- Psalm 37:3-7 -
Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteousness ****ne like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
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David calls us to take delight in the Lord, and to commit everything we
have
and do (our "way") to him. But how do we do this? To delight in someone
means to experience great pleasure and joy in his or her presence. This
happens only when we know that person well. Thus to delight in the Lord,
we
must know him better. Knowledge of God's great love for us will indeed
give
us delight. To commit ourselves to the Lord means entrusting everything -
our lives, families, jobs, possessions - to his control and guidance. To
commit ourselves to the Lord means to trust him, believing that he can
care
for us better than we can ourselves. We should be willing to wait
patiently
for him to work out what is best for us.
<<>><<>><<>>
April 19th - St. Leo IX, Pope
1049 - 1054 AD
St. Leo IX, the first of a number of truly great reform popes, was born at
Egisheim in Alsace, June 21, 1002, of a family connected with the imperial
house. Bruno became a cleric quite young, and already in 1017 was a canon
at
Toul. When his father's cousin Conrad came to the throne, Bruno was sent
to
serve in the royal chapel. At court as at home he distinguished himself by
his goodness. In 1026 Bruno led his bishop's feudal levy into Italy to
sup****t Conrad's demonstration. The next year Bruno became bishop of Toul.
He worked hard to reform his diocese.
After the death of Damasus II, Henry III named his cousin Bruno to the
papacy. Bruno showed a spirit of independence by refusing to accept until
the Roman clergy elected him. Already popular with the Romans, Bruno was
enthusiastically received, and on February 12, 1049, he was enthroned as
Leo
IX.
The great objective of the new Pope was reform. He held a Council at Rome
in
April, 1049, which once more legislated against simony and clerical
marriage. Reform decrees already existed, but this time something new was
added-a personal determined effort on the Pope's part to get these decrees
enforced. Leo took to the road and at Pavia in North Italy, Mainz in
Germany, and Rheims in France the energetic Pope filled the bishops with
an
ardent will to cooperate with the reform.
While Leo's pontificate saw a grand start toward reform in the West, it
also
witnessed the events leading to the sad Eastern Schism. Michael
Caerularius,
the ambitious patriarch of Constantinople, launched an anti- Western
propaganda campaign to loosen the bonds of union. When he proceeded to
close
Latin churches in Constantinople and force Latin monks to adopt the Greek
rite, Leo protested. The Emperor forced the patriarch to give in, but when
Leo sent legates to investigate, they were defied by the patriarch. The
legates then on July 16, 1054, excommunicated the patriarch. The patriarch
thereupon revolted from Rome, and the sad Eastern Schism had begun. Leo
died
before this final break occurred.
Leo had been hearing bitter complaints about the brutal conduct of the
Normans in South Italy. He went to Germany for help, but though he got
little, he decided to lead an army against the Normans anyway. The tough
Normans routed the papal army and soon were battering at the gates of
Civitella, the papal headquarters. To avert more bloodshed, Leo
surrendered
himself to the enemy. His dignity accomplished more than his army. The
Normans, embarrassed at having the Pope a prisoner, promised to become his
allies!
This campaign took a great deal out of Leo. A sick man, he covered the
distance back to Rome, but died piously on April 9,1054.
Among the interesting visitors received by Leo was Shakespeare's famous
Macbeth of Scotland. Leo arranged for the appointment of a bishop for
far-off Iceland. Not only a great leader and administrator, Leo was a
musician of note. He composed music for feasts of St. Gregory and St.
Columban. But more than all these, Leo was kind, patient, humble-a true
pope, a real saint.
This Version Taken From:
http://www.cfpeople.org/Books/Pope/POPEp150.htm
Saint Quote:
"Kiss frequently the crosses which the Lord sends you, and with all your
heart, without regarding of what sort they may be; for the more vile and
mean they are, the more they deserve their name. The merit of crosses does
not consist in their weight, but in the manner in which they are borne. It
may show much greater virtue to bear a cross of straw than a very hard and
heavy one, because the light ones are also the most hidden and contemned,
and therefore least comfortable to our inclination, which always seeks
what
is showy"
-St. Francis de Sales
In the many long and painful journeys made by this Saint, he was never
heard to complain of cold, or wind, or the heat of the sun or the quality
of
his food; but he took all things peacefully from the hand of God, and was
particularly pleased with the worst and most inconvenient articles-and
when
he could, he always chose them for himself.
(Taken from the book "A Year with the Saints". April - Patience)
Bible Quote:
26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and so to enter into
his
glory? (Luke 24:26)
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A prayer to be said before meditation, study, or spiritual reading:
My God, I firmly believe that Thou art here present, and I
humbly adore Thee in union with the Angels and Saints. I am
sorry for having sinned, because Thou art infinitely good and
sin displeases Thee.
I love Thee above all things and with my whole heart. I offer
Thee all that I am and all that I have, - my soul with all its
faculties, my body with all its senses.
Enlighten my understanding and inflame my will, that I may
know and do what is pleasing to Thee. I beseech Thee to
direct all the powers of my soul, all my thoughts and
affections to Thy service and Thy glory as well as to my own
sanctification and salvation.
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