Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop
Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time · Psalter Week III
Liturgical Color: White
Today’s observance, Lauds psalmody, proper short reading, and Mass Gospel have been checked against the U.S. calendar. The prayer follows the Common of Bishops, with Psalm 85, Isaias 33:13–16, and Psalm 97.
Opening
There is something wonderfully unsettling about today’s Gospel.
A great crowd is following Jesus. People have gathered to hear Him, to see Him, perhaps to become part of something extraordinary. Any ordinary leader would be delighted. Here is enthusiasm, popularity, momentum—the beginnings of a movement.
And what does Jesus do?
He turns around and begins explaining how difficult it will be to follow Him.
He speaks of carrying crosses, surrendering possessions, and calculating the expense of building a tower. He seems determined to discourage the very people who have come to hear Him.
But Christ is not trying to drive people away. He is telling them the truth about the extraordinary thing He offers.
Today the Church remembers Saint Charles Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, who understood that Christian discipleship required considerably more than good intentions. It demanded the reform of institutions, the care of souls, the courage to confront corruption, and the willingness to sacrifice personal comfort.
This morning we ask for something greater than enthusiasm: the grace to begin what matters, and the courage to see it through.
Opening Verse
V. Lord, open my lips.
R. And my mouth shall declare thy praise.
Invitatory
Antiphon: Come, let us adore Christ, the chief Shepherd, who watches over His flock.
Psalm 94 (95) — Venite
Come let us praise the Lord with joy: let us joyfully sing to God our saviour.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving; and make a joyful noise to him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God, and a great king above all gods.
For in his hand are all the ends of the earth: and the heights of the mountains are his.
For the sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
Come let us adore and fall down: and weep before the Lord that made us.
For he is the Lord our God: and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
Today if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts:
As in the provocation, according to the day of temptation in the wilderness: where your fathers tempted me, they proved me, and saw my works.
Forty years long was I offended with that generation, and I said: These always err in heart.
And these men have not known my ways: so I swore in my wrath that they shall not enter into my rest.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon: Come, let us adore Christ, the chief Shepherd, who watches over His flock.
Psalmody
First Psalm — Psalm 85 (86)
A prayer for God’s grace to assist us to the end.
Antiphon: Give joy to the soul of thy servant, for to thee, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul.
1. A prayer for David himself. Incline thy ear, O Lord, and hear me: for I am needy and poor.
2. Preserve my soul, for I am holy: save thy servant, O my God, that trusteth in thee.
3. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I have cried to thee all the day.
4. Give joy to the soul of thy servant, for to thee, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul.
5. For thou, O Lord, art sweet and mild: and plenteous in mercy to all that call upon thee.
6. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer: and attend to the voice of my petition.
7. I have called upon thee in the day of my trouble: because thou hast heard me.
8. There is none among the gods like unto thee, O Lord: and there is none according to thy works.
9. All the nations thou hast made shall come and adore before thee, O Lord: and they shall glorify thy name.
10. For thou art great and dost wonderful things: thou art God alone.
11. Conduct me, O Lord, in thy way, and I will walk in thy truth: let my heart rejoice that it may fear thy name.
12. I will praise thee, O Lord my God: with my whole heart, and I will glorify thy name for ever:
13. For thy mercy is great towards me: and thou hast delivered my soul out of the lower hell.
14. O God, the wicked are risen up against me, and the assembly of the mighty have sought my soul: and they have not set thee before their eyes.
15. And thou, O Lord, art a God of compassion, and merciful, patient, and of much mercy, and true.
16. O look upon me, and have mercy on me: give thy command to thy servant, and save the son of thy handmaid.
17. Shew me a token for good: that they who hate me may see, and be confounded, because thou, O Lord, hast helped me and hast comforted me.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon: Give joy to the soul of thy servant, for to thee, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul.
Old Testament Canticle — Isaias 33:13–16
The Lord will give just judgment.
Antiphon: Blessed is he who walketh in justice and speaketh truth.
13. Hear, you that are far off, what I have done, and you that are near know my strength.
14. The sinners in Sion are afraid, trembling hath seized upon the hypocrites. Which of you can dwell with devouring fire? which of you shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
15. He that walketh in justices, and speaketh truth, that casteth away avarice by oppression, and shaketh his hands from all bribes, that stoppeth his ears lest he hear blood, and shutteth his eyes that he may see no evil.
