Today is August 21, the Memorial of St. Pius X, Pope.
We read at today’s Mass, “In the written scroll it is prescribed for me. To do your will, O my God, is my delight, and your law is within my heart!” (Ps 40:7-8).
Pope St. Pius X, remembered as the pope who lowered the age for First Holy Communion, had a pastor’s heart. His 1910 decree “Quam Singulari” recognized that even young children could receive the graces of the Eucharist and grow in holiness through the Bread of Life. For him, to “do God’s will” meant making Christ more accessible to his people — especially to the little ones.
The early 20th century was a time of cultural and political upheaval. In France, fierce battles raged over the separation of Church and state. In the intellectual realm, modernism challenged the Church’s traditional philosophical foundations. Pius X faced these storms with steadfast courage, safeguarding the Catholic faith and restoring all things in Christ.
Grace through the Blessed Virgin
Yet at the heart of his papacy was a simple, Marian truth: All grace comes to us through the Blessed Virgin Mary. Reflecting on God’s plan, he asked, “Could not God have given us in another way than through the Virgin Mary, the Redeemer of the human race and the Founder of the Faith?” But, he affirmed, divine providence willed that the God-Man should come to us through Mary, conceived by the Holy Spirit and carried in her womb. Therefore, “it only remains for us to receive Christ from the hands of Mary.”
If Pius X could sum up his invitation to us today, it might be this: draw near to Mary to draw near to Christ. Entrust your life to her, and she will place you in the very heart of her Son.
Let us pray,
O God, who to safeguard the Catholic faith and to restore all things in Christ, filled Pope Saint Pius the Tenth with heavenly wisdom and apostolic fortitude, graciously grant that, following his teaching and example, we may gain an eternal prize. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
