April 11th - St. Gemma Galgani and St. Leo the Great

[Elizabeth]

Saint Gemma Galgani
Virgin
(1878-1903)

Saint Gemma Galgani was born at Camigliano in Tuscany, Italy, in 1878. Her mother died when she was seven years old, and from that time on her life was one of continuous suffering. Her afflictions were caused by ill-health, by the poverty into which her family fell, by the scoffing of those who took offense at her practices of devotion, and finally, by the physical attacks of the devil. Through it all, however, she remained at peace and enjoyed constant communion with our Lord, who spoke to her as if He were bodily present. She earnestly desired to be a Passionist nun, but was not accepted because of her physical infirmities.

She was the subject of various extraordinary supernatural phenomena — visions, ecstasies, revelations, supernatural knowledge, conversations with her visible Guardian Angel, prophecy and miracles. Her director verified that letters which she wrote and committed to the care of her good Angel were infallibly delivered. Saint Gemma had periodically occurring stigmata between 1899 and 1901. At one time during her sufferings, she was asked: If Jesus gave you the choice between two alternatives, either going immediately to heaven and having your sufferings disappear, or else remaining here in suffering to procure still more glory for the Lord, which would you choose? She answered: I prefer to remain here rather than going to heaven, when it is a question of suffering for Jesus and His glory. She died on Holy Saturday in 1903 and was canonized in 1940.

Saint Leo the Great
Pope
(398-461)

Saint Leo was born in Rome. He embraced the sacred ministry, was made Archdeacon of the Roman Church by Pope Saint Celestine, and under the same Vicar of Christ and Saint Sixtus III, had a large share in governing the Church. On the death of Sixtus, Leo was chosen Pope, and consecrated on Saint Michael's day, 440, amid great joy.

It was the time of terrible trial which preceded by thirty years the definitive fall of the Roman Empire. Vandals and Huns were wasting the provinces of the empire, and Nestorians, Pelagians, and other heretics wrought still more grievous havoc in souls. While Leo's zeal was making headway against these perils, there arose the new heresy of Eutyches, who confounded the two natures of Christ. At once the vigilant pastor proclaimed the true doctrine of the Incarnation in his famous tome; but fostered by the Byzantine court, the heresy gained a strong hold upon the Eastern monks and bishops. After three years of unceasing toil, Saint Leo brought about its solemn condemnation by the Council of Chalcedon, the Fathers all signing his tome, and exclaiming, Peter has spoken by Leo.

Soon after, Attila with his Huns broke into Italy, and marched through its razed cities upon Rome. Leo went out boldly to meet him, and prevailed on him to turn back. His chieftains were astonished to see the terrible Attila, the Scourge of God, fresh from the sack of Aquileia, Milan and Pavia and with the rich prize of Rome within his grasp, turn his great host back to the Danube at the Saint's word. They asked him why he had acted so strangely. He told them he had seen two venerable personages — who are generally supposed to be Saints Peter and Paul — standing behind Saint Leo; and impressed by this vision, he withdrew. Two years later the city fell a prey to the Vandals, but Leo saved it again from total destruction. He died in 461 after having ruled the Church for a little over twenty years.

[Stone]

April 11 – Pope Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church

Taken from The Liturgical Year by Dom Prosper Gueranger (1841-1875)

One of the grandest Saints in the Church’s Calendar is brought before us today. Leo, the Pontiff and Doctor, rises on the Paschal horizon, and calls for our admiration and love. As his name implies, he is the Lion of holy Church; thus representing, in his own person, one of the most glorious of our Lord’s titles. There have been twelve Popes who have had this name, and five of the number are enrolled in the catalogue of Saints; but not one of them has so honored the name as he whose feast we keep today: hence, he is called “Leo the Great.”

