10 November 2021 - homily for Wednesday of the 32nd week in Ordinary Time - Memorial of St Pope Leo the Great - Wisdom 6:1-11

     This week, our first readings come from the book of Wisdom.  This book from the Old Testament is included in the canon of Scripture of the Catholic and Orthodox churches, but it is considered Deuterocanonical by the Protestant churches and thus not included in their canon of Scripture. Many Scripture scholars believe that this book was originally written in Greek, but that its style is modeled after Hebrew verse.  In today’s reading, the author of Wisdom reminds the rulers of nations that they hold their governing office from God's authority in whose name they are called to govern the people. God will punish those who abuse their elected office, those who act unjustly and unlawfully. However, the Lord will reward those rulers who govern with mercy and justice.  Our rulers and leaders are indeed called to follow the values of our faith and their well-formed consciences when making decisions and leading their people in justice and integrity. 

      As we hear about the wisdom of leaders who are guided in their leadership and governance by God, we celebrate Pope Leo the Great, who is one of the few popes who is also celebrated as a Doctor of the Church.  Leo the Great’s papacy lasted for 21 years in the middle of the 5th century.  Pope Benedict XVI asserts that Leo's papacy "was undoubtedly one of the most important in the Church's history.”  Leo was born into a Roman aristocrat family. From a historical perspective, he is remembered for having met Attila the Hun in the year 452 in the middle of his papacy, persuading him to turn back from his invasion of Italy.  Leo led the Church in a very difficult era when Western civilization was declining and disintegrating rapidly.  As a Doctor of the Church, he is  remembered theologically for issuing the Tome of Leo, a document which was used to form the debates of the Council of Chalcedon, the fourth ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. That council addressed Christ's being as the hypostatic union of two natures, divine and human, united in one person.  Pope Leo the Great is also remembered for his administrative skills in the Early Church. He astutely addressed the heresy of Pelagianism, which overemphasized human freedom, and the heresy of Manichaeism, which saw the material created world as being inferior to the spiritual world.  Those heresies could have done great damage to the orthodoxy of our faith.  Let us pray for our Church and governmental leaders today, lifting them up to the prayers and intercession of Pope Leo the Great.