MEMORIAL OF SAINT LEO THE GREAT, POPE AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH; SAINT ANDREW AVELLINO, PRIEST AND SAINTS TRYPHON; RESPICIUS AND NYMPHA, MARTYRS – FEAST DAY ~ NOVEMBER 10TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church; Saint Andrew Avellino, Priest and Saints Tryphon, Respicius and Nympha, Martyrs.
SAINT LEO THE GREAT, POPE AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH: Pope St. Leo the Great (c. 400–461 A.D.) was the fifth-century Pope, ruled from 440 to 461. He is surnamed “the Great” and ranks among the most illustrious sovereigns that ever sat on the throne of St. Peter. After serving as deacon under two popes he became the Roman Pontiff. He was one of the greatest Holy Fathers the Church has known; he was the first pope, and one of only two, to bear the title “Great.” St. Leo the Great was born in Tuscany, Italy, of an Aristocratic Italian nobility and died in 461. St. Leo guided the Church through the turbulence of the collapse of the Roman empire, waves of barbarian invasions, widespread disintegration of morality, and many dangerous heresies including Pelagianism and Manichaeanism. He saw most clearly that one of his greatest tasks was to vindicate the primacy of the Roman bishop, St. Peter’s successor, and to raise the prestige of the Holy See before the entire world. Hardly any Pope in history has occupied a like position in the ecclesiastical and political world. As a deacon of the Church, he opposed the heresy of Pelagianism, which taught that grace was not necessary for salvation, but was rather a bonus that God granted to those who earned it by their good works. His involvement in the fourth ecumenical council helped prevent the spread of error on Christ’s divine and human natures. St. Leo the Great, pope and doctor, during whose pontificate the Council of Chalcedon (451) defined that Christ is one divine person with two natures, divine and human. It was a confirmation of his Epistola Dogmatica (Tomus) to the Patriarch of Constantinople. He vigorously defended the unity of the Church. St. Leo intervened for the safety of the Church in the West as well, persuading Attila the Hun to turn back from Rome. He detained the onrush of the barbarians under Attila.
As a writer, too, his name is famous. His sermons, which occur frequently in the Divine Office, belong to the finest and most profound in patristic literature. The Council of Chalcedon was held under his direction (451). The Breviary tells us: Leo I, an Etruscan, ruled the Church at the time when Attila, King of the Huns, who was called the Scourge of God, invaded Italy. After a siege of three years, he took, sacked and burned Aquileia, and then hurried on toward Rome. Inflamed with anger, his troops were already preparing to cross the Po, at the point where it is joined by the Mincio. Here Attila was stopped by Leo (452). With God-given eloquence, the Pope persuaded him to turn back, and when the Hun was asked by his servants why, contrary to custom, he had so meekly yielded to the entreaties of a Roman bishop, he answered that he had been alarmed by a figure dressed like a priest that stood at Leo’s side; this individual was holding a drawn sword and acted as if he would kill him if he advanced farther. As a result Attila retreated to Pannonia. Meanwhile, Leo returned to Rome, and was received with universal rejoicing. Some time later, the Vandal leader Genseric entered and occupied the city of Rome, and again Leo, confronted him unarmed, by the power of his eloquence and the authority of his holy life, persuaded him to desist from atrocity and slaughter (455). The Pope obtained a guarantee of safety for many of the city’s inhabitants and the churches to which they had fled. St. Leo was also active in matters liturgical. The so-called Leonine sacramentary, a compendium of Missal prayers, contains many of his compositions; some liturgists give him credit for the beautiful offices of Advent. Pope St. Leo the Great died on November 10, 461. St. Leo wrote 143 letters and 96 sermons encouraging and teaching his flock, many of his writings of great historical value survive today; it is for these writings that St. Leo was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1574 by Pope Benedict XIV. St. Leo the Great’s feast day is November 10th.
QUOTES FROM SAINT LEO THE GREAT:
☆“The effect of our sharing in the body and blood of Christ is to change us into what we receive.”
☆”Christian, recognize your dignity and, now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return to your former base condition by sinning. Remember who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Never forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of the Kingdom of God.”
☆”Virtue is nothing without the trial of temptation, for there is no conflict without an enemy, no victory without strife.”
☆”Short and fleeting are the joys of this world’s pleasures which endeavors to turn aside from the path of life those who are called to eternity. The faithful and religious spirit, therefore, must desire the things which are heavenly, and being eager for the Divine promises, lift itself to the love of the incorruptible Good and the hope of the true Light.”
