November 4, 2020
St. Charles Borromeo
Dear Family of Mary!
Today, we celebrate a great bishop, St. Charles Borromeo. He is known for his work on the Council of Trent. But as it says in the Magnificat today: When he was appointed to Milan, a diocese that had lacked a resident bishop for eighty years, Charles renewed Catechesis and led the mostly lax clergy by his own austere example and diligent preaching. “We ought to walk in front,” he told his priests, “and our subjects will follow us more easily.”
Imagine living in a diocese without a bishop for eighty years! It must have felt like a family with out a father. St. Charles loved the people and so he worked tirelessly to restore the diocese through teaching and pastoral care for his priests and for the people.
I think we could pray today for our priests and bishops. They are in a very difficult moment for the Church and the world. We can ask St. Charles Borromeo to pray for them and lead them into a deeper devotion to Jesus and a more disciplined life of faith. We certainly must pray for our priests and bishops, knowing what a responsibility they bear and how important it is that they represent Jesus well.
St. Charles wrote this prayer for priests, that we can pray every day:
Prayer for priests by Saint Charles Borromeo:
O Holy Mother of God, pray for the priests your Son has chosen to serve the Church. Help them, by your intercession, to be holy, zealous, and chaste. Make them models of virtue in the service of God’s people. Help them be pious in meditation, efficacious in preaching, and zealous in the daily offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Help them administer the Sacraments with love and joy. Amen.
There is also a novena to St. Charles Borromeo at this link that you could pray, asking for God’s blessing on your parish priest or your bishop.
https://www.praymorenovenas.com/st-charles-borromeo-novena
Our Lady asked us to pray for our priests in this message:
September 25, 2017 “Dear children! I am calling you to be generous in renunciation, fasting and prayer for all those who are in temptation, and are your brothers and sisters. In a special way I am imploring you to pray for priests and for all the consecrated, that they may love Jesus still more fervently; that the Holy Spirit may fill their hearts with joy; that they may witness Heaven and Heavenly mysteries. Many souls are in sin, because there are not those who sacrifice themselves and pray for their conversion. I am with you and am praying that your hearts may be filled with joy. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
This message would also make a very good prayer. We need to pray for those (Including priests and religious) who are in temptation, those who are in sin and need conversion, those who have lost their fervor for Jesus, those who need the Holy Spirit and do not witness Heaven and Heavenly mysteries. It is our job to pray for them, and fast and offer sacrifices!! That is something we can do!!
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2020
