Did St. Charles Borromeo Invent Social Distancing?

St. Charles Borromeo and the plague.

  

In Sunday's Boston Globe's Art section, there was an article by Matthew Guerrieri about the composer, Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704), April 12, 2020, N3.

The composer Charpentier, among his numerous works, wrote oratorios--sacred stories, sung.  Pestis Mediolanensis, "The Plague of Milan", is about the bubonic plague and St. Charles Borromeo.

As some today adhere to more church gatherings rather than social distancing, more so was true in the sixteenth century.  In fact, during a Eucharistic procession by Pope Gregory, 80 Romans collapsed along the route.  Borromeo quickly ceased that tradition.  In fact, he carried a stick to keep people at a distance and ordered that the priests in his diocese carry sticks, also.  This order was so detailed and effective that the city of Milan recorded them for future reference. 

Borromeo started a new tradition.  He had the church bells ring seven times a day and asked the people to come to their windows to sing the prayers and litanies.  Can you imagine?  Can't you just hear hundreds of people praying harmoniously to heaven for mercy?  I bet Pestis Mediolanensis has operatic choruses reverberating the antiphons and responses to psalms and litanies.

Can we do this?  Let us all in unison send out our prayers for deliverance from all evil, plagues and disasters.  Come to your window and sing out for mercy.

Praying the News

Have you ever prayed the news?  Try doing this, especially if you're wondering "how" to pray.  Take the newspaper.  I'm using the The Boston Globe.  The headline is Smoking ban nears in Boston Parks.  Pretty soon people won't be able to smoke cigarettes in Boston's city parks.  (The ducklings will be happy.)

Would you rather a headline about violence, hate, and mayhem?.

This feature article will do.  Pray for all who have died from cancer attributed to cigarettes.  Pray for those who suffer from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke.  Pray for those trying to kick the habit.

Ah, not such a frivolous headline, is it?  See how you are brought to prayer, for victims, for perpetrators, for all.

Next, Team set in bid for casino.  Some cities in Massachusetts want to bring casinos into their towns.  Pray for those who need the jobs; pray for those worried about the effects of casinos on their current lifestyles; pray for those with gambling addictions.

The middle of the front page is a large ad, For holiday, retailers make dueling open-and-shut cases.  This article is about stores being opened on Thanksgiving Day itself.  Besides the large picture of BJ Wholesale, is a bar chart depicting a poll on "How Americans View Thanksgiving Shopping."  The poll proves that most Americans disapprove of stores being opened on Thanksgiving.  Thinking of myself as a student, I would have jumped at the chance to earn "time in a half", or maybe even "double time", for working on a holiday.  I am praying for those kids.  Definitely, prayers would be in order for parents who need to work on this family holiday.  And prayers for those shopping because of one reason or another.

Looks like the T plans a $ 1 cut in fare for The Ride.  The T is the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority.  The fare is going to be cut from $ 4 to $ 3.  Is this the answer to prayers?

Unfortunately, there's a tragic headline, Girl 7, Mowed Down Near School.  A child and her mother were standing on the sidewalk, outside of the school, when a woman lost control of her car and hit them.  The child is dead and the mother is in the hospital.  The driver was arrested.  Please pray for ALL involved.  Everyone's life is affected.

Ending with something I find very interesting, Historic psalm book brings $ 14m for Old South Church.  This book is a first edition of the 1640 Bay Psalm Book and was auctioned by the Old South Church at Sotheby's New York for nearly $ 14.2 million.  The psalter is a translation of the Book of Psalms by prominent Puritan ministers from the 16th century.  The book was purchased by David Rubenstein, a businessman and philanthropist who will loan it to libraries.  And with this article, I am brought to pray Psalm 104.

Give thanks to the Lord, invoke his name; make known among the nations his deeds.  Sing to him, sing his praise, proclaim all his wondrous deeds.  Glory in his holy name; rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord!  Look to the Lord in his strength; seek to serve him constantly.  Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought, his portents, and the judgments he has uttered, you descendants of Abraham, his servants, sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!

Mother Love

There's an article in the Boston Globe bemoaning that there aren't any abortion clinics in Brookline. In fact, (praise God) it's getting harder and harder to find a clinic to get an abortion in. The people in Brookline vetoed a clinic in their neighborhood, and the reason, according to the article, was not that the neighbors abhorred the very thought of mothers killing their own babies, but rather, it was the protesters' fault. They hold up disgusting signs, and intimidate with their chanting and prayers. The article concludes that abortion is legal and it's a shame that mothers who want to obtain an abortion, that is legal by law, can't.

Well, it's legal for people to spit on the sidewalk. We don't though because it's reprehensible. And that's what we pray for abortion to become. We pray to turn people's hearts to think that killing our babies is morally reprehensible. Abortion is a sign of moral depravity.

Just ask the people in Brookline, MA.