After en:Carlo Saraceni, or his studio, imaginary portrait of en:Pope Gregory I, ca 1610. Cropped. (Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome)
As usual with the early saints, Padre Mickey has done a masterful work of biography on Pope Gregory.
Readings:
Psalm 57:6-11 or 33:1-5,20-21
1 Chronicles 25:1a,6-8
Mark 10:42-45
I especially like the words from Mark's Gospel:
So Jesus called them and said to them, ‘You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’
PRAYER
Almighty and merciful God, who raised up Gregory of Rome to be a servant of the servants of God, and inspired him to send missionaries to preach the Gospel to the English people: Preserve in your Church the catholic and apostolic faith they taught, that your people, being fruitful in every good work, may receive the crown of glory that never fades away; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Image from Wiki
Dear Mimi, you came to my rescue. Although he is not named Gregory, my ex was always fond of Gregory the Great and we thus treat today (and Sept 3 on the Roman calendar) as his saint's day. I had forgotten all about it when I saw this post. So a quick phone call and a rain check on taking him to dinner have set the world right again. At least on one small front.
ReplyDeletePaul, I'm always happy to be of service.
ReplyDeleteYou returned the favor by noting the turning of the hundreds of troops killed in Iraq. I try to do that, but the latest turning slipped by me.
I don't really track the hundreds but I usually notice when it happens.
ReplyDeleteI remember when I went to the Washington Post website with Faces of the Fallen and spent I know not how many hours doing some cut and paste so that I had a number of faces and names per page, then posted those pages on the side walls of the nave so that we had hundreds of faces of our troops killed in Iraq. At that time the total was somewhere between 500 and 600. It is deplorable, lamentable, unspeakable, etc. that the toll continues to mount.
When you see the faces and note the ages of the fallen, some 18 and 19, all the way to others in their 50s, it's so very sad. And remember, we are not even allowed to see pictures and videos of the flag-draped coffins arriving at Dover Air Force Base. We might actually be reminded that people are getting killed, and we can't have that.
ReplyDeleteI think I will sit with my sadness right now, rather than unleash my anger. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteHugs to Mimi, and prayers for the fallen and their families and loved ones.
Amen.
ReplyDelete