Homily for Memorial of St. Gregory the Great

Homily for the Memorial of
St. Gregory the Great

Sept. 3, 2024
1 Cor 2: 10-16
Collect
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

“We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given us by God” (1 Cor 2: 12).

Statue of St. Gregory
at St. Paul Outside the Walls, Rome

Paul addresses this language of the Spirit to the Christian faithful of Corinth.  On this memorial of St. Gregory the Great, we can note that he was a man who had turned from the world—even if he hadn’t been captured by “the spirit of the world” while he lived in the world—and had become a monk.  He allowed the Spirit to capture him for God’s service, even into service he didn’t desire—first as a papal diplomat, then as bishop of Rome.

The collect for his memorial invokes “a spirit of wisdom” upon those to whom God has “given authority to govern.”  You, brothers, have the laudable practice of praying regularly for your superiors—local, provincial, and general.  All who are charged to govern God’s people certainly need the help of divine wisdom.

Gregory responded to the Spirit by caring for a very troubled flock with gentleness and love, as the collect suggests, and the authority of service.  His times were troubled by floods, famine, and plague (that sounds like the 21s century!) and by constant danger from the semi-barbarian Lombards and the tense relations between those Lombards, the Byzantine emperor, and the general population of Italy.  Gregory worked as both a diplomat and an evangelizer in that context, and as the equivalent of Catholic Relief Services for the population.  Thru his preaching and his writings, he prompted God’s flock toward holiness and his fellow bishops toward sound pastoral care.

That our present leaders—Francis, now on a physically challenging pastoral visit to the far reaches of the world; the bishops of our country; and our congregational leaders—might be Spirit-filled, wise men of God who will help us all to flourish is a worthy and necessary object of our prayer.