2013
This was the message at the heart of Pope Francis’ homily this morning as he celebrated Mass in the Casa Santa Marta after the summer break.
The Pope first reflected on today’s liturgical reading which tells of the meeting between Jesus and the people of Nazareth as recounted by the Gospel according to Luke.
The Pope noted that the people of Nazareth with whom he had grown up, admired Jesus, but at the same time expected great things from him: “they wanted a miracle” to be able to believe in Him. And when Jesus told them they were without faith, they were filled with fury, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill to hurl him down headlong”.
And Pope Francis reflected on the reading pointing out that a situation which had started off with admiration was to end with a crime: they wanted to kill Jesus. Because of jealousy and envy. This – he said – is not just something that happened two thousand years ago: “this kind of thing happens every day in our hearts, in our communities”. And he made the example of when somebody new enters a community, on the first day – he said - people speak well of him; on the second not so well; and from the third on gossip and badmouthing starts to spread and end up skinning him”.
The Pope elaborated on the concept quoting from the first letter of St. John 3, 15 in which he says: “He who hates his brother is a murderer”. We are used to gossip – he continued – “but how many times our communities, even our families have become a hell in which we criminally kill our brother with words”.
A community, a family – the Pope continued – can be destroyed by envy that sows evil in the heart and causes one to speak badly of the other”. In these days, Pope Francis said, days in which we are speaking so often of peace, we see the victims of arms, but we must also reflect on our daily arms: “badmouthing and gossip”. Every community – the Pope concluded – must live with the Lord and be “like heaven”.
“So that there is peace in a community, in a family, in a country, in the world, we must be with the Lord. And where the Lord is, there is no envy, there is no criminality, there is no hatred, and there are no jealousies. There is brotherhood. Let this be our prayer to the Lord: never kill your neighbor with words”.
SHARED FROM RADIO VATICANA
POPE WISHES JEWS A HAPPY NEW YEAR AND MEETS WITH LEADERS OF WJC
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday wished Jews around the world a sweet and peaceful year 5774, called for increased dialogue among the world’s religious communities and opposed fundamentalism in any faith. During his first private audience with an international Jewish leader since being elected Catholic pontiff in March, Francis asked World Jewish Congress (WJC) President Ronald S. Lauder to convey his New Year message to Jewish communities world-wide and said he also needed a sweet year because of the important decisions lying ahead. Using the Hebrew words for ‘Happy New Year’, Pope Francis wished a "Shana Tova" and asked the WJC to share that message with the Jewish people worldwide. Lauder presented the pope with a Kiddush cup and a honey cake.At their meeting, which was held in an informal atmosphere at the Vatican, Lauder and the Catholic pontiff spoke about the situation in Syria and agreed to speak out against attacks on religious minorities, such as Coptic Christians in Egypt and against trends to restrict well-established religious practices such as circumcision. The pope specifically expressed concern about the bans on kosher slaughter in Poland and directed Cardinal Kurt Koch, the president of the Vatican’s Commission for Relations with the Jews, to investigate and host a follow-up meeting as early as next week.
Francis reiterated a statement made last June that “a Christian cannot be an anti-Semite” and said that “to be good a Christian it is necessary to understand Jewish history and traditions.” He added that Jews and Christians shared the same roots and that dialogue was the key to building a common future. Referring to the conflict in Syria, the pope called the killing of human beings unacceptable and said “world leaders must do everything to avoid war.”
After the meeting, Ronald S. Lauder praised the pope for his unwavering commitment to dialogue and said that “Pope Francis’ leadership has not only reinvigorated the Catholic Church but also given a new momentum to relations with Judaism. Never in the past 2,000 years have relations between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people been so good. The leadership of successive popes over the past five decades has helped to overcome a lot of prejudice. This allows us now to work together in defending religious freedom wherever it is under threat and whichever community is affected.” (Communication issued by the World Jewish Congress)
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AMAZING ARTIST PLOUGHS 300 FT PICTURE OF POPE IN FIELD
UCAN NEWS REPORT: Six-hour task performed with no grid or pre-planning
Picture: Telegraph
- Italian artist, Dario Gambarin, uses a tractor to create the 328 foot picture, entitled Love Liberates, in a field in Castagnaro near the northern Italian city of Verona.