He deserved the appellation by what he did for maintaining the faith regarding the sublime mystery of the Incarnation. The Church had triumphed over the heresies that had attacked the dogma of the Trinity, when the gates of hell sought to prevail against the dogma of God having been made Man. Nestorius, a Bishop of Constantinople, impiously taught that there were two distinct Persons in Christ—the Person of the Divine Word, and the Person of Man. The Council of Ephesus condemned this doctrine, which, by denying the unity of Person in Christ, destroyed the true notion of the Redemption. A new heresy, the very opposite of that of Nestorianism, but equally subversive of Christianity, soon followed. The monk Eutyches maintained that, in the Incarnation, the Human Nature was absorbed by the Divine. The error was propagated with frightful rapidity. There was needed a clear and authoritative exposition of the great dogma, which is the foundation of all our hopes. Leo arose, and, from the Apostolic Chair, on which the Holy Ghost had placed him, proclaimed with matchless eloquence and precision the formula of the ancient faith—ancient, indeed, and ever the same, yet ever acquiring greater and fresher brightness. A cry of admiration was raised at the General Council of Chalcedon, which had been convened for the purpose of condemning the errors of Eutyches. “Peter,” exclaimed the Fathers, “Peter has spoken by the mouth of Leo!” As we shall see further on, the Eastern Church has kept up the enthusiasm thus excited by the magnificent teachings given by Leo to the whole world.

The Barbarian hordes were invading the West; the Empire was little more than a ruin: and Attila, “the Scourge of God,“ was marching on towards Rome. Leo’s majestic bearing repelled the invasion, as his word had checked the ravages of heresy. The haughty king of the Huns, before whose armies the strongest citadels had fallen, granted an audience to the Pontiff on the banks of the Mincio, and promised to spare Rome. The calm and dignity of Leo—who thus unarmed confronted the most formidable enemy of the Empire and exposed his life for his flock—awed the barbarian, who afterwards told his people that, during the interview, he saw a venerable person standing, in an attitude of defense, by the side of Rome’s intercessor: it was the Apostle St. Peter. Attila not only admired, he feared the Pontiff. It was truly a sublime spectacle, and one that was full of meaning;—a Priest, with no arms save those of his character and virtues, forcing a king such as Attila was, to do homage to a devotedness which he could ill understand, and recognize, by submission, the influence of a power which had heaven on its side. Leo, single-handed and at once, did what it took the whole of Europe several ages to accomplish later on.

That the aureola of Leo’s glory might be complete, the Holy Ghost gifted him with an eloquence which, on account of its majesty and richness, might deservedly be called Papal. The Latin language had, at that time, lost its ancient vigor; but we frequently come across passages in the writings of our Saint which remind us of the golden age.

In exposing the dogmas of our holy Faith, he uses a style so dignified and so impregnated with the savor of sacred antiquity, that it seems made for the subject. He has several admirable Sermons on the Resurrection; and speaking of the present Season of the Liturgical Year, he says: “The days that intervened between our Lord’s Resurrection and Ascension, were not days on which nothing was done: on the contrary, great were the Sacraments then confirmed, and great were the mysteries that were revealed.”

Let us now read the sketch of the Saints’ life given by the Church in the Matins of the Feast.

Leo the First, a Tuscan by birth, governed the Church at the period when Attila, the king of the Huns, surnamed the Scourge of God, was invading Italy. Attila pillaged and burned the city of Aquileia, which he took after a three years’ siege. This done, he rushed on towards Rome as a wild firebrand. He had reached the place where the Mincio joins the Po, and was on the point of ordering his troops to pass the river, when he was met by Leo, who was moved with compassion at the misfortunes that were threatening Italy. Such was his superhuman eloquence, that he induced Attila to retrace his steps. When asked by his people, how it was, that, contrary to his custom, he had yielded such ready obedience to the demands of the Roman Pontiff, the king answered, that he beheld, whilst Leo was speaking, a personage clad in priestly robes, who stood near, with a naked sword in his hand, and threatened him with death unless he obeyed the Pontiff. Whereupon, he returned to Pannonia.

Leo was welcomed back to Rome amidst the exceeding joy of all. A short time after, when the City was invested by Genseric, the Pontiff’s eloquence and reputation for sanctity had such influence on the barbarian, that he abstained from setting fire to the buildings, and forbade his troops to insult or massacre the inhabitants. Seeing the Church attacked by several heresies, and mainly by the followers of Nestorius and Eutyches, he called the Council of Chalcedon, in order to remove error and vindicate the Catholic faith. Six hundred and thirty Bishops assisted at this Council, in which Eutyches, and Dioscorus, and Nestorius were condemned (this last, a second time). The Decrees of the Council were confirmed by the authority of Leo.

