Pope Leo the Great

Yesterday was the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of John Lateran, and today is the memorial of Leo the Great.  An appropriate juxtaposition of celebrations it would seem.  Leo held back the barbarians from the city of Rome, and thus preserved the Church and the eternal city.  Makes me think that in many ways the recent successors of Peter have been called to this same task in the past fifty years except the threats are not so much to the eternal city itself, but to the unity and peace of the Church.  I would have loved to have seen what Papa Luciani (Pope John Paul I) would have done in bringing unity and peace to the Church during the latter quarter of the 20th Century, but we can only imagine what his impact would have been.  John Paul II certainly reached out to the entire world and unified us in spirit, although he seemed to not be able to change the behavior of many who continue to live in disunity.  The threats to the Church are real, but we believe that Jesus has conquered all darkness and evil.  As I mentioned in a homily last weekend, there is more to the night than darkness for Jesus has stood in the breach and conquer the prince of darkness and brought life to all who enter the world today.  This is our great hope.  May God bless you this day and protect you from all evil.  St. Leo the Great, pray for us!