opened at the
foot of the castle in Marburg. Actually, she had become a
third order Franciscan when the Franciscans first came to
Germany in 1221. She was vested in the harsh, rough wool of
the Franciscan habit, which she was not allowed to wear
except on special occasions. At that time, she also had a
confessor and Spiritual Director from the Franciscans,
Friar Rodeger, one of the first Germans who joined the
Franciscan community.

So the fact of the matter is, she had already begun to
dress down, almost to the point of a peasant, when her
husband was out of town, or when she was not needed for any
matters of state. And so she dressed as one who worked with
the poor and sick. But she always made sure that she was
ready and available for when her husband needed her to be
his noble lady.

Except for one time.

This is recorded as only one of the Angelic intercessions
on her behalf when she might have gotten into trouble. The
story goes that on this particular occasion, she was
working diligently at her hospital for the poor, so deeply
involved was she that time got away from her. Suddenly she
realized that she was supposed to be in royal garb at the
castle with her husband, entertaining guests of great
importance to him and the kingdom. She ran to the castle,
still dressed in her plain wool dress, which she used when
she worked with the poor. There was no time to change. She
had to be at the right side of her husband. So she prayed
all the way to the main ballroom where he was with his
guests.

As she approached, Angels came down from Heaven with the
most exquisite gown and tiara, slippers and the like, and
actually dressed her as she kept moving towards her
husband. When she finally arrived by his side, she was a
picture of majesty. No one could imagine where she got the
material for the exquisite gown and headdress, slippers and
the accessories that she wore. Only she, the Angels, and
Our Lord Jesus knew.

However, when Conrad of Marburg took over as her confessor
and Spiritual Director, he immediately began to strip her
of her possessions, while never taking away her ability to
handle her own money or possessions. She left the court of
Thuringia and settled into a small house for her and two
attendants until a proper house could be built for her at
the edge of her husband's lands, far from the center of
noble activity. With the exception of being out of touch
with the poor people at her hospitals, this was good for
her. She preferred the quiet time, away from all that she
had disliked in court.

Her father, the King of Hungary, begged her to come home,
where she could live a spiritual life, but not so steeped
in poverty. However, that was not what she wanted. She
wanted less and less of the world, and more and more of
God. She built a hospice attached to her house so that she
could continue to care for the sick and indigent.

----------------------------------------------------
Bob and Penny Lord are renowned Catholic authors and
television hosts on EWTN, Global Catholic television. They
are prolific writers about the Catholic faith, especially
the Saints for which they have been dubbed "experts on the
Saints." For more information about Saint Elizabeth of
Hungary go to
http://www.bobandpennylord.com/St_Elizabeth_of_Hungary.htm

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