16. He shall dwell on high, the fortifications of rocks shall be his highness: bread is given him, his waters are sure.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon: Blessed is he who walketh in justice and speaketh truth.
Second Psalm — Psalm 97 (98)
The Lord has made known His salvation.
Antiphon: Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: because he hath done wonderful things.
1. A psalm for David himself. Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: because he hath done wonderful things. His right hand hath wrought for him salvation, and his arm is holy.
2. The Lord hath made known his salvation: he hath revealed his justice in the sight of the Gentiles.
3. He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
4. Sing joyfully to God, all the earth; make melody, rejoice and sing.
5. Sing praise to the Lord on the harp, on the harp, and with the voice of a psalm:
6. With long trumpets, and sound of cornet. Make a joyful noise before the Lord our king:
7. Let the sea be moved and the fulness thereof: the world and they that dwell therein.
8. The rivers shall clap their hands, the mountains shall rejoice together
9. At the presence of the Lord: because he cometh to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with justice, and the people with equity.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon: Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: because he hath done wonderful things.
Short Reading — Hebrews 13:7–9
Douay-Rheims
Remember your prelates who have spoken the word of God to you; whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.
Jesus Christ, yesterday, and today; and the same for ever.
Be not led away with various and strange doctrines.
Short Responsory
Original devotional responsory for the memorial.
V. O Lord, raise up faithful shepherds for thy people.
R. And strengthen them in truth and charity.
V. May their lives bear witness to the Gospel they proclaim.
R. And strengthen them in truth and charity.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
R. O Lord, raise up faithful shepherds for thy people.
Gospel of the Day — Luke 14:25–33
Douay-Rheims
25. And there went great multitudes with him. And turning, he said to them:
26. If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
27. And whosoever doth not carry his cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
28. For which of you having a mind to build a tower, doth not first sit down, and reckon the charges that are necessary, whether he have wherewithal to finish it:
29. Lest, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that see it begin to mock him,
30. Saying: This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
31. Or what king, about to go to make war against another king, doth not first sit down, and think whether he be able, with ten thousand, to meet him that, with twenty thousand, cometh against him?
32. Or else, whilst the other is yet afar off, sending an embassy, he desireth conditions of peace.
33. So likewise every one of you that doth not renounce all that he possesseth, cannot be my disciple.
Benedictus — Canticle of Zachary
Luke 1:68–79, Douay-Rheims
Antiphon: It is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you.
68. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; because he hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people:
69. And hath raised up an horn of salvation to us, in the house of David his servant:
70. As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who are from the beginning:
71. Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us:
72. To perform mercy to our fathers, and to remember his holy testament,
73. The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would grant to us,
74. That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear,
75. In holiness and justice before him, all our days.
76. And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways:
77. To give knowledge of salvation to his people, unto the remission of their sins:
78. Through the bowels of the mercy of our God, in which the Orient from on high hath visited us:
79. To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death: to direct our feet into the way of peace.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon: It is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you.
Intercessions
Christ, the Good Shepherd, calls us to follow Him without reservation. With confidence in His mercy, let us pray:
Lord, make us faithful in thy service.
For the Holy Father, our bishops, priests, and deacons: that they may follow the example of Saint Charles Borromeo in holiness, courage, and the faithful care of souls.
Lord, make us faithful in thy service.
For those entrusted with public authority: that they may exercise power with humility, defend the innocent, and seek justice rather than personal advantage.
Lord, make us faithful in thy service.
For those beginning their work today: that our labor may be honest, our decisions prudent, and our responsibilities carried out with perseverance, even when the work is difficult or unnoticed.
Lord, make us faithful in thy service.
For parents, spouses, children, and all who care for others: that our love may become more generous, patient, and selfless through our love of Christ.
Lord, make us faithful in thy service.
For the sick, the lonely, the unemployed, and those who carry crosses hidden from the world: that they may find strength in Christ and kindness in those around them.
Lord, make us faithful in thy service.
For the faithful departed, especially those remembered during this month of November: that they may be purified by God’s mercy and welcomed into everlasting peace.
Lord, make us faithful in thy service.
