38 This wise evaluation and use of means is not in the least opposed to the happiness of that inferior ordering of means in civil society. On the contrary, the former promotes the latter's welfare - not, of course, by the foolish prattle of quarrelsome reformers, but by acts and heroic efforts, even to the extent of sacrificing property, power, and life itself. We have many examples of this fortitude during the Church's worst days in the lives of many bishops who, equaling Charles' zeal, put into practice the Divine Master's words: "The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep." Neither vainglory, party spirit, nor private interest is their motive. They are moved to spend themselves for the common good by that charity "which never fails." This flame of love cannot be seen by the eyes of the world. It so enkindled Borromeo, however, that, after endangering his own life in caring for the victims of the plague, he did not rest with merely warding off present evils but began to provide for the dangers the future might have in store. "It is no more than right that a good and loving father will provide for his children's future as well as their present by setting aside the necessities of life for them. In virtue of our duty of paternal love, we are also prudently providing for the faithful of our province by setting aside those aids for the future which the experience of the plague has taught us are most effective."
Source: Editae Saepe (Vatican.va)