The portrait took six hours to complete and is the latest piece of land-art by the artist who says he uses his plough as a painter would a brush, on farmland belonging to his parents.
Over the past few years Mr Gambarin has produced a giant image of Edvard Munch's iconic The Scream and a portrait of US President Barack Obama, 'drawn' to coincide with his visit to Italy in July 2009 for the G8 summit.
Thanks to a highly developed technique Mr Gambarin does not measure the field before starting his work, but is seemingly able to create perfectly-dimensioned giant images with just an innate sense of proportion and ability to drive a tractor.
The sheer scale of his pictures mean they can only be viewed by flying over the countryside of the province of Verona. Mr Gambarin deletes his works after a few days so that the field can be cultivated as usual, so the works are always executed between the harvest of the crop and the sowing of seed for the next one. SHARED FROM UCAN NEWS
CARDINAL MAZOMBWE DIES OF CANCER IN ZAMBIA - AFRICA
CISA NEWS REPORT
LUSAKA, August 30 2013(CISA) – Zambia’s first indigenous His Eminence Medardo CARDINAL Joseph Mazombwe, 82, has succumbed to a long battle of cancer, the Catholic Church has announced.
His Eminence, Cardinal Mazombwe passed away in Lusaka’s University Teaching Hospital (UTH) on Thursday, 29 August, 2013 at around 17.40 hours Zambian time according to Zambia Reports.
Cardinal Mazombwe was born on 24 Sep 1931 at Katete in the Eastern Province of Zambia. He was ordained a Catholic priest on 4 September 1960 and become Bishop of Chipata Diocese on 7 Feb 1971. Between 1996 and 2006, he was the Archbishop of Lusaka until his retirement in 2006.
On 30 November 2010 the then Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI created the Emeritus Archbishop of Lusaka, Medardo Joseph Mazombwe, as Zambia’s first indigenous Cardinal, at a public consistory held in St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican.
According to Press statement sent to media houses, the Catholic Archdioceses of Lusaka and the Zambia Episcopal Conference Cardinal Mazombwe has held several senior positions in the local and regional Church, such as Zambia Episcopal President (1972 – 1975; 1988 – 1990 and 1999 – 2002); and as Chairman of the regional conferences of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (A.M.E.C.E.A.) (1979 – 1986).
In the months leading to the year 2000, Cardinal Mazombwe, as Archbishop of Lusaka, was an ardent campaigner for the cancellation of Zambia’s international debt, in the Jubilee 2000 movement.
Most visible among some of his numerous pastoral initiatives, is the sprawling Cathedral of the Child Jesus (Pope Square) in Lusaka.
Cardinal Mazombwe’s optimism and courage in the face of Cancer inspired many that visited him in the last twelve months. Even as he grew weak, Cardinal Mazombwe never gave up his passion for the affairs of the Church and the nation.
Further funeral arrangements are yet to be communicated in due course.
SHARED FROM CISA NEWS
RIP BISHOP WILLIAM BRENNAN - FUNERAL WITH CARDINAL PELL OF AUSTRALIA
Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese,
2 Sep 2013
2 Sep 2013
Bishop William Brennan 1938-2013
The Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell will join other bishops, clerics, priests, religious and parishioners on Friday, 6 September when the Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Wagga Wagga's St Michael's Cathedral for Bishop William Brennan who died on Saturday, 31 August.
The Most Rev Brennan, Bishop Emeritus and fourth Bishop of Wagga Wagga died at the Little Sisters of the Poor's Mount St Joseph's Nursing Home, Randwick on Saturday afternoon after an 11-year battle with ill health.
He was 75 years old.
