ST LEO OF MENTENAY, ABBOT - 25 MAY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MAY

Saints celebrated on the 25th of May

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

ST LEO OF MENTENAY, ABBOT 

In his youth, the 6th century Abbot Leo exhibited a deep knowledge of the Psalms and of the dogmas and laws of the Church. Years later, he became abbot of Mentenay Abbey, near Troyes, France. He is described as a man “most pure in chastity and abstinence”, charitable, and constant in his prayer.

ONE NIGHT, THREE MEN APPEARED, SUFFUSED IN A BRILLIANT LIGHT

One night, after Leo had gone to sleep on a cot in the abbey’s baptistery, he awoke to the sight of three men suffused in a brilliant light. He prostrated himself, kissed their feet, and asked them, “Where are you from?” One of the men replied, “I am the sinner Hilary, and these are Saint Martin and the blessed Anianus.” Leo was experiencing a vision of three saints, most probably Hilary of Poitiers, Martin of Tours and Anianus of Orleans. They told him that in three days they would return to take him to heaven.

‘IN THREE DAYS WE WILL RETURN.’

Three days later, they reappeared and told Leo, “We are here, called to the heavenly banquet. Come with us.” Leo, however, asked for three more days to procure a burial garment for himself. This was granted, and when three days later he obtained a burial garment, he died as the saints had foretold. Leo is commemorated on May 25.