Episode Details

It's the Feast of St. John Leonardi, 3rd Class, with the color of White. In this episode: the meditation: "Hell", today's news from the Church: "Saint Marys: Growth that Shows No signs of Slowing Down", a preview of this week's episode of The SSPX Podcast: "What Does the Holy Ghost Do?", and today's thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. Have feedback or questions about the DD or our other shows? podcast@sspx.org

Sources Used Today:

• "Hell" — From the Assumption to Advent
  • https://angeluspress.org/products/from-trinity-sunday-to-the-assumption
  
  
• "Saint Marys: Growth that Shows No signs of Slowing Down" (FSSPX.news)
  • https://fsspx.news/en/news/saint-marys-growth-shows-no-signs-slowing-down-61478
  
  
• The SSPX Podcast: "What Does the Holy Ghost Do?" (SSPX Podcast)
  • View on YouTube
  • Listen & Subscribe on SSPXpodcast.com
  
  
• The Spiritual Life — Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (Angelus Press)
  • https://angeluspress.org/products/spiritual-life-archbishop
  
  

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Saint John Leonardi was a pharmacist who became a priest, founded a religious order, and eventually helped lay the groundwork for the Church's worldwide missionary efforts.

He was born in 1541 near Lucca, Italy, and as a young man trained to become an apothecary. In those days, an apothecary was part pharmacist, part herbalist, and part medical adviser. John learned how to prepare medicines, treat illnesses, and care for people who came looking for help.

But the more he worked with the sick, the more he began thinking about another kind of healing.

The healing of souls.

At thirty-one, John was ordained a priest, and he immediately noticed something troubling. Many Catholics in Lucca knew surprisingly little about their faith. The Council of Trent had called for better religious instruction, but putting those reforms into practice was taking time.

John decided to do something about it.

He began gathering children and young people for catechism lessons. Before long, other priests joined him, and in 1574 he founded the community that eventually became the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God.

And that's when the trouble started.

Not everyone appreciated John's enthusiasm for reform. His efforts to improve religious life brought him into conflict with influential people in Lucca. Opposition became so intense that he was eventually forced to leave his hometown.