Leading the many tributes to Bishop Brennan, His Eminence described him as a "game changer" and praised his "faith and courage" in establishing Wagga Wagga's seminary, St John Vianney College in 1992.
As a result of this the Diocese of Wagga Wagga now has the highest priest-to-people ratio in Australia and by far the youngest clergy, Cardinal Pell said.
While the average age of priests in most areas of Australia is over 60 in Wagga Wagga more than half the Diocesan priests are in their 30s and 40s.
Cardinal Pell said this was a wonderful and ongoing legacy.
"Bishop Brennan was a polymath and an interesting and outstanding bishop who was tough on himself and others," he said adding that his work and commitment to the Diocese of Wagga Wagga had led to a "Catholic revival" in the area.
Since news of his death broke on Saturday, tributes to Bishop Brennan, his dedication, his passion for God, progress and social justice, his commitment to Catholic school education as well as to training and retaining men of vocation for the priesthood, and to his life and work have been received by the Diocese of Wagga Wagga.
"He was a man of vision and showed a strong commitment to reaching out to those less fortunate than himself," says the Most Rev Gerard Hanna who was appointed Bishop of Wagga Wagga after Bishop Brennan suffered a brain aneurysm in 2001 and suffering severe ill health, was forced to retire the following year.
St Michael's Cathedral, Wagga Wagga where the Funeral Mass for Bishop Brennan will be held on Friday 6 September
"Bishop Brennan was committed to the idea that priests who spend their life working in country dioceses should be trained in the country, and to this end he built Wagga Wagga's St John Vianney College," Bishop Hanna said and described his predecessor as a man who when he saw something needed doing, "did something about it."
Establishing a seminary in Wagga Wagga in 1992, in what was considered a relatively small diocese, was initially greeted with scepticism not only from outside but inside the Church as well. At the time secularism was making major inroads into dioceses across the country, with fewer and fewer men entering the nation's seminaries.
If city seminaries were having trouble attracting men to train for the priesthood, what chance would a small country seminary have, the argument went.
Typically Bishop Brennan refused to heed the doomsayers and quietly but determinedly established the regional seminary and took over the reins as rector.
With an initial intake of nine student-priests, he ran St John Vianney College along strong traditional lines with an emphasis on rigorous scholarly and spiritual formation, daily Mass, prayers and reflections.
Teaching and living at the College while continuing with his busy schedule and commitments as Bishop of Wagga Wagga, Bishop Brennan forged links for the College with the adjacent Charles Sturt University as well as with the Pontifical Urbaniana University of Rome where he had studied as a young man.
Since those early days, the seminary has continued to thrive with accommodation at St John Vianney College having to be expanded twice.
Today the College continues to operate at capacity or near capacity with 20 seminarians currently in training as priests for the Wagga Wagga, Lismore and Armidale dioceses.
Bishop Gerard Hanna (centre) with seminarians and staff at St John Vianney College
In addition to founding St John Vianney College, Bishop Brennan was responsible for establishing St Francis' College on the Wagga Wagga campus of Charles Sturt University. Opened in 1998, St Francis College offers accommodation to Catholic students studying at the university.
The son of John and Elvie Brennan, Bishop Brennan was the second eldest of six children and grew up in Sydney's inner west. Educated by the Ursuline Nuns at Ashbury and later at the Christian Brothers College, Lewisham, Bishop Brennan trained for the priesthood at St Columba's College, Springwood. These studies continued at St Patrick's College, Manly.
An outstanding student, he was then handpicked as one of six Australians to study at Rome's Pontifical Urbaniana University.
Returning to Australia from Rome, Bishop Brennan undertook further studies at the University of Sydney and the University of New England and would eventually be awarded several degrees including a Bachelor of Arts (Syd), DipEd (University of New England), MLitt in Philosophy and Psychology (University of New England) and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (Urbaniana).
Ordained into the priesthood on 21 December 1960, Bishop Brennan was appointed Assistant Priest at Forbes and later at Broken Hill. He then took up the position as Director of Schools for the sprawling Wilcannia-Forbes Diocese.
