SEPTEMBER 03, 2019 ; MEMORIAL OF SAINT GREGORY THE GREAT, POPE AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH

Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 432

Reading 11 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.

Responsorial PsalmPS 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.

AlleluiaLK 7:16

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A great prophet has arisen in our midst
and God has visited his people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelLK 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.

For the readings of the Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, please go here.

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Meditation: "His word was with authority and power"

When you listen to the word of God in Scripture how do you respond to it? Do you hear it with indifference, selective submission, or with the full assent of faith and obedience? When Jesus taught he spoke with authority. He spoke the word of God as no one had spoken it before. When the Rabbis taught they supported their statements with quotes from other authorities. The prophets spoke with delegated authority - Thus says the Lord. When Jesus spoke he needed no authorities to back his statements. He was authority incarnate - the Word of God made flesh. When he spoke, God spoke. When he commanded even the demons obeyed.

God's Word is alive and active
Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD), in his commentary on this passage from the Gospel of Luke, tells us that Jesus had all power and authority to heal every sickness and expel every demonic power because he was the living and active Word of God the Father (John 1:14 and Hebrews 4:12):

The bystanders, witnesses of such great deeds, were astonished at the power of his word. He performed his miracles, without offering up a prayer, asking no one else at all for the power to accomplish them. Since he is the living and active Word of God the Father, by whom all things exist, and in whom all things are, in his own person he crushed Satan and closed the profane mouth of impure demons. [Commentary on Luke, Homily 12].

God's Word has power to set us free
God's living and abiding Word is truth and life and it has power to set us free from every sin and oppression and bring us healing of body, mind, and spirit. If the demons, the fallen angels, were able to recognize the power and authority of Jesus, the Son of God, how much more should we recognize and believe in the power and authority of the Gospel - the good news of Jesus Christ, and entrust our lives to the Lord Jesus?

God's Word produces life and freedom for us
The Lord Jesus speaks his life-giving Word to us each and every day so that we may walk in the freedom of his love and truth. If we approach the Word of God with meekness and humility, and with an eagerness to do everything the Lord desires, we are in a much better position to learn what God wants to teach us through his word. Are you ready to follow the Lord Jesus and to conform your life according to his word?

"Lord Jesus, you have the words of everlasting life. May I never doubt your saving love and mercy, and the power of your word to bring healing, restoration, and freedom from every sin and oppression."

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: New creation begins on the Sabbath, by Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D.

"He describes the works of divine healing begun on the sabbath day, to show from the outset that the new creation began where the old creation ceased. He showed us that the Son of God is not under the law but above the law, and that the law will not be destroyed but fulfilled (Matthew 5:17). For the world was not made through the law but by the Word, as we read: 'By the Word of the Lord were the heavens established' (Psalm 33:6). Thus the law is not destroyed but fulfilled, so that the renewal of humankind, already in error, may occur. The apostle too says, 'Stripping yourselves of the old man, put on the new, who was created according to Christ' (Colossians 3:9-10, Ephesians 4:22,24). He fittingly began on the sabbath, that he may show himself as Creator. He completed the work that he had already begun by weaving together works with works. (excerpt from EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 4.58)

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, LUKE 4:31-37
(1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, 9-11; Psalm 27)

KEY VERSE: "For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out" (v. 36).
TO KNOW: After Jesus was rejected by the people of Nazareth, his hometown (Lk 4:29-30), he went to Capernaum on the northwest coast of Lake Gennesaret (Sea of Galilee). Once again, Jesus taught in the synagogue on the Sabbath, and this time the people were impressed by his authoritative words. Jesus was suddenly interrupted by the demonic shriek of a man possessed by an evil spirit. Although many did not recognize who Jesus truly was, the demon knew that he was the "Holy One of God" who had come to destroy evil and restore God's supremacy over humankind. With a powerful command, Jesus exorcised the evil spirit and healed the man. The people were in awe of the power of Jesus' words, and his fame spread throughout the area.
TO LOVE: What is the evil that needs to be cast out of my life?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, heal me with your life-giving word. 

Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, pope and doctor of the Church

Gregory was the son of a wealthy Roman senator. He was educated by the finest teachers in Rome and became Prefect of Rome for a year. Then 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. Upon seeing English children being sold in the Roman Forum, he became a missionary to England. Gregory was elected Pope by unanimous acclamation on 3 September 590, the first monk to be chosen for this office. He sent St Augustine of Canterbury and a company of monks to evangelize England, and other missionaries to France, Spain, and Africa. Gregory wrote seminal works on the Mass. He collected the melodies and plain chant that became associated with him, known as Gregorian Chants. Gregory is one of the four great Doctors of the Latin Church.

www.togetherwithgodsword.com

Tuesday 3 September 2019

St Gregory the Great
1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, 9-11. Psalm 26(27):1, 4, 13-14. Luke 4:31-37.
I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living – Psalm 26(27):1, 4, 13-14.
‘We do not belong to the night or to darkness’

I was struck by the final words of today’s reading from Thessalonians; ‘Build one another up’. It seems so simple and yet, all too often in an effort to make ourselves feel included, we exclude others and tear them down. We all have a tendency to make the people who are most vulnerable into ‘the other’. As I write this, I am reflecting on the death of Jean Vanier, the founder of L’Arche communities who was a person who took Paul’s call to heart. He founded L’Arche in response to seeing how people with learning disabilities were treated in institutions. To quote the press release announcing his death: ‘His vision was one of radical welcome, inclusion and joy, where marginalised people with learning disabilities are valued and celebrated’. Today, Paul calls us to ‘build one another up, especially those who have been torn down.

www.pray.com.au

Saint Gregory the Great

Saint of the Day for September 3

(c. 540 – March 12, 604)

 

Saint Gregory the Great | Jusepe de Ribera, also known as José de Ribera

Saint Gregory the Great’s Story

Gregory was the prefect of Rome before he was 30. After five years in office he resigned, founded six monasteries on his Sicilian estate, and became a Benedictine monk in his own home at Rome.

Ordained a priest, Gregory became one of the pope’s seven deacons, and also served six years in the East as papal representative in Constantinople. He was recalled to become abbot, but at the age of 50 was elected pope by the clergy and people of Rome.

Gregory was direct and firm. He removed unworthy priests from office, forbade taking money for many services, emptied the papal treasury to ransom prisoners of the Lombards and to care for persecuted Jews and the victims of plague and famine. He was very concerned about the conversion of England, sending 40 monks from his own monastery. He is known for his reform of the liturgy, and for strengthening respect for doctrine. Whether he was largely responsible for the revision of “Gregorian” chant is disputed.

Gregory lived in a time of perpetual strife with invading Lombards and difficult relations with the East. When Rome itself was under attack, he interviewed the Lombard king.

His book, Pastoral Care, on the duties and qualities of a bishop, was read for centuries after his death. He described bishops mainly as physicians whose main duties were preaching and the enforcement of discipline. In his own down-to-earth preaching, Gregory was skilled at applying the daily Gospel to the needs of his listeners. Called “the Great,” Gregory has been given a place with Augustine, Ambrose, and Jerome, as one of the four key doctors of the Western Church.

An Anglican historian has written: “It is impossible to conceive what would have been the confusion, the lawlessness, the chaotic state of the Middle Ages without the medieval papacy; and of the medieval papacy, the real father is Gregory the Great.”

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Reflection

Gregory was content to be a monk, but he willingly served the Church in other ways when asked. He sacrificed his own preferences in many ways, especially when he was called to be Bishop of Rome. Once he was called to public service, Gregory gave his considerable energies completely to this work. Gregory’s description of bishops as physicians fits in well with Pope Francis’ description of the Church as a “field hospital.”

