Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Homily: Nov 10 2015 - Pope St. Leo the Great and the Barbarian Tribes



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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