Readings & Reflections with Cardinal Tagle’s Video: Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time C & St. Leo the Great, November 10,2019
The seven brothers who bravely approach their martyrdom in the second Book of Maccabees (7:1-2, 9-14) have a better sense of life after death than the Sadducees with their absurd hypothesis about seven deceased brothers. One martyred brother, filled with conviction declares, “The King of the world will raise us up to live again forever.” (In today’s Gospel (Lk 20:27-38), a woman’s husband dies, her brother-in-law takes her to raise up children, he dies… and on through seven husbands. On the day when the dead rise to life, whose wife will she be? All seven of them had married her (Lk 20:28-33). Jesus said, “Those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age no longer die; they are like angels.” God is not the God of the dead, “but of the living, for to him all are alive.” And until we reach the place of eternal life. The Catechism teaches that our lives are measured by time, in the course of which we grow old, and death seems like the normal end of life. To rise with Christ, we must die with Christ: we must “be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Cor 5:8). In that “departure” which is death the soul is separated from the body (Phil 1:23). It will be reunited with the body on the day of resurrection of the dead (CCC: 1005-7). In death, God calls us to himself and can transform our death into an act of obedience and love to the Father after the example of Christ (CCC: 1011).
The matrimonial union of man and woman is indissoluble: God himself has determined it (Mt 19:6). The Catechism teaches that “it is by following Christ, renouncing themselves, and taking up their crosses that spouses will be able to “receive” the original meaning of marriage and live it with the help of Christ” (CCC:1615). So, in Christ they will rise again with their own bodies which they now bear but Christ “will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body,” into a “spiritual body” (CCC: 999). Thus, in heaven they neither marry nor are given in marriage. They will be like angels and cannot die (Lk 20: 35-36). With this truth, what will I do to prepare myself and my family to a richer life that last for eternity in heaven? For more reflection on Marriage click this link: http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2015/08/19/sophia-sketchpad-marriage/
AMDG+
Opening Prayer
“May the Lord Jesus put his hands on our eyes also, for then we too shall begin to look not at what is seen but at what is not seen. May he open the eyes that are concerned not with the present but with what is yet to come, may he unseal the heart’s vision, that we may gaze on God in the Spirit, through the same Lord, Jesus Christ, whose glory and power will endure throughout the unending succession of ages.” Amen. (Prayer of Origen, c. 185-254)
Reading 1
2 Mc 7:1-2, 9-14 – The King of the world will raise us up to live again forever
It happened that seven brothers with their mother were arrested
and tortured with whips and scourges by the king, to force them to eat pork in violation of God’s law. One of the brothers, speaking for the others, said: “What do you expect to achieve by questioning us? We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors.”
At the point of death he said:
“You accursed fiend, you are depriving us of this present life, but the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever. It is for his laws that we are dying.”
After him the third suffered their cruel sport. He put out his tongue at once when told to do so, and bravely held out his hands, as he spoke these noble words:
“It was from Heaven that I received these; for the sake of his laws I disdain them;
from him I hope to receive them again.” Even the king and his attendants marveled at the young man’s courage, because he regarded his sufferings as nothing.
After he had died, they tortured and maltreated the fourth brother in the same way. When he was near death, he said, “It is my choice to die at the hands of men with the hope God gives of being raised up by him; but for you, there will be no resurrection to life.”
The word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 17:1, 5-6, 8, 15
R. (15b) Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
Hear, O LORD, a just suit;
attend to my outcry;
hearken to my prayer from lips without deceit.
R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
My steps have been steadfast in your paths,
my feet have not faltered.
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
incline your ear to me; hear my word.
R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
Keep me as the apple of your eye,
hide me in the shadow of your wings.
But I in justice shall behold your face;
on waking I shall be content in your presence.
R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
Reading II
2 Thes 2:16-3:5 – May the Lord encourage your hearts and strengthen them in every good deed and word.
Brothers and sisters:
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting encouragement and good hope through his grace, encourage your hearts and strengthen them in every good deed and word.
Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us, so that the word of the Lord may speed forward and be glorified, as it did among you, and that we may be delivered from perverse and wicked people, for not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. We are confident of you in the Lord that what we instruct you, you are doing and will continue to do. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ.
The word of the Lord.
Gospel
Lk 20:27-38 – He is not God of the dead, but of the living.
Bishop Robert Barron’s Homily: The martyrs and the higher world click below:
Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.
Now there were seven brothers; the first married a woman but died childless. Then the second and the third married her, and likewise all the seven died childless. Finally the woman also died.
Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all seven had been married to her.” Jesus said to them, “The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.
They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise. That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called out ‘Lord, ‘ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Reflection 1 – To rise again
Dr. Scott Hahn’s reflection click below:
With their riddle about seven brothers and a childless widow, the Sadducees in today’s Gospel mock the faith for which seven brothers and their mother die in the First Reading.
The Maccabean martyrs chose death—tortured limb by limb, burned alive—rather than betray God’s Law. Their story is given to us in these last weeks of the Church year to strengthen us for endurance—that our feet not falter but remain steadfast on His paths.
The Maccabeans died hoping that the “King of the World” would raise them to live again forever (see 2 Maccabees 14:46).
The Sadducees don’t believe in the Resurrection because they can’t find it literally taught in the Scriptures. To ridicule this belief they fix on a law that requires a woman to marry her husband’s brother if he should die without leaving an heir (see Genesis 38:8; Deuteronomy 25:5).
But God’s Law wasn’t given to ensure the raising up of descendants to earthly fathers. The Law was given, as Jesus explains, to make us worthy to be “children of God”—sons and daughters born of His Resurrection.
“God our Father,” today’s Epistle tells us, has given us “everlasting encouragement” in the Resurrection of Christ. Through His grace, we can now direct our hearts to the love of God.
As the Maccabeans suffered for the Old Law, we will have to suffer for our faith in the New Covenant. Yet He will guard us in the shadow of His wing, keep us as the apple of His eye, as we sing in today’s Psalm.
The Maccabeans’ persecutors marveled at their courage. We too can glorify the Lord in our sufferings and in the daily sacrifices we make.
And we have even greater cause than they for hope. One who has risen from the dead has given us His word—that He is the God of the living, that when we awake from the sleep of death we will behold His face, be content in His presence (see Psalm 76:6; Daniel 12:2). – Read the source: https://stpaulcenter.com/reflections/to-rise-again-scott-hahn-reflects-on-the-32nd-sunday-in-ordinary-time
Reflection 2 – Husband and wife in afterlife
The attempt to trap Jesus in a political question failed that is why the Sadducees came to Him with a theological trivia. They thought they were so clever in asking such an answerable problem. “If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married a woman but died childless. Then the second and the third married her, and likewise all the seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all seven had been married to her.”
To the question Jesus responded: “The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise.”
The response of Jesus to the hypothetical case posed by the Sadducees emphasizes the fact that physical death does not terminate the self-conscious existence of the individual. He answered that a marriage relationship was for this life only and would not be continued in heaven. He did not say the spouses will not recognize each other in heaven, but their relationship would be on a completely different basis. It simply meant that the intimacy that we experience on earth as spouses is only a symbol of the reality we will experience in God’s glory. The joy that a married couple finds in their union will never be taken away, but will be multiplied as we experience a deeper closeness with everyone that is beyond here and now.
“Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called ‘Lord’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” God is God of the long dead Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and therefore God will raise them from the dead. In that respect, men will be equal to the angels as there is no more death. The character of God as the God of the living therefore uncovers the resurrection of those who count themselves vindicated and found worthy and have been considered children of God because of the merits of Christ our Lord.
Today, we are all consoled that even as we sleep and rest in grief, we have a God with Whom we can rejoice, Who rebukes the nations and destroys the wicked and their name blotted out forever and ever and in the snare they set, their foot is caught. We have a God Who never forgets the needy nor shall allow the hope of the afflicted to forever perish.
Let us give thanks to our LORD, with all our heart; declare all His wondrous deeds, be glad and exult in Him and sing praises to His Name, the Most High!
“The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” Let us remember that we are all children of God, the Father of all Spirits and Jesus is Resurrection and the Life. Let us look forward to the day when we will be united with God forever!
