Memorial of Saint Leo the Great, pope and doctor of the
Church
(Titus 1:1-9; Luke 17:1-6)
St. Leo deserves the distinction “the Great.” He left a legacy of sermons that express the
meaning of the Church’s major holydays.
He also made a critical contribution to theology by providing the
framework for the Council of Chalcedon to explain how Christ is both God and
human. Finally, and most memorably, he faced
Attila the Hum with a plea to spare Rome of destruction. We might see him as the perfect fulfillment
of the Letter to Titus’ profile of a bishop.
The Letter to Titus was probably written by a Pauline
disciple late in the first century. It
describes some of the structure and also the issues of the Church at that time.
Presbyters in today’s reading are the same as bishops. It is not warranted to consider either quite
like the priests and bishops that will emerge in time. The supreme quality for Church governance in
the letter seems to be blamelessness. A
presbyter-bishop should not have any vices.
The letter also emphasizes doctrinal competence to refute the errors
that crop up because of diverse human thinking.
We tend to think of ourselves as being better than people
of past eras. We may know more, but do
we act better? And have we forgotten valuable
lessons known in former times? Certainly
there is much for us to ponder from both the life of Leo the Great and the
Letter to Titus. Leo shows us the need
to confront our problems head-on and to be judicious in proclaiming truth. Titus reminds us of the need to develop
virtue to stem our tendency to sin.