The holy Pontiff then turned his attention to the reparation and building of Churches. It was through his persuasion, that a pious lady, called Demetria, built the Church of Saint Stephen on her own land in the Latin Way, three miles out of the City. He himself built one on the Appian Way, and dedicated it to Saint Cornelius. He repaired several others, and refurnished them with all the sacred vessels needed for the divine service. He built vaults under the Basilicas of Saint Peter, Saint Paul, and Saint John Lateran. He appointed guards, to whom he gave the name of Cubicularii, to watch at the Tombs of the Apostles. He ordered that these words should be added to the Canon of the Mass: Holy Sacrifice, spotless Host. He decreed that a Nun should not receive the blessed veil, unless she had observed virginity for forty years. After these and other similar admirable acts, and after writing much that was replete with piety and eloquence, he slept in the Lord, on the third of the Ides of April (April 11th). He reigned as Sovereign Pontiff twenty years, ten months, and twenty-eight days.

The Greek Church, in her Menæa, has an Office in honour of St. Leo: we take from it the following stanzas. As they were composed before the Schism, they show us that the ancient Church of Constantinople believed the Supremacy of the Roman Pontiff, and that it is not the Latins that have changed the Faith. The Greeks keep the Feast of St. Leo on the 18th of February.

Hymn
(Die XVIII Februarii.)

O felix Pontifex, Leo inclyte, fidelibus Sacerdotibus et Martyribus consors effectus es; invictus enim in præliis apparuisti, et immobilis ut turris et arx pietatis; orthodoxissime et sapientissime Domini ineffabilem generationem prædicasti.
O happy Pontiff! glorious Leo! thou hast been made companion of the faithful Priests and martyrs; for thou wast most invincible in battle, and immovable as a tower and fortress of religion. Thou proclaimedst, with most perfect orthodoxy and wisdom, the unspeakable generation of Christ.

Orthodoxiæ rector, pietatis magister et sanctitatis, universæ terræ lumen, orthodoxorum Deo inspirata gloria, sapiens Leo, tuis doctrinis omnes illuminasti, lyra Spiritus Sancti.
O ruler of Orthodoxy, teacher of religion and holiness, light of the whole earth, divinely inspired glory of true believers, wise Leo! thou enlightenedst all men by thy teachings, O harp of the Holy Ghost!

Principis apostolorum Petri cathedræ hæres factus, Ecclesiæ præfuisti; illius mente præditus, et zelo pro fide inflammatus.
Heir of the See of Peter, the Prince of the apostles, thou presidest over the Church: thou hadst his spirit, and wast inflamed with zeal for the Faith.

Splendidissimo lumine refulgens, sancte Leo, ineffabilis et divinæ incarnationis sermonem clarescere fecisti, duplicem prædicans naturam, et duplicem incarnati Dei voluntatem.
Beaming with most bright light, thou, O holy Leo, didst admirably preach the ineffable and divine Incarnation, teaching the two Natures, and the two Wills of the Incarnate God.

Divinis resplendens dogmatibus, fulgorem orthodoxiæ undique sparsisti, et hæreseos tenebras dispulisti; et vita discedens, o beate, lumen quod vesperam nescit inhabitas.
Resplendent with the knowledge of divine truths, thou scatteredst on all sides the brightness of orthodoxy, and dispelledst the darkness of heresy. Departing this life, thou, O blessed one! now dwellest in the Light that knows no setting.

Filium umicum Christum et Dominum, ante sæcula ex Patre genitum, et propter nos ex Virgine natum et nobis similem in terris apparentem, mirabiliter prædicasti, o minister mysteriorum Deo inspirate.
O inspired Minister of God’s mysteries, thou admirably preachedst that Christ is the Only Son and Lord, begotten of the Father before all ages, born for us of the Virgin, and dwelling on earth like unto us.

Super thronum pontificatus sedens gloriose, et ora leonum obturans, divinis venerandæ Trinitatis dogmatibus, ovili tuo lumen Dei cognitionis splendescere fecisti. Ideo glorificatus fuisti, ut divinus Dei gratiæ initiatus Sacerdos.
Seated with glory upon the throne of the Pontificate, thou didst stop the mouths of lions, and madest to shine upon thy flock the light of the knowledge of God, by proclaiming the divine dogma of the adorable Trinity. Therefore hast thou been glorified as a holy Pontiff initiated in the grace of God.

Velut sol omnisplendens ex occidente ortus es, mixtionem et confusionem Eutychetis sapienter dissipans, et Nestorii divisionem rejiciens; unum Christum in duabus substantiis indivisibiliter, immutabiliter, inconfuse venerari docens.
Thou, as a dazzling sun, didst rise in the west: thou wisely dispelledst the error of Eutyches, who mingled and confused the two Natures, and that of Nestorius, who divided them. Thou taughtest us to adore one Christ in two Natures, inseparably, unchangeably, unconfusedly united.