Next came the appointment as Parish Priest to Nyngan and later, Wentworth which he combined with the role of Vicar of Education in the Wilcannia-Forbes Diocese.
Elevated to Bishop of Wagga Wagga on 16 January 1984, his Episcopal Ordination took place six weeks later on 1 March 1984.
Elevated to Bishop of Wagga Wagga on 16 January 1984, his Episcopal Ordination took place six weeks later on 1 March 1984.
Over his many years serving the Diocese of Wagga Wagga, Bishop Brennan also held various positions on the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference including Chair of the Bishops Committee for Industrial Affairs, the Australian Catholic Justice Council and Deputy Chair of Caritas.
He was also a member of the NSW Catholic Education Commission but it is his contribution to Catholic religious education that will be long remembered.
Not only did he insist that only Catholics teach religious education classes at Catholic schools but he rewrote the religious education syllabus for Wagga Wagga's Catholic schools which would later be adopted by schools across Australia and other English-speaking nations.
St John Vianney College, Wagga Wagga founded in 1992 by Bishop Brennan
Longtime close friend, Sydney priest Father John Walter who had known Bishop Brennan since they were both pupils at Lewisham Christian Brothers College more than 60 years ago, described the late prelate to the mainstream media this morning as "a trail blazer."
"He was resolute, prepared to swim against the tide and his courage gave heart to others," he said.
For himself, when asked more than a decade ago and before he became ill, how he would like to be remembered, Bishop Brennan cited an Italian proverb.
"The man who does something makes mistakes sometimes; the man who does nothing makes mistakes all the time," he translated and said he hoped he'd be remembered as the former rather than the latter.
The Reception of the Body and Vigil for Bishop Brennan will be held at St Michael's Cathedral, Wagga Wagga at 7 pm on Thursday, September 5. The Mass of Christian Burial will be held the following day at the Cathedral at 11.30 am. After the Mass of Christian Burial, the mortal remains of Bishop William Brennan, Emeritus Bishop of Wagga Wagga will be interred in the crypt beneath the Cathedral.
SHARED FROM RADIO VATICANA
NOVENA FOR BIRTH OF VIRGIN MARY - DAY 5 - PLENARY INDULGENCE
To all faithful Christians who, in private or public, in church or in their own houses, shall keep any of the following Novenas, in preparation for the principal feasts of most holy Mary, Pope Pius VII., at the prayer of several holy persons, granted, by Rescripts issued through his Eminence the Cardinal-Vicar, Aug. 4 and Nov. 24, 1808, and Jan. 11, 1800 (all of which are kept in the Segretaria of the Vicariate) -
i. An indulgence of 300 days, daily.ii. A plenary indulgence to all who shall assist at these Novenas every day, and who shall afterwards, either on the Feast-day itself, to which each Novena respectively has reference, or on some one day in its Octave, after Confession and Communion, pray to our Lord and to the Blessed Virgin ac cording to the pious intention of the Sovereign Pontiff.
IN PREPARATION FOR THE FEAST OF OUR LADY’S NATIVITY.
(Beginning Aug. 30.)
Veni Sancte Spiritus, reple tuorum corda fidelium, et tui amoris in eis ignem accende.
V. Emitte Spiritum tuum, et creabuntur.
R. Et renovabis faciem terrae.
Oremus.
Deus, qui corda fidelium Sancti Spiritus illustratione docuisti: da nobis in eodem Spiritu recta sapere, et de ejus semper consolatione gaudere. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. R. Amen.
TRANSLATION.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful, and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.
V. Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray.
O God, who hast taught the hearts of Thy faithful people by the light of the Holy Spirit; grant us in the same Spirit to relish what is right, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort. Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.
