November 10th - St. Leo the Great

November 10th - St. Leo the Great

St. Leo the Great, who reigned as Pope from 440 to 461, was one of the greatest
Popes of History. He fought against numerous heresies that agitated the Church,
principally against the Manicheans and Pelagians. In 452 he faced Attila and
convinced the scourge of God and his Huns not to attack Rome and to leave Italy.
He was also able to thwart the destruction of Rome by Genseric three years
later.

Many Africans who had been driven away by the Vandals had settled in Rome and
established a secret Manichean community there. When St. Leo discovered them, he
denounced them to priests and religious, and warned the people to be on their
guard against this reprehensible heresy.

In Spain the heresy of Priscillianism still survived and was attracting new
adherents, provoking countless riots and general agitation. St. Leo was informed
of this situation by St. Turibius, Bishop of Astorga in Spain. The Pope wrote
him a long letter in which he refuted the errors of the Priscillian heresy and
qualified it as the "sewer of all the prior heresies." In particular he
condemned its denial of free will and the influence of astrology, considered
infallible. St. Leo also showed the connection between the Priscillians and the
Manicheans, and sent St. Turibius the conclusions of the juridical processes
that he had made against the latter in Rome.

In these processes one can see the seed of the future Inquisition. They were
presided over by the Pope, who was assisted by Bishops, clergy, senators and
other illustrious personages. During them, he would declare to the faithful
their obligation to denounce the heretics; question those under suspicion; try
to make them retract from their errors; give penances to those who returned to
the Church; and deliver to the civil authorities those who were obstinate in
their positions so they might be adequately punished.


Comments of the late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira: (died 1995)

This selection is very beautiful because you can see how St. Leo the Great acted
with the authority of a Pope and at the same time as a saint, that is, a person
whom the Catholic Church declared infallibly to be one who heroically practiced
all the virtues.

His sanctity, by the way, was confirmed by a colossal miracle. When he went out
to meet Attila, as he approached him, St. Peter appeared over the Pope and made
the barbarian retreat. This was one of the great miracles in the History of the
Church.
This man who was so holy was a persecutor of heretics. Manicheans who had fled
from Africa to Italy because of the persecution of the Vandals received a severe
reception from St. Leo. He gave sermons warning the people against them and
exhorted the people to denounce them to the Church.

When the heresy of the Priscillians re-emerged in Spain, he supported the fight
of St. Turibius, Bishop of Astorga, to suppress it. Further, he established a
kind of Inquisition in Rome, and he was the one who presided over its sessions,
assisted by Bishops and illustrious persons. He carried out the role of
Inquisitor - he questioned them to see if there were heresies, tried to convert
those who were in error, and ordered punishment for those who refused the
Catholic doctrine. You can see, therefore, that he was practicing a holy
violence against the heretics. And this in no way was opposed to his sanctity.
It was a virtue, a virtue that today is poorly appreciated, because it is the
opposite of the bad ecumenism.

What would St. Leo the Great say and do if he would rise up from his grave and
see the Catholic Church in the sad situation she is in today where all heresies
are unopposed? He would immediately order the re-installation of an Inquisition.
Therefore, let us pray to St. Leo, asking him to re-ignite in the Church the
spirit of the Inquisition, the spirit of discernment, of holy vigilance, of
balanced intransigence, of militancy and the fight. If this were established in
the Church, perhaps the world could avoid the terrible chastisement through
which it needs to pass. Let us pray to him asking that we might be enflamed with
this spirit and that it be maintained in the Holy Church until the end times.


Saint Quote:
Virtue is nothing without the trial of temptation, for there is no conflict
without an enemy, no victory without strife.
-Pope Saint Leo the Great

Bible Quote:
7 Behold, he cometh with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also
that pierced him. And all the tribes of the earth shall bewail themselves
because of him. Even so. Amen. 8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the
end, saith the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.
(Apoc. 1:7-8)


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Prayer of St. John Chrysostom, Before Communion:

O Lord my God, I know that I am not worthy nor sufficient that Thou shouldest
enter under my roof into the habitation of my soul, for it is all deserted and
in ruins, and Thou hast not a fitting place in me to lay Thy head. But as from
the heights of Thy glory Thou didst humble Thyself, so now bear me in my
humility; as Thou didst deign to lie in a manger in a cave, so deign now also to
come into the manger of my mute soul and corrupt body. As Thou didst not
refrain from entering into the house of Simon the leper, or shrink from eating
there with sinners, so also vouchsafe to enter the house of my poor soul, all
leprous and full of sin. Thou didst not reject the sinful woman who ventured to
draw near to touch Thee, so also have pity on me, a sinner, approaching to touch
Thee. And grant that I may partake of Thine All-holy Body and Precious Blood
for the sanctification, enlightenment and strengthening of my weak soul and
body; for the relief from the burden of my many sins; for my preservation
against all the snares of the devil; for victory over all my sinful and evil
habits; for the mortification of my passions; for obedience to Thy Commandments;
for growth in Thy divine Grace and for the inheritance of Thy Kingdom. For it
is not with careless heart that I approach Thee, O Christ my God, but I come
trusting in Thine infinite goodness, and fearing lest I may be drawn afar from
Thee and become the prey of the wolf of souls. Wherefore I pray Thee, O Master,
Who alone art holy, that Thou wouldest sanctify my soul and body, my mind and
heart and reins, and renew me entirely. Implant in my members the fear of Thee,
be Thou my helper and guide, directing my life in the paths of peace, and make
me worthy to stand at Thy right hand with Thy Saints; through the prayers and
intercessions of Thine immaculate Mother, of Thy Bodiless Servitors, of the
immaculate Powers, and of all the Saints who from all ages have been
well-pleasing unto Thee. Amen.




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