Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church

Does the servant in the story get a party for doing his work?

In the summer of 452, the most feared man in the world was riding toward Rome. Attila the Hun had burned his way across northern Italy, and there was no army left to stop him. At the head of the group sent to plead for the city was a man with no sword: Pope Leo.

What did Pope Leo do when Attila the Hun was coming to Rome?

Pray one Our Father for the Pope by name, and have each child do one chore tonight without being asked.

The bishop of Rome, who leads the whole Catholic Church on earth as the successor of St. Peter. The word comes from the Greek and Latin for “papa,” father.

Watch ye therefore, because you know not the day nor the hour.

Is the Pope always right?

Lord Jesus, you gave St. Peter the keys and you give them still to our Pope. Keep him brave like St. Leo and humble like a servant. Help us do our work without being asked, and remember that we are your children. Amen.

St. Felix of Cantalice, born in the same year as St. Teresa of Ávila, belonged to a humble, poor peasant family. As a young boy, he tended to the family’s sheep. Surrounded by the Italian Apennine Mountains, young Felix would often lose himself in prayer. At nine, he was sent out as a farm laborer, living six miles from his family for several years. During that time God stirred in him a call to religious life, but Felix delayed answering it out of loyalty to his master. And then one day, everything changed. While guiding a plow pulled by oxen, the animals suddenly came loose, dragging the plow over his body. Miraculously, Felix’s body was left untouched. He knew he couldn’t delay the Lord’s calling any longer. At that moment, perhaps the Lord’s words convicted him more than ever: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).

You say, “Well, I follow Him if I keep the commandments.” Yeah, true. But you see, it’s not only a matter of following. He has raised you up higher, as the son of God. He has raised you up as friend, no longer a servant. He has raised you up to imitation. Now, how are you going to imitate somebody you don’t know and don’t know anything about or never met?

Tomorrow, November 11, is St. Martin of Tours and Veterans Day. Tonight, gather paper lanterns, or wash out glass jars and find tea lights, for a dusk lantern walk; put a roast chicken (standing in for the Martinmas goose) on the shopping list or in the fridge to thaw; and if a grandparent or neighbor served in the military, plan for the kids to call or write a thank you. Thursday, November 12, is St. Josaphat: you will look up the nearest Byzantine Catholic parish, so five minutes of searching tonight helps.