Today the church celebrates the Feast of St. Pope Gregory the First. He is one of the four doctors of the church along with Sts. Augustine, Jerome, and Ambrose.
And what an appropriate saint to ask for intercession! Born in 590 BC, he endured the burning and sacking of his homeland six times and the terrible bubonic plague infected and killed many of his countrymen.
Sound familiar?
Yet as difficult as his youth must have been, he excelled as a scholar and was able to achieve much as a young adult. He became prefect of Rome in his early 30s and the people loved him because he was a caring and thoughtful leader.
Following the example of his saintly parents and his aunts, Gregory gave up public life to enter the monastery where he lived a life of simplicity and prayer. He later said that these were the happiest years of his life.
They were not to last. Pope Benedict selected Gregory to be one of the seven deacons at Rome. Later he was sent as a deacon ambassador to Constantinople. Six years later he returned to his beloved abby and was happily received by the community and elected abbot.
But when the plague swept through Rome again and killed the Pope, the clergy, senate and people (who actually got to vote for the Vicar!) elected Gregory as the new Vicar of Christ!
Gregory is known for his writings, his organizational skills, and his great work in keeping the poor people under his care fed!
A few things stand out to me about this saint.
When Gregory was abbot, a monk in the monastery named Justus passed away. As they were going through his things, three gold coins were found, which meant that Justus broke his vow of poverty. Angered by this Gregory had Justus buried without fanfare and threw the coins into the grave.
But soon Gregory’s heart was stirred with concern about the man’s soul and he said mass every day for 30 days in a row. On the 30th day, Justus appeared to Gregory to thank him for his concern and for saying the masses – his soul had been released from purgatory and on to heaven! From then on Gregory recommended the practice of saying 30 masses in a row for the dead, which is now known as the Gregorian masses.
St. Gregory is also known for collecting and codifying the chants said at mass, which are now known today as the Gregorian Chants.
But I think most importantly, Gregory recognized and continued to work on his own inner failings. He admitted to not living up to the very things he spoke about in his homilies. He wrote:
I do not deny my responsibility; I recognize that I am slothful and negligent, but perhaps the acknowledgment of my fault will win me pardon from my just judge. Indeed when I was in the monastery I could curb my idle talk and usually be absorbed in my prayers. Since I assumed the burden of pastoral care, my mind can no longer be collected; it is concerned with so many matters.
With my mind divided and torn to pieces by so many problems, how can I meditate or preach wholeheartedly without neglecting the ministry of proclaiming the Gospel? Moreover, in my position, I must often communicate with worldly men. At times I let my tongue run, for if I am always severe in my judgments, the worldly will avoid me, and I can never attack them as I would. As a result I often listen patiently to chatter. And because I too am weak, I find myself drawn little by little into idle conversation, and I begin to talk freely about matters which once I would have avoided. What once I found tedious I now enjoy.
Ways to Celebrate the Day.
St. Gregory realized his own shortcomings. Today would be a good day to do a thorough Examination of Conscience .
Listen to some beautiful Gregorian Chant.
Avoid idle conversation. For me, that means limiting my social media time to beauty. More Instagram and Pinterest. Less Facebook and Twitter!
Have some Gregorian Masses said for someone who has passed away.
