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Office Of Readings | Thursday, Lent Week 4 | From The Sermons Of Pope Saint Leo The Great
‘Contemplation of the Lord’s Passion.’
Meditating On The Passion | Path To Resurrection
Pope Saint Leo the Great’s reflection on the Passion of Christ invites us to fix our gaze on the crucified Jesus, not only as an act of devotion but as an essential means of recognizing our own humanity in Jesus. Pope Saint Leo emphasizes that the suffering and death of Christ are not distant historical events but realities that intimately concern every believer. True reverence for the Passion, he insists, requires an interior transformation, where we experience in our hearts the effects of Christ’s death and resurrection.
This theme of personal participation in the Passion echoes throughout early Christian thought. Saint Paul, in Romans 6:8, reminds us: ‘If we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.’ Pope Leo builds upon this scriptural foundation, teaching that our spiritual journey should mirror the mystery of the Passion—death to sin, renewal in Christ, and the hope of resurrection.
Trembling Of The Earth And Hardness Of Hearts
Leo interprets the physical signs at the moment of Christ’s death—earthquakes, the splitting of rocks, and the resurrection of the dead (Matthew 27:51-53)—as symbols of the spiritual transformation that should take place within us. The earth, representing human nature, trembles in recognition of its Redeemer. The hardened hearts of unbelievers, like the shattered rocks, must break open to receive grace. The resurrection of the dead prefigures both our bodily resurrection and the renewal of our souls in Christ.
This imagery draws upon Old Testament prophecy. Ezekiel 36:26 declares, ‘I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.’ Leo calls us to examine whether we, too, have hardened hearts that resist grace. Are we moved by the Passion, or do we remain indifferent?
No One Is Beyond Redemption
A central theme in Leo’s teaching is the universality of Christ’s redemptive sacrifice. The victory of the cross extends to all, even those who initially reject Christ. He recalls how Jesus, from the cross, prayed for his executioners: ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do’ (Luke 23:34). If Christ’s intercession brought hope to those who crucified him, how much more will Jesus’ prayer avail those who repent and turn to him?
Leo warns against despair, urging us to trust in divine mercy. The Passion overcomes ignorance, breaks the bonds of sin, and reopens the gates of paradise. The cherubim who once guarded the way to the tree of life in Genesis 3:24 no longer bar our entrance; Jesus Christ, by his blood, has quenched the sword that once kept us out. This is a call to hope: no sin is too great for God’s mercy, and no soul is beyond the reach of Christ’s redeeming love.
Following The Redeemer’s Example
The reading challenges us not to be consumed by worldly anxieties and pride. Pope Leo warns that preoccupation with earthly matters can dull our spiritual senses, making us indifferent to Christ’s example. Instead, we are called to embrace Jesus’ way of life—marked by humility, obedience, and love.
Leo makes a crucial connection between Christ’s assumption of human nature and our own participation in divine life. He states: ‘He wanted His body to share the goodness of its head.’ This means that because Christ became one with us in our humanity, we can now share in his divinity. This is the profound mystery of salvation: Christ assumed our nature to heal it and elevate it.
The Incarnation was not merely an event in history but a continual reality for believers. Leo asks: ‘Who does not share a common nature with Christ if he has welcomed Christ, who took our nature, and is reborn in the Spirit?’ By receiving the Spirit in baptism, we are united with Christ in a real and transformative way.
Resurrection Of The Body And Promise Of Glory
Pope Leo concludes by affirming that Christ’s resurrection is the guarantee of our own. He makes a striking assertion: ‘The body that lay lifeless in the tomb is ours. The body that rose again on the third day is ours. The body that ascended above all the heights of heaven to the right hand of the Father’s glory is ours.’ In these words, he underscores the radical truth of Christian hope: we are not only spiritually saved, but our very bodies will one day share in Christ’s glorification.
The condition for this future glory, however, is faithfulness to Christ. ‘Whoever acknowledges me before men, I too will acknowledge him before my Father in heaven’ (Matthew 10:32). This acknowledgment is not merely verbal but must be expressed in a life that bears witness to Christ’s Passion and resurrection.
From The Sermons Of Pope Saint Leo The Great
True reverence for the Lord’s passion means fixing the eyes of our heart on Jesus crucified and recognising in him our own humanity.
The earth – our earthly nature – should tremble at the suffering of its Redeemer. The rocks – the hearts of unbelievers – should burst asunder. The dead, imprisoned in the tombs of their mortality, should come forth, the massive stones now ripped apart. Foreshadowings of the future resurrection should appear in the holy city, the Church of God: what is to happen to our bodies should now take place in our hearts.
No one, however weak, is denied a share in the victory of the cross. No one is beyond the help of the prayer of Christ. His prayer brought benefit to the multitude that raged against him. How much more does it bring to those who turn to him in repentance.
Ignorance has been destroyed, obstinacy has been overcome. The sacred blood of Christ has quenched the flaming sword that barred access to the tree of life. The age-old night of sin has given place to the true light.
The Christian people are invited to share the riches of paradise. All who have been reborn have the way open before them to return to their native land, from which they had been exiled. Unless indeed they close off for themselves the path that could be opened before the faith of a thief.
The business of this life should not preoccupy us with its anxiety and pride, so that we no longer strive with all the love of our heart to be like our Redeemer, and to follow his example. Everything that he did or suffered was for our salvation: he wanted his body to share the goodness of its head.
First of all, in taking our human nature while remaining God, so that the Word became man, he left no member of the human race, the unbeliever excepted, without a share in his mercy. Who does not share a common nature with Christ if he has welcomed Christ, who took our nature, and is reborn in the Spirit through whom Christ was conceived?