Direction
Bad times are certainly in the air and this is no time to be dismayed and to give up. We must face life, our work for the Lord and its realities head-on, doing what is necessary to remain firm and attached to our God. We should all realize that to draw closer to our Lord and grow in His love and mercy, we should be able to take in much of life’s most challenging opportunities, often brilliantly disguised as bitter and painful experiences, trials and tribulations, unsolvable problems and conflicts, all in the Mighty Name of Jesus, our Lord!
Believe and be counted among the worthy of the coming age.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we pray that as we believe and live for Christ, we may all be among those who will be part of the resurrection. In Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Reflection 3 – Unbeatable Insurance Policy
In this age of technology, we cannot run away from television – and definitely, not from the advertisements and commercials. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that these TV commercials reveal the stark contrast between rich and poor countries. For instance, in the Philippines, the great majority of advertisements are on food products. This is closely followed by household and beauty products, then medicines, cars, real estate and the least seen are insurance and securities. This order is reversed in rich countries. Most of the advertisements in countries like the United States are on insurance and securities, followed by real estate and cars, but the least on food products.
This shows that the people in rich countries barely think about food and other basic things in life for they already have all these in superabundance. Rather, they are mainly concerned about the future, their retirement, and the security of their investments. Indeed, material abundance naturally leads people to trust more in purely human powers and resources rather than in God. Hence, despite a life of abundance and excess, they live in anxiety and fear.
On the other hand, the main concern of the people in poor countries is food – how to survive from day-to-day. Insurance and investments are far from their minds. The obvious reason is lack of money. But the more important reason has something to do with faith. Poor people have no investments and insurance policies. They simply cannot afford one. So, they rely more on God. And this gives them some sense of security and peace, even in the midst of life’s adversities and hard realities. Jesus taught us: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:3).
There is the story about three insurance agents who tried to convince a prospective buyer. The first one, an atheist, said: “Buy my insurance, for its coverage is from basket to casket.” But the Hindu salesman is more persuasive: “That’s nothing! My insurance will cover you from womb to tomb!” Not to be outdone, the third insurance guy, a devout Catholic, offered the widest coverage: “Take mine. It’s from conception to resurrection!”
As Christians, we have the unbeatable insurance policy ever – and with free premium at that! From the very start of our life, at the moment of conception, we are already in the hands of a loving God. He protects and guides us throughout our life in this world and even through the dark valley of death until the resurrection of our bodies into eternal life. I am not saying that we do away with prudence and totally disregard the wisdom of preparing for the future. However, in the ultimate analysis, it is only God who is our sure refuge and security for the future. Psalm 118 says: “Better to take refuge in the Lord than to put one’s trust in mortals; Better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.”
The resurrection is the unmistakable proof and guarantee of this divine insurance. Even before Jesus Christ came, the Jews already believe in the resurrection. This is expressed in the Book of Maccabees. But this is not true for all Jews, unfortunately. The Sadducees do not believe in the resurrection. They claim that this is not found in the Torah, the books of Moses, which they solely believe in. They tried to ridicule the belief in the resurrection by posing to Jesus a question based on a hypothetical case of a woman marrying seven brothers.
In His answer, Jesus emphasized two points. First, there is absolutely no comparison between life in this age with the age to come. The children of the resurrection do not die anymore, and they live like angels. It is pointless to ask the question as to who will be the husband of the woman in the next life. Since there is no more death, the natural end or purpose of marriage, which is procreation, serves no more purpose. In the presence of the glory of God, and enjoying perfect joy, the people in heaven need not concern themselves anymore with worldly matters such marriage, family and jobs. They live like angels.
Second, God is a God of the living, and not of the dead. And as God’s children, we are called to share in that divine life. He did not create and save us just to vanish into absolute extinction. As Jesus said, “I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full” (Jn 10:10). Eternal life is our destiny. Our bodies are limited, and we all die. But life continues after death in a more perfect and pure state.
We are truly blessed to have received the gift of faith that tells us there is resurrection. We profess this truth at Mass: “I believe in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.” This is the most central element of our faith. As St. Paul said, “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then empty is our preaching; empty, too, your faith” (1Cor 15:13-14). The resurrection proves we have the true faith.
Moreover, on a practical note, belief in the resurrection is the key to true happiness and peace. A rich tourist visited a well-known wise man. When he entered his house, he was surprised to find it almost empty, save for a table, a chair and bed. “Where is your furniture?” he asked. “Where is yours?” replied the wise man. The tourist was puzzled: “What do you mean? I cannot be carrying my furniture with me. I am a tourist. I am just passing through.” The wise man answered, “So am I.”
Many people nowadays are consumed by too much egoism and materialism. Their desire for this world’s goods is insatiable. They already have, and yet they yearn for more, and so they become discontented and unhappy. Belief in the resurrection reminds us that as God’s children, we do not belong to this world, but are only passing through. And so it is pointless to store and hold on to the ephemeral things of this world. The resurrection, then, is the best antidote to materialism and the key to true freedom and perfect happiness.
Life in this world is never easy. It is always full of trials and sufferings. But thank God, we are not permanent residents here. We are just passing through. The realization of this truth makes our pains and sufferings, and even death, not only bearable but also meaningful. St. Paul said, “I consider the sufferings of this present time as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us” (Rom 8:18). We may not fully know and understand what is in store for us, for we are talking about “what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor 2:9). However, as what the Apostle St. John pointed out, “What we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed; all we know is, that when it is revealed we shall be like Him because we shall see Him as He really is” (1Jn 3:2). Then our joy will be complete! (Source: Fr. Mike Lagrimas, St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Amsterdam St., Capitol Park Homes, Matandang Balara, Quezon City 1119).
Reflection 4 – Love Conquers Death
Fearing death is one of the most natural of human emotions. We look to the end of our lives as a time of suffering and testing of faith. “Will I make it through the pain and remain faithful to Christ?” “Will Christ help me through my dying?” We see in the courage of the brothers in today’s first reading (2 Mac 7:1-2, 9-14) an astonishing act of faith that God is present with them in their suffering and in their hope for life after death. It is an astonishing faith, because there was no clear consensus in Israel that the God who revealed himself in the burning bush was to raise Israel from the dead. Israel is not given any guarantee of Love’s ability to conquer death until Easter morning. So these brothers stood in the deepest faith and trusted that God is a God of life. Countless others in the history of faith have stood before evil ready to stay faithful to God because they knew that the meaning of their lives was not limited to this time and space. Jesus makes our hope for resurrection concrete. He is the Bridegroom who comes for the Bride. He comes not simply to give this time on earth meaning, he is not a philosopher. He comes to secure the Bride’s participation in Trinitarian love. He comes to share his own joy with all humble and needy enough to let him into their lives.
The proud Sadducees, on the other hand, who questioned Jesus about resurrection, did not think resurrection was possible and so they tried to trap Jesus with a question about marriage law. Little did they know that they were addressing the divine Bridegroom, the one who wants to have loving communion with all of humanity if only we would consent. In heaven people “neither marry nor are given in marriage” (Lk 20:35) because deified humanity itself is married to God in and through the Bridegroom who came to find the one he loves. Since he is the divine Bridegroom we should trust the Lord even in our dying and our suffering because, as Paul says in today’s reading (2 Thes 2:16-3:5), we may not be faithful, but the Lord is. We put our trust in his constancy and his fidelity to his own promises, promises he will not break. We are afraid of dying because we look at ourselves, our weaknesses, our sins, our fears. Turn and look to him who gave all for love of his Bride. He is coming for you, he will not delay, he will not – cannot – disappoint.
The brother in Maccabees cries out that death and the king who wants to kill him are “accursed fiends.” So they are. But the brother goes on, “you are depriving us of this present life but God will raise us up to live again forever” (2 Mac 7:9). To get through any suffering in this life and remain faithful we need to ask the Lord to share his own fidelity and endurance with us through his Holy Spirit. Only such communion with love itself can we securely endure the sufferings of this life. And what is more, we will not simply endure the sufferings, but in and through them we will secure our intimacy with him who loved us till the end. This Love will not leave us orphaned or abandoned in the grave. This love will come for his Bride. (Source: Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., “Homilies for Sunday Liturgies and Feasts,” Homiletic & Pastoral Review, Vol. CXI, No. 1. Ohio: Ignatius Press, October 2010, pp. 33-34; Suggested Reading: Catechism of the Catholic Church: 1005-19; 1612-20).
