It's the Feast of
St Louis IX,
3rd Class, with the color of
White. In this episode: the meditation: "Confession: Remedy for Sin", today's news from the Church: "Papal Infallibility: What Are the Limits?", a preview of this week's episode of The SSPX Podcast: "Abp. Lefebvre Audiobook Chapter 14: Superior General", and today's thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
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Sources Used Today:
- "Confession: Remedy for Sin" — From Trinity Sunday to the Assumption
- "Papal Infallibility: What Are the Limits?" (FSSPX.news)
- The SSPX Podcast: "Abp. Lefebvre Audiobook Chapter 14: Superior General" (SSPX Podcast)
- The Spiritual Life — Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (Angelus Press)
Please support our new project, the Archbishop Lefebvre Biography Audiobook:
Saint Louis IX of France is one of those saints whose life raises an interesting question: what does holiness look like when you are one of the most powerful people in Europe?
Louis became king of France at only twelve years old in 1226. His mother, Blanche of Castile, governed while he was young and gave him an intensely Catholic upbringing. One line traditionally attributed to her captures that formation: she would rather see her son dead than know he had committed a mortal sin.
Louis apparently took that seriously.
As an adult, he built his day around Mass, the Divine Office, government business, and care for the poor. He regularly invited poor people to his table and personally served them. He founded hospitals and charitable institutions and was known for hearing the complaints of ordinary people who otherwise had little access to a king.
There's a wonderful image associated with Louis as judge.
Rather than always sitting in some intimidating royal courtroom, he sometimes heard cases beneath an oak tree at Vincennes. People could approach the king directly, explain their dispute, and ask for justice. Whether every detail of the famous image is literal or idealized, it reflects how medieval Christians remembered him: a ruler who believed kingship meant responsibility before God.
Louis also left behind one of the most spectacular buildings in Paris.
After acquiring what was believed to be Christ's Crown of Thorns and other Passion relics, he built the Sainte-Chapelle to house them. Walk inside today and the walls almost disappear behind enormous panels of medieval stained glass. It feels less like entering a stone building and more like stepping inside a jewel box.
Louis himself often carried the Crown of Thorns barefoot during solemn processions.
His reign also included two Crusades, and this part of his story was much less successful. During the Seventh Crusade in Egypt, Louis was captured along with much of his army and had to be ransomed. Years later, despite poor health, he attempted another expedition to North Africa.
It ended disastrously.
Disease swept through the camp outside Tunis, and Louis became seriously ill. He died there in 1270, reportedly lying on a bed of ashes and speaking of Jerusalem.
One particularly beautiful piece of his legacy is the advice he wrote for his son. Louis told the future king to love God, avoid mortal sin, care for the poor, administer justice fairly, and accept suffering patiently. It reads less like political strategy and more like a father trying to teach his child how to get to heaven.
That's really the key to understanding Saint Louis.
He wanted to be a good king.
But even more than that, he wanted to be a saint.
Saint Louis IX, Christian king, defender of justice, and servant of the poor, pray for us.
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The SSPX Podcast is produced by Angelus Press, which has as its mission the fortification of traditional Catholics so that they can defend the Faith, and reaching out to those who have not yet found Tradition.
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The main goal of the Society of Saint Pius X is to preserve the Catholic Faith in its fullness and purity, to teach its truths, and to diffuse its virtues, especially through the Roman Catholic priesthood.
Authentic spiritual life, the sacraments, and the traditional liturgy are its primary means of bringing this life of grace to souls.
Although the traditional Latin Mass is the most visible and public expression of the work of the Society, we are committed to defending Catholic Tradition in its entirety: all of Catholic doctrine and morals as the Church has always defended them. What people need is the Catholic Faith, without compromise, with all the truth and beauty which accompanies it.
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