Leo was a native of Tuscany. Around the year 430, he was ordained a deacon of the Church of Rome. 10 years later, he was sent by Pope Sixtus III on a diplomatic mission to Gaul to resolve a difficult conflict. While Leo was carrying out this mission of Peace, Pope Sixtus 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.
Constant barbarian invasions and the gradual disintegration of the Roman Empire, certainly made the papacy of Pope Leo the First a challenging one. And yet, his papacy was so effective, and his holiness so evident, that he is the first Pope to be given the title, “The Great”. Leo Magnus, Leo the Great.
In 452, the Pope received reports that Attila the Hun was invading northeastern Italy with his horde of barbarians. So, the 52 year old Pope rode on horseback to meet the barbarian leader and pleaded with Attila to call off his invasion. 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 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 Lateran, in which the terrified population of Rome sought refuge and were spared.
We live in barbarous times, again no? The barbarians may not be riding in on horses and laying waste to our beautiful structures and ransacking our treasures. Rather, modern culture—through mass media and even the so-called education system, breeds attitudes which are antithetical to culture and civilization itself. (As a priest friend of mine recently said) and the barbarians are not just at the gates, they are in the seats of power collecting their spoils of war from good honest people. They traffic human beings and murder babies. And they are proving to be quite resistant to the Gospel.
And yet, we ride out to meet them, not with swords of steel, but with the sword of the Spirit and the Word of God. For maybe, some of them will be converted. And after, they have laid waste to our land, the Church will remain, as our Lord promised in the Gospels, “the gates of hell shall not prevail”—the Church has endured barbarians before, and we’ll do it again. Our task is to keep the faith until the Lord returns, to keep the flame of faith alive during the difficult times, and to spread it as we are able, to stave off cultural decay as we can, to turn away the barbarians from their destructive ways as we are able through pleas of peace, to preserve the faith when peace is rejected, and keep our souls from sinful discouragement, to witness to the truth of the Gospel with our lives and work always for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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For Pope Francis all Bishops and clergy: that they may always lead us in fidelity to the saving Gospel of Christ.
In reparation for sins against the innocent unborn, for an overturning of laws which disregard human life and dignity, and for courage in bearing witness to the Gospel of Life.
For the strength to be faithful to all of the Lord’s commands and the grace and humility to repent of our failings.
For the impoverished and sick and those experiencing any sort of trial: that Jesus the Bread of Life will be their sustenance, and that Christians will be instruments of God’s mercy for all those in need.
We pray in a special way during this Month of November for all of the faithful departed; for the deceased members of our family, friends, and parish, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.
O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.
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