In the old calendar, today is the feast of Pope St. Pius V, a courageous reformer. He put into Catholic practice many of the reforms of the Council of Trent. His holiness was obvious to the flock he served. An interesting bit of trivia relates to his impact on publishing and printing. He ordered that all books have the author and publisher announced on a title page. Prior to that many printers omitted the authors and their own responsibility for the book. Think of that the next time you look to see the publisher of a book and the date it was printed. I did that just yesterday with two books by Walker Percy to see which one was published first.
The personal life of Pope Pius was exemplary. He spent much of his own fortune on hospitals and for the poor often visiting the sick and tending them with his own hands. He fasted so severely that his austerities impacted his own health. What a model he is for our own times of overindulgence and laxity.
Because of the Battle of Lepanto he added Mary, Help of Christians to the Litany of Our Lady and established the Feast of the Holy Rosary on October 7th. Today would be a good day to read G.K. Chesterton's epic poem Lepanto in honor of this holy pope.
My sister is visiting and we are going to Shenandoah National Park today to hike to a waterfall. When I see water flowing, I think of grace being poured out on us in abundance. So I want to pray there for the outpouring of grace on the Church through the prayerful intercession of this holy pope.
We need a reformer like Pius V today. May God send us many holy clergy both on the throne of Peter and in our dioceses and parishes. We have, for too long, been victimized by hirelings.
Send us holy priests, O Lord, that we may have holy bishops and a holy pontiff walking in the footsteps of holy popes like Pius V. But above all, transform each one of us so that we deserve to have the blessing of holy clergy.
Jesus, King of Heaven and Earth, have mercy on us.
Our Lady, Help of Christians, pray for us.
St. Joseph, Guardian of the Church, pray for us.
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