Reflection 5 – They can no longer die
They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise.
In this Sunday’s Gospel Jesus forms the Sadducees on life in this world and the world to come. The Sadducees want to know who will be whose husband and wife in eternity. Unable to conceive of the resurrection and life eternal, they are forced to think as people of this world only. As Christians we share in Christ’s Resurrection through our baptism and life of the Trinity. By our baptism we are baptized into Christ’s passion, death, and Resurrection. This baptism espouses us to all of God’s people, and so while the purified elect in heaven are never so married as they are there, such a union is not exclusive, but ecclesial: we are “married” to the Lamb and all others in him. The Sadducees are too carnal minded to understand this, so Christ likens marriage in heaven to an angelic state, meaning not that we are without bodies or void of our humanity, but that celestial marriage is not one wherein man and wife are “given” but simply are—finally at rest in perfect peace and joy, now wholly able to love God and neighbor perfectly.
This is a gift which commences with the primal Christian vocation of baptism. “This sacrament is called Baptism, after the central rite by which it is carried out: to baptize means to “plunge” or “immerse”; the “plunge” into the water symbolizes the catechumen’s burial into Christ’s death, from which he rises up by resurrection with him, as “a new creature” (CCC §1214).
Yet even now we have the joy of living the life of the Trinity. No matter how difficult our lives can become with illness, broken relationships, doubts, fears, anxieties and pressures from in this world; through our spiritual life of prayer we have the power of the Resurrection to sustain us. We must grow in this reality through our life of faith and our own private prayer. When we are in deep union with our loving Father; we find true happiness. However, this true happiness, true and everlasting life, is incompatible with sin and selfishness. Therefore, in order to begin experiencing true life now, and to enter into it in the world to come, we have to go against some strong natural tendencies. We all know this is not easy. It demands every fiber in our being, it may even demand the pouring out of our blood, as the seven brothers of the First Reading found out.
The world we live in doesn’t make it easy for our friendship with Christ. Its seductions try to weaken us to the ways of the world and we move towards selfishness and fall away from Christ. We can become so caught up in the world that it becomes even more difficult to follow Christ. Being a Christian in the modern world can cause us to be misjudged, mocked, pressured, maligned and in some areas of the world martyred and imprisoned. That is why Saint Paul also encourages us of our life in the Spirit, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in the you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his spirit who dwells in you.”
Through Christ’s Resurrection we share in the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. And the Good News is that this very same Spirit dwells in us, personally and literally. In our spiritual life we are urged to meditate on these hopeful realities. Again it’s easy to become overly focused on this life or try to put the material world into eternity. Faith can be difficult for us to understand but we don’t or can’t use the deposit of faith to contradict faith itself. We have and will have difficulties with the faith but we can’t simply reason out faith completely. Faith is ultimately above human reason and faith requires the great Benedictine virtue of humility, which is ultimately trust in the Lord Jesus.
– By Fr. John McCuskor, OSB – Read the source: http://www.hprweb.com/2016/11/homilies-for-november-2016/ 
Reflection 6 – Living and Dying for Heaven
“You accursed fiend, you are depriving us of this present life, but the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever. It is for his laws that we are dying.”
— 2 Maccabees 7:9
The Old Testament is filled with examples of fidelity to the Lord, but the story of the Maccabees gives us a rare example of what it means to live not for this world but for the life to come. Other heroes of the Old Testament put their faith in God and His promises, but generally with a view to the fulfilment of those promises here on earth. The Maccabees testify that they are prepared to die not because they foresee some great earthly outcome, but because they believe in the promise of life after death.
One of the ways to understand the Old Testament is to see in its stories a series of “types” pointing to their fulfillment in Christ and in the life of the Church. In the Maccabees, we see a “type” of fidelity to the promise of resurrection. Their faith is strong enough that they willingly face torture and death at the hands of unbelievers. What their witness demonstrates partially is completely fulfilled in the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. And that definitive fulfilment is echoed and reechoed in the witness of all the Church’s martyrs, down to the present day.
Our tradition recognizes martyrdom as paradigmatic for the whole Christian life. Although most Christians are not called upon to give their lives for Christ through the shedding of their blood, every disciple ought to be prepared to do so. And every Christian must exercise that self-sacrificial love than which there can be no greater form of love (see Jn 15:13).
A simple way to examine our own lives is simply to ask, “What sacrifices is God calling me to make for His sake, out of love for Him and for my neighbor?” We might then ask, “Am I making these sacrifices? Am I doing so in a spirit of joy and peace, or grudgingly? Is there anything I ought to do to make a more complete, perfect, and wholehearted sacrifice of my life for God?”
The practicalities of this examination will obviously vary quite a bit from person to person. I might be called to sacrifice more for my family, in my prayer, in my generosity to the poor and suffering, or in my work. Each person’s situation, strengths, and weaknesses are different, and so the next steps on the path of discipleship will somewhat different for each person. But in a world that emphasizes perpetual self-indulgence, it is essential that every Christian make such an examination regularly and discover what those next steps are for him or her.
Living self-sacrificial love, living for heaven, also requires a spiritual outlook. All of life must be viewed through the lens of our faith in Christ. Saint Paul writes in Romans 12:1-2: “I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.”
In this brief exhortation, St. Paul joins the sacrifice of the body with the renewal of the mind and heart. The spirit of the martyr is one that is utterly centered on God and on His promises to those who are faithful. This complete focus on God is what equips a Christian to offer his or her body in sacrifice.
Last month, we celebrated the feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch, one of the Church’s earliest martyrs. Saint Ignatius exemplified the clear focus of the faithful Christian on Christ and the promise of heaven. He writes in his own letter to the Christian community at Rome: “No earthly pleasures, no kingdoms of this world can benefit me in any way. I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth. He who died in place of us is the one object of my quest. He who rose for our sakes is my one desire.”
The Holy Eucharist we celebrate and receive in the Sacrifice of the Mass is what Pope Benedict XVI has called the food of martyrs (2007 Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, par. 85). The Eucharist transforms us so that our minds and hearts become more set on God and His will for us. The Sacrament also draws us into closer union with Christ and prepares us to imitate His self-emptying love by filling us with that love. His broken Body and spilled Blood are the Sacrifice of our salvation, and make us ready to give our bodies and our very lives in service of God and neighbor.
A reward as great as eternal life with God in heaven is worth any cost. May the good Lord renew in us a strong faith in the promise of heaven, as well as a total commitment to making any sacrifice asked of us on our pilgrimage through this world and into the world to come. – Read the source: https://www.hprweb.com/2019/10/homilies-for-november-2019/
Reflection 7 – All live to him
Is your life earth-bound or heaven-bound? The Sadducees had one big problem – they could not conceive of heaven beyond what they could see with their naked eyes! Aren’t we often like them? We don’t recognize spiritual realities because we try to make heaven into an earthly image. The Sadducees came to Jesus with a test question to make the resurrection look ridiculous. The Sadducees, unlike the Pharisees, did not believe in immortality, nor in angels or evil spirits. Their religion was literally grounded in an earthly image of heaven.
The Scriptures give witness – we will rise again to immortal life
Jesus retorts by dealing with the fact of the resurrection. The Scriptures give proof of it. In Exodus 3:6, when God manifests his presence to Moses in the burning bush, the Lord tells him that he is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He shows that the patriarchs who died hundreds of years previously were still alive in God. Jesus defeats their arguments by showing that God is a living God of a living people. God was the friend of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when they lived. That friendship could not cease with death. As Psalm 73:23-24 states: “I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.”
The ultimate proof of the resurrection is the Lord Jesus and his victory over death when he rose from the tomb. Before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he exclaimed: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25). Jesus asks us the same question. Do you believe in the resurrection and in the promise of eternal life with God?
