Pope St. Gregory the Great

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Saturday, 3 September 2022 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all constantly being reminded as we have been this whole week, to entrust ourselves to God’s wisdom and not to human wisdom and ways, to put our faith in God and His providence and not to depend on human ingenuity, power and strength. The Lord has shown us the path forward in life, and we should believe in Him and commit ourselves to His cause, allowing Him to lead and guide us down the right path, and not to allow ourselves to be distracted by worldly temptations and persuasions, all those that are able to cause us to be drawn away from the path towards God and His truth.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Corinth regarding the importance of remaining vigilant against the temptations of pride and desire, of hubris, ego and ambition that can easily mislead them away from the path towards the Lord. The Apostle spoke against those who were divided against each other, being prejudiced against their fellow brothers and sisters simply because they had differences in opinions and thoughts. At that time, the community of the faithful in Corinth were divided among several groups due to the different preferences they had between following the different missionaries and leaders like St. Paul himself, as well as Apollos, the famous Jewish Christian preacher, and others.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Lord Himself speaking to the Pharisees and others regarding the matter of the Law of the Sabbath which the Pharisees found issue with Him and His disciples when the latter were picking the grains of the field to be eaten as they were very hungry. The Pharisees adopted a very strict and rigid view of the Law and they imposed this view and version of the Law on the people, looking down on those who did not obey the Lord the way that they had done it. They criticised others whom they deemed to be unworthy while praising and looking highly on themselves, considering them as the only ones worthy of God.

It was there that the Lord made the same reminder to all of us, that we must not fall into this temptation of pride and desire, the temptation of our ego and greed which can become the source of our downfall into sin. For through their preoccupation and obsession with their rigorous observation of the Law, that had led to them idolising themselves and being self-centred instead of focusing their attention on God. The Lord and His truth no longer became the focal point of their actions and lives, and as such, they became further and further away from God’s path, and dragged many others into the wrong paths in life.

That is why each and every one of us have been constantly reminded throughout this week to guard ourselves against all sorts of temptations found in our world. We should not easily succumb to the pressures and the temptations found all around us, all of which can drag us deep into the trap of sin and evil. We must constantly be vigilant and ready to resist the pleasures and e allures of wickedness, and strive to do our best to be ever faithful to God at all times and in all things. We are all reminded today that each and every one of us have been called to a new, holy existence through God and His Son. And we can do so by looking upon the examples set by the Lord Himself, His Apostles and our holy predecessors, the saints and martyrs.

Today the Church also celebrates the Feast of Pope St. Gregory the Great, one of the great Popes, a great servant of God and reformer, who dedicated himself to the greater glory of God. Pope St. Gregory the Great reformed the Church in many different ways, reformed the Roman clergy and also influenced the greater Church community, purifying them from the excesses and corruptions of the world, enforcing a new and more rigorous practice and discipline in the Christian community. Pope St. Gregory the Great also spent his time and effort in expanding the reach of the Church and the Christian faith, sending out many missionaries to spread the Good News of God to more and more people all around the world.

Pope St. Gregory the Great spent a lot of time reforming the way the Church worshipped as well, laying the foundations of what would later be known as the Gregorian Chant, and also regulated the liturgy into a more synchronous form, and also brought the Church liturgy both in the West and the East to be more coordinated and laid the foundations of what today would become the Holy Mass as well as the Divine Liturgy in the Eastern Church. He wrote extensively in various letters and also other works, in opposing the various heresies of the day and in helping to guide the members of the faithful to turn back towards the Lord with faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to and remember the words of the Scripture and as we remember the great deeds and works, the faith and dedication with which Pope St. Gregory the Great had committed himself, each and every one of us are reminded to live our lives to the fullest, in the path that God has shown us, obeying Him and focusing our attention on Him and not to ourselves, distancing ourselves from the temptations of worldly glory and greatness, and turning away from the allures of worldly excesses and ambitions, of pride and immorality, of hubris and human greed. All of us should guard ourselves against all those temptations and do our best to inspire one another to remain true in faith in God in the way that Pope St. Gregory the Great himself had inspired us.

Let us all therefore seek the Lord with all our heart, committing ourselves at all times to glorify Him by our lives. Let us all renew our commitment to serve Him with zeal and dedication, that we will always put God as the priority and focus of our lives. May the Lord be with us always and may He empower each one of us to live ever more faithfully in His presence, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 3 September 2022 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 6 : 1-5

At that time, one Sabbath Jesus was going through a field of grain, and His disciples began to pick heads of grain, crushing them in their hands for food. Some of the Pharisees asked them, “Why do you do what is forbidden on the Sabbath?”

