Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church; Reflection on Today’s Gospel - (Lk 5:1-11)
Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church
"Servus servorum Dei" - "servant of God's servants", he called himself and his ministry.
This motto is still used by popes today.
He was born in 540 to a family of Roman patricians. He grew up among saints because his parents were Saint Silvia and Saint Gordianus Anicius, two of his father's sisters who became nuns were Saint Trasilla and Emiliana. His great-grandfather in a straight line was Pope Felix III (483–492), and his distant relative was Pope Agapetus I (535–536). He was related to the senatorial family of the Anicians. He died in 604 and was canonized shortly after his death, and in 1298 proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Boniface VIII. Gregory received a thorough education. He spoke Latin and Greek, knew Latin grammar, rhetoric and the basics of law. He held many civil offices up to the governor of Rome. On the day of his father's death, in 575, he resigned from public office and joined the Order of Saint Benedict. The family villa located in the city center was allocated to a convent for twelve comrades, and the property he inherited, to the foundation of new monasteries and charity. In 579 he was ordained a deacon. Delegated by Pope Pelagius II, he spent 5 years as an envoy at the imperial court in Constantinople, and after returning from this mission in 586, he returned to the monastery.
After the death of Pelagius II, on February 7, 590, Gregory was elected to the papal throne by acclamation. He was the first monk in the history of the papacy. According to the professed rule of the order of St. Benedict, pope Gregory began to organize the life of the Roman and universal Church in the spirit of obedience, an atmosphere of love, respect for every human being and building community life.
At the beginning of his pontificate, when Rome was threatened with a plague, he ordered the faithful to trust in Mary's protection and ordered a three-day procession to the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore. In this procession, he personally participated in the penitential robe. The tradition says that on the third day, as the procession passed by the tomb of Emperor Hadrian, a singing could be heard in the air:
"Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia. For he whom you did merit to bear, Alleluia..”
Has risen, as he said, Alleluia.., " the pope, priests and people replied," Pray for us to God, Alleluia! ". At the same time, a radiant angel appeared on the tomb, sheathing a sword in its scabbard. From that moment on, the plague ceased and the tomb was named the Castle of St. Angelo.
Pope Gregory daily proclaimed God's Word to the faithful. He left a literary legacy in the form of many homilies, biblical commentaries, letters and books organizing the church life. In the Church, he took up a decisive fight against simony (trading in church dignities and offices, sacraments and spiritual goods) and nepotism (filling positions and assigning dignities to family members). He opted for clergy to observe celibacy, which was not obligatory at the time. He did not hesitate to remove an unworthy person from the Roman Curia, and he did likewise with the unworthy bishops and parish priests in Rome and other Italian dioceses. He also arranged papal finances.
He restored discipline among the clergy and rebuilt the organizational structures in the Latin Church. He guarded the Church's independence from secular authorities. He called on the Church to undertake missionary activities, especially in new territories that have not yet received the Gospel. The main missionary directions at that time were the areas of today's England and Spain. He believed stagnation and inaction on the part of the clergy could lead to the displacement of Christianity from the lands that had just adopted it. Since then, the Holy See has taken the lead on the missionary issue.
Pope Gregory I started doctrinal talks with the Patriarch of Constantinople regarding the preservation of the hierarchy in the Church and did not allow the conflict to break out. In the tradition of the Eastern Churches, Saint Gregory bears the nickname Dialogue.
St. Gregory organizing and systematizing liturgical chant, later called Gregorian chant. According to tradition, liturgical choral melodies were recorded in the Antiphonarius. Its original was lost in the 10th century, only handwritten copies have survived.
In the Liturgy, he established the final wording of the Roman Canon, into which he introduced the prayer "Our Father". From the time of Gregory the Great until 1969, the Roman Canon was not modified and is considered the richest in form of the Eucharistic Prayer. In 600 AD, Pope Gregory introduced Latin as the only liturgical language of the Western Church. The custom of saying Gregorian Masses also comes from Gregory, i.e. Holy Masses for the deceased, celebrated on thirty consecutive days.
Pope Gregory died on March 12, 604. His tomb, which is located in the Vatican's Basilica of St. Peter, is decorated with an inscription in which he is called the Consul of God (Consul Dei).
Reflection on Today’s Gospel - (Lk 5:1-11)
I have read this pericope many times. When I reached for it yesterday, I had the desire that the Lord would open it to me in another, new way. After a moment of struggle, the answer came ...
It is a passage from the Gospel of Luke, usually entitled "The calling of the first disciples" (Lk 5: 1-11). Jesus asks Simon Peter: " Put out into deep," and then miraculously fills his and his associates John and James’ nets with fish. At the sight of this, Peter, bending down to Jesus' feet, says: " Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." The Lord replies, " Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men "
It was this dialogue that struck me. He did not tell him, "You are not a sinner." Neither did he tell him, “You're not that big sinner. Go, minister in the Church. On the contrary, when Simon knelt before him in full awareness of his sin, Jesus unfolded his mission before his eyes. As if he were telling him, "Yes. I know you are a sinner. And as a sinner you will preach the kingdom of God. You have to bear it. You must bear the tension between the holiness and grandeur of the message and your own sin. You have to be humble enough not to pretend there is no tension. It is and always will be.
This is not consent to sin. It is love for the sinner. It is the humility of God who places His Word, Deeds and Love in our sinful hearts, mouths and hands.
Duc in altum - Listen to the Master
Jesus not only looks at us, but also speaks to us.
Duc in altum (Put out into deep) means both put out into the deep and go up. Jesus' challenge is clear: in the face of failure, discouragement... do not give up, but keep pushing the limits. Do not stop at what you have gained so far. I, Jesus, am the measure of you; I, God – am your infinity. You have been called to do things that are unimaginable but real to you at this moment. It is I who lead you there. You will go if you submit to Me. Like Peter today. You will recognize my presence by some recognizable signs - how Peter and the disciples recognized Me by the abundant multiplication of wine, bread, fish ...
Peter allowed to be led. "At your word ..." He received from the Master a word that became an event in him, a strong and concrete word, how strong and concrete God is.
"Do not be afraid". Jesus out of Peter's fragility makes the foundation - the rock for a new "enterprise"; it will no longer be a fishermen's company, but a new reality - the Church, the community of saints. God likes it when all "share capital" comes from Him. That is why he came to the sinners and the weak.
It is not easy to follow Christ as his disciples did it, headed by Simon Peter. It is not easy to "put out into the deep". We have to recognize our limited possibilities; become convinced that Jesus is necessary in our life; to be able to see His action in our everyday life; be able to see ourselves as a sinner. Above all, remember the Lord's words: "do not be afraid."
Until Tomorrow
fr. george