A Deo inspiratus, pietatis præcepta velut in tabulis descriptis figurasti, ut alter Moyses apparens divino populo; et in venerabilium conventu magistrorum exclamasti: Laudate, Sacerdotes, benedicite; superexaltate Christum in sæcula.
Inspired of God, thou appearedst to the people of God as another Moses, showing them the commandments of religion written, as it were, on tables. Thou exclaimedst in the assembly of the venerable Masters: “Praise, O ye Priests! and bless, and extol Christ for ever!”

Nunc coruscas, Sacerdos Christi, pulchritudinis corona decoratus, et ut fidelis sacerdos, justitiam induisti, et in paradiso voluptatis mirabiliter exsultans, pro ovili tuo Dominum incessanter deprecare.
Now, O Priest of Christ! thou art brightly decked with a crown of beauty. As a faithful Priest, thou hast put on justice. Pray unceasingly for thy flock, now that thou hast entered into the admirable joy of the Paradise of delights.

Nunc ubi sunt cathedræ, throni et ordines Patriarcharum, beatissime Leo, tu etiam Pater dignanter intrasti ut verus Patriarcha, et fide et gratia circumsplendens: ideo omnes te semper beatificamus.
Thou, O most blessed Leo! hast worthily entered the abode where are the seats and thrones and ranks of the Patriarchs; thou hast entered as a true Patriarch, all resplendent with faith and grace. Therefore do we all celebrate thy name for ever.

Glory be to thee, O Jesus, Lion of the Tribe of Juda! that hast raised up in thy Church a Lion to defend her in those dark times when holy Faith was most exposed to danger. Thou chargedst peter to confirm his Brethren; and we have seen Leo, in whom Peter lived, fulfill this office with sovereign authority. We have heard the acclamation of the holy Council which, in admiration at the heavenly teachings of Leo, proclaimed the signal favor thou conferredst on thy Flock, when thou badest Peter feed both Sheep and Lambs.

O holy Pontiff Leo! thou worthily didst represent Peter in his Chair, whence thy apostolic teaching ceased not to flow, ever beautiful in its truth and majesty. The Church of thine own day honoured thee as the great Teacher of Faith; and the Church of every succeeding age has recognised thee as one of the most learned Doctors and preachers of the divine Word. From thy throne in heaven, where now thou reignest, pour forth upon us the understanding of the great Mystery which thou wast called on to defend. Under thy inspired pen, this mystery grows clear; we see how sublimely it harmonizes with all other mysteries; and faith delights at gaining so close a view of the divine object of its belief. Oh! strengthen this faith within us. The Incarnate Word is blasphemed in these our own times; avenge his glory, by sending us men of thy zeal and learning.

Thou triumphedst over barbarian invaders: Attila acknowledged the influence of thy sanctity and eloquence by withdrawing his troops from the Christian land they infested. In these our days, there have risen up new barbarians—civilized barbarians, who would persuade us that religion should be eliminated from Education, and that the State, in its laws and institutions, should simply ignore our Lord Jesus Christ, the King to whom all power has been given, not only in heaven but on earth also. Oh! help us by thy powerful intercession, for our danger is extreme. Many are seduced, and are apostates while flattering themselves that they are still Christians. Pray that the light that is left within us may not be extinguished, and that the public scandals which now exist may be brought to an end. Attila was but a pagan; our modern statesmen and Governments are, or at least call themselves, Christians: have pity on them, and gain for them light to see the precipice to which they are hurrying society.

These days of Paschal Time must remind thee, holy Pontiff! of the Easters thou didst once spend, here on earth, when, surrounded by the Neophytes, thou gavest them the nourishment of thy magnificent Discourses: pray for the Faithful, who have this Easter, risen to a new life with Christ. What they most stand in need of is, a fuller and better knowledge of this their Saviour, in order that they may cling more closely to him, and persevere in his holy service. Thy prayers must get them this knowledge; by thy prayers, thou must teach them what he is both in his Divine and Human Nature: that, as God, he is their Last End, and their Judge after death; as Man, their Brother, their Redeemer, their Model. Bless, O Leo! and help the Pontiff who is now thy successor on the Chair of Peter. Show now thy love for that Rome, whose sacred and eternal destinies were so frequently the subject of thy glowing and heavenly eloquence.