Jesus came to restore Paradise and everlasting life for us
The Holy Spirit reveals to us the eternal truths of God’s enduring love and the abundant life he desires to share with us for all eternity. Paul the Apostle, quoting from the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 64:4; 65:17) states: “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him,” God has revealed to us through the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). The promise of Paradise – heavenly bliss and unending life with an all-loving God – is beyond human reckoning. We have only begun to taste the first-fruits! Do you live now in the joy and hope of the life of the age to come?
“May the Lord Jesus put his hands on our eyes also, for then we too shall begin to look not at what is seen but at what is not seen. May he open the eyes that are concerned not with the present but with what is yet to come, may he unseal the heart’s vision, that we may gaze on God in the Spirit, through the same Lord, Jesus Christ, whose glory and power will endure throughout the unending succession of ages.” (Prayer of Origen, 185-254 AD) – Read the source: http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/2019/nov10.htm
Reflection 8 – Why is there no marriage in heaven?
Do you believe in the resurrection? That’s the question that Jesus indirectly poses when he challenges the Sadducees in this Sunday’s Gospel reading.
As Christians, we believe that someday we will experience a resurrection like Christ’s after we depart from this present earthly “age” or stage of life. All believers who follow Jesus will live as the angels do. This is why Catholic funeral Masses are Resurrection Masses and use white instead of black as the liturgical color.
But do you believe in the resurrection of love? Jesus explained the resurrection in terms of marriage. A marriage is supposed to be a reflection of God’s radical love for his people. Marriage is supposed to unite a man and a woman in an enduring love that is the very presence of God. It gives witness to the world that God’s faithfulness and commitment to us is real.
So why would Jesus say that marriage is not a part of the resurrection of the dead? Why won’t today’s marriages become perfect and continue forever after both husband and wife have entered heaven?
Here on earth, love is imperfectly given and imperfectly received. Therefore, it’s constantly dying and being resurrected again, every day, to the extent that each spouse repents and forgives. (The same is true of any friendship.)
Perfect love is God. We live as true children of God when we love our brothers and sisters the way he loves them. Marriage does not exist in heaven because it’s an imperfect love: We love our spouses more than we love others. In heaven, we will love our spouses fully (yes, even our ex-spouses!) and we will love everyone else just as much. And those who have loved us poorly will love us better than the best spouse could love us now.
Marriage is only an earthly foreshadowing of the divine, faithful, creative love that we will share with everyone in heaven.
Questions for Personal Reflection:
Who has failed to love you enough? Who has caused you pain? How would you feel if that person were to greet you at the entrance of heaven at the moment of your death? Do you have enough love for that person to get you through the door?
Questions for Family & Community Faith Sharing:
How is a marriage like God’s love? Describe the ways that God loves us, and relate these signs of true love to what you’ve experienced in good friendships. How is this a foretaste of heaven? – Read the source: http://gnm.org/good-news-reflections/?useDrDate=2016-11-05
Reflection 9 – New Life – Gift of the God of the Living
With the wish to understand that to believe in the resurrection of the body to believe that our vocation is to a vocation to life now and forever
1) Death is a new birth. We can compare it to the delivery that gives birth
Today the liturgy of the word of God confronts us with the truth of faith of the resurrection. As we say in the Creed: “We await the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come”. Many do not believe in this truth and, in Jesus’ the time, it was precisely the Sadducees who did not believe in the final resurrection and who made fun of it with Jesus who gave them a clear answer, which we will see in the second paragraph. On this first point, I propose some preliminary reflections.
Pope Francis reminds us that believing in the resurrection of the flesh changes not only the moment of our death but changes all our lives: “If we could have this reality more present, we would be less tired from everyday life, less prisoners of the “ephemeral, and more willing to walk with a merciful heart on the path to salvation”. To the question, which we all ask ourselves, on what it means to resurrect, the Holy Father insists that God truly “will restore life to our body by uniting it with the soul … Our bodies will be transfigured into glorious bodies.” This is not a lie! We believe that Jesus is risen, that Jesus is alive now. If Jesus is alive, do you think he will let us die and not raise us up? No! He awaits us, and because He is risen, the strength of his resurrection will raise all of us “. And he added: “The transfiguration of our body is prepared in this life by the relationship with Jesus, in the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist. We, who in this life have been nourished by his Body and his Blood, will rise again like Him, with Him and through Him ». And “through Baptism … we already participate in the new life, which is his life… We have in ourselves a seed of resurrection, as a foretaste of the full resurrection that we will inherit … The body of each one of us is a resonance of eternity, so it must always be respected ». These considerations remind us of responsibility, but together they give us hope “We are on the way to the resurrection. See Jesus, meet Jesus: this is our joy! We will all be together – not here in Saint Peter’s square or somewhere else – but joyful with Jesus. This is our destiny! “. It is a destiny of life given to us by God. In today’s Gospel, but also in the one of Matthew and Mark, Jesus proves the fact of the Resurrection by saying: God is the God of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob (see Mt 22, 31-32; Mk 12.26-27; Lk 20.37-38) that God gives us. He is not God of the dead. If God is the God of these people, they are alive. Those who are written in the name of God participate in the life of God, they live. Believing is being inscribed in the name of God. We are alive. Those who belong to the name of God are not dead, they belong to the living God. In this sense, we should understand the dynamism of faith, which is to inscribe our name in the name of God and thus enter life. Let’s raise to Christ the prayer for this to happen, for really know God through our lives, for our name to enter the name of God and our existence become true life: eternal life, love, and truth.
2) Life is not taken away from us, but it is transformed
In today’s gospel, some Sadducees[1] go to Jesus (Lk 20:27-38) to challenge him against the Bible, but, perhaps, also because their hearts were attracted to Jesus. Everybody approaches Him even if with different intents. In today’s liturgy the affiliates to this religious movement, in order to defend their interpretation of the Bible, ask an important question regarding the resurrection from the dead. The case in question concerns a woman who had married seven brothers. One after the other the husbands had died, and she had no children[2]. This widow, who had been taken and left alone seven times, was not only barren but was condemned to an uncertain and sterile life. The conclusion of the Sadducees is ironic and terrible “You say that there is resurrection. What will happen to this woman? She had seven husbands. Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?”
With patience typical of the ones who love, Jesus answers widening the perspective and taking them little by little to the logic of Life. The criterions of earthly life cannot be applied to life in the otherworld because the difference is substantial. “Is not a matter of food and drink, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (see Rm 14:17). The dimension where “on every instant gravitates the Eternal” (Ada Negri) changes completely. “Man’s greatness, his glory, and his majesty are knowing what it is truly great, attaching to it and asking glory from the Lord of glory” (see Saint Basil the Great – Homily 20- chapter 3).
In his answer Jesus quotes the Bible, but surprisingly he quotes Exodus 3:6 which is a text on God not on the resurrection “That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called out ‘Lord, ‘ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive” Where is the proof that the dead will rise? If God describes himself “God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” and he is a God of the living not of the dead, then that means that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are alive somewhere even if, when God speaks of them to Moses, they have been dead for a long time.
In his answer to the Sadducees, Jesus takes the opportunity also to correct the belief of those Pharisees who understood the resurrection in material terms exposing themselves to the irony of the liberals. It is the same irony we find in today’s Gospel “A woman had seven husbands, at resurrection whose wife will she be?”. Jesus says that the life of the dead is not like the one on earth; it is a different life because it is divine and eternal. We could compare it to the one of the angels (see Lk 20:36).
The angels[3] are not the gentle and evanescent creatures we imagine. In the Bible they have the power of God, a dynamism that goes above, rises, enters and flies in light, love, and beauty. Their duty is to guard, to illuminate, to govern and to make love beautiful. The angels that perpetually contemplate God, are the ones to whom the celestial pity has given custody of us. They illuminate us, protect us constantly in our life, and guide us along the Master’s ways toward the everlasting home. We are called to angelical life now, here and for eternity.
The ephemeral[4] becomes eternal. With his Cross, Christ didn’t get rid of the ephemeral in order to “escape“ to eternity but has put the seed of eternity in the world to let the Kingdom of God grow and to introduce angelic life into the world.
