St. Leonard of Port Maurice & the Immaculate Conception – Nov 26 – Homily – Fr Matthias

 

Fr. Matthias gives the homily at Bloomington, IN, on Nov 26, 2025, where he introduces us to St. Leonard of Port Maurice, highlighting his Franciscan vocation, powerful preaching, devotions like the Stations of the Cross and Divine Praises, profound Marian devotion, and advocacy for the Immaculate Conception as central to salvation.

Father introduces St. Leonard of Port Maurice, a significant yet lesser-known Franciscan saint born in 1676 near Genoa, Italy. As a young man studying in Rome, he visited a Franciscan friary and was moved by the breviary chant “Convert us, O God, our salvation,” prompting his entry into the order at age 21. Renowned as one of history's greatest Franciscan preachers, he traveled Italy in the 1700s, converting souls through eloquent sermons empowered by his own severe penance, mortification, and sacrifice. His devotion to the Passion of Our Lord led him to propagate the Stations of the Cross, now a staple in every Catholic church. He also composed the Divine Praises—“Blessed be God, blessed be His Holy Name”—recited after Benediction, as reparation for widespread blasphemy. At 75, he died, but his legacy endures.

Father underscores St. Leonard's profound devotion to Our Lady, who interceded to cure his tuberculosis when he was young, inspiring him to attribute all good in his life to her. This personal piety mirrors Mary's role in salvation's economy: God channels all things through her, as interpreted in the Book of Wisdom: “All good things came to me together with her.” Echoing Benedict XVI, Father affirms no grace lacks Mary's necessary mediation; she is eternally predestined with Christ by one decree, inseparable in God's plan. The Incarnation is inherently Marian—God becomes man through her—and she collaborates in acquiring and distributing salvation's graces. St. Leonard championed the Immaculate Conception as the world's most important cause, theologically encapsulating all her privileges and practically urging recognition of her as Mother for fuller graces. Though defined dogma in 1854 by Pius IX (another Franciscan), Father stresses, with St. Maximilian Kolbe, integrating it into spiritual life. Franciscans remain devoted; inviting Mary brings eternal fullness of grace through her mediation. Praised be Jesus and Mary.

For Further Reading
Wisdom 7:26 - All good through Mary - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/wisdom/7?26
CCC 491 - Mary's predestination with Christ - http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/491.htm
CCC 963 - Mary's cooperation in salvation - http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/963.htm
CCC 969 - Invocation of Mary for graces - http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/969.htm
Immaculate Conception Dogma - Papal definition 1854 - https://www.papalencyclicals.net/pius09/p9ineff.htm
Stations of the Cross - Devotional practice origins - https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/how-did-the-stations-of-the-cross-begin-1155

Ave Maria!

Mass: St. Leonard of Port Maurice - Mem - http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=4247
Readings: Wednesday 34th Week of Ordinary Time - http://usccb.org/bible/readings/112625.cfm
1st: dan 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28
Resp: dan 3:62-67
Gsp: luk 21:12-19

More on the Readings: https://airmaria.com/r?m=748&r=1561

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