Most holy Mary, Elect One, predestined from all eternity by the Most Holy Trinity to be Mother of the only-begotten Son of the Eternal Father, foretold by the Prophets, expected by the Patriarchs, desired by all nations, Sanctuary and living Temple of the Holy Ghost, Sun without stain, conceived free from original sin, Mistress of Heaven and of Earth, Queen of angels:- humbly prostrate at thy feet we give thee our homage, rejoicing that the year has brought round again the memory of thy most happy Nativity; and we pray thee with all our hearts to vouchsafe in thy goodness now to come down again and be reborn spiritually in our souls, that, led captive by thy loveliness and sweetness, they may ever live united to thy most sweet and loving heart.
i. So now whilst we say nine angelic salutations, we will direct our thoughts to the nine months which thou didst pass enclosed in thy mother’s womb; celebrating at the same time thy descent from the royal house of David, and how thou didst come forth to the light of heaven with high honour from the womb of holy Anna, thy most happy mother.
Ave Maria.
ii. We hail thee, heavenly Babe, white Dove of purity; who in spite of the serpent wast conceived free from original sin.
Ave Maria.
iii. We hail thee, bright Morn; who, forerunner of the Heavenly Sun of Justice, didst bring the first light to earth.
Ave Maria.
iv. We hail thee, Elect; who, like the untarnished Sun, didst burst forth in the dark night of sin.
Ave Maria.
v. We hail thee, beauteous Moon; who didst shed light upon a world wrapt in the darkness of idolatry.
Ave Maria.
vi. We hail thee, dread Warrior-Queen; who, in thyself a host, didst put to flight all hell.
Ave Maria.
vii. We hail thee, fair Soul of Mary; who from eternity wast possessed by God and God alone.
Ave Maria.
viii. We hail thee, dear Child, and we humbly venerate thy most holy infant body, the sacred swaddling-clothes wherewith they bound thee, the sacred crib wherein they laid thee, and we bless the hour and the day when thou wast born.
Ave Maria.
ix. We hail thee, much-loved Infant, adorned with every virtue immeasurably above all saints, and therefore worthy Mother of the Saviour of the world; who, having been made fruitful by the Holy Spirit, didst bring forth the Word Incarnate.
Ave Maria.
PRAYER
O most lovely Infant, who by thy holy birth hast comforted the world, made glad the heavens, struck terror into hell, brought help to the fallen, consolation to the sad, salvation to the weak, joy to all men living; we entreat thee, with the most fervent love and gratitude, to be spiritually reborn in our souls by means of thy most holy love; renew our spirits to thy service, rekindle in our hearts the fire of charity, bid all the virtues blossom there, that so we may find more and more favour in thy gracious eyes. Mary! be thou our Mary, and may we feel the saving power of thy sweetest name; may it ever be our comfort to call on that name in all our troubles; may it be our hope in dangers, our shield in temptation, and our last utterance in death. Sit nomen Mariae mel in ore, melos in aure, et jubilus in corde. Amen. Let the name of Mary be honey in the mouth, melody in the ear, joy in the heart. Amen.
V. Nativitas tua, Dei Genitrix Virgo.
R. Gaudium annuntiavit universo mundo.
Oremus.
Famulis tuis, quaesumus Domine, coelestis gratiae munus impertire: ut quibus Beata Virginis partus extitit salutis exordium, nativitatis ejus votiva solemnitas pacis tribuat incrementum.
Oremus.
Deus, qui corda fidelium Sancti Spiritus illustratione docuisti: da nobis in eodem Spiritu recta sapere, et de ejus semper consolatione gaudere. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. R. Amen.
TRANSLATION.
V. Thy Nativity, O Virgin Mother of God.
R. Hath brought joy to the whole world.
Let us pray.
Grant to us Thy servants, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the gift of heavenly grace; that to all those for whom the delivery of the Blessed Virgin was the beginning of salvation, this her votive festival may give increase of peace. Through, &c.
Let us pray.
O God, who hast taught the hearts of Thy faithful people by the light of the Holy Spirit; grant us in the same Spirit to relish what is right, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort. Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.
TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : TUES. SEPT. 3, 2013
Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 432
Reading 1 1 THES 5:1-6, 9-11
Concerning times and seasons, brothers and sisters,
you have no need for anything to be written to you.