Then Jesus spoke up and asked them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his men were hungry? He entered the house of God, took and ate the bread of the offering, and even gave some to his men, though only priests are allowed to eat that bread.”

And Jesus added, “The Son of Man is Lord and rules over the Sabbath.”

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Saturday, 3 September 2022 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 144 : 17-18, 19-20, 21

Righteous is YHVH in all His ways, His mercy shows in all His deeds. He is near those who call on Him, who call trustfully upon His Name.

He fulfils the wish of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them. For those who love Him, YHVH has compassion; but the wicked, He will destroy.

Let my mouth speak in praise of YHVH, let every creature praise His holy Name, forever and ever.

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Saturday, 3 September 2022 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Corinthians 4 : 6b-15

Learn by this example, not to believe yourselves superior by siding with one against the other. How, then, are you more than the others? What have you that you have not received? And if you received it, why are you proud, as if you did not receive it?

So, then, you are already rich and satisfied, and feel like kings, without us! I wish you really were kings, so that we might enjoy the kingship with you! It seems to me, that God has placed us, the Apostles, in the last place, as if condemned to death, and as spectacles for the whole world, for the Angels as well as for mortals.

We are fools for Christ, while you show forth the wisdom of Christ. We are weak, you are strong. You are honoured, while we are despised. Until now we hunger and thirst, we are poorly clothed and badly treated, while moving from place to place. We labour, working with our hands. People insult us and we bless them, they persecute us and we endure everything; they speak evil against us, and ours are works of peace. We have become like the scum of the earth, like the garbage of humankind until now.

I do not write this to shame you, but to warn you, as very dear children. Because, even though you may have ten thousand guardians in the Christian life, you have only one Father; and it was I who gave you life in Christ through the Gospel.

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Friday, 3 September 2021 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we heard the Word of God from the Scriptures, we are all called to remember that we are part of God’s One Church, the One Body of Christ, which is made from the unity of all those who are faithful to God and believe in Him, and with whom God Himself has established a New Covenant through Our Saviour, Jesus Christ, His Son. He has united us to Himself through Christ, Who became the Mediator of the New Covenant and the Head of the living Church.

In our first reading today, that was what St. Paul highlighted in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Colossae on Christ being the Head of the Church and the One through Whom the Lord had endeavoured to save His people, by His suffering and death on the Cross, His Passion and then His Resurrection, risen from the dead, so that all of us who share in His humanity, and who believe in Him wholeheartedly shall receive from Him the assurance of eternal life and true joy and glory.

However, in order for us to be His true disciples, and to be able to wholeheartedly believe in Him, all of us need to heed what He Himself had mentioned to His disciples as we heard in the Gospel passage today, when He taught them using the parable of the wine and the wineskins, and the cloth and the patches. Through that parable, the Lord wanted to make it clear that following Him would require a fundamental change of heart and attitude, and we have to embrace His truth and teachings with true sincerity and devotion.

Just as the people at that time knew that old wineskin cannot be used to store new wine, and neither can new wineskin be used to store old wine, as they are incompatible, and just as old torn cloth cannot be repaired by new patch of fabric and vice versa, therefore, the Lord’s path and His truth is something that is not compatible with our sinful and wicked ways, the path that the world has shown us. As long as we continue to act in ways that are aligned with the excesses and wickedness of our old, sinful ways, then we cannot be truly worthy of the Lord.

And how is this then related to what we have heard in our first reading today? As the Lord is the Head of the Church and we, as Christians, we are all members of the same Body of Christ, this very Church, then it is imperative that we have to align and harmonise ourselves with the Lord. Otherwise, if we profess to believe in the Lord and yet act in a totally contradictory manner, then are we not causing a scandal for the Church, and not only that, but we are even besmirching the good Name of the Lord? That is why each and every one of us must do our best, as we are reminded today, to be faithful in all things.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we all willing to embrace the Lord and His path wholeheartedly? Are we willing to commit ourselves to Him and be united with Him not just in mere words or formality, but truly sincerely from the deepest parts of our hearts. Are we willing and able to commit our effort, our time and attention to Him and do whatever we can, even in the smallest of things, to be good and faithful disciples, embracing God’s truth and love in all things, that we may be ever exemplary in our Christian living.

