Today we celebrate the memorial of Saint Pope Pius the 10th, who lived at a time of enormous change, and who was born Giuseppe Sarto in 1835 into a poor family in northern Italy. He became pope in 1903 as Europe was being transformed by industrialization, secularism, political upheaval, and new intellectual currents that challenge the faith of many Catholics. Yet Pius X was never primarily a politician or an intellectual. He was, at heart, a pastor.
From his years as a parish priest, bishop, patriarch of Venice, and finally pope, his great concern was that ordinary people should know Christ, receive the sacraments, and be nourished by the faith of the church. Our Lord, who sends out the apostles, sends us out also, so so as to care for his people, for his sons and daughters.
That is why the words of Saint Paul in the first reading fit Pope Saint Pius X so beautifully, when he says, “We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children. We were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well” (1 Thessalonians 2:7-8).
Saint Pius X chose as the modal of his pontificate, instaurare omnia in Christo, to restore all things in Christ. He encouraged frequent reception of Holy Communion, and even lowered the age for children to receive their first Holy Communion. He wanted Christ in the Eucharist to be close to the ordinary, faithful, and always accessible.
Like Saint Paul, he understood that a pastor does not simply communicate teachings. He gives himself for the spiritual life of his people, so as to bring them closer to Christ.
And then we hear from Jesus our Lord himself, who says to Saint Peter in the Gospel, “Do you love me? Feed my lambs. Tend my sheep. Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17). Those words could almost summarize the vocation of Saint Pius X.
The Lord did not first ask Peter how intelligent he was, how influential he was, or how successful successfully he could govern the church. No. He asked him, “Do you love me?”
Before we go out into the world, my brothers and sisters, we can ask ourselves where we are at in terms of our love for Christ. Do I love him? First, and foremost, above all things, above anything else and any other person. Do I love him?
Saint Pius X died on August 20th, 1914, only weeks after the outbreak of the First World War. Deeply distressed by the conflict engulfing Europe.
He had lived through a turbulent age, but he remained convinced that the answer to the troubles of the world was ultimately Christ. His life reminds us that the Church is renewed not simply through programs, structures, or arguments, or some great reset. But when pastors and people return wholeheartedly to Jesus Christ.
And perhaps that is the question his memorial leaves us today. “Do you love me?”
Because when the answer is truly yes, Christ always gives us someone to feed, someone to tend, and someone to Love.
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