3) The angelic life of the consecrated life
Before saying how the consecrated life is an angelic life and transforms the ephemeral into eternity, I’d like to point out that the ones who claim that matrimony has no consequences in heaven make a wrong interpretation of Jesus’ answer to the Sadducees. By stating that “The children of this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage” (Lk 20:34-35), Jesus rejects the spoofy idea that the Sadducees present of the otherworld, as if it were a simple continuation of the earthly relationship between spouses, and doesn’t rule out that they could find in God the union that united them on earth.[5]
Besides the family, there is another “place” that is a school of love: consecrated life that “teaches” by transforming the existence of the consecrated people into a pure hymn to the Lord like the life of the saints and of the angels. To make this happen it is necessary to tune the harp and to gain purity of heart. The consecrated persons do so with the vow and the practice of chastity. Nature demands that man writes something eternal on something that is ephemeral. Through the Eucharistic the ephemeral bread and wine become eternal.
The same happens in the virginal consecration. When the virgins consecrate, their ideal” truly lofty in itself, demands no special external change. Each consecrated person normally remains in her own life context. It is a way that seems to lack the specific characteristics of religious life, and above all that of obedience. For you, however, love becomes the sequel: your charisma entails a total gift to Christ, an assimilation of the Bridegroom who implicitly asks for the observance of the evangelical counsels in order to keep your fidelity to him unstained (cf. RCV, n. 26). …. I urge you to go beyond external appearances, experiencing the mystery of God’s tenderness which each one of you bears in herself and recognizing one another as sisters, even in your diversity” (Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the participants in the International Congress -Pilgrimage of the Ordo Virginum, Thursday, May 15, 2008) Doing so they testify that the tender grace of God is worth more than life (see Ps 62/53, 4)
Patristic Reading: Saint Augustine of Hippo – Exposition on Psalm 66
- This Psalm hath on the title the inscription, “For the end, a song of a Psalm of Resurrection.” When ye hear “for the end,” whenever the Psalms are repeated, understand it “for Christ:” the Apostle saying, “For the end of the law is Christ, for righteousness to everyone believing.” In what manner therefore here Resurrection is sung, ye wilt hear, and whose Resurrection it is, as far as Himself deigneth to give and disclose. For the Resurrection we Christians know already hath come to pass in our Head, and in the members it is to be. The Head of the Church is Christ? the members of Christ are the Church. That which hath preceded in the Head, will follow in the Body. This is our hope; for this we believe, for this we endure and persevere amid so great perverseness of this world, hope comforting us, before that hope becometh reality . . . . The Jews did hold the hope of the resurrection of the dead: and they hoped that themselves alone would rise again to a blessed life because of the work of the Law, and because of the justifications of the Scriptures, which the Jews alone had, and the Gentiles had not. Crucified was Christ, “blindness in part happened unto Israel, in order that the fulness of the Gentiles might enter in:” as the Apostle saith. The resurrection of the dead beginneth to be promised to the Gentiles also that believe in Jesus Christ, that He hath risen again. Thence this Psalm is against the presumption and pride of the Jews, for the comfort of the Gentiles that are to be called to the same hope of resurrection.
[1] The Sadducees were a very important spiritual movement of Judaism but also a political group of the aristocratic old families among whom the priests and above all the High Priest were selected. They tried to live an enlightened Judaism so to find a compromise with the Roman power.
We don’t know much about the Sadducees and their spirituality because their party, believed guilty of collaborationism with the Romans, was exterminated during the Judaic rebellion of the first century BC. On the doctrinal ground it is believed that they, unlike the Pharisees, believed as binding only the so called Written Law that is what has been written in the first five books of the Bible (Torah). The Pharisees on the contrary maintained that the Oral Law, that is the interpretation of the Torah transmitted orally, had the same importance.
Unlike the Pharisees, the Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection from the dead. However it is legitimate to doubt that they had a position of total preclusion because that would be in contrast with the content of the Written Law, and because the archeological evidence of their burial methods confirms the belief in the existence of an otherworld.
[2] For the Jews to be childless was considered a true shame (see Lk 1”25) and a punishment from God.
[3] The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) affirms the existence of the Angels as “truth of faith” testified by the Bible and by Tradition (CCC # 328). They were created from nothing, as stated by the IV Lateran Council in the year 1215 (CCC # 327). The CCC specifies the identity of the Angels: they are spiritual creatures, with intelligence and will and are superior to the visible creatures (CCC # 330). The Angels’ mission is to be servants and messengers of God and powerful executors of his commands (CCC # 331). Let’s not forget the relationship of the Angels with the mystery of Christ ”Christ is the center of the angelic world” (CCC #331) The Angels together with the entire creation have been created through Him and by Him and are messengers of His design of salvation (CCC 331). The CCC outlines a biblical catechesis on angels and on their mission in the Old and in the New Testament. The episodes choses from the Old testament ( CCC # 332) speaks about the Cherubim that after the expulsion of man , look after the garden of Eden and the tree of life (Genesis 3:24); the Angels that protect Lot( Genesis 19) ; the Angel that saves Agar and her child thirsty and lost in the desert ( Genesis 21;17); the one who stops Abraham’s hand ready to kill Isaac( Genesis 22:11-12); the Angel that guides the people in the desert( Ex 23:20-23); the one who announces the birth of Samson( Gdc 13); the one who announces the vocation of Gideon( Gdc 6:11-24); the Angel that gives bread and water to the running frightened Elijah ( 1Kings 19:5-7). The episodes choses in the New Testament mention above all Gabriel who announces the birth of John the Baptist and of Jesus (CCC #3320. Let’s remember also the angels that sing at Jesus’ birth, protect his infancy, serve him in the desert, comfort him in agony, announce the good news of the resurrection and will serve him on the last day (CCC #3330.
For a good and concise presentation see Angels in Dictionary of Theology (Rom 2006 – Edited under the direction of Jean-Yves Lacoste).
[4] Ephemeral is an adjective (from the Latin ephimerus) that indicates what last only one day or what has a short duration: celebrity, glory, ephemeral greatness, illusions, hopes, material goods.
[5] To this regard Father Raniero Cantalamessa OFM, preacher of the Pontifical House writes: “How is it possible that the spouses after a life that was linked to God in the miracle of the creation could in the eternal life not have anything in common as if everything were lost and forgotten? Would not that be in contrast with Christ’s word that man cannot divide what God has united? If God has united them on earth, how could He divide them in heaven? How could a life lived together end in nothing without denying the meaning of the earthly life that is to prepare the coming of the kingdom, new sky and new earth?” It is the Bible – not only the natural desire of the spouses- to sustain this hope. Matrimony, says the Bible, is “great sacrament” because it represents the union between Christ and the Church (Eph 5:32). How could it be possible that it would be cancelled precisely in the heavenly Jerusalem, where the eternal nuptial banquet between Christ and the Church, of which it is the image, is celebrated?
According to this vision matrimony doesn’t end with dead but is transformed, made spiritual, taken away from all the limits that characterize life on earth. In the same way all the links between parents and children or among friends are not forgotten. In the preface of the Mass for the dead the liturgy says that with death” life is transformed not taken away’. The same must be said regarding matrimony that is an essential part of life. – Read the source: https://zenit.org/articles/archbishop-follo-new-life-gift-of-the-god-of-the-living/
Reflection 10 – St. Leo the Great (d. 461 A.D.)
With apparent strong conviction of the importance of the Bishop of Rome in the Church, and of the Church as the ongoing sign of Christ’s presence in the world, Leo the Great displayed endless dedication as pope. Elected in 440, he worked tirelessly as “Peter’s successor,” guiding his fellow bishops as “equals in the episcopacy and infirmities.”
Leo is known as one of the best administrative popes of the ancient Church. His work branched into four main areas, indicative of his notion of the pope’s total responsibility for the flock of Christ. He worked at length to control the heresies of Pelagianism (overemphasizing human freedom), Manichaeism (seeing everything material as evil) and others, placing demands on their followers so as to secure true Christian beliefs. A second major area of his concern was doctrinal controversy in the Church in the East, to which he responded with a classic letter setting down the Church’s teaching on the two natures of Christ. With strong faith, he also led the defense of Rome against barbarian attack, taking the role of peacemaker.