Today, all of us can get the inspiration from a great servant of God whose feast we are celebrating today. Pope St. Gregory the Great was a very well-known Pope, a great Leader of the Universal Church, and a great Reformer of the Church and the faith. The Lord has shown us in this faithful servant of His, what it truly means for us to follow the Lord with all of our hearts, and through his life, Pope St. Gregory the Great also showed us what it means for us to walk faithfully in God’s presence, to be obedient to Him and to be exemplary in our own way of living.

Pope St. Gregory the Great was remembered for his many and immense efforts in advancing the cause of the Church, in reaching out to the pagans and the many peoples who have not yet heard of God, in his many works, writings and letters to various members of the Church and the faithful. He sent many missionaries to places like England and Germany, which helped to establish a firm foundation of the Church and the faith in those places. He was also remembered for his leadership and guidance of the local Roman Church just as he was well-respected for his leadership of the Universal Church.

Pope St. Gregory the Great was also remembered for his role in reforming the Church, its administration as well as its way of worshipping God, by regulating the liturgical practices of the Church, and he was often credited as the one who laid the foundation of the Church music especially in the Western Christendom, of what would be known later on and today as the Gregorian Chant. He helped to reform many other aspects of the Church and helped many parts of the Church to develop and grow spiritually, and through his many efforts and contributions, the Lord’s Church grew greatly and prospered.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, Pope St. Gregory the Great has shown us all what it means to be a faithful and dedicated Christian, to be committed to the path of the Lord and to adapt a way of life that is compatible to the Lord. Are we willing and able to follow him and his examples? Let us all ourselves this question as we discern how we are going to live our lives from now on. And may the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us, that we may always strive to do our very best, in whatever we do, to be God’s holy and worthy people. Amen.

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Friday, 3 September 2021 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 5 : 33-39

At that time, some people asked Jesus, “The disciples of John fast often and say long prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why is it, that Your disciples eat and drink?”

Then Jesus said to them, “You cannot make wedding guests fast while the Bridegroom is with them. But later, the Bridegroom will be taken from them; and they will fast in those days.”

Jesus also told them this parable : “No one tears a piece from a new coat to put it on an old one; otherwise the new coat will be torn, and the piece taken from the new coat will not match the old coat. No one puts new wine into old wine skins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and be spilt, and the skins will be destroyed as well.”

“But new wine must be put into fresh skins. Yet, no one who has tasted old wine is eager to drink new wine, but says, ‘The old is good.’”

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Friday, 3 September 2021 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 99 : 2, 3, 4, 5

Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God; He created us and we are His people, the sheep of His fold.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and bless His Name.

For the Lord is good; His love lasts forever and His faithfulness through all generations.

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Friday, 3 September 2021 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Colossians 1 : 15-20

He is the image of the unseen God, and for all creation, He is the Firstborn, for, in Him, all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible : thrones, rulers, authorities, powers… All was made through Him and for Him. He is before all and all things hold together, in Him.

And He is the Head of the Body, that is the Church, for He is the first, the first raised from the dead, that He may be the first in everything, for God was pleased to let fullness dwell in Him. Through Him, God willed to reconcile all things to Himself, and through Him, through His Blood shed on the cross, God established peace, on earth as in heaven.

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Thursday, 3 September 2020 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in our Scripture readings today, we heard about the call for all of us as Christians to be dedicated to God and to put our trust in Him for everything we do in life, to listen to Him and to follow Him wholeheartedly. We should not allow ourselves to be tempted and swayed by human ambition, pride and desires, but instead, allow ourselves to be led and guided by God.

In our first reading today, the Lord reminds us through His Apostle St. Paul, that for all the great wisdom, intellect, power and ability we have in the world, all of these are nothing and insignificant in the presence of God, and if we are to boast, as St. Paul said, let us all boast of the Lord and not of ourselves and our own abilities. And St. Paul mentioned in that same passage, his own name, that of Apollos as well as Cephas, the Aramaic name for St. Peter the Apostle, the leader of all the faithful.

This was because contextually, in the communities of the Christian faithful, there had been intense divisions at the time, especially within the Church in Corinth, to which St. Paul addressed this Epistle, in which segments of the community began to side with certain factions proclaiming that they were for St. Paul, and others were for Apollos, while yet others were proclaiming for Cephas, St. Peter.

St. Paul was the famous preacher and evangeliser who travelled extensively all across the Mediterranean region, establishing the communities of the faithful in many places and was known as the Apostle to the Gentiles for his efforts and commitment, while Apollos was a charismatic Jewish convert to the Christian faith, who gained large following due to his charism, and St. Peter was the leader of the Apostles and the appointed Vicar of Christ. These figures became the rallying points around which the segments of the Christian faithful coalesced around. All of these factions and divisions among the faithful led to the fracturing of the Church unity and the confusions it caused in the Christian community.

