St. Charles Borromeo and the Plague


I highly recommend the Magnificat devotional magazine.  In addition to all the Mass prayers offered day by day, they have inspirational short reflections and commentaries on the great religious art of the day.

This month, there is a commentary on a beautiful painting of today's saint, Charles Borromeo, from 16th century Italy, the era of the Catholic Reformation (the rebuilding of the Church after many Protestants divided her after rejecting the Church's teaching).

He was an extraordinary man who lived a very short life, but in that brief time as Archbishop of Milan saw through many reforms, including increasing reverence for the the holy Mass and celebrating it in a consistent way and reforming seminaries so they could shape good priests.  (Please pray for our seminarians through his intercession this month that they will become good and holy priests, and for all the faculty who help make that happen).  He was an aesthetic, choosing not to become overly trapped in the luxuries of this world. 

But he was perhaps most famous for his charity.  As the incomparable art historian Elizabeth Lev notes in her piece linked above, he fearlessly helped the victims of the terrible Bubonic Plague in Milan, even when most of the rich and powerful simply abandoned the city.  The artwork (available in much higher resolution at the link above) depicts him in the act of giving Holy Communion to the victims of that plague -- the ultimate act of charity.   This Plague was leaps and bounds more deadly -- and contagious -- than the current Covid-19 pandemic, but St. Charles never contracted it.  Likewise, very few of the religious brother and sisters who assisted the victims succumbed to the dread disease. 

St. Charles, pray for us! 

Popular posts from this blog

Suspension of Masses until May

Image
It is with a heavy heart that I announce that the Ohio bishops have decided to continue to suspend the celebration of all public Masses at least through Sunday, May 3rd, inclusive. Here is their letter . We will continue to keep you updated on the best ways to adapt to this long-term absence of Eucharistic Communion.
Read more

Thanks for your generosity

Image
 UPDATED: 22 January  I'm a little belated in posting this, but just wanted to thank all of our parishioners who have been so generous with their time and financial resources to engage in the works of mercy -- such as feeding the hungry.  In partnership with St. Vincent de Paul and New Richmond Area Ministries (NRAM), we have been continuing our ongoing efforts to feed the hungry through our food pantries, stationary and mobile, on an ongoing basis.  Each year, we also try to remember our families in need for the year-end holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. For instance, on the St. Mary side, last November 24th we provided 20 Thanksgiving dinner baskets to needy families in the Bethel area.   On December 22nd, we provided 20 Christmas Dinner baskets to needy families as well. On the St. Peter side, together with the NRAM, o n November 20th, 90 boxes of food for a Thanksgiving Dinner were assembled at St. Peter's and then passed out the next day to the needy ...
Read more

Ordinations to the priesthood this weekend

Image
  UPDATED: May 21st With great joy, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati ordained seven men to the priesthood today  at the Cathedral Basilica downtown.  .   Their biographical sketches are available from the Catholic Telegraph .  If you are curious what an ordination ceremony looks like, you can view it here on YouTube.  Their first assignments are also posted. Last month we also ordained  seven seminarians to the diaconate , including the South Clermont region's own Deacon Patrick Blenman.  Every seminarian is ordained a deacon about a year before he is ordained to the priesthood and at that time promises to lay down his life in celibacy to love the Church in a completely dedicated and undivided way, as well as promising to pray the Church's breviary prayer cycle every day of his life on behalf of the Church and her needs.  At the same time, 14 men were ordained to the permanent diaconate as well, to serve as deacons in the parishes to assi...
Read more