In these three areas, Leo’s work has been highly regarded. His growth to sainthood has its basis in the spiritual depth with which he approached the pastoral care of his people, which was the fourth focus of his work. He is known for his spiritually profound sermons. An instrument of the call to holiness, well-versed in Scripture and ecclesiastical awareness, Leo had the ability to reach the everyday needs and interests of his people. One of his sermons is used in the Office of Readings on Christmas.
It is said of Leo that his true significance rests in his doctrinal insistence on the mysteries of Christ and the Church and in the supernatural charisms of the spiritual life given to humanity in Christ and in his Body, the Church. Thus Leo held firmly that everything he did and said as pope for the administration of the Church represented Christ, the head of the Mystical Body, and St. Peter, in whose place Leo acted.
Story:
It is said of Leo that his true significance rests in his doctrinal insistence on the mysteries of Christ and the church and in the supernatural charisms of the spiritual life given to humanity in Christ and in his body, the church. Thus Leo held firmly that everything he did and said as pope for the administration of the church represented Christ, the head of the Mystical Body, and Saint Peter, in whose place Leo acted.
Comment:
At a time when there is widespread criticism of Church structures, we also hear criticism that bishops and priests—indeed, all of us—are too preoccupied with administration of temporal matters. Pope Leo is an example of a great administrator who used his talents in areas where spirit and structure are inseparably combined: doctrine, peace and pastoral care. He avoided an “angelism” that tries to live without the body, as well as the “practicality” that deals only in externals.
Read the source: http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1195
SAINT OF THE DAY
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A native of Tuscany in Italy, Leo was elected pope in 440 A.D. amid widespread heresies and political strife. In 451 A.D. he convened the Council of Chalcedon that taught the union of two natures, human and divine, in the one person of Jesus Christ. During the council, Leo’s letter, or “tome,” to the bishop of Constantinople was read aloud. Concerning Christ’s Incarnation, Leo wrote, “Invisible in his own nature, he became visible in ours. Beyond our grasp, he chose to come within our grasp. Existing before time began, he began to exist at a moment in time. Lord of the universe, he hid his infinite glory and took the nature of a servant.” Upon hearing Leo’s tome the Council fathers exclaimed, “Peter has spoken through the mouth of Leo.” Leo is best remembered for his meeting with Attila the Hun in 452 A.D., in which the pontiff’s deft diplomacy averted the sacking of Rome. Throughout his pontificate, Leo preserved the Church from destruction and division. The Vandals arrived in Rome not long after the Hun, and, again Leo’s efforts averted the utter desolation of the city. Leo, the “Doctor of Unity,” is one of three popes accorded the title “the Great” and a Doctor of the Church. His words still adorn the liturgy. “Christian, remember your dignity, and now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return by sin to your former base condition. Bear in mind who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Do not forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of God’s kingdom.” He died in 461 A.D.
| POPE SAINT LEO I |
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|---|---|
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| PAPACY BEGAN | 29 September 440 |
| PAPACY ENDED | 10 November 461 |
| PREDECESSOR | Sixtus III |
| SUCCESSOR | Hilarius |
| PERSONAL DETAILS | |
| BIRTH NAME | Leo |
| BORN | c. 400 AD Tuscany, Western Roman Empire |
| DIED | 10 November 461 Rome, Western Roman Empire |
| SAINTHOOD | |
| FEAST DAY |
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| VENERATED IN | |
| ATTRIBUTES |
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| Other popes named Leo | |
Pope Leo I (c. 400 – 10 November 461), also known as Saint Leo the Great, was Pope from 29 September 440 to his death in 461.[1]
He was an Italian aristocrat, and was the first pope to have been called “the Great”. He is perhaps best known for having met Attila the Hun in 452 and persuading him to turn back from his invasion of Italy. He is also a Doctor of the Church, most remembered theologically for issuing the Tome of Leo, a document which was foundational to the debates of the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon. The Council of Chalcedon, the fourth ecumenical council, dealt primarily with Christology, and elucidated the orthodox definition of Christ‘s being as the hypostatic union of two natures—divine and human—united in one person, “with neither confusion nor division”. It was followed by a major schismassociated with Monophysitism, Miaphysitism and Dyophysitism.[2]
Contents
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Early life[edit]
According to the Liber Pontificalis, he was a native of Tuscany. By 431, as a deacon, he occupied a sufficiently important position for Cyril of Alexandria to apply to him in order that Rome’s influence should be thrown against the claims of Juvenal of Jerusalem to patriarchal jurisdiction over Palestine—unless this letter is addressed rather to Pope Celestine I. About the same time John Cassian dedicated to him the treatise against Nestorius written at his request. But nothing shows more plainly the confidence felt in him than his being chosen by the emperor to settle the dispute between Aëtiusand Caecina Decius Aginatius Albinus, the two highest officials in Gaul.
During his absence on this mission, Pope Sixtus III died (11 August 440), and Leo was unanimously elected by the people to succeed him. On 29 September he entered upon a pontificate which was to be epoch-making for the centralization of the government of the Roman Church.
Leo’s Theology[edit]
Teaching on Christ[edit]
Leo’s writings (both the sermons and the letters) are mostly concerned with theological questions concerning the person of Jesus Christ (Christology) and his role as mediator and savior (Soteriology). This is partially connected to the Council of Chalcedon in which Roman legates participated in Leo’s name. Subsequently, through numerous letters addressed to bishops and members of the imperial family, Leo incessantly worked for the propagation and universal reception of the faith in Christ as defined by Chalcedon, also in the Eastern part of the Roman empire. Leo defends the true divinity and the true humanity of the one Christ against heretical one-sidedness. He takes up this topic also in many of his sermons, and over the years he further develops his own original concepts. A central idea around which Leo deepens and explains his theology is Christ’s presence in the Church, more specifically in the teaching and preaching of the faith (Scripture, Tradition and their interpretation), in the liturgy (sacraments and celebrations), in the life of the individual believer and of the organized Church, especially in a council.
The Apostle Peter and his heir[edit]
Leo contributed to the development of the doctrine on papal primacy, based on his personal devotion to St Peter and on the veneration for the Apostle and his tomb in Rome. Besides recourse to biblical language, Leo also describes his own special relationship with St Peter in terms derived from Roman law. He calls himself the (unworthy) heir and deputy (vicarius) of Peter, having received his apostolic authority and being obliged to follow his example. On the one hand, Peter stands before him with a claim on how Leo is to exercise his office; on the other hand, Leo, as the Roman bishop, represents the Apostle, whose authority he holds. Christ, however, always comes out as the source of all grace and authority, and Leo is responsible to him for how he fulfills his duties (cf. sermon 1). Peter is indeed the example for Leo’s relationship to Christ. Thus, the office of the Roman bishop, with its universal significance, is grounded on the special relationship between Christ and St Peter, a relationship that per se cannot be repeated; therefore, Leo depends on St Peter’s mediation, his assistance and his example in order to be able to adequately fulfill his role and exercise his authority as the Bishop of Rome, both in the city and beyond.
[edit]
| PAPAL STYLES OF POPE LEO I |
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| REFERENCE STYLE | His Holiness |
| SPOKEN STYLE | Your Holiness |
| RELIGIOUS STYLE | Holy Father |
| POSTHUMOUS STYLE | Saint |
Decree of Valentinian[edit]
Priest celebrating Mass at Altar of Leo the Great in St. Peter’s Basilica
Leo was a significant contributor to the centralisation of spiritual authority within the Church and in reaffirming papal authority. The bishop of Rome had gradually become viewed as the chief patriarch in the Western church. Leo would push that authority into a new realm. Not without serious opposition did he succeed in asserting his authority in Gaul. Patroclus of Arles (d. 426) had received from Pope Zosimus the recognition of a subordinate primacy over the Gallican Church which was strongly asserted by his successor Hilary of Arles. An appeal from Chelidonius of Besançon gave Leo the opportunity to assert the pope’s authority over Hilary, who defended himself stoutly at Rome, refusing to recognize Leo’s judicial status. Feeling that the primatial rights of the bishop of Rome were threatened, Leo appealed to the civil power for support, and obtained from Valentinian III the famous decree of 6 June 445, which recognized the primacy of the bishop of Rome based on the merits of Peter, the dignity of the city, and the legislation of the First Council of Nicaea; and provided for the forcible extradition by provincial governors of any bishop who refused to answer a summons to Rome.[3] Faced with this decree, Hilary submitted to the pope, although under his successor, Ravennius, Leo divided the metropolitan rights between Arles and Vienne (450).
