Charles was the second son of a rich family and destined for the Church. When only 22 years old and not yet ordained, his uncle became Pope Pius IV and made Charles the Cardinal Archbishop of Milan and Papal Secretary of State. This happened in the 16th century and shows how much the Church needed reformation! However, Charles lived an ascetic life and managed to reform his diocese and then helped reform the Church after the Council of Trent. He said: "Be sure you first preach by the way you live."
He also said that in prayer "we find the strength to bring Christ to birth in ourselves and in others."
Paul, in his Letter to the Philippians, tells us that we must have the same attitude that Christ had;then comes the beautiful hymn that tells us that Christ Jesus
"who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross."
Then comes the part of how God exalted Jesus, but let us stop here and reflect on the whole mystery of our Redemption. Jesus, both divine and human, true God and true man, becomes obedient to death, even death on a cross! What a revelation of God's love for us!
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