PRAYER: O Lord our God, grant that your Church, following the teaching of your servant Leo of Rome, may hold fast the great mystery of our redemption, and adore the one Christ, true God and true Man, neither divided from our human nature nor separate from your divine Being; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and or ever… Amen🙏
God, You established Your Church on the solid rock of the Apostles and You will never allow the powers of hell to dominate her. Grant that she may persevere in Your truth and enjoy continual peace through the intercession of Pope St. Leo. Amen 🙏
SAINT ANDREW AVELLINO, PRIEST: St. Andrew was born in 1521 at Castronuovo, Sicily as Lorenzo (called Lancelotto by his mother). He studied humanities and philosophy at Venice, Italy. Doctor of civil and ecclesiastical law. Ordained at age 26. Lawyer at the ecclesiastical court at Naples, Italy. During a heated courtroom argument on behalf of a friend, he supported his position with a lie; in that setting, he had committed perjury, soon afterward he accidentally read the words, “A lying mouth kills the soul” (Wis. 1:11). Deeply moved, he resigned his position, gave up the legal profession, he settled into a life of penance and dedicated himself solely to the service of God and the welfare of souls. Commissioned by his archbishop to reform the convent of Sant’ Arcangelo at Naples, a house of such lax discipline it had became a topic of gossip in the city. Through good example, constant work, and the backing of his bishop, Lorenzo managed to restore celibate discipline to the house, but was nearly killed for his efforts when he was attacked by people who had been ordered off the premises. The night of the attack, he was taken to the house of the Theatine Clerks Regular. He was so impressed with them that he joined the Theatines in 1566 at age 35, taking the name Andrew out of love for the Cross of Christ. He was Master of novices for ten years. Superior of the Order. Founded Theatine houses in Milan, Italy and Piacenza, Italy and helped establish others. He labored most zealously as a shepherd of souls. With fatherly love and prudence he spent countless hours hearing confessions. He frequently visited the towns and villages in the neighborhood of Naples to preach the saving message of the Gospel. He was an eloquent preacher, and popular missioner and spiritual director, bringing many back to the Church. Writer and extensive correspondent. Friend and advisor of Saint Charles Borromeo.
By means of miracles God Himself often glorified the love of neighbor burning in the heart of His holy priest. Once as he was returning home from a round of duties, the rain and wind extinguished the lantern he was carrying. He and his companion, however, were not soaked by the downpour. In fact, rays of light proceeded from his body and guided them through the dense darkness. Many came to him to settle cases of conscience, his letters number thousands. Worn out by work and enfeebled by age, he suffered a stroke at the foot of the altar just as he was beginning holy Mass and died as he repeated for the third time, “I will go unto the altar of God.” He died on November 10, 1608 at Naples, Italy. His relics enshrined at the Church of Saint Paul in Naples. He was Beatified on June 10, 1625 by Pope Urban VIII and Canonized on May 22, 1712 by Pope Clement XI. He’s the Patron Saint against apoplexy; against strokes; against sudden death; apoplexics; for a holy death; stroke victims; Badolato, Italy; Naples, Italy and Sicily, Italy
St. Andrew Avellino, Priest ~ Pray for us 🙏
SAINTS TRYPHON; RESPICIUS AND NYMPHA, MARTYRS: Sts.Tryphon, Respicius and Nympha are Christian Martyrs whose feast is observed in the Latin Church on November 10th. These martyrs of the early centuries of Christianity are commemorated together because their relics are preserved in the same church at Rome. They were held in special veneration both in Rome and at Constantinople. Tryphon and Respicius were Asiatic Christians, put to death at Nicaea under Decius (A.D. 250). TRYPHON said to have been born at Kampsade in Phrygia and as a boy took care of geese. During the Decian persecution he was taken to Nicaea about the year 250 and put to death in a horrible manner after he had converted the heathen prefect Licius. Fabulous stories are interwoven with his legend. He is greatly venerated in the Greek Church which observes his feast on 1 February. In this Church he is also patron saint of gardeners. Many churches were dedicated to him, and the Eastern Emperor, Leo VI, the Philosopher (d. 912), delivered a eulogy upon Tryphon. About the year 1005 the monk Theodoric of Fleury wrote an account of him based upon earlier written legends; in Theodoric’s story RESPICIUS appears as Tryphon’s companion at Nicaea (c.250). The relics of both were preserved together with those of a holy virgin named Nympha, at the Hospital of the Holy Ghost in Sassia. NYMPHA was a virgin from Palermo who was put to death for the Faith at the beginning of the fothey were held in special veneration both in Rome and at Constantinople. Turth century. According to other versions of the legend, when the Goths invaded Sicily she fled from Palermo to the Italian mainland and died in the sixth century at Savona. The feast of her translation is observed at Palermo on 19 August. Some believe that there were two saints of this name. The church of the Hospital of the Holy Ghost at Rome was a cardinal’s title which, together with the relics of these saints, was transferred in 1566 by Pope Pius V to the Church of St. Augustine. A Greek text of the life of St. Tryphon was discovered by Father Franchi de Cavallieri, Hagio-graphica (Rome, 1908), in the series Studi e Texti, XIX. Patron Saint: St. Trypon is the patron of gardeners and winegrowers; Kotor, Montenegro; Moscow, Russia; invoked against rodents and locusts.
PRAYER: May we always be worthy to celebrate the feast of Your holy Martyrs, Tryphon, Respicius, and Nympha, O Lord, so that through their intercession we may be sheltered under Your gracious protection. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen🙏