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Saint Leopold Mandic - Feastday May 12
Father Leopold, Apostle of
the Confessional
When Leopold had
dreamed of the priesthood,
his eyes traveled over the
Adriatic Sea to far-off
lands to bring the Gospel of
Hope to brothers and sisters
starving and thirsting for
this Lord Who died for them.
He was not to even travel
from village to village,
like Father Francis and
Saint Anthony (Saint of
Padua), proclaiming the Good
News. He was not even called
to prepare others for this
mission, by founding
institutions or teaching in
seminaries. Instead the Lord
placed him in a tiny pulpit,
a tiny room with no window
to the outside world, with
no air or light, freezing in
the winter and sweltering in
the summer.
Unlike the thrones of kings,
this future Saint sat hours
upon hours ministering to
God's subjects in an old
broken down chair that was
as feeble as the body it
held on its lap. A simple
kneeler is still beside the
rickety armchair, awaiting
the contrite. Our Lord
Crucified hanging on a
wooden cross is above the
prie-dieu,[1]
a reminder of that God Who
loved us so, He asked His
Father, with His last words,
to forgive us our sins. And
then in this small cell
looking down lovingly, on
priest and penitent, there
is a picture of Our Lady,
the Mother of God who
interceded at Cana and
continues to intercede for
Her children on earth with
Her Beloved Son Jesus. As
our Mother we can still see
Her there, ready to help all
seeking forgiveness, to
reconcile with God the
Father and Jesus Her Son.
In this tiny cell, for most
of forty years, spending
more than twelve hours of
love per day, he waited and
received thousands of
penitents, streaming in
without interruption, one
after another to receive the
Sacrament of Penance. Here
there was no class
distinction; the poor asked
for forgiveness kneeling on
the same prie-dieu as the
rich; the famous turned to
God for His Salvific Mercy,
alongside the infamous;
priests, bishops and
religious confessed to
Father Leopold (fifty
priests the day before he
died); professors lined up
beside their students - all
children of God seeking
forgiveness.
The hardest hearts of stone
were converted into hearts
for Christ alone.
Conversions came about
through this little friar
who was not eloquent, his
voice at times hardly
audible. His compassion
transformed even those most
hardened by years of
unrepentant sinning; they
began the long road to
changing their lives, as
they became convinced,
through this humble
messenger, that God loved
them even when they were
sinning. Upon discovering
this unconditional love of
the Lord, a love they had
never known, true healing
came about; they received
the fullness of the
compassionate gift of
Reconciliation, and then the
Life-eternal Gift of Our
Lord truly Present in the
Sacrament of the Eucharist.
Oh, if only our priests
would remember how great is
the gift they have received,
the gift of administering
the Sacraments to the
faithful! If only we, the
Mystical Body of Christ,
knew the priceless treasures
Jesus left us, those Seven
Sacraments we receive
through the consecrated
hands of these Ambassadors
of Christ, then we truly
would be one as Jesus prayed
to the Father.[2]
[1]kneeler
[2]cf Jn 17:20-23
For more information on "Journey to Sainthood and St. Leopold Mandic click here."
