Hello all, Happy feast day to all born, baptized and married today Happy feast day to all Deacons, Seminarians, priests, Bishops, Monks, Nuns, Reverend Brothers in Christ Jesus and Sisters of Charity Happy feast day to all those called Gregory and parents of all named Gregory. Happy feast day to all Successors of the Chair of Saint Peter as Bishop of Rome and Vicar of Christ Happy feast day to all the 33 Doctors of the Catholic Church Happy feast day to the 4 Latin Fathers of the Catholic Church Happy feast day to all Catholic Missionaries Today (September 3) marks the feast of Pope Saint Gregory. He is frequently called Pope Saint Gregory I He is also known as Saint Gregory the Dialogist He is popularly called Saint Gregory the Great Catholic History confirms that he was born in Rome about the year 540 Gregory had been born into a wealthy noble Roman family with close connections to the church. His father was Gordianus the regionary, a wealthy man of senatorial rank, owner of large estates in Sicily and of a palace on the Caelian Hill in Rome His mother was Silvia, who is commemorated as a Saint in the Roman Catholic Church on the 3rd of November His fathers three sisters were Catholic Nuns Gregory received the best education to be had at the time, and was noted for his proficiency in the arts of grammar, rhetoric and dialectic. In about the year 573, he was appointed the high office of “Prefect of the city of Rome” But a year later, about the year 574, he felt irresistibly attracted to the religious life, and he resigned his post He sold his possessions, turned his home into a Benedictine monastery, and used his money to build six monasteries in Sicily and one in Rome. After his father’s death, he converted his family villa suburbana, located on the Caelian Hill just opposite the Circus Maximus, into a monastery dedicated to the apostle “Saint Andrew” Gregory became a Benedictine monk. About the year 578, he was ordained seventh deacon (or possibly archdeacon) of the Roman Church Pope Pelagius II appointed him apocrisiarius, or resident ambassador, at the imperial court in Constantinople. Here he represented the interests of his church until about 586, when he returned to Rome and was made abbot of St. Andrews monastery In the year 590 Pope Pelagius II died of the plague that was raging in the city The clergy and people unanimously chose Gregory as his successor. Saint Gregory “the abbot” did his best to avoid the dignity He petitioned the emperor Maurice not to ratify his election, and even meditated going into hiding; but, while he was preparing for flight and concealment, he was seized and carried off and dragged to the basilica of St. Peter, and there he was consecrated Bishop of Rome, on the 3rd of September 590 Pope Saint Gregory was elected the 64th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church by unanimous acclamation on the 3rd of September, 590 He was pope from the 3rd of September , 590 until his death. He was the first pope to be named Gregory He was also the first of the Popes from a monastic background. He is one of the 33 Doctors of the Church He is also the last of the four great Latin Fathers of the Church The other three great Latin Fathers of the Catholic Church are: “Saint Ambrose, Saint Augustine, and Saint Jerome”. Of all the Popes of the Roman Catholic Church, “Saint Gregory the Great”, had the most influence on the early medieval church. The fourteen years of Gregorys pontificate were marked by extraordinary vigor and activity. He never rested Among his first acts were writing a series of letters disavowing any ambition to the throne of Peter and praising the contemplative life of the monks. Pope Saint Gregory was very diligent in Gods Commandments. He is credited with re-energizing the Churchs missionary work among the barbarian peoples of northern Europe Upon seeing English children being sold in the Roman Forum, he became a missionary to England. He is most famous for sending a mission under Saint Augustine of Canterbury to evangelize the pagan Anglo-Saxons of England. The mission was successful, and it was from England that missionaries later set out for the Netherlands and Germany. Saint Gregory did not employ the term Pope, he summed up the responsibilities of the papacy in his official appellation, as: servant of the servants of God As Saint Benedict of Nursia had justified the absolute authority of the abbot over the souls in his charge, so did “Saint Gregory the Great” expressed the hieratic principle that he was responsible directly to God for his ministry He saw the development of the notion of private penance as parallel to the institution of public penance He explicitly taught a doctrine of Purgatory where a soul destined to undergo purification after death because of certain sins, could begin its purification in this earthly life, through good works, obedience and Christian conduct, making the travails to come (after death) lighter and shorter. He was always engaged in providing for the interests of his people, or in writing some composition worthy of the church, or in searching out the secrets of heaven by the grace of contemplation. His mode of life was simple and ascetic in the extreme. Having banished all lay attendants from his palace, he surrounded himself with clerics and monks, with whom he lived as though he were still in a monastery. To the spiritual needs of his people he ministered with pastoral zeal, frequently appointing stations