Dispute with Dioscorus of Alexandria[edit]
In 445, Leo disputed with Patriarch Dioscorus, St. Cyril‘s successor as Patriarch of Alexandria, insisting that the ecclesiastical practice of his see should follow that of Rome on the basis that Mark the Evangelist, the disciple of Saint Peter and founder of the Alexandrian Church, could have had no other tradition than that of the prince of the apostles. This, of course, was not the position of the Copts, who saw the ancient patriarchates as equals.
Other regions[edit]
Regarding Africa, the fact that the African province of Mauretania Caesariensis had been preserved to the empire and thus to the Nicene faith during the Vandalinvasion, and in its isolation was disposed to rest on outside support, gave Leo an opportunity to assert his authority there, which he did decisively in regard to a number of questions of discipline.
Regarding Italy, in a letter to the bishops of Campania, Picenum, and Tuscany (443) he required the observance of all his precepts and those of his predecessors; and he sharply rebuked the bishops of Sicily (447) for their deviation from the Roman custom as to the time of baptism, requiring them to send delegates to the Roman synod to learn the proper practice.
Regarding Greece, because of the earlier line of division between the western and eastern parts of the Roman Empire, Illyria was ecclesiastically subject to Rome.Pope Innocent I had constituted the metropolitan of Thessalonica his vicar, in order to oppose the growing influence of the patriarch of Constantinople in the area. In a letter of about 446 to a successor bishop of Thessalonica, Anastasius, Leo reproached him for the way he had treated one of the metropolitan bishops subject to him; after giving various instructions about the functions entrusted to Anastasius and stressing that certain powers were reserved to the pope himself, Leo wrote: “The care of the universal Church should converge towards Peter’s one seat, and nothing anywhere should be separated from its Head.”[4]
Council of Chalcedon[edit]
A favorable occasion for extending the authority of Rome in the East was offered in the renewal of the Christological controversy by Eutyches, who in the beginning of the conflict appealed to Leo and took refuge with him on his condemnation by Flavian. But on receiving full information from Flavian, Leo took his side decisively. In 451 at the Council of Chalcedon, after Leo’s Tome on the two natures of Christ was read out, the bishops participating in the Council cried out: “This is the faith of the fathers … Peter has spoken thus through Leo …”[5]
Battling heresies[edit]
An uncompromising foe of heresy, Leo found that in the diocese of Aquileia, Pelagians were received into church communion without formal repudiation of their errors; he wrote to rebuke them, making accusations of culpable negligence, and required a solemn abjuration before a synod.
Manichaeans fleeing before the Vandals had come to Rome in 439 and secretly organized there; Leo learned of this around 443, and proceeded against them by holding a public debate with their representatives, burning their books[citation needed], and warning the Roman Christians against them.
Nor was his attitude less decided against the Priscillianists. Bishop Turibius of Astorga, astonished at the spread of this sect in Spain, had addressed the other Spanish bishops on the subject, sending a copy of his letter to Leo, who took the opportunity to exercise Roman policy in Spain. He wrote an extended treatise (21 July 447), against the sect, examining its false teaching in detail, and calling for a Spanish general council to investigate whether it had any adherents in the episcopate, but this was prevented by the political circumstances of Spain.
The Tome[edit]
At the Second Council of Ephesus in 449, Leo’s representatives delivered his famous Tome (Latin text, a letter), or statement of the faith of the Roman Church in the form of a letter addressed to Archbishop Flavian of Constantinople, which repeats, in close adherence to Augustine, the formulas of western Christology. The council did not read the letter, and paid no attention to the protests of Leo’s legates, but deposed Flavian and Eusebius of Dorylaeum, who appealed to Rome. Partially due to this, the council was never recognized as ecumenical, and was later repudiated by the Council of Chalcedon.
It was presented again at the subsequent Council of Chalcedon as offering a solution to the Christological controversies still raging between East and West. This time it was read out. The acts of the council report: “After the reading of the foregoing epistle, the most reverend bishops cried out: This is the faith of the fathers, this is the faith of the Apostles. So we all believe, thus the orthodox believe. Anathema to him who does not thus believe. Peter has spoken thus through Leo. So taught the Apostles. Piously and truly did Leo teach, so taught Cyril. Everlasting be the memory of Cyril. Leo and Cyril taught the same thing, anathema to him who does not so believe. This is the true faith. Those of us who are orthodox thus believe. This is the faith of the fathers. Why were not these things read at Ephesus? These are the things Dioscorus hid away.”[6][7]
Politics of East and West[edit]
Leo demanded of the emperor that an ecumenical council should be held in Italy, and in the meantime, at a Roman synod in October 449, repudiated all the decisions of the “Robber Synod“. Without going into a critical examination of its dogmatic decrees, in his letters to the emperor and others he demanded the deposition of Eutyches as a Manichaean and Docetic heretic.
With the death of Theodosius II in 450 and the sudden change in the Eastern situation, Anatolius, the new patriarch of Constantinople fulfilled Leo’s requirements, and his Tome was everywhere read and recognized.
Leo was now no longer desirous of having a council, especially since it was not to be held in Italy. Instead, it was called to meet at Nicaea, then subsequently transferred to Chalcedon, where his legates held at least an honorary presidency, and where the bishops recognized him as the interpreter of the voice of Peter and as the head of their body, requesting of him the confirmation of their decrees.
He firmly declined to confirm their disciplinary arrangements, which seemed to allow Constantinople a practically equal authority with Rome and regarded the civil importance of a city as a determining factor in its ecclesiastical position; but he strongly supported its dogmatic decrees, especially when, after the accession of Leo I the Thracian (457), there seemed to be a disposition toward compromise with the Eutychians.
He succeeded in having an imperial patriarch, and not the Oriental Orthodox Pope Timotheus Aelurus, chosen as Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria on the murder of Greek Patriarch Proterius of Alexandria.
The approaching collapse of the Western Empire gave Leo a further opportunity to appear as the representative of lawful authority.
Leo and Attila[edit]
Raphael‘s The Meeting between Leo the Great and Attila depicts Leo, escorted by Saint Peter and Saint Paul, meeting with the Hunking outside Rome
Despite his defeat at the Battle of Chalons in 451, Attila invaded Italy in 452, sacking cities such as Aquileia and heading for Rome. He allegedly demanded that the sister of the reigning Emperor Valentinian III be sent to him with a dowry. In response, the Emperor sent three envoys to negotiate with Attila: Gennadius Avienus, one of the consuls of 450, Memmius Aemilius Trygetius, the former urban prefect, and Leo. Little is known of the specifics of the negotiations, as a result of which Attila withdrew. Most ancient and medieval historians celebrated Leo’s actions, giving him all the credit for this successful embassy. According to Prosper of Aquitaine who was alive at the time of the event, Attila was so impressed by Leo that he withdrew.[8] Another near-contemporary was the historian Priscus who records that Attila was dissuaded from attacking Rome by his own men because they feared he would share the fate of the Visigothic king Alaric, who died shortly after sacking the city in 410.[9] Paul the Deacon, in the late 8th century, relates that an enormously huge man dressed in priestly robes and armed with a naked sword, visible only to Attila, threatened him and his army with death during his discourse with Leo, and this prompted Attila to submit to his request.[10]
More modern historians debate other possible reasons for Attila’s sudden withdrawal. The pope may have offered Attila a large sum of gold or Attila may have had logistical and strategic concerns: an army probably laden with booty from plunder; a plague in northern Italy; food shortages; military actions of the Eastern EmperorMarcianus on the Danube frontier. Besides, the whereabouts of Aëtiusat that time are unknown, and Attila or his warriors may have felt endangered by their arch-enemy from the Catalaunian plains.
