pius x

Ezekiel 43:1-7; Psalm 85 The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land; Matthew 23:1-12

Today we celebrate the Feast of Pius X, Pope at th eturn of last century,

He died at the beginnig of WWI August 20, 1914 and was canonized May 29, 1954. He was the first Pope to be Canonized at the time since the 17th century.

Just Three things to note about Pius X (Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto...given name)

1)He is the Pope responsible for allowing children at the age of 7 to recieve first communion. He felt that children were very capable at a young age of understanding the gift of the Eucharist. I would say children understand it more readily and deeply than adults.

2) In his will he wrote these words, "I was born poor, I have lived poor, I wish to die poor." Poverty of Spirit certainly took hold of Pius X, who sought to see all things as a gift from God, a gift that was undeserved yet required great diligence and a watchful eye. The greatest men amongst us are those who understand the poverty that resides in their human hearts. It is the man who does not try to hide it, or overcome it, or seek to compensate for it, but simply embraces it and lives fully in it that rises to true greatness. Lady Poverty as St. Francis called her, the great divine guest who seeks to accomapny us home reminding us all of the gift we have recieved, that is, grace upon grace.

3)Each Pope takes a motto for their coat of arms. Pius X chose the following words, "Instaurare omnia in Christo-To Restore all things in Christ."
These words are taken from the letter of Ephesians, words of St. Paul to one of the earliest Christian Communities. This was the task not of a single person but the task of all christians. The purpose of every Christian community was to restore all things in Christ. We are called to renovate the world, restoring it to its original beauty and luster that shines most perfectly in Christ, the glory God seen in the face of Christ.

To restore all things in Christ, is not just a mission statement, it is life itself as we know it.

the above picture is of Pius X as a little child. We forget sometimes that saints had their beginning just like we all have ours. They start small!