10 November 2025

Today the Church celebrates Pope St Leo the Great, one of the true giants of Christian history — a man whose name wasn’t given to him, but earned.
He was great because he combined faith, wisdom, and courage in a way few ever have.
He defended the truth of Christ when heresies threatened it,
he strengthened the Church when Rome trembled,
and he reminded both emperors and peasants that there is only one true King — Christ the Lord.

Our first reading, from the Book of Wisdom, sets the tone:

“Love righteousness, you who judge the earth;
think of the Lord with uprightness,
and seek Him in simplicity of heart.”

It’s a warning and a promise.
True wisdom doesn’t begin in cleverness — it begins in reverence.
Wisdom isn’t knowing how the world works; it’s knowing Who made it.
It’s not how sharp your mind is, but how open your heart is to God.

We live in an age that worships information but forgets truth.
It’s possible to know everything about the world and nothing about why it exists.
St Leo reminds us that faith and reason belong together —
but faith must lead.
Because when reason walks alone, it gets lost.
When reason walks with faith, it finds its home.

That’s the kind of wisdom Leo carried — the wisdom of the shepherd who knew that truth is not an opinion, it’s a Person.

In the Gospel, Jesus gives His disciples a sober warning:

“Scandals are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come.”

He’s not talking only about moral scandal — but about anything that trips faith.
False teaching, hypocrisy, pride, the failure of love — these things make others stumble.

St Leo lived in such a time.
Heresies were spreading confusion, the empire was collapsing, and Rome was under threat.
He could have despaired — but he didn’t.
He preached Christ with clarity, not compromise.
When others were shouting, he spoke truth in love.
When barbarians were at the gates, he walked out unarmed to meet them.

That’s wisdom in action: not panic, but peace; not retreat, but trust.

Then comes that small but powerful prayer of the apostles:

“Lord, increase our faith.”

They’d seen miracles, but they still felt small.
And Jesus’ answer is as sharp as it is simple:

“If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this tree,
‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”

Faith doesn’t need to be big to be powerful — it needs to be real.
A living faith, even the size of a mustard seed, is stronger than the world’s wisdom.
Because faith connects us to the power of God, not to the limits of ourselves.

St Leo lived by that faith.
When the armies of Attila the Hun approached Rome,
Leo rode out to meet him with nothing but his faith and his words.
And the barbarian turned away.
History can argue about why — but faith knows the answer:
the presence of Christ in His servant Leo.

Leo was a theologian, a diplomat, and a saint.
He taught that in Christ there are two natures — human and divine —
united in one Person without confusion.
That teaching still shapes our Creed today.
But he was more than a mind; he was a heart on fire.

He reminded the faithful that every Christian shares in Christ’s dignity.
He said,

“Christian, remember your dignity.
Now that you share in God’s nature, do not return to the old baseness by sinful life.”

It’s a line worth repeating in every age.
We live in a world that forgets who we are.
But the Church, following Leo, keeps saying:
You are not an accident. You are not a product. You are a temple of the living God.

So on this feast of St Leo the Great,
the readings and the saint give us the same lesson:
seek wisdom that begins with God, guard faith that endures, and live courage that inspires.

Don’t be afraid of small faith — plant it, and let God make it mighty.
Don’t be afraid of a broken world — it’s the field where saints are forged.
And don’t forget your dignity — the Church that Leo defended still lives in you.