For you yourselves know very well
that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night.
When people are saying, “Peace and security,”
then sudden disaster comes upon them,
like labor pains upon a pregnant woman,
and they will not escape.
But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness,
for that day to overtake you like a thief.
For all of you are children of the light
and children of the day.
We are not of the night or of darkness.
Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do,
but let us stay alert and sober.
For God did not destine us for wrath,
but to gain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep
we may live together with him.
Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up,
as indeed you do.
you have no need for anything to be written to you.
For you yourselves know very well
that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night.
When people are saying, “Peace and security,”
then sudden disaster comes upon them,
like labor pains upon a pregnant woman,
and they will not escape.
But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness,
for that day to overtake you like a thief.
For all of you are children of the light
and children of the day.
We are not of the night or of darkness.
Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do,
but let us stay alert and sober.
For God did not destine us for wrath,
but to gain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep
we may live together with him.
Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up,
as indeed you do.
Responsorial Psalm PS 27:1, 4, 13-14
R. (13) I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
Gospel LK 4:31-37
Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee.
He taught them on the sabbath,
and they were astonished at his teaching
because he spoke with authority.
In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon,
and he cried out in a loud voice,
“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are–the Holy One of God!”
Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet! Come out of him!”
Then the demon threw the man down in front of them
and came out of him without doing him any harm.
They were all amazed and said to one another,
“What is there about his word?
For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits,
and they come out.”
And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.
He taught them on the sabbath,
and they were astonished at his teaching
because he spoke with authority.
In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon,
and he cried out in a loud voice,
“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are–the Holy One of God!”
Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet! Come out of him!”
Then the demon threw the man down in front of them
and came out of him without doing him any harm.
They were all amazed and said to one another,
“What is there about his word?
For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits,
and they come out.”
And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.
TODAY'S SAINT: SEPT. 3: POPE ST. GREGORY THE GREAT, DIED 604
St. Gregory the Great
POPE, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH
Feast: September 3
Born:
540 at Rome, Italy
Died:
12 March 604 at Rome, Italy
Patron of:
against plague, choir boys, educators, England, gout, masons, musicians, papacy, Popes, schoolchildren, singers, stone masons, stonecutters, students, teachers, West Indies
Doctor of the Church; b. at Rome about 540; d. 12 March 604.
Gregory's father was Gordianus, a wealthy patrician, probably of the famous gens Amicia, who owned large estates in Sicily and a mansion on the Caelian Hill in Rome, the ruins of which, apparently in a wonderful state of preservation, still await excavation beneath the Church of St. Andrew and St. Gregory. His mother Silvia appears also to have been of good family, but very little is known of her life. She is honoured as a saint, her feast being kept on 3 November (see SILVIA, SAINT). Besides his mother, two of Gregory's aunts have been canonised, Gordianus's two sisters, Tarsilla and Æmilians, so that John the Deacon speaks of his educattion as being that of a saint among saints. In 573, when little more than thirty years old, Gregory decided to abandon everything and become a monk. This event took place most probably in 574. His decision once taken, he devoted himself to the work and austerities of his new life with all the natural energy of his character. His Sicilian estates were given up to found six monasteries there, and his home on the Caelian Hill was converted into another under the patronage of St. Andrew. However, he was soon drawn out of his seclusion, when, in 578, the pope ordained him, much against his will, as one of the seven deacons (regionarii) of Rome. Popo Pelagius II accordingly dispatched a special embassy to Tiberius, and sent Gregory along with it as his apocrisiarius, or permanent ambassador to the Court of Byzantium. The date of this new appointment seems to have been the spring of 579, and it lasted apparently for about six years. In the year 586, or possibly 585, he was recalled to Rome, and with the greatest joy returned to St. Andrew's, of which he became abbot soon afterwards. The monastery grew famous under his energetic rule, producing many monks who won renown later. Then, in February, 590, as if to fill the cup of misery to the brim, Pelagius II died. The choice of a successor lay with the clergy and people of Rome, and without any hesitation they elected Gregory, Abbot of St. Andrew's. As the plague still continued unabated, Gregory called upon the people to join in a vast sevenfold procession which was to start from each of the seven regions of the city and meet at the Basilica of the Blessed Virgin, all praying the while for pardon and the withdrawal of the pestilence. This was accordingly done, and the memory of the event is still preserved by the name "Sant' Angelo" given to the mausoleum of Hadrian from the legend that the Archangel St. Michael was seen upon its summit in the act of sheathing his sword as a sign that the plague was over. At length, after six months of waiting, came the emperor's confirmation of Gregory's election. The saint was terrified at the news and even meditated flight. He was seized, however, carried to the Basilica of St. Peter, and there consecrated pope on 3 September, 590. The story that Gregory actually fled the city and remained hidden in a forest for three days, when his whereabouts was revealed by a supernatural light, seems to be pure invention.
