Great Popes

There is something soothing to the soul about reading what the "Great" popes of our Church have written or sermonized about in times gone by. I am always delighted when an excerpt from something they said or wrote comes around in the daily Office of the Readings. Yesterday and last Friday we heard from two "Great" popes from the Patristic era of the Church: St. Leo the Great and St. Gregory the Great. Both Great in thier own right, Leo was pope from 440-461 AD and Gregory from 590-604.

Both steering the helm of the Church in less than ideal times with the crumbling of the Roman Empire and the entrance of the Church into the Middle Ages. Leo was a unifier and protector against the Huns and Gregory was a bridge between the Fathers and the Medievals. Perhaps their profound influence on the Church is what makes their words relevant even today. What they had to say about the Church and Christian life strikes a chord that resounds in the deepest recesses of the heart. We all remember almost a year ago when our beloved John Paul II went on to his reward and immediately the title was also applied to him. There seems to be something profound said about the man when the people of God use the title "Great."

Here's a bit of what came up yesterday from St. Leo about charity: "Any time is the right time for works of charity, but these days of Lent provide a special encouragement. Those who want to be present at the Lord's Passover in holiness of mind and body should seek above all to win this grace, for charity contains all other virtues and covers a multitude of sins" (Sermo 10 in Quadragesima, 3-5: PL 54, 299-301) Pages 295-6 of Vol. II of the LOH.

Or how about what St. Gregory said on Friday in his Moral Reflections on Job: "If the sacrament of the Lord's passion is to work its effect in us, we must imitate what we recieve and proclaim to mankind what we revere. The cry of the Lord finds a hiding place in us if our lips fail to speak this, though our hearts believe in it" (Lib. 13, 21-23: PL 75, 1028-1029) Pages 257-9 of Vol. II of the LOH.