Here Is a Rousing Lenten Homily From Pope St Leo the Great

From Aleteia

By Philip Kosloski

St Leo the Great was well-known for his excellent homilies, many of which have been preserved over the centuries.

One of the reasons why St. Leo I is named, "the Great," is based on the wealth of spiritual wisdom from the large number of homilies we have from the 5th-century pope.

The Catholic Church knew to preserve these spiritual gems, which continue to rouse our drooping spirits even in the 21st century.

He remains a very popular "Leo" in the Church, though most recently Pope Leo XIV has caught the attention of the modern world.

Purifying the spirit during Lent

The Office of Readings provides a Lenten homily by St. Leo the Great at the very beginning of the season, highlighting our need to purify our spirit during this time of the liturgical year:

[W]ith the return of that season marked out in a special way by the mystery of our redemption, and of the days that lead up to the paschal feast, we are summoned more urgently to prepare ourselves by a purification of spirit.

He then urges all the Christian faithful to use this time not only to fast from food, but also from sin:

Dear friends, what the Christian should be doing at all times should be done now with greater care and devotion, so that the Lenten fast enjoined by the apostles may be fulfilled, not simply by abstinence from food but above all by the renunciation of sin.

This is an important part of Lent that we should not neglect. We may spend much of our time giving-up sweets or abstaining from meat, but are we eliminating those sins in our lives that we hang onto the most?

Sin is what keeps us from a right relationship with God and so Lent provides us that opportunity to empty ourselves of everything that prevents us from approaching our Lord.

Pope Leo I then encourages us to accompany our fasting with almsgiving, as it can open our heart to God:

There is no more profitable practice as a companion to holy and spiritual fasting than that of almsgiving. This embraces under the single name of mercy many excellent works of devotion, so that the good intentions of all the faithful may be of equal value, even where their means are not. The love that we owe both God and man is always free from any obstacle that would prevent us from having a good intention.

Whatever we do during Lent, let us strive to imitate the examples of the saints before us, who took this season seriously and did all that they could to draw closer to God.