POPE, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH
Born:
540 at Rome, Italy
Died:
12 March 604 at Rome, Italy
Patron of:
against plague, choir boys, educators, England, gout, masons, musicians, papacy, Popes, schoolchildren, singers, stone masons, stonecutters, students, teachers, West Indies
Doctor of the Church; b. at Rome about 540; d. 12 March 604.
Gregory's father was Gordianus, a wealthy patrician, probably of the famous gens Amicia, who owned large estates in Sicily and a mansion on the Caelian Hill in Rome, the ruins of which, apparently in a wonderful state of preservation, still await excavation beneath the Church of St. Andrew and St. Gregory. His mother Silvia appears also to have been of good family, but very little is known of her life. She is honoured as a saint, her feast being kept on 3 November (see SILVIA, SAINT). Besides his mother, two of Gregory's aunts have been canonised, Gordianus's two sisters, Tarsilla and Æmilians, so that John the Deacon speaks of his educattion as being that of a saint among saints. In 573, when little more than thirty years old, Gregory decided to abandon everything and become a monk. This event took place most probably in 574. His decision once taken, he devoted himself to the work and austerities of his new life with all the natural energy of his character. His Sicilian estates were given up to found six monasteries there, and his home on the Caelian Hill was converted into another under the patronage of St. Andrew. However, he was soon drawn out of his seclusion, when, in 578, the pope ordained him, much against his will, as one of the seven deacons (regionarii) of Rome. Popo Pelagius II accordingly dispatched a special embassy to Tiberius, and sent Gregory along with it as his apocrisiarius, or permanent ambassador to the Court of Byzantium. The date of this new appointment seems to have been the spring of 579, and it lasted apparently for about six years. In the year 586, or possibly 585, he was recalled to Rome, and with the greatest joy returned to St. Andrew's, of which he became abbot soon afterwards. The monastery grew famous under his energetic rule, producing many monks who won renown later. Then, in February, 590, as if to fill the cup of misery to the brim, Pelagius II died. The choice of a successor lay with the clergy and people of Rome, and without any hesitation they elected Gregory, Abbot of St. Andrew's. As the plague still continued unabated, Gregory called upon the people to join in a vast sevenfold procession which was to start from each of the seven regions of the city and meet at the Basilica of the Blessed Virgin, all praying the while for pardon and the withdrawal of the pestilence. This was accordingly done, and the memory of the event is still preserved by the name "Sant' Angelo" given to the mausoleum of Hadrian from the legend that the Archangel St. Michael was seen upon its summit in the act of sheathing his sword as a sign that the plague was over. At length, after six months of waiting, came the emperor's confirmation of Gregory's election. The saint was terrified at the news and even meditated flight. He was seized, however, carried to the Basilica of St. Peter, and there consecrated pope on 3 September, 590. The story that Gregory actually fled the city and remained hidden in a forest for three days, when his whereabouts was revealed by a supernatural light, seems to be pure invention.
As pope Gregory still lived with monastic simplicity. (Edited from http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/G/stgregorythegreat.asp
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