From one of St. Leo's presentations we do find support and insight into ourselves and into the power of evil that surrounds each of us in the course of a day. Despite the presence of God around us, there will always be those moments of challenge to us and our souls. It is through our prayers and other acts of devotion that "the sharp point of terror has been made dull," he wrote, yet "the cause of the struggle remains." Perhaps a major challenge to us today, in our busy world with so many different pressures and obligations that consume both our energies and our time, is that there is a natural tendency to overlook such deviousness because we might too easily, too lackadaisically, accept the reality of evil in our world that challenges our human nature and its weaknesses.
St. Leo wrote that once the evil one's attacks are recognized, the more obvious battles cease, then begins "quiet treachery." Leo writes that then Satan will begin to wear us down with "an easy life, he will snare with willfulness, inflame with ambition and corrupt with luxury." These words from his 5th century mind.
One point of consideration is this: the spirit of poverty ... surely a reality we might not like to consider in our modern times. Leo and so many other saints have tried to teach us that the spirit of poverty is so critically important in building a strong spirituality. He writes that "Restraint has subdued luxury; humility has cast out arrogance, and those who were soiled in shame now shine in purity." Is this particular part of Leo's letter not related to the reality in the story of the one leper who was cleansed and returned to give thanks to Jesus as we read in today's gospel. For us there is never a day when we should not consider what possessions there are in our lives that pose problems for us and our relationship with God and how we live our lives.
