God's Revenge

The 16th century was a fascinating century. It seemed like a hurricane of sanctifying graces were sweeping from heaven through all of Europe. The only other times comparable to these were the 4th and 5th centuries (the epoch of the great Latin and Greek doctors, Augustine, Jerome, Ambrose, Hilary, Basil, Nazianzen, Athanasius, Ephraem, the two Cyrils, Chrysostom, Chrysologus, Leo the Great, etc) and the 13th, which was nominated the golden period of Church history ( Francis of Assisi, Clare, Anthony, Bonaventure, Thomas Aquinas, Albert the Great, Dominic, etc.)

In the 1500's, as an indignant response to the theological insults received from the great minds of Luther and Calvin, God, uncontrollably poured out his graces and raised spiritual giants in every area of Europe:

England: John Fisher, Thomas More and Edmund Campion

Spain: John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, John of God, John of Avila, Thomas of Vilanova, Paschal Baylon, Salvatore of Horta, Alphonsus of Orozco, Mark Criado, Catherine of Majorca, Ignatius of Loyola and Peter of Alcantara

Germany and Central Europe: St. Peter Canisius, Peter Faber

Northern Italy: Alexander Sauli, Charles Borromeo, Anthony Zaccharia, Angela Merici, Jerome Emiliani, Catherine of Genoa

Central Italy: Aloysius Gonzaga, Philip Neri, Francis Borgia, Cajetan

Southern Italy: Francis of Paola

Poland: Stanislaus Kostka

Missions: Francis Xavier, Louis Bertrand, Paul Miki

Never had the world witnessed so many saints as in this period of history. The bishops who had gathered together to deal with Protestantism and the moral reform of the Church were interrupted in their meetings and could not continue the work. They disbanded and left the Ecumenical Council undone. They never came back and would have not done so if it hadn't been for St. Charles Borromeo, the bishop of Milan. He wanted to see the council re-adjourn and finish its work, but met difficult obstacles. The bishops were unwillingly to make the long journey to Rome and the French preferred a regional national council (where the king would influence the decisions made). St. Charles was persistent and used much tact to reunite the prelates. He chose Trent as a focal point for the resumed sessions and all agreed. After a 10 year absence, the Council finished its job and the Pope approved of the decrees.

The next difficulty lay in putting into practice that which had been decided. Once again, St. Charles seemed to be the only one interested and enthusiastic about executing the decrees of the Council. His was the first diocese to set up seminaries and have periodic meetings with the diocesan clergy. He visited every parish on foot (some 200 of them) encouraging the priests to take seriously the decisions of the council, especially in regard to catechetical work. After years of tireless efforts and hundreds of correspondence, St. Charles made his diocese the most envied in the world. Milan is still today considered to be the best and most organized diocese in the world, having given to the Church Popes Pius X, Pius XI, John XXIII and Paul VI, along with hundreds of missionaries around the globe (only Boston has matched Milan in its zeal and donation).

It was not easy for St. Charles to implement the decrees of Trent in his diocese. He met with fierce opposition and on one occasion, it nearly cost him his life. The priests of the "La Scala" Church would not receive him or his reforms. They fired on him with a rifle and wounded him in his intestine or side (just like Pope John Paul II's assassination attempt, for trying to get Vatican II accepted!). St. Charles suffered from this physical wound all his life. Though he too pardoned his clerical killers, the governor, nonetheless had the four priests responsible for the assassination attempt all hanged. Can you imagine that? And we think we have it bad! After reading this, I don't feel so bad about the Brazilian priests trying to kill me for opposing their socialism.

There were two other interesting things that Charles did. He made sure that the Jesuits would come frequently to give retreats, to keep the Faith burning in the lives of the faithful and priests. He also met, whenever possible, each evening with clerics and laypeople to discuss spiritual matters together. The results and fruits of these encounters were written in a collection of writings known as the "Vatican Notes". Do you think that you could convince your bishop to meet with you and scholarly priests and laity to discuss human sexuality and problems in the Church? I think it would bear great fruit. Everyone should do it in his diocese or parish. St. Charles had a great idea to try to unite the clerical and lay Catholic intellectual minds to think and act together in a sharing unison.

 Anthony Mellace