Great the first Pope to be called THE GREAT. He is an Italian aristocrat living in TUSCANY, ITALY, he is also consider as a DOCTOR of the CHURCH. So let us examine the life of LEO the GREAT by reading this article from
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Saint Leo the Great is the first born pope doctor. His greatness is evident from his roles as peacemaker amidst terror, unifier amidst controversy, and pastoral concern amidst war, diseases, and famine. For two decades during his pontificate the powers of terrorists and Hell attacked and plundered Rome and its citizens.
Leo believed and trusted in God through the intercession of St Peter, the Rock of the Church, and Jesus Christ. It was he who gave Peter and his successors that power over all mortals who would challenges his church on earth.
In addition to writing, leading, and exemplying a unified doctrine for the church, Leo acted in the role of peacemaker which was rare in his day. He met, nearly single-handedly, Attila the Hun, "The Terror of the World" and showed him God's own enormous and terrible power.
Leo is called the Doctor of the Unity of the Church for many reasons, and, they are listed below
St Leo, 391-461. Doctor of Doctrine, Feast Nov 10th
Everyone can trust and believe in God and meet their challenges as Leo by living out their faith by earnestly following the guidelines of doctrines, dogmas, and ethical principles. When we follow our conscience, coupled with the sincere, charitable efforts toward all in a high moral manner, God will enlighten and guide us. The establishing and the formulation of church writings and traditions were done through the industrious efforts of Leo and catholic leadership acted out down through the centuries. The beginning church paid a great price to lay the foundation of our religion and faith. We might acknowledge Leo and others like him for their significant contributions especially the labors of those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith including our parents and relatives. I have paraphrased some of the writings of Leonard Foley, O.F.M., Luigi Gambero, S.M., and Christopher Rengers, O.F.M. Cap. Their books are listed in the sources.
When we use our leadership or supervisory skills, and authority in business or at home, Leo might guide us to become more effective and holy in our dealings with others. Leo prayed frequently to St Peter, the first Pope, for help and he got it. It doesn't matter the level or the degree of one's duties. As long as we ask help from people as the saints and doctors who will not fail us. They are there precisely for that reason: to be petitioned and serve as models, examples and support.
Leo reigned as pope for twenty-one years. He was born in Tuscany, near Rome. As a young man he assisted Africans, and then in 418, met St Augustine who was then in the full flowering of his genius as bishop of Hippo in Africa.
In John F. Fink's excellent book The Doctors of the Church, Volume One: Doctors of the First Millennium, the author begin his information on the chapter on St Leo by stating:
"Perhaps surprisingly considering the amount of teaching and writing many of our popes have done, only two of them were included among the Doctors of the Church. These two-Pope Leo I and Pope Gregory I-are also the only popes to be called "the Great." There obviously was something about each of them that stood out, and we'll explore that in this chapter and the next."
John's book is listed in the sources but what he is saying is that there are only 2 out of 264 successors of St Peter that were selected to be in the august group of Doctors of the Catholic Church. That is quite a milestone.
This universal pope-doctor gives us the same remedy he possessed to help us meet the challenges of the power of evil, its temptations and its many enemies that confront us. He informs us that those who will clash with visible or invisible forces must arm himself with 1) persistence and perseverance in prayer; 2) fasting; and 3) almsgiving.
Through our weakness we sin but we will be pardoned for our sins and obtain forgiveness when we exercise the above three golden remedies. Charities in almsgiving covers a multitude of sins; fasting is the one special mortification that the devil or evil is defenseless against; genuine prayer will united us to God in love and empower us to keep our wills united with the holy will of God amidst repeated failures.
Due to the wars, terrorists and immense problems that Leo faced he strongly advocated the below works of mercy toward others to show true Christianity:
CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY:
To feed the hungry;
Give drink to the thirsty;
Clothe the naked;
Shelter the homeless;
Visit the sick;
Visit the imprisoned;
Bury the dead.
SPIRITUAL WORKS OF MERCY:
To counsel the doubtful;
Instruct the ignorant;
Admonish sinners;
Comfort the afflicted;
Forgive offenses;
Bear wrongs patiently;
Pray for the living and the dead.
We can not imagine Leo's courage and total trust and abandonment to God when he had to face Attila the Hun. To appreciate his confidence and bravery we need to understand who Attila really was and how Leo faced this person. To capture this story we might reflect that when David faced Goliath, he, at least, had a slingshot. Leo had nothing but his total reliance on God and St Peter who he prayed to for assistance.
The below info is taken from Sister Catherine Goddard Clark, MICM, from the Internet to help us capture the atmosphere when Leo met Attila.
"Pope Leo the Great mounted the throne of Saint Peter at a time of terrible danger, both for the Church and the Empire. The fierce barbarian tribes, one after the other, had been on the march for the whole of the century, plundering, ravaging and threatening the entire Empire. The dreaded Attila the self-designated "Scourge of God," who left in the wake of his savage army burned churches, murdered priests, devastated countrysides, people ravished and maimed, impoverished and homeless, was on his way into Italy.
In the year 452, Attila the Hun, having with remorseless cruelty sieged, burned, sacked and destroyed Aquileia - the city in northeastern Italy at the head of the Adriatic Sea - was as close as Mantua, on his march to Rome. He was boasting, as he advanced, that the total conquest of Italy was to be his crowning work of destruction. Rome was the dowry which he planned to present to his bride, Honoria, the granddaughter of the great Theodosius!
