Today, November 10
Feast of the Day
No feast of the day
Saint of the Day
Leo was born to Tuscan parents. His religious beliefs guided his entire life. As a deacon he worked to bring peace to warring Roman factions that were leaving Gaul vulnerable to barbarian invasion. Leo is well-known for his peacekeeping efforts, in particular for his encounter with Attila the Hun when he persuaded Attila not to plunder Rome. During another attack 3 years later, Leo was not so successful, though he did manage to save the city from being burnt. Leo worked alongside the people to rebuild the city and its churches.
Pope from 440 until his death in 461, Leo is best known for his pastoral sermons on faith and charity. His writing on the Incarnation was acclaimed at the Council of Chalcedon in 451. Always a strong opponent of heresies, his teaching has had a lasting influence on the life of the Roman Church. He is the first pope whose sermons and letters have been preserved in extensive collections. He was made Doctor of the Church in 1754.©2011 Living with Christ, Novalis - Bayard Press Canada Inc., http://www.livingwithchrist.ca/. Reprinted with permission.
Readings of the Day
Letter to Titus 2,1-8.11-14.
Beloved, you must say what is consistent with sound doctrine, namely, that older men should be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, love, and endurance. Similarly, older women should be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers, not addicted to drink, teaching what is good, so that they may train younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, chaste, good homemakers, under the control of their husbands, so that the word of God may not be discredited. Urge the younger men, similarly, to control themselves, showing yourself as a model of good deeds in every respect, with integrity in your teaching, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be criticized, so that the opponent will be put to shame without anything bad to say about us. For the grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good.
Psalms 37(36),3-4.18.23.27.29.
Trust in the LORD and do good, that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security. Take delight in the LORD, and he will grant you your heart's requests. The LORD watches over the lives of the wholehearted; their inheritance lasts forever. By the LORD are the steps of a man made firm, and he approves his way. Turn from evil and do good, that you may abide forever; The just shall possess the land and dwell in it forever.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 17,7-10.
Jesus said to the Apostles: “Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’? Would he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished'? Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded? So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.'"
Daily Reflection
To find God just as much in small and ordinary things as in great ones is to have a faith that is not ordinary but great and extraordinary. To be satisfied with the present moment is to taste and adore the divine will in everything that confronts one to be suffered or done, in what successively makes up the present moment. Simple souls, through the liveliness of their faith, bow down before God just as much in the most humiliating of states. Nothing hides him from the piercing eye of their faith... Nothing surprises them, nothing dismays them. Mary was to witness the apostles running away but she will continually remain at the foot of the Cross and will acknowledge her son, however disfigured he is by the spitting and wounds... The life of faith is nothing but a constant pursuit of God through whatever disguises, disfigures or, so to speak, destroys and crushes him. See Mary again, from stable to cross, always finding a God whom everyone else fails to recognize, abandons and persecutes. In the same way souls of faith look beyond a continual sequence of deaths, concealments, shadows and likenesses vying to render God's will unrecognizable. Souls like these pursue and love it even to death on the cross. They know that they always have to leave shadows behind in order to run after this divine sun. From its rising to its setting, whatever the thick, dark clouds concealing it, it enlightens, warms and enkindles faithful hearts who bless, praise and contemplate it.