Have you ever asked yourself this question: what would be the one thing most difficult for me to give up? If Jesus asked us to do so, what would be the most difficult thing to give up? Would it be a material thing which we own, like our house? Would it be a relationship, or our job, or our health? Whatever it is, is there a chance that it could be coming between us and our total following of Jesus? Do the things we own really own us? Are we willing to ask for the strength to be ready, if called on, to give “the most important” thing up? How else will we know that we are truly free and truly followers of Jesus?
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In August of 1903, Cardinal Giuseppe Sarto was elected the 257th Pope. It was reported at the time that he was reluctant to accept the post but, after urging from fellow Cardinals and deep prayer, he accepted the nomination. He was the tenth Pope to take the name Pius and he took as his Papal motto, Instaurare omnia in Christo (“To restore all things in Christ,” a quotation from the Letter to the Ephesians, 1, 10). Many of his achievements as Pope were directed toward the fulfilment of this ideal. They included the encouragement of more frequent reception of Holy Communion and the admission of children to the Sacrament from the age of seven (an age at which it was felt children could understand the meaning of the Sacrament). The Church celebrates his feastday today.
In his will, Pope Pius X wrote: “I was born poor, I have lived poor, and I wish to die poor.” Much of the pomp and ceremony of the Vatican he found profoundly distasteful. His humble background was no obstacle in relating to a personal God and to the people of God – whom he loved genuinely. St. Pius X gained his strength, his gentleness and warmth for people from the source of all gifts, the Spirit of Jesus. According to his wishes, he was buried in a simple tomb in the crypt below St Peter’s Basilica.
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La Iglesia Universal celebra hoy el día festivo del Papa Pío X. Es memorable por haber iniciado, al comienzo del siglo XX, la reforma litúrgica, principalmente haciendo la Eucaristía más accesible, gracias a sus decretos sobre la Comunión en temprana edad y más frecuente.
Nacido de padres pobres y humildes, permaneció siempre, incluso cuando Papa, como pastor bondadoso y sencillo, tal como había sido en toda su vida como sacerdote. Cercano al pueblo sencillo, conocía bien sus necesidades y abrió la liturgia para ellos, para acercarlos más a la vida y para construir el cuerpo de la Iglesia por medio del cuerpo Eucarístico del Señor. En su testamento escribió: “Nací pobre, he vivido pobre, quiero morir pobre.”
Oremos. “Señor Dios nuestro, te damos gracias por darnos papas como San Pío X, para dirigir la Iglesia como verdaderos pastores. Danos siempre pastores cercanos a la gente, atentos a sus necesidades y aspiraciones, y nutriendo a tu Iglesia con el Pan de Vida del claro mensaje del Evangelio y del Cuerpo Eucarístico de tu Hijo,
Jesucristo nuestro Señor. Amén.”
