was dus Gregorius de Grote, de paus
naar wie de 'Gregoriaanse gezangen' zijn vernoemd !
One of the richest people in all of Rome...
but he never abused that. You find in him - e.g. in his book on the pastoral rule - what were some of the things he expected from a bishop: well, one was humility! And he stresses the importance of humility!... So he did not see himself in a lordly manner. He saw himself always at the servive of the city of the people that he intended to serve...
The call to the monastic life however...
was one that he knew he had to answer... in part because he was being called by Christ... to something more important... than just an administrative career as some civil servant... And how wise! Because think of the good that he had accomplished by not simply being filled with worldly ambition...
He knew that he was called to something deeper. And he answered that call. And not only the Church but the wider world benefited from that.
Can you imagine someone doing that today? I am trying to think of a current figure that has that wealth, has that political power and yoúth as well, and not so much gives it away, but sháres it!... And he makes sure that it gets there where it needs to go!
Yes, he has these estates on the Caelian Hill, and he transforms it into a monastery! And he is building on the great lecacy of Benedict of Nursia, and he becomes a monk! And I can imagine the perplexity on the part of his friends, trying to understand what was going on. But also some of the other magistrates who were probably a little disappointed at first... that someone of this promise was abandoning the city, so to speak...
But we have seen this before!
I think of Saint Ambrose for example, who is himself somebody seen as potentially one of the greatest figures in the Western Empire and gives that up to the life of faith, the life of deeper service, a life of deeper meaning... and that's exactly what Gregory did.
But we see too that his time of monasticism was filled with this greatness of study, of Scripture, of the Fathers of the Church who went before him. And yes, he was emptying himself of ambition, but he was being filled with holiness, he was being filled with the Word of God. And all of this was mere preparation for the task that Christ had ahead of him.
was one that he knew he had to answer... in part because he was being called by Christ... to something more important... than just an administrative career as some civil servant... And how wise! Because think of the good that he had accomplished by not simply being filled with worldly ambition...
He knew that he was called to something deeper. And he answered that call. And not only the Church but the wider world benefited from that.
Can you imagine someone doing that today? I am trying to think of a current figure that has that wealth, has that political power and yoúth as well, and not so much gives it away, but sháres it!... And he makes sure that it gets there where it needs to go!
Yes, he has these estates on the Caelian Hill, and he transforms it into a monastery! And he is building on the great lecacy of Benedict of Nursia, and he becomes a monk! And I can imagine the perplexity on the part of his friends, trying to understand what was going on. But also some of the other magistrates who were probably a little disappointed at first... that someone of this promise was abandoning the city, so to speak...
But we have seen this before!
I think of Saint Ambrose for example, who is himself somebody seen as potentially one of the greatest figures in the Western Empire and gives that up to the life of faith, the life of deeper service, a life of deeper meaning... and that's exactly what Gregory did.
But we see too that his time of monasticism was filled with this greatness of study, of Scripture, of the Fathers of the Church who went before him. And yes, he was emptying himself of ambition, but he was being filled with holiness, he was being filled with the Word of God. And all of this was mere preparation for the task that Christ had ahead of him.
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