and delivering sermons; nor was he less solicitous in providing for their physical necessities. Deaconries (offices of alms) and guest-houses were liberally endowed, and free distributions of food were made to the poor in the convents and basilicas. The funds for these and similar purposes were supplied from the Patrimony of St. Peter -- the papal estates in Italy, the adjacent islands, Gaul, Dalmatia and Africa. He was one of the best of the papal landlords. During his pontificate the estates increased in value, while at the same time the real grievances of the tenants were redressed and their general position was materially improved. Saint Gregorys principal fault as a man of business was that he was inclined to be too lavish of his revenues. It is said that he even impoverished the treasury of the Roman Catholic Church by his unlimited charities. Pope Saint Gregorys attribute is a DOVE. From the well-known story recorded by his friend Saint Peter the Deacon, who tells that when the pope was dictating his homilies on Ezechiel a curtain was drawn between his secretary and himself. As however, Pope Saint Gregory remained silent for long periods at a time, the servant made a hole in the curtain and, looking through, beheld a dove seated upon Gregorys head with its beak between his lips. When the dove withdrew its beak Pope Saint Gregory spoke and the secretary took down his words; but when Pope Saint Gregory became silent the servant again applied his eye to the hole and saw the dove had replaced its beak between his lips Alms in Christianity is defined by passages of the New Testament such as Matthew 19:21, which commands ...go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor ... and come and follow me. A donation on the other hand is a gift to some sort of enterprise, profit or non-profit. The alms of Saint Gregory are to be distinguished from his donations, but on the other he probably saw no such distinction. The church had no interest in secular profit and as Bishop of Rome, Saint Gregory the Great did his utmost to encourage a high standard among church personnel. Apart from maintaining its facilities and supporting its personnel the church gave most of the donations it received as alms He is known for his administrative system of charitable relief of the poor at Rome Gregory died (of natural causes) on the 12th of March 604 in the city of Rome He was buried the same day in the portico of the basilica of St. Peter, in front of the sacristy. Translations of his relics took place in the 9th, 15th and 17th centuries, and the remains now rest beneath the altar in the chapel of Pope Clement VIII The Roman Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Saint Gregory the Great on 3 September. Before that, the General Roman Calendar assigned his feast day to the 12th of March, the day of his death in 604. This day always falls within Lent, during which there are no obligatory Memorials. For this reason his feast day was moved to 3rd of September which was the day of his episcopal consecration in 590. Immediately after his death, Pope Saint Gregory the Great was canonized by popular acclaim His life was entirely dominated by the religious motive. His sole desire was to promote the glory of God and of his church. At all times he strove honestly to live up to the light that was in him. -------------------------------------------------- Pope Saint Gregory the Great is seen as a patron of England He is also the Patron Saint against gout He is the Patron Saint of Montone, Italy and west indies He is the Patron Saint of stone masons and stone cutters He is also the Patron Saint of Popes and the papacy He is the Patron Saint of schoolchildren and students He is the Patron Saint of England He is also the Patron Saint against plague He is the Patron Saint of choir boys He is also the Patron Saint of musicians and singers He is the Patron Saint of teachers and educators -------------------------------------------- Let us pray that by the works, spiritual direction, spiritual maturity and intercession of Pope Saint Gregory the Great, we may in this group find the spiritual motivation to win our souls for God. Amen Summary and life history, works and teachings of Pope Saint Gregory, can be viewed by clicking the photo of the Saint in our groups photo section. Saint of the day, would be communicated to you as promptly and consistently as humanly possible, by Gods grace. May we all in this group and beyond this group, Christians and non Christians alike, Catholics and non Catholics alike, be saved from the fires of hell and lifted up into heaven after our stay here on this exile. Amen May our Lord Jesus Christ, through the intercession of Pope Saint Gregory and other Saints before and after him and through Gods Divine Mercy strengthen our souls, open out the way for us all, and above all, intoxicate us with HIS love. Amen May Christ make us into blazing fires to enkindle the earth with the heavenly fire HE brought us. Amen Jesus we love you, all we have is yours, yours we are and yours we want to be, please do with us whatever you will. Amen Jesus, Mary we love you, please save our souls. Amen God bless you and grant your heart’s desire. Amen Pope Saint Gregory the Great, pray for us. Amen For a brief on our Saint of today, please click the link below: youtube/watch?v=D9nF_EwoiZo
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 15:12:17 +0000
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