{"id":672,"date":"2008-06-04T09:37:44","date_gmt":"2008-06-04T09:37:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/viamedia\/2008\/06\/gregory-contd.html"},"modified":"2008-06-04T09:37:44","modified_gmt":"2008-06-04T09:37:44","slug":"gregory-contd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2008\/06\/gregory-contd.html","title":{"rendered":"Gregory, cont’d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today at the General Audience, Pope Benedict continued speaking on Pope Gregory the Great:<\/a>
\nFrom AsiaNews (full text will be posted when available)<\/a><\/p>\n

Illustrating his works, Benedict XVI emphasised his attitude of intellectual humility, “an essential rule” for those who want to penetrate the Scripture, but which “does not mean an absence of serious studies”.\u00a0 This humility “is indispensable, it is only with intellectual humility that one listens to, that one finally perceives the word of God”; it is “the primary rule for penetrating supernatural realities”.\u00a0 But “it is nothing if contemplation does not lead to action”.\u00a0 \"\"This conviction is expressed in some of the famous pairings expressed by Gregory the Great, like “knowing-doing, speaking-living, understanding-acting”, “aspects of human life that should be complementary, but are often antithetical”.
\nAfter emphasising the absence of “superficiality” that must characterise the attitude of the bishop in his role, the pope affirmed that “the bishop is first of all the preacher par excellence” and that “as such, he must be an example to others through his behaviour”.\u00a0 Then there is “the pastor’s duty to recognise his own misery each day, in such a way that pride may not destroy the value of his accomplishments before the Supreme Judge”.\u00a0 “Instead of considering the good he has done, he must think of what he has overlooked”, Gregory says in his rule.
\nThe pope finally expressed the hope that Vatican Council II “may bear fruit in us and in the Church of the third millennium”, addressing the people of Poland present for the audience, and taking his cue from the 45th anniversary of the death of John XXIII.\u00a0 “The people called him ‘Good Pope John’.\u00a0 He was the one who convened Vatican Council II, who began the renewal of the Church, the reform of its structures and the updating of the liturgy”. “May this reform”, the pope concluded, “bear fruit in us and in the Church of the third millennium”.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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\n\u00a0Full text:<\/a><\/p>\n

In wishing to consider these works briefly, we must note, however, that in his writings, Gregory never seems concerned to delineate “his” doctrine, his originality. Instead, he seeks to echo the traditional teaching of the Church, he wishes simply to be the mouth of Christ and of his Church on the way that must be followed to reach God.
\nExemplary in this respect are his exegetical comments. He was a passionate reader of sacred Scripture, which he approached not only with speculative understanding. He thought that from sacred Scripture, the Christian must distill not just theoretical knowledge, but also daily nourishment for his soul, for his life as a man in this world.
\nIn the Homilies on Ezekiel, for example, he energetically underlines this function of the sacred text: To approach Scripture simply to satisfy one’s desire to know means to give in to the temptation of pride and thus expose oneself to the risk of falling into heresy. Intellectual humility is the main rule for one who seeks to penetrate supernatural realities flowing from the sacred book.
\nsnip<\/em>
\nPerhaps the most organic text of Gregory the Great is the “Pastoral Rule,” written in the first years of his pontificate. In it Gregory intends to delineate the figure of the ideal bishop, teacher and guide of his flock. To this end he illustrates the gravity of the office of pastor of the Church and the duties it entails: Therefore, those who are called to such a task were not called and did not search for it superficially, those instead who assume it without due reflection feel arising in their spirit an onerous trepidation.
\nTaking up again a favorite topic, he affirms that the bishop is above all the “preacher” par excellence. As such, he must be above all an example to others, so that his behavior can be a reference point for all. Effective pastoral action requires therefore that he know the recipients and adapt his addresses to each one’s situation. Gregory pauses to illustrate the different categories of faithful with acute and precise annotations, which can justify the appraisal of those who have seen in this work a treatise of psychology. From here one understands that he really knew his flock and spoke about everything with the people of his time and of his city.
\nThe great Pontiff, moreover, stresses the daily duty a pastor has to acknowledge his own misery, so that pride will not render vain — before the eyes of the supreme Judge — the good he accomplished. Therefore, the last chapter of the rule is dedicated to humility. “When one is pleased about having attained many virtues it is good to reflect on one’s own insufficiencies and humble oneself. Instead of considering the good accomplished, it is necessary to consider what one has failed to accomplish. “<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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The Catholicism comes from her side. Amy grew up in a number of places - Indiana - Washington, DC - Lubbock Texas - Arlington, Virginia - DeKalb, Illinois - Lawrence, Kansas - and Knoxville, Tennessee, where the family settled in 1973. She attended Knoxville Catholic High School, then the University of Tennessee where she majored in history. She received an MA in Church History from Vanderbilt University, where she wrote a thesis on the changing role of women in 19th century American Protestantism, and the ways Scripture was used to justify those changes. She worked as as a teacher in Catholic high schools and a Parish Director of Religious Education and started writing for the diocesan press - the Florida Catholic - in 1988. Amy has written columns for Our Sunday Visitor and Catholic News Service at times over the past twenty years. Her articles have been published in venues ranging from Our Sunday Visitor to the New York Times to Commonweal. 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