Writing in the early 20th century, John B. Bury remarked:
“The fact of the embassy cannot be doubted. The distinguished ambassadors visited the Hun’s camp near the south shore of Lake Garda. It is also certain that Attila suddenly retreated. But we are at a loss to know what considerations were offered him to induce him to depart. It is unreasonable to suppose that this heathen king would have cared for the thunders or persuasions of the Church. The Emperor refused to surrender Honoria, and it is not recorded that money was paid. A trustworthy chronicle hands down another account which does not conflict with the fact that an embassy was sent, but evidently furnishes the true reasons which moved Attila to receive it favourably. Plague broke out in the barbarian host and their food ran short, and at the same time troops arrived from the east, sent by Marcian to the aid of Italy. If his host was suffering from pestilence, and if troops arrived from the east, we can understand that Attila was forced to withdraw. But whatever terms were arranged, he did not pretend that they meant a permanent peace. The question of Honoria was left unsettled, and he threatened that he would come again and do worse things in Italy unless she were given up with the due portion of the Imperial possessions.”[11]
Unfortunately, Leo’s intercession could not prevent the sack of the city by the Vandals in 455, but murder and arson were repressed by his influence. Leo did, however, assist in rebuilding the city of Rome; restoring key places such as Saint Peter’s. He died in 461 and, as he wished to be buried as close as possible to the tomb of Saint Peter, his body was placed in a tomb in the portico of Saint Peter’s basilica on 10 November of that year and in 688 was moved inside the basilica itself.[12]
On the fundamental dignity of Christians[edit]
In his In Nativitate Domini, Christmas Day, sermon, “Christian, remember your dignity”, Leo articulates a fundamental dignity common to all Christians, whether saints or sinners, and the consequent obligation to live up to it:
Our Saviour, dearly-beloved, was born today: let us be glad. For there is no proper place for sadness, when we keep the birthday of the Life, which destroys the fear of mortality and brings to us the joy of promised eternity. No one is kept from sharing in this happiness. There is for all one common measure of joy, because as our Lord the destroyer of sin and death finds none free from charge, so is He come to free us all. Let the saint exult in that he draws near to victory. Let the sinner be glad in that he is invited to pardon. Let the gentile take courage in that he is called to life…
Let us put off then the old man with his deeds: and having obtained a share in the birth of Christ let us renounce the works of the flesh. Christian, acknowledge thy dignity, and becoming a partner in the Divine nature, refuse to return to the old baseness by degenerate conduct. Remember the Head and the Body of which thou art a member. Recollect that thou wert rescued from the power of darkness and brought out into God’s light and kingdom. By the mystery of Baptism thou wert made the temple of the Holy Ghost: do not put such a denizen to flight from thee by base acts, and subject thyself once more to the devil’s thraldom: because thy purchase money is the blood of Christ, because He shall judge thee in truth Who ransomed thee in mercy, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit reigns for ever and ever. Amen.[13]
Leo’s significance[edit]
The significance of Leo’s pontificate lies in his assertion of the universal jurisdiction of the Roman bishop, as expressed in his letters, and still more in his 96 extant orations. This assertion is commonly referred to as the doctrine of Petrine supremacy.
According to Leo and several Church Fathers, as well as certain interpretations of the Scriptures, the Church is built upon Peter, in pursuance of the promise ofMatthew 16:16–19. Peter participates in everything which is Christ’s; what the other apostles have in common with him they have through him. What is true of Peter is true also of his successors. Every other bishop is charged with the care of his particular flock, the Roman pontiff with that of the whole Church. Other bishops are his assistants in this great task. In Leo’s eyes the decrees of the Council of Chalcedon acquired their validity from his confirmation.
Leo’s letters and sermons reflect the many aspects of his career and personality,and are invaluable historical sources. His rhythmic prose style, called cursus leonicus, influenced ecclesiastical language for centuries.
The Roman Catholic Church marks 10 November as the feast day of Saint Leo, given in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum and the 8th-century Calendar of Saint Willibrord as the date of his death and entry to heaven. His feast was once celebrated in Rome on 28 June, the anniversary of the placing of his relics in Saint Peter’s Basilica, but in the 12th century, the Gallican Rite feast of 11 April was admitted to the General Roman Calendar, which maintained that date until 1969.[14] Sometraditionalist Catholics continue to observe pre-1970 versions of that calendar.
The Eastern Catholic Churches as well as the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrate Saint Leo on 18 February.
Burial[edit]
Leo was originally buried in his own monument. However, some years after his death, his remains were put into a tomb that contained the first four Pope Leos. In the 18th century, Leo the Great’s relics were separated from those of the other Leos and he was given his own chapel.[15]
Hymns[edit]
Troparion (Tone 3)
- You were the Church’s instrument
- in strengthening the teaching of true doctrine;
- you shone forth from the West like a sun dispelling the errors of the heretics.
- Righteous Leo, entreat Christ God to grant us His great mercy.
Troparion (Tone 8)
- O Champion of Orthodoxy, and teacher of holiness,
- The enlightenment of the universe and the inspired glory of true believers.
- O most wise Father Leo, your teachings are as music of the Holy Spirit for us!
- Pray that Christ our God may save our souls!
Kontakion (Tone 3)
- Seated upon the throne of the priesthood, glorious Leo,
- you shut the mouths of the spiritual lions.
- With divinely inspired teachings of the honored Trinity,
- you shed the light of the knowledge of God up-on your flock.
- Therefore, you are glorified as a divine initiate of the grace of God.
See also[edit]
- Christology
- List of 10 longest-reigning popes
- List of Catholic saints
- List of Eastern Orthodox saints
- List of popes
Notes[edit]
 |
Wikisource has original works written by or about: Leo I |
- Jump up^
“Pope St. Leo I (the Great)“. Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. - Jump up^ Davis, SJ, Leo Donald (1990). The First Seven Ecumenical Councils (325–787): Their History and Theology (Theology and Life Series 21). Collegeville, MN: Michael Glazier/Liturgical Press. p. 342.ISBN 978-0-8146-5616-7.
- Jump up^ Henry Bettenson, Chris Maunder, Documents of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2011 ISBN 9780199568987), p. 24
- Jump up^ Letter XIV
- Jump up^ Extract from the Acts of the Council
- Jump up^ Acts of the Council, Session II (continued)
- Jump up^ Gillian Rosemary Evans, The First Christian Theologians(Wiley, John and Sons 2004 ISBN 978-0-631-23188-2), p. 246
- Jump up^ Medieval Sourcebook: Leo I and Attila
- Jump up^ John Given, The Fragmentary History of Priscus (2014) Evolution Publishing, Merchantville, NJ ISBN 978-1-935228-14-1, p. 107
- Jump up^ Paul the Deacon, Historia Romana 14.12
- Jump up^ J. B. Bury, History of the Later Roman Empire, Macmillan 1923, p. 295-6.
- Jump up^ Bronwen Neil, Leo the Great (Routledge 2009 ISBN 978-1-13528408-4), p. 49
- Jump up^ [1] Philip Schaff (1819–1893), ed., Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. Series 2. Vol. 12. Leo the Great, Gregory the Great, Charles Lett Feltoe, trans. (Edinburgh: T and T Clark. Reprinted by Wm. B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan). Another translation is available at William Bright, trans. and comm., Select Sermons of S. Leo the Great on the Incarnation, with his 28th Epistle, Called the “Tome”, 2nd ed., rev. and enl. (London: J. Masters, 1886), p.1, online at [2] and [3]
- Jump up^ Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana), p. 107
- Jump up^ Reardon, Wendy J. The Deaths of the Popes. McFarland & Co, 2003.
References[edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leo I Magnus. |
- Louise Ropes Loomis, (2006) The Book of Popes (Liber Pontificalis). Merchantville, NJ: Evolution Publishing. ISBN 1-889758-86-8(Reprint of the 1916 edition. English translation with scholarly footnotes, and illustrations).
- John Given, (2014) The Fragmentary History of Priscus: Attila, the Huns and the Roman Empire. Merchantville, NJ: Evolution Publishing. ISBN 1-935228-14-5.
- Basil Studer: Art.”Leo the Great”, in: A. DiBerardino: “Patrology IV”, Westminster ML 1994, pp. 589–612, ISBN 978-0870611278
- Alois Grillmeier: “Christ in Christian Tradition”, vols. 1 and 2/1, Westminster ML 1988/1987 (2nd revised edition), ISBN 978-0664223014,