Pope Benedict XVI said of Pope Leo the Great, whom we honor
today, that Leo was “truly one of the greatest Pontiffs to have honoured the
Roman See.” He was the first Bishop of Rome to have been called Leo, a name
used subsequently by another 12 Supreme Pontiffs.
Leo a native of Tuscany. And, in about the year 430 A.D., he
became a deacon of the Church of Rome.
He had been sent by Pope Sixtus III on a diplomatic mission to Gaul to
resolve a difficult conflict, but while he was carrying out his mission of
peace, the Pope died. Leo was elected
Pope to succeed him, and his Pontificate lasted for 21 years, which is quite
long for a papacy, the ninth longest, in fact.
The times in which Pope Leo lived were very difficult: constant barbarian invasions, the gradual
weakening of the Roman Empire’s authority. There is the famous episode from
Pope Leo’s life, when in 452, Attila and his Huns were vanquishing city after
city. Attila had already devastated the northeastern regions of Italy and reports
circulated that Attila was setting his sights on the rest of Italy. The 52 year old Pope, rode on horseback to
meet the barbarian leader and pleaded with Attila to spare Italy. The leader of
the Huns, impressed by the Pope, left Italy.
Unfortunately, a few years later, another barbarian horde, the Vandals,
attacked and sacked Rome. Again, the Pope, defenseless and surrounded by his
clergy, went forth to meet the invader to implore him to desist. The Vandal
leader promised to spare the great Basilicas of St Peter, St Paul and St John,
whose dedication we celebrated yesterday, in which the terrified population of
Rome sought refuge and were spared.
We live in barbarous times again, don’t we? We recently
heard Pope Francis call for Europe to take in the many war refugees, just as
Pope Leo the Great obtained refuge for the citizens of Rome. Dark, barbarous times,
with many, of what Pope Francis calls, “dehumanizing elements” where people are
treated either as commodities, or are treated as disposable, not worth our
time.
But we are called to turn our faces precisely towards those
that the rest of our culture of death ignores.
Pope Francis calls us to a practical concern for those who are wounded,
those scarred by violence, abuse, those forced to leave their families and
homelands.
Why? Because as Pope Leo showed us, the Church must always
show a real concern for people. The road
of holiness is never in isolation. There
is no such thing as simply being concerned for one’s own soul without concern
for the other.
May this eucharist today help us to be attentive to those
people who are in need in our families and communities, that we may provide
whatever help we can, that our faith may be manifest through concrete acts of
charity for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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