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Saint Gregory the Great is the Patron Saint of:

England
Epilepsy
Musicians
Teachers

https://www.franciscanmedia.org

Lectio Divina: Luke 4:31-37

Lectio Divina

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

Almighty God,
every good thing comes from You.
Fill our hearts with love for You,
increase our faith,
and by Your constant care
protect the good You have given us.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - Luke 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.

3) Reflection

• In today’s Gospel we can see the facts more closely: the admiration of the people because of the way Jesus taught and the cure of a man who was possessed by an unclean spirit. Not all the Evangelists give this account in the same way. For Luke, the first miracle is the peace with which Jesus liberates Himself from the threat of death on the part of the people of Nazareth (Lk 4:29-30) and the cure of the possessed man (Lk 4:33-35). For Matthew, the first miracle is the cure of the sick and of the possessed (Mt 4:23) or, more specifically, the cure of a leper (Mt 8:1-4). For Mark, the first miracle was the expulsion of the devil (Mk 1: 23-26). For John, the first miracle was Cana, where Jesus changed the water into wine (Jn 2:1-11). Thus, in the way of narrating things, each Evangelist indicates which was Jesus’ greatest concern.
• Luke 4:31: Jesus’ change in direction toward Capernaum: “Jesus went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and on Saturday He taught the people.” Matthew says that Jesus went to live in Capernaum (Mt 4:13). He changed His residence. Capernaum was a small city on the crossroad between two important routes: the one coming from Asia Minor and leading to Petra on the south of Transjordan, and the other one coming from the region of the two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, and leading down toward Egypt. The change toward Capernaum facilitated contact with the people and the spreading of the Good News.
• Luke 4:32: Amazement of the people at the teaching of Jesus. The first thing that people perceive is that Jesus teaches in a different way. It is not so much the content that strikes them, but rather His way of teaching: “Jesus speaks with authority.” Mark adds that because of His different way of teaching, Jesus created a critical conscience among the people in regard to the religious authority of His time. The people perceived and compared: “He teaches with authority, unlike the Scribes” (Mk 1:22,27). The Scribes taught quoting authority. Jesus does not quote any authority; rather He speaks  from His experience of God and of His life.
• Luke 4:33-35: Jesus fights against the power of evil. The first miracle is the expulsion of the devil. The power of evil took possession of people, alienating them. Jesus restores the people to be themselves again, giving them back consciousness and liberty. He does this thanks to the force of His word: “Be quiet! Come out of him!” And on another occasion He says: “But if it is through the finger of God that I drive devils out, then the Kingdom of God has indeed caught you unawares” (Lk 11:20). Today, also, many people live alienated from themselves, subjugated by means of communication, by the propaganda of the government and of business. They live as slaves of consumerism, oppressed by debts and threatened by creditors. People think that they do not live well if they do not have everything which the propaganda announces. It is not easy to expel this power, which today alienates many people.
• Luke 4:36-37: The reaction of the people: He gives orders to the unclean spirits. Jesus not only has a different way of teaching the things of God, but another aspect which evokes admiration in the people is His power over unclean spirits: “What is it in His words? He gives orders to unclean spirits with authority and power and they come out.” Jesus opens a new path so that the people can place themselves before God to pray and to receive the blessings promised to Abraham. Before, they had to purify themselves. There were many laws and norms which made the life of the people difficult and marginalized many people who were considered impure. But now, purified by faith in Jesus, people could once again place themselves before God and pray to Him, without needing to have recourse to the complicated norms of purity, which were frequently expensive.

4) Personal questions

• Jesus brings about admiration and astonishment among the people. Does the way of acting of our community draw admiration from the people of the neighborhood? What type of admiration? Are my personal actions also worthy of admiration?
• Jesus drives out the power of evil and restores people to be themselves again. Today many people live alienated from everything . How can we help them to recover and be themselves again?

5) Concluding Prayer

Yahweh is tenderness and pity,
slow to anger, full of faithful love.
Yahweh is generous to all.
His tenderness embraces all His creatures. (Ps 145:8-9)

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