Today we read about a very interesting Pope in the book In Caelo et in Terra. He was born Antonio Ghislieri in Italy, and was a shepherd in his youth. Then he became a priest and a bishop and eventually pope. And he was pope during a VERY difficult time: the reformation. But he did what many (maybe most!) people don't realize even happened: he accomplished a sweeping and necessary reformation INSIDE the Catholic church, and fixed most of the things that were wrong that had prompted the protestant reformation. He emphasized holiness, starting with himself and extending to all of the bishops, priests, and all catholics. The only things he was a little too severe about were his treatment of the Jewish people, and the power he gave the Inquisition. But he steered the church away from destruction and gave it new life, infusing it with the holiness that it had watered down for the last few decades.
You can read more about him here.
We need the same kind of emphasis on holiness today. Start with ourselves, the way Pope Pius did. And then pray for that holiness to spread throughout the church, fixing the many things that are wrong in it today. And don't despair. The enemy is going to repeatedly try to destroy the church, so it's no surprise that it goes off the rails sometimes. But it will always survive. God made it, and no matter how hard we try, we can't destroy it.
God, thanks for the great example of this holy pope. Pope St Pius V, pray for us.
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