“For the anger of man worketh not the justice of God.
[James 1:20]
Do not be discouraged
For all the talk about dialogue, embraces, hugs, social friendships, earth worship, etc., that make us sick to the stomach; and for all the Catholic commentators who like to keep reminding us of the crisis in the Church, I call to mind the words from the epistle of St. James. Our anger will not bring about the justice of God; what will help us though, is to remember our heroes and forefathers in the Faith and imitate them. Their piety, devotion, fervour for the Lord and trust in the intercession of the Blessed Mother during great crises, is the path we should follow, because they have shown us that only through prayer and dependence on God and stringently keeping the Commandments can we overcome our foes in this spiritual battle. We are not fighting against bad shepherds, we have spiritual enemies and their weapons are always the same: distration and discouragement.
Today’s pope will hopefully bring a smile to your face, encourage you, and renew your hope in God’s Providence, because our saint for the day overcame many trials through his perseverance and prayer.
(Photo: Palma il Giovane (1550-1628), “Portrait of Pope Pius V” (photo: Public Domain))
Heroes are made of the “impossible”
On May 5th, we commemorate the feast of Pope St. Pius V, the 225th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. A pope larger than life, who could be thought of as one of the “fantastic heros who seek to evade our reality,”1 Pope St. Pius V has to his credit, accomplished a tremendous amount of work in a short span of six years. He:
Was a humble Dominican, who preferred his quiet life as a monastic, but was elected to the papacy.
Was known for his piety around the world before and after being elected pope.2
Had been an Inquisitor appointed by his predecessor Pius IV.
Fought against nepotism, even challenging his predecssor.3
Was strict about priestly celebacy even during a shortage of priests.
Was very strict about the nead for priest to wear their cassock.
Proclaimed St. Thomas Aquinas a Doctor of the Church in 1567.
Made the study of the Summa of St. Thomas compulsory for seminarians.
Did not accept financial help even when the Papal treasury was struggling.
Reduced corruption in the curia.4
Battled crime and loose morals prevalent in Rome.
Tried to banish prostitutes, from the Eternal City, to a ghetto near the Tiber's Ripetta port.
Condemned bull fighting.5
Prayed and fasted for the Christian army at the Battle of Lepanto.6
United the warring Christian kingdoms of Europe at looming threat of the Ottomans.
Implemented the historic Council of Trent.
Standardized the Mass by promulgating the 1570 edition of the Roman Missal.
Was strict about the offering of Holy Mass.7
Put in place policies to protect the Church from the protestant revolt.
Was reigning when the Catechism of the Council of Trent was published.8
Pope Pius V reigned as Vicar of Christ from January 7, 1566 - May 1, 1572. He seems to be exactly the type of pontiff we need today. (I hope Catholics are praying for a good pope to come and shepherd us back to Christ.) However, there’s so much that Pope Pius V accomplished that I don’t think I will do him justice here; so I’m going to keep this post short by just highlighting his accomplishments. I will write a longer post detailing his prayer life and work as pope. Please leave a comment if you would like to read more about Pope Pius V.
I must mention one of many miraculous episodes here though; like Christ, Pope Pius V had enemies and once a plot to assasinate him was miraculously foiled by Heaven itself. In his writing: “Saint Pius the Fifth, Pope”9 1870, Fr. Prosper Gueranger recounts that:
The heretics attempted, more than once, to destroy a life, which baffled all their hopes of perverting the Faith of Italy. By a base and sacrilegious stratagem, aided as it was by an odious treachery, they put a deadly poison on the feet of the Crucifix, which the Saint kept in his Oratory, and which he was frequently seen to kiss with great devotion. In the fervor of prayer, Pius was about to give this mark of love to the image of his Crucified Master, when suddenly the feet of the Crucifix detached themselves from the Cross, and eluded the proffered kiss of the venerable old man. The Pontiff at once saw through the plot, whereby his enemies would fain have turned the life-giving Tree into an instrument of death.
So, while this channel has so far portrayed popes who were martryed, today, we see by a special privildge how God protected this saintly pope from an attack on his life. He was saved so that he could steer the Church in those tumulteous times of immorality, corruption, the protestant revolt, and the Ottoman threat. These sound so much like our times, that we can trust that God is here with us, but He wants us to be a part of the solution by asking for His help. So, pray for a good pope and for the current pope as well. As St. Augustine says:
(Photo: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/saint_augustine_384153)
Pope St. Pius V pray for us and for the Church!
Instaurare Omnia in Christo
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References:
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-05/pope-francis-barcelona-blanquerna-foundation-education.html
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12130a.htm
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Pius-V
https://www.sgira.org/pope_pius_5.htm
https://library.law.yale.edu/news/papal-bull-against-bullfighting
Battle of Lepanto: https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/remembering-the-battle-of-lepanto-450-years-ago
http://traditionalcatholic.net/Tradition/Pope/St_Pius_V/De_Defectibus.html
https://www.ncregister.com/blog/pope-st-pius-v-dominican-reformer
https://www.catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/St.%20Pius%20V.html