For ourselves: that we may surrender whatever keeps us from following Christ and remain faithful when discipleship becomes costly.
Lord, make us faithful in thy service.
Our Father
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Concluding Prayer
O God, who didst raise up Saint Charles Borromeo as a faithful shepherd and zealous servant of thy Church, grant that we may learn from his example to place duty above comfort, charity above self-interest, and thy holy will above our own.
Give us wisdom to count the cost of discipleship, courage to carry the crosses entrusted to us, and perseverance to complete the work thou hast begun in our souls.
May we serve thee faithfully in the ordinary responsibilities of this day, never forgetting that the smallest labor offered in love may become part of thy eternal Kingdom.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
Blessing
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
The Paradox of the Day
Christ asks us to surrender everything, not because He wishes to leave us with nothing, but because only empty hands can receive everything.
Chesterton for the Morning
“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”
— G. K. Chesterton, What’s Wrong with the World (1910), Part I, Chapter V, “The Unfinished Temple.”
Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton
A Chestertonian Meditation
The Unfinished Tower
There is something melancholy about an unfinished building.
A foundation is poured. Walls rise. Perhaps a roof begins to take shape. Then, for some reason, the work stops. Grass grows through the gravel. Rain finds its way into the exposed timbers. The machinery disappears, and the building stands as a monument to somebody’s magnificent intentions.
Every town has seen one.
It is a peculiar kind of monument because it commemorates not what somebody accomplished, but what somebody meant to accomplish.
Our Lord chooses just such a building for His Gospel this morning.
A man wishes to construct a tower. Before he begins, Christ says, he ought to sit down and calculate the expense. Otherwise he may lay the foundation and discover that he cannot finish. His neighbors will laugh at him.
It is an unusually practical lesson from a Teacher who elsewhere tells us not to worry about tomorrow.
Indeed, it sounds almost like the advice of a competent contractor.
But Christ is not delivering a lecture on construction management. He is speaking about discipleship, and He is addressing a crowd that has apparently mistaken following Him for something rather easier than it is.
The crowd likes Jesus. The crowd is interested in Jesus. The crowd is even willing to walk considerable distances to hear Jesus.
And Jesus turns around and explains that none of this is enough.
It is possible to admire Christianity without practicing it. It is possible to appreciate the beauty of a cathedral without ever entering it to pray. It is possible to agree with nearly everything Christ teaches, provided He never asks us to change anything we particularly enjoy.
Chesterton understood this distinction rather well.
His observation that Christianity has been found difficult and left untried is often treated as a clever defense of religion. But it is also an uncomfortable accusation against religious people.
We may be among those who have admired the tower, praised its architect, and contributed generously to the foundation, while quietly declining to build another floor.
The difficulty is not always that we reject Christ. More often, we wish to negotiate with Him.
We are prepared to give Him Sunday morning, provided He does not interfere too much with Monday afternoon. We are willing to forgive our enemies, provided they first admit that we were right. We are happy to practice charity, provided it does not become inconvenient.
We want a Christianity that will improve our lives without overturning them.
But Christ has not come merely to improve our lives. He has come to redeem them.
There is a considerable difference.
An improvement leaves the original arrangement largely intact. Redemption may require that the entire arrangement be reconsidered.
This explains the startling language of today’s Gospel. Christ speaks of hating father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even one’s own life.
Taken in isolation, these words sound almost monstrous.
But Christ, who commands us to love our neighbor and honor our parents, is not suddenly commanding cruelty toward our families. He is using the strongest possible language to establish the proper order of love.
Nothing, not even the dearest and most legitimate human affection, may be placed above God.
And the wonderful paradox is that when God is loved first, everything else may be loved more truly.
A man who makes his career his god may eventually sacrifice his family to it. A man who makes his family his god may burden those he loves with expectations no human being can fulfill. A man who makes himself his god is likely to become a very unhappy worshipper.
But a man who loves God above all things is gradually freed to love his family, his work, and his neighbors without demanding that they become his salvation.
He does not love them less.
He learns to love them rightly.
Today we remember Saint Charles Borromeo, who lived in a century when the Church badly needed men willing to finish difficult work.
Charles was born into privilege. He possessed the connections, education, and opportunities that might have allowed him a comfortable and distinguished life.