St. Paul therefore asked all the faithful to avoid dwelling in human desires, the desires and ambition for power, and to avoid using human and worldly wisdom and understanding to live their faith in God. Instead, all the faithful should trust in God, put their faith and listen to Him. It is just like what we all heard in our Gospel passage today, as we heard the account of the calling of the first Apostles, the fishermen of the lake of Galilee, namely, St. Peter and his brother St. Andrew, as well as the two sons of Zebedee, St. James and St. John.

At that time, St. Peter and others were fishing in the lake without result even after much efforts overnight. But the Lord told them all to put out into the deep waters, and as soon as they followed His instructions, they gained so much fish that the whole boat could not take the great weight of the fishes caught. St. Peter then immediately recognised that Jesus was no mere ordinary Man, but a great and Holy One of God and trembled before Him, knowing that he was unworthy and a sinner.

Then the Lord called on all of them to follow Him, and which they did, abandoning their boats, following Him to be the ‘fishers of men’. Through this, they would gather for the Lord, the ‘fishes’ representing mankind, to the Church, represented by the boat, and therefore into salvation and eternal life in God. This is the mission which God has entrusted to His Apostles and disciples, and which He also entrusted to all of us in His Great Commission, ‘Go forth and make disciples of all the nations!’

Through all of these God is calling on each and every one of us to be centred and focused on Him, and Him alone, not to trust in our own strength and power, but rather, doing our works through our strength and power drawing from God and His strength. And by drawing on strength from Him, then we are called to go out and ‘put into the deep waters’ which means that we need to get out of our comfort zone and go forth, be genuine and good Christians, to inspire and call others to be good Christians on their own accord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we look forward into how we are to live our lives as good and dedicated Christians, and also rejecting the temptations of human desires and worldly glories, let us all look at our holy predecessor, Pope St. Gregory the Great, the saint and holy Pope whose feast we are celebrating today with great joy, in memory of the great contributions and efforts he had made for the greater glory of God and His Church.

Pope St. Gregory the Great reigned as Pope at a time when the Church was encountering difficulties from both the religious spectre as well as from the secular world, as at that time, not only that secular authorities were falling apart as the remnants of the authority and power of the Roman Emperors ruling from Constantinople began to fall apart and Rome came under threat from foreign invaders, but the discipline in the Church and among the members of the clergy had grown lax.

Pope St. Gregory the Great, an experienced administrator for his days before being a priest and monk, and Pope, did a lot of effort to reform the Church and the administration of both the faithful community as well as the secular governance over the region of Rome and beyond. He improved the livelihood of the people and the governance, improved various aspects of Church life and also the discipline in the Church and among the members of the faithful.

Pope St. Gregory the Great was also remembered for his efforts in spreading the Gospel message and convert more and more souls to the Lord. He sent missionaries to Germany and also England, most famously in sending the missionary St. Augustine of Canterbury to be the first Bishop of Canterbury and therefore laying the strong foundation of the Church in England, as well as in other parts of Christendom.

Of course, we also remember his efforts for what would come to be known by his name, as the Gregorian Chant, in his efforts in standardising Church music and improving its quality, which in time, would come to be a vast multitude of hymns and chants that bring great glory to God and bring even more people ever closer to God by the sacredness of the wonderful hymns and chants.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all follow in the faith and commitment of Pope St. Gregory the Great, in our faith and life that each and every one of us may become ever more faithful in everything we do, that we may put God at the centre of our life and existence. Let us follow his example and dedicate ourselves to the greater glory of God and His Church. May the Lord help us and be with us, and guide us through this journey of faith through life. Amen.

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Thursday, 3 September 2020 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 5 : 1-11

At that time, one day, as Jesus stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, with a crowd gathered around Him listening to the word of God, He caught sight of two boats, left at the water’s edge by fishermen, now washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to pull out a little from the shore. There He sat, and continued to teach the crowd.

When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon replied, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing. But if You say so, I will lower the nets.” This they did, and caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. They signalled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came, and they filled both almost to the point of sinking.

Upon seeing this, Simon Peter fell at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For he and his companions were amazed at the catch they had made, and so were Simon’s partners, James and John, Zebedee’s sons. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. You will catch people from now on.” So they brought their boats to land and followed Him, leaving everything.