Jesus says today: “Which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost?”
A sensible question.
Most building projects begin with great enthusiasm.
Then somebody discovers the roof.
Then the wiring.
Then something called “necessary remedial work.”
And suddenly everyone develops a deeper appreciation of the phrase “count the cost.”
Saint Charles Borromeo understood it rather well.
He lived at a time when the Church badly needed reform.
And reform is one of those words everybody likes until it reaches something they personally enjoy doing.
It is easy to say: “The Church must become holier.”
Excellent.
Who should begin?
Preferably somebody else.
Charles did not take that approach.
He was Archbishop of Milan in the years after the Council of Trent, and he set about reforming his diocese seriously.
Clergy had to be properly formed. Seminaries had to be established.
Parishes had to be visited.
Discipline had to mean something.
The sacraments had to be celebrated properly. The faith had to be taught.
In other words, he did not treat Catholic reform as a slogan.
He built. And building costs. Time. Comfort. Popularity. Energy.
Sometimes friendship.
Jesus says exactly that in the Gospel.
If anyone comes to Him but will not put Christ before every other attachment, he cannot be His disciple.
That sounds severe.
It is severe.
Christianity is not a hobby.
Christ does not say: “Fit Me in where convenient.”
He says: “Take up your cross and follow Me.”
The Cross is not an accessory.
It is the shape of discipleship.
And Charles lived that.
He could have had a comfortable ecclesiastical career.
Instead, he spent himself reforming the Church entrusted to him.
During plague in Milan, when many people fled, Charles remained and served the sick and suffering.
That is what happens when a bishop really believes that Christ comes first.
The mitre stops being decoration.
Authority becomes responsibility.
And Saint Paul gives us the inner reason.
He tells the Philippians:
“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”
That does not mean save yourself.
The very next line prevents that mistake:
“For God is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
There is Catholic doctrine in two lines.
We must really act.
Really repent.
Really obey.
Really choose the good.
But grace comes first.
God is already at work.
We are not building holiness with our bare hands.
God supplies the grace.
We cooperate.
That is why Paul can say: “Do all things without grumbling or questioning.”
Possibly one of Scripture’s more ambitious instructions.
Because reform usually produces grumbling.
Change anything in a parish and somebody will explain that the previous arrangement was established by the apostles.
But Charles understood that the question is not: “Do I like this?”
The question is: “Does this lead to Christ?”
That applies to a diocese.
A parish.
A priest.
A family.
A soul.
Every Christian life requires rebuilding somewhere.
Something needs strengthening.
Something needs removing.
Something has been neglected long enough.
And Christ says: Count the cost.
Not so that we abandon the work.
So that we stop pretending discipleship is free.
It cost Charles comfort.
It cost the martyrs their lives.
And our salvation cost Christ the Cross.
But notice where Saint Paul finishes: “I am glad and rejoice with you all.”
Not misery. Joy.
Because when Christ becomes first, life does not become smaller.
It finally has its proper centre.
Saint Charles spent himself building up the Church.
But the Church was never his project.
It belonged to Christ.
So does this parish.
So does your life.
Christ is still building.
The question is whether we will let Him use us.
And whether, having counted the cost,
we will still pick up the cross and follow.
