A Homily for the Memorial of Pope Saint Pius X
Friday, August 21, 2026
Prince of Peace Catholic Church – 8:00 Mass
Ezekiel 37:1-14; Psalm 107:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9; Matthew 22:34-40
Audio Recording
There are moments in life when something seems so far gone that we stop believing it can ever be restored. A relationship that has been broken for years. A friendship that has faded away. A person whose faith seems to have disappeared. Sometimes it can even be something within ourselves. We look at what once seemed alive and realize that, somehow, it has become dry and lifeless.
That’s where we find Ezekiel in today’s first reading. God takes the prophet into a valley filled with bones. Not just a few bones, but very many, and they were very dry. These bones had been there a long time. Humanly speaking, there was no possibility of life returning to them. Then God asks Ezekiel, “Son of man, can these bones come to life?” Ezekiel does not say yes. But neither does he say no. He answers, “Lord GOD, you alone know.”
That may be one of the most faithful prayers we can make when we find ourselves standing in our own valley of dry bones: “Lord GOD, you alone know.” We are often quick to decide that something is finished. We look at a person and say, “They will never change.” We look at a situation and say, “There is no hope.” But God sees possibilities that we cannot see.
The Lord tells Ezekiel to speak his word to the bones. The bones come together, sinews and flesh appear, and skin covers them. But there is still no life in them. That detail is important. Putting things back together is not the same as bringing them back to life. Then God tells Ezekiel to call upon the spirit. When the spirit enters those bodies, they live. What was dead becomes alive again.
That brings us to the saint we celebrate today, Pope Saint Pius X. His motto was “To restore all things in Christ.” Pius X understood that the deepest restoration of the Church does not come simply from changing structures or solving problems. It happens when the life of Christ enters the human heart.
That’s why Pius X placed such emphasis on teaching the faith and on the Eucharist. He encouraged frequent reception of Holy Communion and lowered the age for First Communion. He understood something Ezekiel’s vision makes clear: we do not simply need to have our lives put back together. We need the life of God within us.
And that brings us to today’s Gospel. A scholar asks Jesus which commandment is the greatest. Jesus answers that everything comes down to love: love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. That is what a life filled with God’s Spirit looks like. It becomes a life of love.
So what does this mean for us today?
First, don’t decide too quickly that something is dead. There may be situations in our lives that look hopeless, but we are not God. We do not know what the Lord may yet do. Sometimes the most faithful prayer is simply, “Lord GOD, you alone know.”
Second, bring your spiritual dryness to Christ. Return to prayer. Open the Scriptures. Go to confession. Forgive someone. Ask forgiveness. And come to the Eucharist with a renewed awareness of whom we are receiving. Because when we come forward to receive our risen Lord today, we are not receiving a memory of someone who once lived. We are receiving the one who is fully alive today, the living Christ. He is still the source of our life.
Perhaps there is something in our own lives that feels like those dry bones. Perhaps there is someone we have stopped hoping for. While we can’t bring those things back to life ourselves, God can. That is the message of Ezekiel. It is the mission Saint Pius X devoted his life to. And it is the promise of Christ. God is not finished. The bones were dry. Israel thought its hope was lost. But God said, “I will put my spirit in you that you may live.”
And so, on this memorial of Saint Pius X, let us make his motto our prayer: “To restore all things in Christ.” Whatever is dry, whatever is broken, whatever seems beyond repair, place it in the hands of Christ. Because he still restores. He still gives life. And he is not finished with us yet.
Pope Saint Pius X… pray for us.