Today's Minute Meditations is taken from a letter written by Padre Pio! ✝️
September 3, 2024
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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.”
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.”
Saint Gregory the Great is the Patron Saint of:
England Epilepsy Musicians Teachers
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Padre Pio to Raffaelina Cerase, April 20, 1915: Do not be in doubt about receiving divine assistance, and do not lean on yourself to deal with these multiple afflictions that constantly surround you. Everything will turn out for the glory of God and the salvation of your soul. Tell me, how can you doubt my reassurances? Without divine grace would you have been able in the past to get through so many crises and so many wars? Therefore be confident at all times, because that same grace will still be there for you. You will be saved, and the enemy will gnash his teeth in his rage.
In the meantime continue to pray, to thank God, and to suffer according to his divine purposes and his divine will. Be encouraged by the thought that your reward is not far off.
It is easy some days for our minds to race with thoughts, doubts, ideas, and anxieties and lose touch with our hearts in the process. The Franciscan way is one of embodiment and seeking to be in touch with our own hearts.
Pray
Why all these thoughts? Why all these doubts? You’ve always taken care of me. I know that to be true. In my heart I know it to be true. Yet some days, some nights, and, some seasons, most days, most nights, my mind stretches like a net collecting anything, everything in murky waters beneath. I carry it through the day, almost sinking with the weight. Lord, captain my heart toward still, clear waters; unleash me on the glass. Help me empty the net in the deep behind me. My heart longs to be free.
Act
It is only human for the mind to gravitate toward negativity, unknowing, or anxiety. But if you at all find yourself mentally spiraling today, consider stopping what you’re doing, quieting your surroundings, and placing your hand on your heart as you listen to the silence. In the stillness of this moment, be gentle with yourself, extend grace to yourself, and ask God to help you reconnect with your heart.
Today's Pause+Pray was written by Stephen Copeland. Learn more here!
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