Instead, as Archbishop of Milan, he devoted himself to the demanding work of reforming the Church after the Council of Trent.
He worked to improve the education and discipline of the clergy. He visited parishes. He insisted that bishops should actually shepherd the people entrusted to them.
This may sound obvious to us, but obvious duties are often the very ones most easily neglected.
When plague struck Milan in 1576, Charles remained active in caring for his suffering people. He organized relief, supported the poor, and attended to the spiritual needs of those who might otherwise have been abandoned.
He did not merely write eloquently about Christian charity.
He practiced it when charity became dangerous and expensive.
There is something deeply Chestertonian about this.
The world often imagines holiness as an escape from ordinary obligations. The saint, in this popular picture, is a person who floats above the practical difficulties of life.
Yet many saints were astonishingly practical people.
They established schools, built hospitals, fed the hungry, managed institutions, settled disputes, and repaired things that had been allowed to fall apart.
They understood that loving God does not excuse us from loving the people He has placed before us.
It obliges us to do so.
Saint Charles did not become holy by escaping the responsibilities of being a bishop. He became holy by accepting them more completely.
And perhaps that is where today’s Gospel meets us.
Most of us will not be asked to reform an archdiocese or minister to a city devastated by plague. But we will be asked to finish work that has become tiresome, to keep promises that have become inconvenient, and to love people who are not always easy to love.
We will be asked to carry crosses we would rather put down.
Some of these crosses are grave: illness, bereavement, betrayal, financial hardship, or the exhausting care of someone who cannot care for himself. Such suffering deserves compassion, not cheerful slogans.
Others are smaller, but they still test our fidelity: a difficult conversation, an apology long overdue, a duty repeatedly postponed, or the quiet sacrifice of doing what is right when nobody is watching.
The Christian life is not made entirely of heroic moments.
Much of it consists of ordinary faithfulness.
There is a danger, however, in misunderstanding Christ’s command to count the cost.
We may become so occupied with calculating the difficulty that we never begin.
We imagine all the sacrifices that might someday be demanded of us. We consider every possible failure. We inspect the foundations, estimate the materials, and draw increasingly elaborate plans.
And meanwhile, the tower remains unbuilt.
Christ does not ask us to predict every future difficulty. He asks us to understand that following Him means surrendering the right to abandon Him whenever obedience becomes inconvenient.
That is a very different calculation.
The man in the Gospel must count the cost before building. But the Christian also knows something that the ordinary builder does not.
He does not build alone.
Saint Paul tells the Philippians today that God works within us, giving us both the desire and the ability to accomplish His good pleasure.
This is the great consolation hidden inside the demanding Gospel.
Christ does not ask us to manufacture holiness from our own meager resources. He asks us to cooperate with the grace He supplies.
We must still choose. We must still work. We must still persevere.
But the strength is not ours alone.
And so the morning begins with a question.
What unfinished tower stands in our own lives?
Perhaps it is a promise to pray more faithfully. Perhaps it is a relationship awaiting reconciliation. Perhaps it is a neglected responsibility, a habit that needs to change, or an act of generosity we have postponed because we know exactly what it will cost.
We need not finish the whole tower before breakfast.
But we can lay another stone.
We can make the telephone call. We can speak the apology. We can begin the prayer. We can do the work entrusted to us today, even if it is neither glamorous nor especially pleasant.
The great cathedral builders of the Middle Ages often knew that they would never live to see the completed church.
Yet they placed their stones carefully.
They understood that the building was larger than their own lives.
The Christian is called to something greater still.
We are building toward a Kingdom whose completion we cannot accomplish by our own strength, but whose foundations have already been laid by Christ.
The world measures success by what we manage to keep.
Christ measures discipleship by what we are willing to give.
And the astonishing promise of the Gospel is that nothing surrendered to God in love is finally lost.
The tower may remain unfinished when our earthly work is done.
But the Builder has not abandoned it.
Closing
Saint Charles Borromeo, pray for us.
Lord Jesus Christ, give us the courage to begin, the humility to depend upon thy grace, and the perseverance to finish faithfully the work thou hast entrusted to us.
Amen.
Chesterton Radio — Faith, Reason, and the Wonder of Ordinary Things.