Click here for today’s Scripture readings.

1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Luke 5:33-39

I want to make a public disclosure. It seemed to me, when I was a boy, that Jesus said to Saint Peter, “You are Peter and upon this rock I shall build my church.” Then, suddenly, the Vatican appeared in all its splendor. I don’t know whether I got this from a catechism illustration or from some kind of popular verbal explanation. You can imagine my surprise when I found out that this was not so.

But what was the story about Rome and the papacy? Well, it comes as no surprise that, in the Roman Empire, all roads did lead to Rome. One of the reasons why the Empire succeeded was its marvelous road system. All roads lead to Rome. Plus, from an ecclesiastical point of view both Saints Peter and Paul gave themselves tirelessly to the Gospel and died there as martyrs. In addition, the church in Rome was known for its charity, especially for those that fell through the cracks of the social network and for churches in dire need, and it became renowned for its fairness. Consequently, other churches appealed to Rome to settle disputes and to do arbitration. So, yes, all led to Rome and the Christian communities esteemed the Vicar of Peter and his unifying role.

Still, this does not clear up my image of the church in Rome being a powerful and perennial agent in the life of the Empire. My catechism learning led me to believe that the church remained regnant throughout the centuries. There was a continuity, an unbroken line of service that you could count on. So you can imagine my surprise when I came to realize that the city of Rome became almost totally pagan and secular in the middle of the first millennium. Conquering armies and foreign powers swept into the city and natural disasters devastated its institutions and population in 589.

Thank God for Pope Saint Gregory the Great (540-604), the doctor of the Church whom we make memory of today. Gregory was born into wealth. His father, Gordianus, had estates in Sicily and a mansion in Rome. He was also raised in an atmosphere of sincere and genuine holiness. His mother, Silvia, and his aunts, Tarsilla and Aemiliana were considered saintly women. Gregory meditated on Scripture and was devoted to God from his youth. In 574 he became a monk, a period of his life that he said was his happiest. In 578 he was ordained one of the seven deacons of Rome. He also was a church bureaucrat, serving in Constantinople on behalf of the Holy See and then Abbot of Saint Andrew. He was involved in missionary work, especially working to convert the Angles in Britain. Much against his will, he became Pope on 3 September 590. For the next fourteen years he endured poor health (indigestion, fevers, and gout), living out his life in monastic simplicity.

Gregory was a reformer of church life and liturgy, a physician of souls, a monk and a missionary, and a moralist. What we hear today in 1 Cor 4:1-5 truly applies to him and to his style of leadership. Gregory paved the way for the emergence of the medieval papacy and its role in reforming the church. “New wine into new wineskins” — Gregory’s life was led by the Spirit — from place to place, from one ecclesial task to another, from one pastoral stance to another. In the end, his life was not power at the table of God. It was about living simply with integrity and moral rectitude. It was about allowing Biblical personalities and images to engage his imagination and shape his soul. It was about dedication to holy reading and the divine liturgy of the church. It was about service in the liturgy of the world and its desire for unity, reconciliation, and peace.

We can thank God for some like Pope Saint Gregory the Great. There are only a few persons in world history that are worthy of being considered great.

Father John J. O’Brien is a Passionist priest living in Framingham MA. He is involved in preaching and teaching, study and writing. He serves also in area parishes and prisons.

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