Leo the Great teaches that he sign of the cross with the oil called chrism, conferred on all Christians in baptism and confirmation, makes all sharers in the priesthood and kingship of Christ, the anointed one....
Commenting on the Transfiguration of the Lord on Mt. Tabor, Leo contrasts the law, symbolized by Moses, with the grace of the gospel brought by Jesus Christ. He notes how this glimpse of the glory of his divinity and risen humanity was given to...
Leo the Great on the famous passage from Matthew 16 in which Jesus gives Cephas the new name of Peter, meaning rock, along with the keys to the kingdom of heaven. It is read each year on the Feast of the Chair of...
Leo the Great reflects on the passion of Jesus Christ and sees in it not shame, but glory. He sees in the cross not weakness, but power. In his passion and death on the cross, Jesus fulfills all the sacrifices of the Old...
Lenten fasting works best when accompanied by almsgiving and works of mercy, says Leo the Great, writing around AD 450. This powerful combination brings healing, spiritual renewal, and progress in virtue....
Leo the Great here comments on the right use of earthly treasure to store up heavenly riches. True wealth consists in the possession of God, the source of all delight. We store it up through mercy and compassion. ...
Leo on the second & third of the Beatitudes, calling blessed the meek and those who mourn. The mourning Christ references here has little to do with worldly sorrow, and the reward promised to the lowly & gentle goes well beyond the things of...
Leo the Great on the seventh of the Beatitudes, "blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God." Those who have inner peace due to submission to the will of God are the ones who can create true harmony in the...
Leo's exegesis of these important verses of St. Matthew's Gospel is one of the most important patristic commentaries on the Beatitudes. Christ, the New Moses chooses to give his Sermon on a Mount to show that he is the new Moses, teaching the newRegarding...
Leo the Great, comments on the first of the Beatitudes "blessed are the poor in spirit." He makes clear that it is not economic poverty that is blessed, but that poverty of spirit called humility expressed in generosity to others and detachment from the...