Belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ has the power to make us bold. Knowing the truth of who Jesus is, a truth given powerful credence by his truly dying and then truly rising from the dead, allows us to be confident in all that He taught to be true. When we are confident in those beliefs we can, in turn, stand firm in defending them. Therefore one of the fruits of the resurrection is an eagerness to defend the Church. Christ laid down His body for us and in doing so He entrusted it to our care, to safeguard and defend.
One of the saints who most excellently exemplified this particular fruit of the resurrection was the fifth century Pope, St. Leo the Great. Pope Leo lived during a time in history when the Church was under attack both physically and theologically. With unshakeable faith in the risen Lord, Pope Leo steadfastly defended the Church on both these fronts.
Elected Pope in 440, he served a Church that was newly free from the fear of constant persecution. Simply identifying as Christian was no longer a capital offense. While this was undoubtedly a good development, it brought with it some new issues. Most prominently, peace gave time for reflection, and human reflection which is prone to error led to the rise of heresy. Pope St. Leo faced the growing heresies of his day with a bold proclamation of faith and adherence to the truth. He taught with clarity and conviction, founded on his belief in Jesus, and in doing so preserved unity and orthodoxy in the Church.
At the same time that he was battling threats to the orthodoxy of the faith, Pope St. Leo was also confronted with a significant threat to the physical existence of the Church. This threat came in the form of legendary warrior, Attila the Hun. In 452, after sacking prominent cities along the way, Attila led his barbarian horde to Rome. Undeterred by the rumors of Attila’s brutality, Pope St. Leo rode out to meet him. No one knows precisely what was said when these two men met, but whatever it was, the result was an unprecedented move by Attila- he turned around and left Rome unscathed. The bold pope kept the city at the heart of the young Church safe as a true shepherd protecting his sheep.
Faith in the resurrection gave him the strength to hold fast to the truth in the face of zealous opponents, to preserve unity by teaching with uncompromising clarity and conviction, and to ride out to meet the enemies that threatened the well-being of the flock entrusted to his care. Faith in the resurrection can give us this same strength today when we too are faced with those who oppose the truths of the Church, sow discord, or openly attack the people of God. Jesus, who is truly risen, aids us with he same grace with which He strengthened this holy pope.
Pope St. Leo the Great, pray for us, that hope in the resurrection with make us bold in defense of our Catholic faith.
Prose for the sake of Poetry 