All Rome awaited the coming of the Mongol King in hopeless terror. They had no defense left against him. And then, in the darkest hour - as would often be the case through the centuries ahead - the Eternal City was saved, not by its legions, its tribunes, its senators, or its suffering citizens. Rome was saved by its Bishop, the Holy Roman Pontiff.
Practically alone, Pope Leo went out to meet the wanton murderer who was the terror of the world. He climbed steadily northward, this holy and august Vicar of Christ, and over the mountains, an arduous journey indeed in those days. He found the Mongolian chief below Mantua, at the point where the Mincio River, flowing down from its Alpine source - the beautiful Lago Garda - emptied itself in the Po. Attila's troops, hardened veterans seasoned in plunder and sack and rape, were ready and waiting to cross the Po when Saint Leo, in his papal robes, entered the disordered camp and stood before the King of the Huns.
The glorious Pope threatened Attila with the power which was his from Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, if he did not turn back and leave Italy unmolested. And it is one of the most dramatic, of all the dramatic facts with which the story of the Church is so enchantingly full, that Attila, the Hun, yielded before Leo, the Pope. The "Scourge of God" agreed to turn back. He gave up Rome. And Leo, absorbed in thanksgiving, returned to his See.
Attila's servants, so the story is told, asked him why he had reversed his custom and capitulated so easily to the Bishop of Rome. The brigand chief answered that all the while the Pope was speaking, he, Attila, the generator of terror in others, was himself consumed in fear, for there had appeared in the air above the Pope's head a figure in the dress of a priest, holding in his hand a drawn sword with which he made as if to kill him unless he consented to do as Leo asked. The figure was that of Peter!"
When one visits the Vatican today one will see this scene depicted in art hanging over the casket of St Leo in St Peters. One will see the terror, fear and dread on Attila's face and the fearless Leo confronting him with total trust in God.
From another version, we have the meeting of Attila the Hun and Leo at the end of this section on St Leo.
It is quite fitting that, the mortal remains of both the doctor of unity and doctrine, St Leo and St Gregory Nazianzus, the doctor of theology, and surnamed "The Theologian", are in St Peter's Basilica. With sound doctrine and theology the church is a fortress and wise guide to humanity. She is also a loving Mother caring and leading her children to the Life, the Truth, and the Way unerringly and incontrovertibly. Christ speaks to us about the study of God and the church's doctrine through the Popes down through the ages despite all human failings because he claimed all three titles: The Life, The Truth and The Way.
There were other challenges that Leo faced to defend the church of God and they were all the same: God will protect his Church forever.
In 455, once again he went out, alone but for some of his clergy, to meet the invader. This time it was the Arian Vandal King, Genseric, and while Saint Leo was able to prevail upon him to spare his people from massacre, and Rome from burning, he was not able to dissuade him from plunder. For fourteen days, Genseric's army pillaged Rome; but the Romans, thanks to the Pope, remained unharmed.
There has come down to us, in the words of Saint Leo, his discourse on the supremely lovable, infinitely wistful, majestically humble lover of Jesus Christ, the Prince of the Apostles, the first Holy Roman Pontiff. Leo's tribute to Peter has rung down the ages:
In the Universal Church, it is Peter that doth still say every day:
"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," and every tongue which confesseth that JESUS is Lord is taught that confession by the teaching of Peter. This is the Faith that overcometh the devil and looseth the hands of his prisoners.
This is the Faith which maketh men free of the world and bringeth them to Heaven, and the gates of Hell are impotent to prevail against it. With such ramparts of salvation hath God fortified this rock, that the contagion of heresy will never be able to infect it, nor idolatry and unbelief to overcome it. This teaching it is, my dearly beloved brethren, which maketh the keeping of this feast today to be our reasonable service, even the teaching which maketh you to know and honor in myself, lowly though I be, that Peter who is still entrusted with the care of all other shepherds and of all the flocks to them committed, and whose authority I have, albeit unworthy to be his heir. . ."
Leo had a diversified background and held various offices in the church before he became pope. Manichaeism which held that there are two gods was the prevalent heresy and Leo attacked it vigorously in his sermons. He also spoke out against pagan festivals and called for the closing of their temples. Due to Leo's influences, Rome became the "city of the pope."
His genius served the church well at a time when a strong hand was needed to guide the bark of Peter. The following is taken from from one of Leo's Christmas homilies:
"Dearly beloved, today our Savior is born; let us rejoice. Sadness should have no place on this birthday of life. The fear of death has been swallowed up; life brings us joy with the promise of eternal happiness. No one is shut out from this joy; all share the same reason for rejoicing. Our Lord, victory over sin and death, finding no man free from sin, came to free us all. Let the same rejoice as he sees the palm of victory at hand. Let the sinner be glad as he receives the offer of forgiveness."
Ninety-six sermons and one hundred forty-three letters have come down to us and are extant. Leo is famous for his five-minute sermons. Some of these are enshrined in the breviary readings including the little Christmas homily from above. He emphasized almsgiving and other social aspects of Christian living. He built many churches, wrote many letters and expressed true values.
Leo had a strong conviction for the importance of the Bishop of Rome and took a strong stance on leadership. He set the precedent. The church and her top leaders have to be a sign of Christ's presence in the world. Leo the Great displayed endless dedication in his role as pope. He worked tirelessly as Peter's successor guiding his bishops as equals in the episcopacy and he had a faithful devotion to St. Peter to assist him.
Known as one of the best administrative popes of the ancient church, he tried to counteract rampant heresies such as Arianism, Pelagianism, Nestorianism, Manichaeism and others to empower us with true Christian belief and practices.