Again, who cannot recognise in Christ his own infirmities? Who would not recognise that Christ’s eating and sleeping, his sadness and his shedding of tears of love are marks of the nature of a slave?
It was this nature of a slave that had to be healed of its ancient wounds and cleansed of the defilement of sin. For that reason the only-begotten Son of God became also the son of man. He was to have both the reality of a human nature and the fullness of the godhead.
The body that lay lifeless in the tomb is ours. The body that rose again on the third day is ours. The body that ascended above all the heights of heaven to the right hand of the Father’s glory is ours. If then we walk in the way of his commandments, and are not ashamed to acknowledge the price he paid for our salvation in a lowly body, we too are to rise to share his glory. The promise he made will be fulfilled in the sight of all: Whoever acknowledges me before men, I too will acknowledge him before my Father who is in heaven.
Office Of Readings | Tuesday, Lent Week 5 | A Reading From The Sermons Of Pope Saint Leo The Great ‘The cross of Christ is the source of all blessings, the cause of all graces.’ Context And Authority Of The Preacher Pope Saint Leo the Great served as Bishop of Rome from 440 to 461, during a time of both doctrinal dispute and political upheaval in the Western Roman Empire. A formidable theologian and administrator, Leo is perhaps best known for his Tome to Flavian, which played a decisive role at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 in defining the doctrine of Christ’s two natures, divine and human, in one person. In his sermons, Leo combined robust doctrinal teaching with pastoral urgency. His Lenten and Paschal homilies frequently dwell on the mystery of the Passion of Christ—not as an occasion for pity, but as the moment of divine triumph. This sermon reflects that theme with particular clarity, inviting believers to see the cross not as a defeat, but as the very axis around which salvation and history turn. The Hour Of The Cross As The Hour Of Glory Leo begins with the Johannine declaration: ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.’ (John 12:23) This ‘hour’ is the Passion—Jesus’ betrayal, suffering, crucifixion, and death. But for Leo, as for John, this hour is not one of defeat but of exaltation. The cross is the throne from which Christ reigns, the place where he exercises judgment, mercy, and kingship. ‘Now is the judgment of the world,’ Christ says. ‘Now will the prince of this world be cast out.’ (John 12:31) The cross, Leo teaches, is the instrument by which the dominion of sin and the devil is overthrown. It is not merely a historical event, but an ongoing act of cosmic redemption. When Christ is ‘lifted up’, he draws all people to himself—not just by example, but by the objective power of his redemptive act. The Cross As The Fulfilment Of All Sacrifices Leo then turns to the sacrificial character of the cross. In doing so, he places Christ’s Passion in continuity with the sacrificial system of the Old Covenant. The temple rites, the offerings of animals, the ministry of the Levitical priesthood—all of these are fulfilled and transcended in the one perfect sacrifice of Christ. ‘The different sacrifices of animals are no more: the one offering of your body and blood is the fulfilment of all the different sacrificial offerings.’ Here Leo anticipates later Eucharistic theology by linking Christ’s self-offering on the cross with the offering of the Church in the Mass. He draws a typological line from the foreshadowings in the Law of Moses to their perfection in the Paschal mystery. Importantly, Leo emphasizes that the cross did not simply end the old order; it transformed it. There is now a ‘more distinguished order of Levites’, referring to the Christian priesthood, and a ‘greater dignity for the rank of elders’. The Christian sacramental economy flows directly from the cross. The Cross And The Unity Of The Church One of the most profound claims in this sermon is that the cross is not only redemptive but unitive: ‘There is also one kingdom gathered from all peoples.’ This is a subtle but powerful statement of ecclesiology. The cross unites the scattered children of God into one body—the Church. It is through the cross that division, especially between Jew and Gentile, is overcome (cf. Ephesians 2:14–16). Christ’s Passion creates a universal communion, not merely by calling all nations, but by reconciling them through his blood. For Leo, the Church is not an afterthought to the cross but its very fruit and fulfilment. Christ Died For Sinners | The Unmerited Nature Of Grace Leo next turns to the soteriological core of the Christian message: ‘Christ died, not for the righteous or the holy but for the wicked and the sinful.’ This line echoes Romans 5:8 and stresses the unmerited nature of divine mercy. There is no room for self-righteousness or spiritual pride in Leo’s theology. Salvation is the free initiative of God, who meets humanity in its need, not in its strength. Leo uses the language of substitution: though the divine nature cannot suffer, Christ assumed a human nature ‘so that he could offer something on our behalf.’ The idea is not that God required suffering, but that only by taking on our condition could Christ redeem it. His death is a confrontation with death itself—a defeat of death by means of death. The quotation from Hosea 13:14—’O death, I will be your death’—highlights the dramatic reversal: death, once the master of humanity, has been overcome by the dying and rising of Christ. The Cross As The Pattern Of Christian Life While the sermon focuses on the objective power of the cross, its pastoral implication is never far from view. For Leo, the believer is not merely a recipient of the benefits of the cross but is called to share in its pattern. Although Leo does not explore this in detail in this passage, his broader corpus makes clear that the Christian must imitate Christ’s humility, obedience, and love. The cross is not only a source of grace but a template for discipleship. This is particularly relevant during Lent, when the Church contemplates the Passion in preparation for the renewal of baptismal vows at Easter. A Reading From The Sermons Of Pope Saint Leo The Great Our understanding, which is enlightened by the Spirit of truth, should receive with purity and freedom of heart the glory of the cross as it shines in heaven and on earth. It should see with inner vision the meaning of the Lord’s words when he spoke of the imminence of his passion: The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Afterwards he said: Now my soul is troubled, and what am I to say? Father, save me from this hour. But it was for this that I came to this hour. […]
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